Hollow Bastion's library had been searched exhaustively for any sign that would lead him to the cause and possible solutions for Kairi's comatose state. Through it all, he'd had to put up with the too-friendly voice trying to make him let go of her and try to follow the same goal Vexen had – defeating Sora, and taking his Keyblade back. The voice had been steadfastly ignored so far, but since he'd returned to lounging in his room, it had started to say things that made it hard to ignore.
-All you have to do is bring her here- it told him. -It wouldn't harm her.-
"She's already on the way here," Riku answered the voice. "I just have to be patient." He knew what the voice was suggesting, but wasn't going to risk it.
-A corridor would have no effect, and would give you what you want. You know I'm right.-
"You're probably just some figment of my imagination. It doesn't matter if you're right or not. I'm not going to risk it."
-But in bringing her here, you would discover her nature. What it is that has protected you from the harmfulness within the darkness. And more besides, but who am I to tell all to you? Surely you would rather discover for yourself, than to hear it from what you believe is simply yourself?-
"There's only one thing that could be," Riku replied. "And I doubt it's that."
-So certain, and yet you have yet to find out if it is true or not.-
"What do you expect me to do, drag her through a dark corridor and see what it does to her? What if you're wrong?"
-Would I suggest doing that to the one you both hold closest if I did not think I was correct?-
"Both? What do you mean, both?"
-You are not aware of the implications of what you shared with the girl Kairi. The knowledge would not gain you anything significant. Concentrate on the girl, Riku. She is the key.-
"What you're suggesting... it's not possible. Kairi's no princess."
-Are you so certain of that, that you will not take the chance and bring her here? What do you have to lose? Unconscious, the darkness may leave its mark but not harm her if wrong, but if right then you discover the last princess. Bring her here, Riku. Bring her to her brethren, and unlock the final Keyhole. Power unimaginable will be yours if you will but do this small thing for me.-
"Oh, it's for you now is it?What happened to it being for her, me and my Keyblade?"
-To unlock the final Keyhole, you must restore her to her previous state, awakening her – a goal you wish to achieve. Your Keyblade is not as irreplaceable as you have been led to believe. Reunite all the Princesses of purest Hearts, and I can give you back your Keyblade.-
"What if I want my Keyblade back off Sora, huh?"
-Then that can be arranged once you have brought them all here. You need only bring her and the Princess from Agrabah to Hollow Bastion, before the world's Keyhole, and all will be within your grasp.-
Riku didn't answer the voice. It was as bad as Vexen – right, but offering solutions that didn't appeal to him. He hadn't wanted the darkness in the first place, but... first Maleficent had given him Soul Eater, a weapon of the darkness itself, then he'd turned to that same darkness when Sora had taken his Keyblade...
"And now I'm leaning toward unleashing even more darkness just to get it back," he murmured, continuing his line of thought aloud. "Do I really want to do this?"
The voice made no further comment, but he caught the strong feeling that it was somehow satisfied, as if it knew he was likely to go through with this.
Like Maleficent, something didn't seem quite right about it. Unlike her, who only appeared to be concealing the truth from him, this voice seemed more manipulative, almost like a trap to lure the unwary fly. And he was that fly. What did the voice really want?
Riku left his room, heading for the chapel. He'd fetch Jasmine first. She was the last free Princess if this voice was correct, and the one Sora was most likely to come across. He had to know where Sora was, and how long he had to get Jasmine out of that world. Once she had been secured, he could take his time with Kairi in case the voice was wrong about the effect of a corridor on her. He did not want to risk her, not least because the voice was right about one thing – she was close to him, the most important figure in his life. Memories from the islands, from both Sora and Riku told him that they both held her close, and she them.
But something else nagged at him as he made his way to the chapel. '...the one you both hold dear...' the voice had said. Both – as if there were two. It could have meant Sora, but then afterwards the voice had mentioned something about sharing with Kairi.
"The Paopu?" he wondered out loud. Both Sora and Riku had shared one with her. Could this all be the effects of that one fruit? No one had said anything about three sharing one; it had always been about what would happen with only two people sharing a Paopu.
"Ah, Riku," Maleficent said as he entered the chapel. "Good timing. I was just about to ask you to join us."
It had disrupted his line of thought, but caught his attention.
"What do you need me for now?" he said, glancing to the large table they used both as a map, and to keep watch on Sora. It showed him fighting Heartless at the gates of a desert town.
