Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 5

Riku sat on his bed, legs crossed and eyes shut, breathing deeply as he reached for the magic of the World. Something had kept this Radiant Garden from falling to Darkness so what was different? He should ask Sora about his first journey, if he ended up in Traverse Town and who had been there. Surely Leon and the Restoration Committee wouldn't have been if this World had been spared. So who had taught Sora before he met Donald and Goofy…or had he travelled with others? He focused, searching, and then he was up, running to the bathroom where he lost everything he'd eaten. No…not that…anything…but her.

"Riku? Oh my," a voice commented and then there was hand on his back, steadying him. "Easy, don't fight it."

He coughed and gagged and then a cloth was pressed into his hand so he wiped his face. He looked up to see a worried Ienzo hovering over him before the man turned to the sink, turning back with a glass of water.

"Rinse and spit," he ordered, and Riku did so. "Perhaps we've rushed the extra food," he pondered, and Riku shook his head.

"I…I know how…Radiant Garden survived. She…" he closed his eyes, shaking.

"Is everything alright in there?" that was Dilan.

"I believe Riku may need a hand getting back to his room," Ienzo answered, opening the door.

Riku let Dilan haul him to his feet, supporting him on the walk back. Ienzo pulled back the blankets and they quickly had him settled, Ienzo placing a fresh glass by his bed.

"You should try and sleep."

"She's dead…Kairi's dead…" he whispered. "She saved them all." He closed his eyes, burying his head in the pillow, not wanting to see their expressions. He'd only spoken to Sora about Kairi so they probably didn't even know who he was talking about.

"Sleep," Ienzo commanded, and Riku felt lethargy suddenly seeping into his body. A spell? He was too tired to care.

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Sora entered the bedroom to see Riku sleeping peaceful, face still pale. From what Ienzo had told him, the only reason Riku's sleep was peaceful was because it had been magically induced. He carefully lifted the spell and Riku immediately began to stir. From the way he'd spoken of this Kairi, they were very good friends, how did Riku come to believe she was dead? Sora had asked the others about if they knew someone by that name and Aeleus had admitted the name sounded familiar but from before he became a Nobody. So maybe she was dead, but still, how could Riku know?

Riku groaned, rolling onto his side, and Sora grabbed the water glass for him, figuring he'd need it. His eyes slowly opened, blinking dazedly as he shook off the last of the magic.

"Easy Riku," Sora pitched his voice a little higher, closer to how it'd been as a teen, figuring Riku wouldn't remember immediately when waking and not wanting to startle him.

"Sssora?" Riku slurred, turning his head to look at him.

"Here, drink some of this," Sora reached out to help him lift his head, letting him drink.

"What…" and then Riku's eyes went wide. "Oh," he whispered.

"With me?" he asked in his normal tone, and Riku nodded, slowly sitting up.

Riku wrapped his arms around his knees, eyes shadowed, a look Sora hadn't seen on him before. He was…grieving.

"Riku?" he called, but Riku didn't look at him. "Ienzo said you were talking about Kairi, what's wrong?" he asked carefully.

"She's dead," Riku whispered.

"How do you know?" how could he?

Riku held his hand out and Sora took it, surprising himself when he didn't even hesitate. Riku held on firmly, his magic surging between them, coaxing at Sora's own, and he let it happen, realising Riku wanted him to 'see' something. The magic of Radiant Garden was there too and that was what Riku carefully nudged, showing him something he had never noticed, the bright Light woven through…that didn't come from the World itself. No, it felt almost…oh. He looked up at Riku as he understood but… "How?"

"I…I think Kairi gave her life, her Heart, to save Radiant Garden," Riku answered softly, relaxing his grip but not pulling away.

Sora hesitated but then left his hand where it was, letting Riku take the comfort if he wanted to. Finding out one of his best friends was dead would be heartbreaking, and Sora was the closest he had to a friend in their reality. "You think one person could save the World?"

"A Princess of Heart, yeah. Kairi…she's never remembered much about her time living here, other than her Grandmother. She saved you, Sora. She turned you back from being a Heartless, she instinctively sheltered within your Heart when the Islands fell. We never really got a good explanation of what a Princess of Heart can do. In desperation, I think they can do a lot. Seeing and feeling her home about to fall, if she saw her Grandmother in danger…" Riku trailed off, and Sora nodded.

