As Riku exited the corridor, as usual into the Grey Area, he was aware of three things. First, Xemnas was present, his expression a mystery. Second, smoke was rising from Dark City, and third, Demyx was here looking remarkably furious.
Axel leaned against the window behind them, completing the collection of remaining members. He glanced up at Riku with a warning look that the others did not see, then returned to patiently waiting for someone to need him.
"Did something happen?" Riku asked. "Besides the obvious."
"Luxord has been terminated," Saïx said. "And it appears an attempt was made on Demyx as well."
"An attempt?" Demyx demanded. "More like an all out attack – someone tipped off the locals! I barely made it back in one piece!"
"And Roxas?" Riku asked, as if he didn't already know.
"He has momentarily escaped us," Xemnas replied. "Though that is not the present issue. Two more portals have been destroyed, one tampered with most deftly. There remains only one fully functional one, and I have relocated it within the castle for its own safety. I will stand guard over that one myself."
"And what about me, huh?" Demyx spoke up again. "What're you gonna do?"
"You should think yourself lucky to still be with us thus far with your attitude," Saïx snapped. "At any rate, we must deal with Sora swiftly. We cannot ignore him any longer."
"Could Sora have been the one to alert the locals?" Axel asked. "You did say he showed up here. If he's come here once that we know of, who knows how many times he's checked in without our knowledge."
"It doesn't seem like the sort of thing Sora would do," Riku replied. "But I'll grant a lot of what he's up to lately doesn't really fit. If it was him, and he isn't acting too out of the ordinary, he's likely found a hole to scurry down until things settle down again. He's not fool enough to keep toying with a snake after irritating it."
"Then we must root him out," Xemnas decided. "We cannot proceed while he continues to compromise us."
Saïx stepped forward, looked them all over, then said, "Riku can pull double duty to cover for Roxas's departure, as long as we don't find and confront Sora. Everything else can be put on hold while we find him."
"You too, Saïx," Xemnas told him. "We can no longer afford the luxury of sitting back and watching others see to our goals. Continue your work with renewed vigour, Riku. If we can complete it, it will surely aid us in eliminating these inconveniences in addition to our true goals."
Riku said nothing. It looked almost like his diversion tomorrow wouldn't be needed, or if it was it would be much less of a threat.
Xemnas took the universal silence to mean there were no objections and with a single gesture indicating he wanted Saïx to join him, he turned and left.
"Better find Sora soon," Demyx muttered as he too left. "After all the work I put in this morning, put to waste... not gonna be happy if he outlives me."
Axel waited until they'd all left, then joined Riku.
"They know," he said quietly.
"Who does, and what?"
"Xemnas and Saïx. They know you're a Replica. I overheard them talking before Demyx arrived, and there's no mistaking it."
"And the original?" Riku asked.
"They didn't say."
"I need to know, Axel," he reminded him.
"Come with me," Axel said after a moment, leading him from the room. "Best we cover this while they're distracted."
"Then you've found something out?"
"Not here," Axel insisted. "I assume you're responsible for the tip-offs?"
Riku grunted assent. "I didn't expect to lose another member so quickly though – or Demyx's reaction. I'm just glad neither Herc or Phil let slip my name."
"You definitely need to be more careful. I had to move Zexion to Hollow Bastion this morning. My mission was actually to capture him, but as far as they know he wasn't there. Took me a few minutes to get through to Leon that I was on your side. Might want to check in and set his mind at ease."
"I might have a moment tomorrow. Depends on how things turn out."
"Just be careful, will you? I know he's still around, but I kinda feel the loss of Roxas already, and I don't want to lose another friend."
"Trust me Axel," Riku grinned. "I've come this far, haven't I?"
Axel chuckled, letting them into his own room, by far the tidiest of them all. It looked as if he barely used it.
He reached under the mattress to take out Naminé's sketchbook, flicking through pages marked with red tabs until he found the one he was looking for, then turned it to face Riku.
"Wait a moment," Riku breathed. "This looks like-"
"What just happened, right? They're all there, except for one. And you see who that is, stood in his place?"
"Me," Riku finished. "Xemnas... has my original body."
"Right. No way you're gonna be getting that back from him."
"I don't need to," Riku said after a few moments. "My body might be a fake, but I am still real. When the time comes... he'll pay for this."
