Dawn on the Destiny Islands was quiet. It was like most life on the islands.
So what if it's boring here. It's my boring, now.
Riku sat on a paopu tree, admiring the ocean in the early morning. It was a time of peace, though Riku's mind was anything but peaceful. He had trouble settling down again after the past few years of frantic action. He felt like the ocean waves he saw across the sea. They were mostly still, with a gentle, predictable rhythm, but underneath was a dangerous riptide. It was violent, turbulent underneath the calm surface.
"I knew I'd find you down here," a delicate voice spoke from behind him. Riku shot up a little more aggressively than he intended, and turned to see a familiar face.
"S-Selphie! Why are you here?"
The girl with the wingtip hair examined her friend carefully, "I come here time to time, I know you always did." There was an awkward pause, Selphie shuffling her feet and averting eye contact, before speaking up again, "I wanted to ask you if you'd decided to come back to school?"
It was Riku's turn to avert his gaze, turning his head to the side and looking out across the sea, "I don't know," was the only reply he could offer.
"We all miss you," Selphie offered encouragingly, "Titus and Wakka and me. Sora and Kairi won't say it, but they miss you too."
Riku chuckled, "You all see me almost every day."
Selphie frowned at him in a half-playful manner, "You know what I mean. They want to share their lives with you, and so do we." Another long pause, "They won't tell us exactly what happened when you all disappeared. I wish you'd tell us. Maybe we could help."
Riku simply folded his arms behind his head, trying to hide his slight blush with his elbows. His shoulder suddenly felt heavy. He could feel Selphie staring at him. He could even feel the ripples in the air of her disappointment. It wasn't that he wanted to hide it all from her and his other friends. He just hadn't rehearsed a scenario in his mind that sounded like it would end well. Hey Selphie, Wakka, Titus. Remember that time I vanished? Well it's because I decided to sacrifice my Heart to Darkness and I destroyed countless worlds and kidnapped and tortured several princesses, and almost killed Sora and Kairi. And when I got my Heart back? I ended up killing pieces of Sora. But that's all in the past, right? Riku felt much more comfortable leaving things at a dead silence.
"Well, I need to get ready for school," Selphie finally said, running a hand through her hair.
"Yeah, I'll see you later today!" Riku tried to offer some enthusiasm for her. She nodded and briskly walked back to the docks.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Riku let out a deep sigh, letting his arms hang down at his sides over either side of the tree trunk.
"I do miss the pace," he admitted quietly to himself. Suddenly he clutched his hands to his eyes, trying not to dwell on the past but finding his mind forcing his concentration back there.
Look at what you became! You offered yourself to Darkness, and see what you became! You destroyed your home to escape it!
Riku slammed the paopu tree with his fists, "RrraaAAAAAAAHHH!" He leapt from the tree, and punched his fists into the sand, familiar sparks, like slices of void, cracked out of the impact, which was several times wider than his fists should have made. Riku let out a shuddering breath, as guilt coursed through his body with each inhale. Gritting his teeth, he dug his fingernails into his palms. I don't belong with them, and I know it.
His mind wandered to Sora and Kairi. The two of them always had each other, and Riku had always lived in orbit around their friendship it seemed. Sora, simple, dumb, goofy Sora, was back in school with Kairi, and living his life as if none of their journeys had truly transpired. Though Kairi had been shaken up, she seemed glad enough to have her two best friends back to let her abduction by Organization XIII bother her too much. Riku held his breath, chastising himself. I don't want to resent my best friends.
Riku shook his head. No, I'm just frustrated. Sora was asleep for a year; of course he won't have as much trouble getting back to normal.
Riku slowly stood up, and walked down to the water, staring into his own reflection. I wish Mickey's instructions were more specific…When is he going to call on us? This Second Keyblade War…
Riku gazed into the water, as he had for so many days since his test with Sora for the Mark of Mastery, and looked deep into his own eyes in the shifting water, Stay blue…stay blue…stay blue…
Riku wasn't the only one anxious for the coming future. Through the blackness and the pathways between the worlds, on one of those far flung destinations was an anxious king, pacing outside his Master's private chambers. Mickey scratched one of his trademark large ears.