He wondered what she had been like, had she realised the cost of what she was doing? He found himself wishing he could have known her. If they ever figured out how to send Riku home, maybe he'd get a glimpse of her and his younger self. How different would he be with two best friends at his side?

"I'm sorry," he didn't know what else to say, but Riku gave him a small, sad, smile.

"I figured when you didn't know her, that something bad must have happened since she was one of the Princesses," Riku admitted, leaning against the wall.

"It's not even midnight, you should get some sleep. Terra's coming tomorrow."

"Terra?!" Riku jolted upright, eyes wide.

"Yeah? You said he gave you your Keyblade, you know him…well the other him, right?"

To his surprise Riku shook his head. "He's one of the lost Keyblade wielders; him, Aqua and Ventus. No one's seen Terra or Aqua in a decade and Aqua hid Ventus' body when his Heart went to sleep or missing or something."

"Oh, well here, Xehanort using Terra's body became Apprentice Xehanort which lead to Ansem banished to the Realm of Darkness and the formation of Organisation XIII. The two of us destroyed Ansem Seeker of Darkness, his Heartless. Mickey and I sealed the Door and Mickey found Aqua in there. The two of them saved me, Donald, and Goofy from the Organisation in a place called Castle Oblivion, then we began hunting the Organisation down. They kidnapped Selphie as bait for me. In the end, we took out Xemnas and the others and we thought that was it," Sora paused, glancing at Riku to make sure he was following. The teen hadn't gone into a lot of detail about how they'd stopped Xemnas but he nodded, so at least the basics were similar.

"Trade Aqua for me I guess, except I was too late at Oblivion and you took a year nap to get your memories back. Does that mean…does Selphie have a Keyblade?" he asked in shock, and Sora chuckled, nodding.

"Yep, big shock I know but Aqua bequeathed her when we found her facing off against Saïx with her skipping rope. She impressed her."

"Bet she did," Riku shook his head but at least he looked more amused than sad now.

"Aqua and Mickey took over most of our training then and a few months later we all got a shock when Ansem the Wise called. He'd escaped and the Apprentices were back."

"How?" Riku asked in confusion.

"Apparently if both Heartless and Nobody are destroyed, they recombine back into the person. Which is how we got Terra back, he woke up in the lab a while after the others but with no memory of anything past facing Master Xehanort. He began making visible moves almost a year later, he wanted Thirteen Darkness's and Seven Lights to clash. We're pretty sure he has all Thirteen but we don't have all Seven because he cheated and used time travel to get past versions of himself. He also has…"

"Me," Riku murmured, and Sora nodded. "Which really explains reactions to me, even if I probably look different."

"Your hair's a lot shorter and the lack of golden eyes is very nice to see." He smirked at Riku. "He's taller too."

Riku rolled his eyes. "He's older," he pointed out.

Sora had to wonder though, he thought Riku had been taller at seventeen, had two odd years of bad eating habits affected his growth? He was actually ever so slightly the taller between them! That had never happened before, not that it was much, not even half an inch, but still. "He also has very different dress sense, even before becoming one of Xehanort's Vessels."

"Let me guess; black, black and more black?" Riku shuddered.

"Your clothes came from the three fairies?" Sora asked, moving to lean against the wall beside him. They really should get some sleep, but after the shock he'd had, it wasn't surprising that Riku didn't want to.

"I guess? Mickey gave them to me after we left Castle Oblivion since all I had was my clothes from home and an Organisation Coat that DiZ…I mean Ansem the Wise supplied us both with. When…when I took the other Ansem's form, my clothes changed to his but mine were back when DiZ's machine blew up and changed me back. They're getting a little tight now though."

"Well, once we introduce the idea of you being a different person then we can see about getting you some new protective clothes. Till then we can get you something from town if yours are uncomfortable. There's probably not much in the castle that'll fit you beyond what you've already been given and that's all clothing for lounging around in."

"You really think that'll work?"

"It's why Terra's coming in the morning, to help introducing you to the others. Mickey and I agreed, he'll be the most willing to listen and give you a chance. He still struggles with the Darkness, maybe…you can help him with that."

"I can try if he wants, if…if I'm here long enough."

"If there's a way to get you back, we'll find it," he promised and he meant it. The other Sora must be going crazy if he'd woken up. He knew he'd blame himself since Riku had vanished trying to help him. It wasn't fair to Riku either to expect him to live in such a different reality. Riku changed the subject, asking what he did when not fighting to save the universe, so they kept talking quietly, until Riku eventually fell asleep, leaning against him. He very carefully got Riku laying down only to find Riku had a death grip on his shirt. He hesitated but then lay down on top of the blankets, forcing himself to stay relaxed when Riku curled up against him. He didn't blame him for wanting company, not after the week he'd had.

