"Sora?" Ven's bewildered expression was unchanging, "How did I get a Keyblade from Sora?"
Wordlessly, Riku spun around, waving his hand in front of himself and opening a dark portal.
"Wait, no!" Ven shouted, grabbing him by the shoulder, "Yen Sid said it's dangerous, and you –just- used one of those things!"
"Riku, where are you going?" Squall asked a little more to the point.
"The tower," Riku said flatly, "Something is very wrong, and I need to find out what. Yen Sid will know."
"You can't be sure," Ven said, "We need to stick together. I promise I'll go back with you as soon as we're done here, and after you've had time to recover."
"I'll be fine," Riku said curtly, sounding more irritated.
"You're not fine," Ven countered, "Show me your eyes if you're fine." Riku simply averted his gaze, saying nothing. "That's what I thought. You can't risk it."
Riku suddenly threw off Ven's hand and pushed him against the wall, pinning him there, "Sora could be in danger! Or hurt, or lost in the Realm of Darkness! I need to help him!" He pushed off Ven and went straight for the portal, when he saw Squall's gunblade blocking his way.
"Riku," he tried to sound as even tempered and calm as possible, "If you get lost in the Realm of Darkness, who's going to save you this time? Sora's not going to be able to help you."
"Exactly, he was there for me. I need to be there for him," Riku started to sound desperate. Squall figured he knew he was in the wrong already, but he clung to his loyalty to Sora.
"Riku," Ven said quietly, "I know how you feel. Gosh, I feel worse. It's –because- of me that Sora's asleep. Believe me when I say I know how you feel. When Vanitas threatened Terra…my first impulse was to chase him."
Riku nodded, his voice quiet now too, "But you didn't."
"No, I did," Ven kept on, "And I nearly destroyed my two best friends doing it." There was a pause in the entire room, everything still except for the movement of Riku turning to face Ven, "Whatever this problem is, it can wait until we're prepared to deal with it. But while we're here…" he put his hand on Riku's shoulder comfortingly, "We have a mission, so the others can do their missions."
"But I just know something's wrong," Riku protested feebly.
"Riku," Yuffie stepped forward, "I remember when Sora first came to Traverse Town. He was full of guilt, but he knew he would find you again. You'll find him, too. You're too close to be separated now." She leaned forward, sticking her face in front of him with a child-like grin, "Like Ven was saying, you all have missions. You have to trust your friends to handle their parts, and you have to uphold yours to make sure their mission was meaningful."
Sighing, looking defeated, Riku lowered his head, "Fine," he waved the portal closed.
Squall nodded at the Keyblade Master, "The pressure of leadership. Not easy your first time commanding, is it?"
Riku winced, "No, not really. Truth is I'm used to being on my own, doing my thing. Even when I was taking orders, I did it my way."
Yuffie swung an arm around him, "Yen Sid must have seen other qualities."
Riku snorted a bit, then started laughing, "Actually, if what Mickey says is true, he just seems to pass us if we survive without getting captured."
Aerith cracked a smile. Cid just raised an eyebrow.
Squall sheathed his sword, "Right, so, shall we deal with this Unversed problem? Problem is we still don't know a lot about fighting them."
Riku looked up, a faint smile on his lips, "Well, Captain, we just happen to have an expert on the Unversed."
A lone vase crashed to the stone floor as Kairi fell to her knees, the glass shattering like her own heart upon the floor.
"Kairi!" Goofy called, hurrying to her side.
"Sora.." she whispered.
Donald came up to her, "What about Sora?"
But Kairi didn't respond, only clutching at her chest, which was in incredible pain. Nothing felt right inside her at all. It was as if her heart had burst and the emotions normally contained within were cascading down her insides. When he had defeated Ansem, she had felt his Heart sever from hers as he became trapped in the Realm of Darkness. This feeling was worse. Ten times worse. In desperation she reached out, trying to contact him, as she had contacted Roxas when he was in Twilight Town. But she found nothing. She wandered in her mind's eye more, searching for him.
She finally sensed what must be Sora, she was hopeful. But as she got closer she felt colder, in pain. Her entire body burned like it was frostbitten, until she snapped out of her trance, chest heaving from the effort.
