Disclaimer: not mine

You may have noticed a massive slowdown in story updates for anything, sorry.

Been playing Mass Effect legendary and you know what drives me nuts in the ME1 section? The stupid Mako. I should not be falling into little gullies and unable to get out all the time, not to mention the horrible way it turns. It doesn't even drive in a straight line! Wouldn't the military be asking for a refund on those things?

Chapter 23

Yen Sid felt the ship pass through his protections to land, settling back to wait for them to climb the tower. He had only met young Sora, the other two children he only knew from what the Stars and others had told him. He was concerned for both boys, both had been touched by Darkness in their own ways; Riku via possession by 'Ansem' and Sora due to becoming a Heartless and Nobody.

He had hoped nothing would come of it once Sora's Nobody had re-joined him but it appeared that was not the case. Yen Sid had sensed the Darkness' touch the first time they had met but there had been no other choice but to send him out to battle the Organisation. Even now, there was no choice but to throw the boys into the exam and hope that stripped of their current skills and powers, they would learn better ones. They needed the other Guardians and to find them all they would need the Power of Waking.

There had never before been a Princess of Heart who also wielded a Keyblade which made Kairi an unknown factor in everyone's plans. She had a lot of catching up to do but Mickey would make a good instructor and it was possible she had talked the other two into training with her since their return home. She would have to master her abilities quickly because Xehanort was not going to sit back and give them time to prepare. How had she even gained the blade? At least it gave them one wielder who was definitely not touched by Darkness.

He watched the three teens enter, all with a degree of nervousness, even as they bowed. It seemed he would need to inform the fairies that their services would be required, both boys had grown and young Kairi, while dressed sensibly, had no protective clothing. Riku did because Mickey had come to them for gear for him when he had hit a growth spurt soon after escaping the Realm of Darkness. Their clothing would do for now, considering what he had planned for their exam, but that would give the fairies time to design something.

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Riku fought the urge to fidget as they bowed to Yen Sid. Sora hadn't said much about him, then again they'd only met that once soon after he'd woken. Mickey had told him more and it made him nervous. Could he sense the Darkness in him? In Sora? Had he known about Sora's condition when they met before and still sent him out with no warning? No, surely he wouldn't have. He looked very…stern, hands steepled in front of his very long beard.

It was a relief to see Mickey, Donald, and Goofy also waiting for them, the King giving him a smile in greeting. Riku smiled back at him, happy to see him again after months back home. He'd spent so much time with Mickey that not seeing him had felt wrong. Sora was obviously happy to see them too. And then Yen Sid destroyed all of the happiness by announcing that Ansem and Xemnas would now be Master Xehanort. Was everything they had done for nothing?

"As a Keyblade Master, Xehanort had a gift like few others. But such great minds are often plagued by a single great question. What is the essence of the human Heart that weakens us, or empowers us? The answer, he believed, would be found in the "Keyblade War." What if the challenges of our past were, in fact, a map to the Light and Darkness that battles within us all? Xehanort had to know, so he renounced his duties as master and chose the seeker's life. Since then, in many a guise, he has clashed with protectors of the light—Keyblade wielders like yourselves. And mark my words, he will trouble us yet again. We must be ready," Yen Sid explained, and Riku felt Sora's hand slip into his, so he squeezed gently to reassure him.

"Which is why you, Sora and Riku, are to be tested for the mark of a true Keyblade Master, while Kairi shall train under King Mickey. No doubt you fancy yourselves masters already, but it takes years of training, only a true master can teach you the proper way. Both of you are self-taught Keyblade wielders, an impressive feat. However, the time has come for you to let go of preconceived notions, forget what you know about the Keyblade, and begin your training again with a clean slate."

"Huh?!" everyone asked.

Nice to know they weren't the only ones who were shocked by that. Sora sounded a bit scared too though, understandable considering what he'd been through, even if he didn't remember Castle Oblivion.