"Go ahead to the next tab," Axel prompted.
Riku turned the pages, flicking through several that looked like they dealt with Ventus until he came to the next one. On the first page he saw a drawing of him stood before Axel with the sketchbook.
"She knew this would happen," Riku said, seeing this.
"Other page."
Riku looked. It had been divided into four quarters, each one with a different drawing. One of him, no of Xemnas, stood before the remaining portal. It was hard to tell for certain, but it looked like he'd relocated it to the Altar of Naught.
Another showed Demyx battling Ventus, this time with allies. Not just Donald and Goofy, but Zexion as well. This too was somewhere in the castle. At some point, Ven would come back here and probably put an end to Demyx.
The third showed scene somewhere in the castle depicting Saïx and either Xemnas or Riku, it was impossible to tell which, or what they were doing. After a glance at the fourth panel he had a suspicion it was not likely to be a friendly meeting.
The last drawing showed both Riku and Xemnas, who still appeared as Riku. One was on the floor, clearly in bad shape, reaching out toward a heart-shaped moon. The other held arms wide, facing that same moon. There was no way to tell which of them was which.
"Axel," Riku said eventually. "I have a need to know more about Kingdom Hearts."
"Way ahead of you," he replied, handing him a book. "I took it out of the library as soon as I saw that drawing."
Riku rose early. No longer just a habit, this was necessity. What he'd learned last night made him all the more determined to ensure all went to plan – to his plan. He needed to have DiZ delay his own actions, perhaps indefinitely if everything happened as he wanted, and he needed to pass a warning on to Ventus. A lot hinged on the actions of today.
Wasting time today was not acceptable. Timing was everything. First a corridor took him to the Grey Area, where naturally Saïx already waited.
"I know," Riku told him before he said anything. "I just wanted to let you know I found out something last night before I left."
"Is this really the time?"
"I think so. That Sora we've been seeing? I managed to corner him last night and get a few answers before he managed to escape again. He's one of Vexen's Replicas, Saïx. That's why he didn't trigger your alarms. The genuine article is still out there somewhere."
"And you know this how?"
"He told me so. That, and before I sent him to Castle Oblivion, I had Vexen tell me a bit about Replicas. I recognised a few signs. Now I'm out, I've got two quotas to meet, so I don't have time to spare here."
It was a risk, but one he was willing to take. It would if nothing else throw things further into disarray, and with Xemnas taking personal command and dictating missions to them all, even Saïx, every little would help.
Twilight Town was his next stop, dropping him off right outside the mansion where DiZ awaited him.
"Ventus?" he asked Riku, quickly turning to hurry into the mansion with him.
"No word since he retrieved his heart," Riku replied. "I have faith in him though. He'll be here. Naminé?"
"She finished early this morning. She's resting right now, but knows we may have to disturb her at any moment. What of the Organization?"
"I can't be sure if they're going to show," Riku answered. "I managed to throw more than a few spanners into the works yesterday alone. I've taken a little risk that might persuade them to put in an appearance."
"What? You want them to come?"
"Right. I've got a plan, but I need them to know Ventus is alive and kicking for it to work. I need you to reign in your need for revenge too, I'm afraid. I'm going to use their Kingdom Hearts, once, maybe twice before I set the whole thing free, and I'm not doing it for personal gain, on that you have my word. If anything happens to me though and I'm unable to make use of it, you'll have to be ready to step in with whatever plans you already had, so don't put them on a shelf just yet."
"You are playing a risky game, Riku. Kingdom Hearts is likely even more unpredictable than any singular heart."
"I'm fully aware of that Ansem," he replied, using DiZ's real name. "But if I don't do it, it'll be left there potentially forever, at the whims of whoever finds it. My actions will restore every last heart to their proper places."
"Then I wish you best of luck, Riku. I will continue to prepare, but I must admit... even I cannot claim to know the outcome."
"As long as it puts Kingdom Hearts back beyond the reach of anyone." He paused when they reached the two pods containing Donald and Goofy to say, "Just a little longer guys."
Ansem went on ahead, with Riku now following him.
"Naminé!" he called into the chamber Sora slept in. "The time has come! We must awaken them."
Naminé, who had been dozing in a chair jerked into wakefulness, spotted Riku and then caught up. She laid her hands on Sora's pod, causing light to spread out from it, tracing every line, every break between pieces. With a great creak of broken seals, the front of the pod opened outward like a flower blooming, revealing Sora already stretching and yawning inside.