"Kairi! Kairi!" Donald was shaking her. His face softened when he noticed her tears, burning hot as they ran down her face, dropping into the water that the shattered vase had spilled.
"Yo, what's-" Lea came in, but stopped when he saw Kairi on the floor.
"Sora…" she meekly whimpered, clenching her fists.
Lea stepped up next to Goofy, "What is it? What's the matter with Sora?"
Goofy shook his head, "I'm not sure. But I feel afraid for him, too."
Lea raised an eyebrow at the captain of the guard. These bonds…are these the true bonds of the Heart I was looking for? Lea tapped Donald on the shoulder, relieving him, and jerking his thumb at the Beast, who was still wounded on the ground. Donald nodded and walked over to tend some more care on him, leaving Lea to monitor Kairi.
"Goofy!" Lea was very much business again, "Scout the castle, try to find any survivors, or stray villagers. We need to get Belle back, we'll need every advantage."
Goofy saluted smartly, eyes all business. Or as much as the Captain of the King's Guard ever got business, before heading out the door.
Lea turned back to Kairi, putting a hand on her shoulder, just in time to see her collapse into unconsciousness.
On the observation deck of the fortress in The World That Never Was, Xehanort looked over the shadowy, stormy remnants of his world. The constant chaos in the sky and sounds of thunder always put him at ease. Watching space and time tear itself apart in the night sky gave him constant reassurance that he saw only the truth. That it was in the universe's nature to be consumed in darkness and war.
A hooded figure appeared behind him, immediately pulling its hood back to reveal Vexen, "You called?"
Xehanort paused, nodding to the view, "Look at this chaos outside in the sky. You can see where bits of Light exist to define the rest of the blackness. They are little battlefields, where the Light exists to give the Darkness purpose." Without waiting for a response, he reached his hand up, grasping at the clouds of smoke and plasma that stormed in the night sky here, "There will be losses. There will always be setbacks. Like Sora. But ultimately they will all be overcome."
Vexen merely grunted in curt agreement. Once before Xehanort had felt threatened enough by his opinions to have him executed at Castle Oblivion. This time he was playing his cards closer to the vest.
Xehanort paused for what seemed like minutes, before lowering his arm. Then, casually, changed the subject, "Yen Sid has been killed."
This information certainly caught Vexen's attention, "Did you finish him off? I wasn't aware we were going to battle him again."
Xehanort shook his head, "No. It wasn't me."
"Then…?"
"I'm not sure," Xehanort said quietly, hand coming to his chin in thought. "I wasn't aware there were Dark wielders with that kind of power."
"Except for Riku," Vexen added quickly, perhaps with a little bit of spite.
"Yes, I suppose he was capable. But I don't believe it. Even if Riku could defeat Yen Sid, which I doubt, he had no reason to. No," Xehanort turned to face Vexen, "There is another player on the board. An unknown variable."
Vexen tilted his head, his curiosity getting the better of his caution, "I do enjoy variables. But, how are you sure that Yen Sid is dead?"
Xehanort smiled, "The balance. I was expecting seven wielders. One of them is gone now. And it was the centerpiece. That could only be Yen Sid's energy."
"Well, we're still short a thirteenth member," Vexen coldly reminded him.
"True," Xehanort replied. Vexen surmised he had no idea how to fill that void yet, but was keeping quiet not to lose face.
"Perhaps this unknown variable can fill that role?" the tenor voiced scientist suggested.
Xehanort considered for a moment, turning away again, "Perhaps. First we have to find him, whoever he is. Make it your top priority."
Vexen bowed slightly, "I'll do my best. I suppose one could c raft a tracking program that uses the Realm of Darkness as a signal amplifier. Such a large concentration of Dark energy couldn't go undetected for long. But, about that other matter, regarding the Princesses?"
"That will take some time before we're ready to move. It can wait a time."
"If you're certain."
As Vexen turned to leave, Xehanort spoke up, rather mockingly, Vexen thought, "You know, Vexen, I'm going to miss our little chats. Your mind is so keen, it will be a shame to lose it when you succumb to my essence."
Vexen silently scowled as he opened a dark gateway and left his master to his thoughts.