"But that's a formality, right? I already proved myself. Me and the King, and Riku…we can take on anything. Right, Riku?" Sora looked up at him with wide eyes, and he wanted to agree so badly, to reassure him, but he couldn't.

"I don't know," he admitted, looking down before summoning his Keyblade, hearing Mickey's happy gasp at the sight of the altered blade. "I think that in my heart, Darkness still has a hold," he knew it did. He felt Sora stiffen slightly, hand clenching his almost too tightly. He released his Keyblade and looked at Sora. "Walking that path changed me. I'm not sure if I'm ready to wield a Keyblade. Maybe I do need to be tested." He had no doubt in Sora at all, it was himself he doubted.

"Riku..." Sora whispered shakily.

Riku squeezed his hand again, shifting so his back was to the others, probably rude but he wanted to have even the illusion of privacy for a second. He saw Kairi shift to help give them that. He leant down, pressing his forehead to Sora's, staring into bright blue eyes. He trusted Sora to work out how to control his other form and he had been, he'd been able to remove himself from the situation and find somewhere to sit and calm down. Even if he'd needed help that last time to get away, he'd still managed to hold it back. Yes, Riku hadn't had any episodes himself, but he'd felt so close several times, always on Sora's behalf, even Kairi's a few times when some snide comments had been made in town.

He didn't trust himself, not fully, not after everything he had done. The idea of going back to the beginning, to prove he was worthy, to unlearn things he had learnt from Maleficent and Ansem…

Sora nodded and moved out to face Yen Sid. "Then count me in. Put me through the test! Just watch-me and Riku will pass with flying colours!" he announced, getting a grin from Goofy.

The happy act didn't fool Riku though, even as Sora put his hands behind his head as if he didn't have a care in the world. Riku caught Kairi's worried look, it had become obvious while at home that Sora was too good at hiding what he was really feeling. It wasn't good for anyone to do that but especially Sora, but he had always done it…no, ever since his Dad had died. He'd wanted to be happy for his Mum and had ended up putting on the act for everyone. He was more honest with them and Riku had thought he'd be with Goofy and Donald too…so was it because Mickey and Yen Sid were present too?

Yen Sid seemed fooled, nodding. "Very well, then. Sora and Riku, let your examination begin."

"Before that sir," Riku spoke up, getting his attention. "If I'm going into combat then there's something that needs to be dealt with." With that he removed the brace, not looking at his arm as he held it out, hearing Mickey's gasp. He hadn't told the King about Roxas injuring him, there'd been no reason to.

"Riku…" Sora whispered. "I…" Riku looked at him, seeing the confused look on his face before he swallowed. "Oh," he choked. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, you didn't do this, Roxas did. I'm the idiot who blocked with my arm. That fight was a mess and that was as much my fault as his."

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Mickey was horrified to see Riku's damaged wrist. How had he fought Xemnas with that? How hadn't he noticed then or even once they were on the Island? He could see the guilt on Sora's face, despite the fact it had been Roxas to do it. Riku was right though, they had to fix that before letting him fight again. The question was, where to go? Many worlds relied on potions and it was obviously beyond that. If Ansem the Wise and the Apprentices were still in Radiant Garden and who they had once been, they might be able to fix it.

"Gawrsh," Goofy exclaimed. "Does it hurt Riku?"

"No," he shook his head. "I, uh…" he lifted his hand and then curled it into a fist…or tried to.

Mickey glanced at Master Yen Sid to see him frowning.

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Donald stared at Riku's arm, horrified by the damage. The only way he could think of to cause that…would be if Riku had blocked a either a close-range spell or a Keyblade with his arm. So long after the injury though there was nothing magic could do, not his kind of magic anyway. A mage who specialised in healing might be able to do something, but even that wasn't guaranteed. While it wasn't his dominant arm, Keyblade wielder used both and Riku needed more use of his hand than he currently had. If magic couldn't fix it, could technology? What Worlds had that level?