"Not me," she replied. "Jafar. Sora has arrived in Agrabah, and he has yet to secure the Princess there. He has offered-"
"Never mind his offer," he interrupted. "This one's on me. Does Sora know about the Princess there?"
"Not yet," Hades replied, appearing at the far side of the table. "I could sure have used your help in the Coliseum, kid. Sora walked right over everything I had planned for him."
"You should have made an offer then," Riku shrugged. "I don't work for nothing, not unless it gets me something I want. Where's Jasmine?"
"Ask Jafar," Hades suggested. "He went back to that world as soon as he heard Sora had arrived."
Riku grunted, then opened a new corridor. "If he calls in, tell him I'll be stopping by to retrieve her. Just her though, anything else then he can make his offer."
"And what does this gain you?" Maleficent asked him with a curious expression.
"It gets me closer to my own goals," he shrugged, then stepped into the Agrabah bound corridor. He had no idea where it would end up, for all he know it could open right in front of Sora, but it didn't matter.
It did not in fact open in the vicinity of Sora, though the sounds of the fight he'd seen in the chapel's table came to him easily. Sora was close, no doubting that.
As for him, he guessed with the imposing doors nearby and the ornate structure behind them, he wasn't far from some kind of palace. There were no people around, and no Heartless either. There were some fighting Sora, but with the Keyblade in Sora's hand, any command he could have tried to give them would be ignored while this close.
Someone came running toward the palace, watching over their shoulder as if running from something. She had dark skin, long black hair that shone in the desert sun, and wore a curious blue outfit he'd not seen the like of before. Could this be the elusive Jasmine? Perhaps a little creative lying could solve that...
He moved to intercept her, catching her in his arms.
"Easy there," he said. "You almost ran into me."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I was... distracted."
"So I noticed. What are you running from?"
"That Jafar," she said, almost snarling the name. "He keeps trying to take me back to the palace, saying it's for my own good, but I know better."
"So what's the fighting back there all about?"
"Some kid calling himself Sora showed up and caused a distraction so I could run for cover."
The doors behind creaked open, and Jafar walked out.
"Ah, Riku," he almost purred. "Come to take up my offer?"
Jasmine got loose from his arms, backing apprehensively away. Riku turned to give Jafar a meaningful look as he said, "No, and I'm not going to either. I'm amazed you even had the audacity to try and make me an offer."
Jafar was far from stupid, and understood his subterfuge immediately.
"Very well. I had hoped otherwise... but if that is your wish, so be it. Heartless!" he called, surrounding them both.
"Jasmine – stay near me," he told the startled Princess as he called Soul Eater into one hand. "I'll protect you from them."
Startled or not, she appeared to believe what she'd seen and trusted him enough with this to avoid the Heartless while he started to defeat them. Mostly he held them back, making it appear harder than it really was as he didn't want to diminish their supplies of Heartless.
That problem was solved by the arrival of Sora and company, who seemed at first wary of what they saw, but then when they realized Riku appeared to be fighting the Heartless, sided with him to take them on. Seeing the apparent alliance between him and Sora, Jasmine seemed to lose any doubt that they were on the same side.
During the fray, Jafar somehow managed to snag a lamp from a local that had accompanied Sora. His first wish was to have the princess brought to him, whereupon she was dropped into a nearby pot. A bit of Jafar's own magic turned that pot and every other with it into one long centipede. Naturally, Sora started fighting with it, allowing Riku to slip out during the commotion and find Jafar. He hadn't made himself hard to follow, having used a similar corridor to his own ones, but less harmful to him. It was a simple matter to follow it to its destination.
It took him to the inside of a cave. Set in the back wall was a giant keyhole.
"You took your time," Jafar remarked, unsurprised at seeing him.
"I had to keep up appearances," he replied. "I'll take the Princess on back to Hollow Bastion with me."
"Not so fast. If she simply disappears like this, your friend Sora will begin to wonder what I've done with her. If however he sees here alive here before he and I fight, then her disappearance during the fight will throw off his suspicions."
"Does it really matter what he thinks?"
"These are simply what Maleficent thinks would be best for the situation, Riku. I must admit I had not counted on your help, however. Particularly not without recompense."
"Like I told Maleficent, getting this Princess is on me. Anything else, pay for like the rest."
"So you'll cooperate?" Jafar persisted.
"For now," Riku answered. "Unless it suits me to do otherwise. Don't find any reason to need my help, Jafar. My primary interest here is the Princess, nothing more. I'm not here to confront Sora again or do your work for you."