Master Yensid had been in meditation for days. It wasn't unlike him to do this, and usually upon finding his master in such a state Mickey would simply excuse himself and return in a week to try and catch him again, or leave a note if it was something urgent. Not even when Yensid acknowledged him as a fellow Master, did Mickey dare to disturb his old mentor. Yensid, for his part, had always been very gracious and not breathed a word when Mickey spent days in his library and living quarters while waiting for him to emerge, finding it all very natural.
No, what was odd this time was the timing. Riku had earned his Mark of Mastery after rescuing Sora from Xehanort's clutches. The Dark Master had intended to seize Sora as a vessel for his own use, similar to what he had done to Terra and Riku. Riku had managed to get out with his childhood friend, but just barely. Then, Yen Sid had brought Kairi to apprentice under Riku, while Yen Sid himself trained Lea in how to use his Keyblade. But just as he had brought all those forces to his tower, he had just as quickly dismissed them, in order to give himself solitude to prepare for the upcoming "reunion", as he had explained it to Mickey. Mickey's position as King of his world weighed heavily on the weak tactical position they were now in. Then again, the more Mickey thought of it, the more he had to question if splitting them up was to make them all a less tempting target for Xehanort's newly revived Organization XIII. Mickey hadn't been completely certain about what happened in Castle Oblivion, but Riku had spoken of a "replica" program. Mickey knew of the replica of Riku, but it seemed that Xehanort had not only had the one in his pocket. Every member of Organization XIII had a replica, and twelve of the Organization's members had been revived, but for some reason that none of them could fathom, there was no such copy of Roxas, Number 13. Either way, the new copies were extremely dangerous, at least as powerful as their originals, if not stronger. Mickey's only guess was that Yen Sid had calculated that, currently outnumbered two to one, Yen Sid had decided to separate for the time being until they were ready to completely gather their "Army of Light". But, even Mickey had difficulty discerning his master's intentions half the time.
"Your Majesty!" a familiar voice came from the door. Mickey turned to see Donald, his court magician, strolling towards him. Mickey had brought his two most loyal attendants this time, his Captain of the Guard, Goofy, was probably lounging around the garden at the base of the tower. But Donald spent most of his time in Yensid's library, or at least the one separate from his private study. Early on Mickey had to smack Donald away from trying to sneak into Yensid's chamber because, as he put it, all the really juicy tomes were bound to be in there.
"Donald!" Mickey stopped his pacing and walked to greet his friend.
"He hasn't come out yet?" Donald asked, eyes confusedly looking towards the door.
"Not yet."
Donald looked to his king, "Are you certain we can't just blast it open? I'm sure Master Yensid would understand-"
"Out of the question!" Mickey gave his shocked reply, "Believe me, Donald, when Master Yensid is meditating, you need to give him space."
Donald, apparently thinking Mickey didn't mean it, started to draw his wand, "We'll never know if we don't try."
Mickey seized Donald's arm and lowered it, more panic on his face than anger at being unheeded, "No no no! I have tried! You don't want to do that!"
Donald tilted his head, "You did try? When, Your Majesty?"
Mickey turned and stared out the window, his voice quiet, sullen, "Once, it must have been fifteen years ago…You don't want to know what his punishment was, but you'll never be able to look at a broom or bucket the same way again…"
"But that was a long time ago, certainly-"
Mickey spun around and shook Donald by the shoulders, his eyes wide with fear, almost hauntingly pale, so much so he looked like he belonged in Halloween Town, "Trust me, Donald, nothing in the universe is worth it!"
Donald visibly gulped, "Er, whatever you say, Your Majesty…"
Almost on cue, the large wooden door creaked open, causing the pair to turn their heads, Mickey's eyes still sunken and hollow, Donald still perplexed, to see Master Yensid emerge, his robes and hat perfectly placed as always.
The elderly wizard sat down in his seat, examining the pair with his piercing eyes as their heads silently rotated, following his movements, and when he had adjusted his robe comfortably, stared at the two, Mickey still tightly gripping Donald. The pair looked to Yensid, then their eyes shifted to each other's, then back to him. Several more seconds of silent staring passed before Yensid spoke, "What is it you need, gentlemen?"
"A-ha, Master Yensid!" Mickey exclaimed, "We've been waiting for you, or rather, I've been waiting on you, that is to say…" he spoke rather flustered still.
"What His Majesty means," Donald chimed in, "is that we were expecting some action, but now we are waiting and don't know why."