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Yen Sid was surprised by the injury and was impressed Riku had kept fighting with it. He was lucky he hadn't lost his hand, then again since he hadn't, the cause was likely a spell and not the Nobody's Keyblade. The damage was too old for magic to fix, not without seeking out a dedicated magical healer and they were very, very, rare.

The question was, did he delay their exam to deal with it or wait until they were done since it would not be an issue? Without knowing where Xehanort was or his immediate plans it was hard to judge which would be best. It might take some time to find someone who could do the necessary work and then for Riku to recover from whatever procedure was used. A glance at his old apprentice made it obvious that he would not stand for Riku taking the exam before the injury was dealt with, making the choice obvious.

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Sora leant against Riku's side as Donald flew the gummi ship towards Radiant Garden. He was really looking forward to seeing them all again and he just hoped they could help or knew someone who could. There'd been so many people from so many different Worlds in Traverse Town over the years and the group would have at least met them, so if they couldn't help then odds were they had contact with someone who could. He really hoped they could help.

He wished Kairi was with them, but she'd left to train with the King already. Even with the work they'd done with her, she still had a lot of catching up to do. At least they had Donald and Goofy with them, especially if they saw Cloud. Riku's Dad could have meant a different Cloud Strife and Sephiroth, but what were the odds of that? He'd never described Riku to any of the Radiant Garden group so he didn't want anyone freaking out when they saw him. He'd warned Riku about Cloud and the others too and he knew Riku was nervous to meet people from his Dad's past. Sora wouldn't let anything happen but he wanted them to like Riku, to see he wasn't like his Uncles or Sephiroth. Even at his worst, he was nothing like that man.

He pressed closer and Riku looked down at him in question. Sora grinned at him and leant up for a kiss, getting a soft smile before Riku kissed him tenderly.

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Leon looked up as the door opened, smiling slightly as he spotted familiar spikey brown hair in the doorway. Sora grinned at him and waved, gently tugging a taller figure through the door, and Leon tensed as he spotted silver hair.

"Hey Leon! I found him, I found Riku!" Sora called, tugging the other further in and out of the sunlight.

This was Riku? The boy had short silver hair, a very light tan, and cyan eyes. He looked shockingly like Sephiroth, but that wasn't possible. And that monster would never look at him so warily, would let himself be pulled along by the hand.

"Hello," Riku offered quietly. "Sora's told me a lot about you."

"Likewise," Leon agreed even as Donald and Goofy walked inside behind the boys.

"Is Cloud here?" Sora asked, shifting closer, and Leon was surprised when Riku wrapped an arm around him. Well, that explained a lot about Sora's desperation over the years.

"He was headed to the Maw this morning," Leon offered, glancing at Riku again. He wasn't sure if introducing those two would be smart with how Cloud reacted to Sephiroth, not that Leon blamed him.

"That's why I want them to meet, in case Cloud ever just sees Riku somewhere," Sora suddenly said, obviously having picked up on the way he kept looking at Riku. "But we were also hoping you guys could help, Riku got hurt a while back and didn't have the chance to heal it. You've met lots of people from different Worlds, is there one that's really good with medicine?"

"What kind of injury?" he asked, curious. With the way Sephiroth and Cloud healed an injury would take care of itself, something else to differentiate the teen from him.

Riku looked to Sora who nodded, so he lifted his arm, revealing the scrunched cloth there to actually be a largish brace, removing it. Ah, yeah, no wonder they were looking for medical help, that was beyond standard healing methods.

"I can't think of one off the top of my head, Cloud would be the best to ask, he travelled the most out of us, him or maybe Tifa. I can ask around town, not everyone ended up in Traverse Town after all, but Merlin might be the best to ask, if he was around. You better get the meet and greet out of the way before Cloud hears rumours of a silver haired person in town," he warned, and Sora nodded, the two boys leaving. "So what's going on now?" he asked Donald and Goofy before they could follow. Sora deserved a break after the last few years.