"Well, about time," was all he said when he spotted Riku.
"Sora!" Donald called from the doorway. "And Riku too! Goofy, c'mon!"
"Hey, calm down," Riku laughed as the little duck leapt up at him. "Listen, I don't have much time here, so I can't tell you everything I wanted to. DiZ and Naminé will fill you in on everything until Ventus gets here. Now, Sora. Your mind all awake yet? I know what you're like when you've just got up."
"Oh, thanks," Sora laughed. "Like you were any better."
"Yeah, you're fine. You should know what you really are thanks to Naminé."
"Yeah. I'm a Replica of the real Sora."
"Huh? But if he's a Replica..." Goofy started.
"I'm the real Sora," Riku said. "Something happened, and now I'm both. I need you all to keep that a secret. My heart – that is, the real Sora's heart – is within you," he pointed to the Replica. "And I kinda need it back. You've got a choice here though."
"I know," Sora said. "Naminé gave me extra memories. The Keyblade you lent me, or by agreement. And I agree, it's time for you to have your other heart back."
There was a blinding flash, clearing to show a sphere of light in the air before Sora, gently floating down from the pod to Riku, then sinking into his chest with a second flash. In just a few moments he felt its warmth join that of his existing heart, along with a flood of memories return to him, his own memories, and memories of the Replica as well.
When the second flash cleared, Sora was holding the Keyblade of People's Hearts, extended handle first to Riku.
"Take it," he told Riku. "and lend me Soul Eater. Now you've got both your hearts, you can take up two."
"Right," he agreed, making the exchange. "Now I need you to go to Dark City. Try not to get destroyed if you can help it. They'll be looking for you, because thanks to me they think you're the one who's destroyed three portals and eliminated several members. Try to find out what they're doing outside their world and pass it on."
"Tip people off, got it. What if I get into a tight spot?"
"Run to Hollow Bastion. I'll talk with Leon and the gang if there's time, they should take you in. Now get moving, we're on short time here."
"What about us?" Donald asked. "Are we going with you?"
"I wish you could," Riku said as Sora vanished into his own dark corridor. "But I'm pretending to be a part of the Organization, so you've got to pretend I'm your enemy. I've arranged for someone you know to show up soon though, and I want you to go with him. Like I said, they'll explain everything. Last thing before I leave guys," he said to all of them. "As soon as he gets here, tell him this, word for word: Don't be afraid to complete Kingdom Hearts. I need it to happen. Got that?"
"We've got it memorised, don't worry," Naminé said. "You get going."
"See you again soon," Riku said, then he too left. He had no trouble opening a corridor, though perhaps that was because Riku's heart was used to it, and was therefore protecting Sora's.
He remained in Twilight Town and even in the mansion, but now headed to an upper floor, one that overlooked the gardens outside. A heavy white curtain prevented anyone outside from seeing in. He nudged it aside at one end to look out cautiously.
Ventus was already present, destroying Dusks outside the mansion gates. As it stood, it would make no sense for him to get involved just yet, he needed an actual member to show up. Using that thought as a cue, Saïx put in an appearance. Riku watched, trying to ensure he wouldn't be noticed.
The Dusks broke off their attack as Saïx almost casually strolled into the clearing, saying something he couldn't hear from here. Ventus responded hotly, throwing words back at the brick-wall of Saïx's impassive expression. Saïx muttered something to the Dusks and several of them disappeared.
One of them conveniently appeared behind him in a crackle.
"I know," he told it. "Don't tell anyone where you found me."
It vanished again. Riku himself, waited a few moments to simulate the effect of coming from further off, then opened his corridor to join Saïx.
"I just got word," he said as he exited, deliberately breathing hard. "Is he here?"
"Uh-oh," Ventus said ahead of them. "Reinforcements. Not good. I'm getting outta here!" He vanished, to Riku's surprise not into a dark corridor but one that appeared to have been formed from the light.
"Sora was here somewhere," Saïx said afterwards as the Dusks disappeared. "He delayed us until the signal was lost however. The Dusks appear to know where he is. Return to your work, Riku. Leave Sora in my hands."
Saix now also departed into a corridor.
"Just as planned," Riku smirked. "Keep it comin'."