Yensid didn't seem to take any offense to Donald's curtness, "I have been meditating, trying to commune with the Heart of All Worlds, seeking guidance on the nature of the Heart," he spoke in that confident, dark timbre. Yensid always had a fierce stare, like his eyes were taken from a hawk or eagle, unsympathetic but deathly vivid and piercing. He turned this gaze squarely on Mickey, "We are about to embark on a long struggle, Mickey, and I fear in our haste to counter Xehanort, we are meddling with forces that might be beyond our skills."
Mickey very modesty put his hand over his heart in a bow, "You know that you will always have my support, Master. And we can count on Sora, Riku, and Donald's cooperation; all are skilled in magics and talents of the Heart."
Donald felt himself almost blushing at being included with the Keyblade Masters as an asset, and proudly stood to attention saluting, "That's right! Our skills will be here for your ease, Master Yensid!"
Yensid nodded, getting as close as his face ever got to a smile, "I never doubted your loyalty, either of you," he nodded first at Mickey, then Donald reverently, "But I do not believe I have impressed upon you all the dangerous nature of the path we are taking. Not even Xehanort was able to perform these spells and procedures without errors and impediments. I…must admit…" Yensid's voice lost some of its marked confidence, "I have never tested my skills against Xehanort directly, but I have always feared that he was the superior Master." Yensid's voice went back to being all business, "His experiments on Darkness and the Heart were abhorrent, but they have given him a singular insight into the nature of Light and Darkness. An insight we must replicate if we are to defeat him!"
Mickey nodded reassuringly, "We will defeat him Master. I promise."
"May I ask, Master Yensid, what's our plan going to be?" Donald asked.
Yensid nodded in acknowledgement, "Our first task will be to assemble as many Keyblade Masters as we can, those who fought Xehanort in the past. Ventus, Terra, and Master Aqua must be brought to us again. The more of them that are on our side, the greater our chances of victory!"
"Do we know where Terra's heart is, yet?" Mickey asked.
"No," Yensid shook his head, "But Terra's existence has always been the most in question. Conventional means have not revealed him to us, so we are going to retrieve Aqua and Ventus, and through them, Terra."
Donald looked terribly confused, "Your Majesty, you know where Ventus is?"
Mickey pondered it for a moment, then his expression became sympathetic, "Oh, that's right. You never met Roxas, did you?"
Donald's eyes wandered as he searched his own mind for the familiar name, "Sora's Nobody?"
Mickey nodded, "That's right. He looked like Ventus, Donald! We only just figured out why, he had Ventus' heart when he was released from Sora's body."
"Now that Roxas has finally merged with Sora completely, Ventus' heart is resting again, and can be removed. While Roxas was using it, it was impossible to detect Ventus' essence entirely." Yensid explained.
"You're going to extract Ventus from Sora…" Donald's expression grew concerned, even a little outraged, "Is that even safe?"
Yensid sighed, "Not in the slightest, I am afraid. On any other being, this would be a simple matter for a trained Keyblade Master. But Ventus' heart has been split, reformed, split, split again, and reformed…it is very dangerous to separate it from Sora."
"What happens to Sora?!" Donald shouted, losing his patience quite easily.
"Sora will be fine," Yensid reassured him, "He will still possess his own Heart."
This seemed to settle Donald down a bit, and Mickey's hand on his shoulder comforted him some, "Don't worry, Donald, I promise I won't let anything happen to Sora."
"Mickey!" boomed Yensid, "There is one task I need you to complete before we do this."
"Anything, Master."
"I need you to go to Radiant Garden…a possibly unrelated matter. Squall sent a message that as soon as Xemnas was defeated, new enemies appeared in the Radiant Garden. He claims they are not Heartless or Nobodies, but they act similarly. They may just be leftover Dream Eaters from when we opened the rift for the Mark of Mastery exam, but it's best to be sure. You can also relay to Squall and the others that they must keep an eye out for Xehanort's return. I will be sending similar messages across the worlds. When Xehanort appears, we will know it," he nodded confidently.
"Understood, Master Yensid," Mickey nodded, "come on Donald!"
Donald bowed respectfully to Yensid, then departed with his king.
Yensid stood up, and looked out the window, down at his gardens, where Goofy was sleeping. He watched Mickey and Donald meet up with him and the three wander off to their Gummi ship. "Forgive me, Mickey," he whispered quietly, satisfying only the silence of his chamber, "But this must be done."