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Kairi watched King Mickey speak to the tiny…man? She didn't know what species he was but it was kind of fascinating. This was the second World Sora had been to with Donald and Goofy during his first adventure, though he visited a lot, because of the tournaments that were held. It was apparently a great place to train so that was what Mickey was arranging. She was very nervous but she would do her best and at least she had Mickey to show her things, Sora hadn't had that and he'd still learnt a lot.

She didn't like Master Yen Sid's comments on him and Riku being self-taught. Why did that matter when they obviously had plenty of skills? Sora had defeated Ansem and the two of them had taken down the Organisation and Xemnas.

She stared as the most incredible looking guy she'd ever seen walked over to where Mickey was before hearing someone chuckle. She looked over to see a woman watching her.

"Sorry but Wonderboy's taken."

Kairi's face went as red as her hair.

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Cloud looked up as he heard movement on the trail, the wind carrying the sound of. Familiar voice and he found himself smiling slightly, it was always good to see Sora. He heard another voice answer, one he didn't recognise, male though, and wondered if maybe it was Sora's missing friend Riku. He hoped for Sora's sake that it was.

"Sora," he called to let the teen know where he was, not wanting to startle him.

"Just stay here till I explain," Sora's voice came from up the trail and then the teen jogged around the corner, grinning at him, even waving. He looked…stressed, though well-tanned. "Hey Cloud!"

"Sora," he greeted him. "Who's your friend?" he asked. He had hoped the boy had finally been able to go home and that was why they hadn't seen him in months, was that not the case?

Sora's grin widened and he looked happier than Cloud thought he'd ever seen him, and the kid was usually very cheerful, or able to act it at least. "It's Riku." And that explained the happiness. "Everyone agreed you two should be introduced cause…well…it's kind of a long story and he should explain but he looks a bit like some people you knew. And no one wanted to be shocked by that or anything."

People he knew? Riku looked like more than…Cloud frowned, he could only think of one person and a group who looked enough alike for one teen to look like them all. The resemblance must be good for anyone to want him warned, but he was not going to attack a kid just cause he looked like them. They were long dead, except for the original. "You're saying he looks like Sephiroth?" how could that involve a long story?

Sora nodded and then shrugged, looking nervous.

"Alright," he agreed. Deciding to be safe, he drew his sword and set it aside. No matter what the boy looked like, this was Sora's best friend who he'd known his whole life. Sora darted back and then reappeared, another teen following him.

For a second Cloud was back on Gai, at the Forgotten City, facing three young men. Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz…he could see traces of all of them in the boy before them. How long had it been since he thought of them and their sad fate? It wasn't possible, it had to just be a coincidence. After their defeat they had scoured the planet for any traces of further links to Sephiroth, they had found abandoned labs but no other Remnants. His eyes…they were different, human shaped and with more hints of blue in them than theirs had had. The boy was standing there, letting him study him, meeting his eyes calmly, although Cloud could tell he was apprehensive.

Sora shifted slightly, protectively, and Cloud nodded. "So, yeah. Cloud this is Riku," Sora said to break the silence.

"You're Cloud Strife?" Riku asked, and Cloud nodded. "Sora's told me all about you…and my Dad did too, unless there's another Cloud Strife somewhere."

Cloud froze at that. "Who?" he asked carefully, seeing the ten's hands tighten on each other.

"His name is Kadaj."

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Riku held Sora's hand as they headed back to the house, forcing himself not to keep looking at Cloud. He felt bad for the shocks he'd given him, but he did at least seem happy to know his Dad was alive and living a peaceful life. He had a kind of uncle! It was weird but also nice, he'd never really had his own family before. Sure, he'd been accepted and welcomed at Sora's but now things were different. His Dad wanted him and so did Cloud. He got the feeling Cloud meeting his Mum would not end well though.

And they had the name of a World that might be able to help him, San Fransokyo.

TBC…