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Terra made his way deeper into the castle, he didn't remember it and yet…it felt familiar. It wasn't a feeling he liked, but he knew the occupants weren't to blame for what had happened to him, they hadn't known who or what Xehanort was when they took in his amnesiac form. It was thanks to them that they had Ventus back, it had been their work on Replicas that had allowed them to remove Ven's Heart from Sora's and place it back where it belonged once Aqua retrieved his body.

Was Sora alright? It had been four years since then but Ven had been with him for just over a decade, what if he'd developed side effects? Was that why he and Mickey were there? While the scientists were on their side over Xehanort's, they were mostly considered more neutral since they were staying out of the fight. He didn't blame them at all and it wasn't their war now that they were human and had lost a lot of the power they'd held as Nobodies.

He walked up to the residential level and opened the door to the kitchen only to freeze as he caught sight of silver hair down the hall. He turned, going after whoever it was, turning the corner to see a male figure. "Stop!" he called, and the figure turned. Terra's Keyblade appeared in his hand as he got ready to fight. Riku! How had he gotten into the castle? What had he done to them?

His hands went up in surrender even as he backed into the wall, eyes wide…cyan eyes, not gold. Terra moved closer, Keyblade resting under his chin.

"What are you doing here?" Terra demanded angrily. He would not let him hurt anyone, not like last time. Aqua was fine now, but he was not letting him near her or anyone else. If he moved swiftly, took him down, then Xehanort would be at least one Vessel short, buying them more time. He didn't know why Riku was bothering with some kind of disguise but it wasn't fooling Terra, he could sense the Darkness in him.

"I…I'm not him, I don't want to fight," Riku stammered, pressing closer to the wall.

"Terra stop!" King Mickey's voice was welcomed but why was he saying that? "It's not Riku." The King put his hand on Terra's arm. "It's alright, he's a friend."

Terra stared at the boy and then it hit him, he was just that…a boy…well, teen. Riku was a man grown, twenty-one now. He slowly stepped back, lowering his Keyblade, watching the teen slowly relax a bit. "Who are you?" he asked warily.

"I'm Riku….but not your Riku," the teen answered just as warily.

"What?"

"Ansem's theory is he's from an alternate reality," Sora answered as he joined them. "Okay?" he asked the apparent other Riku, who nodded, shifting closer to Sora without seeming to realise he was doing it. "He crashed into the sea of the play Island of Destiny Island, almost drowned since he was unconscious. I brought him here when he became sick because I knew how everyone would react but there were too many discrepancies with how I knew Riku should be. He's not a Vessel, his Heart is fully his own."

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Riku hated feeling so vulnerable, he'd never been pinned by a Keyblade before without a weapon of his own to defend himself with. He also knew that moving to defend himself would just make things escalate, so he was very happy with first Mickey and then Sora appeared.

"I remember you, from when I was little, you gave me the Keyblade," he offered to the man. He looked older now, but it was definitely him.

"And he's got it, I sealed it before in exchange for letting him loose. More proof he isn't the Riku we know. Other than the fact he's too young and short."

"Still growing," he grumbled back to Sora who smirked. He was!

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Terra watched their interaction in shocked amazement. He had never seen Sora acting like that before and yet it seemed so…natural. He remembered giving Riku the Keyblade, something he'd regrated ever since finding out what had happened, if not for him, Riku wouldn't have had the power to help Xehanort's Heartless plunge the Islands into Darkness. Their World could have been spared; the boy left innocent with his friends. But if what they were saying was right, then this Riku was proof that Riku could have chosen another path.

He stretched out his senses towards the teen, recoiling from the sensation of Darkness around him instinctively, but there was something….Light! The core of his Heart shone brightly, the two somehow balanced within him. How was that possible? Terra was forced to fight the Darkness almost every waking moment and yet somehow this Riku wasn't struggling at all. He glanced at Mickey, seeing from his expression that he knew about Riku's Darkness. Despite that, the boy had apparently been given the run of the castle, or at least the residential wing. Then again, Sora had mentioned sealing his Keyblade.

Terra met Riku's eyes, there were none of the emotions he would have expected; no, there was hesitance but also…hope. He stepped back further to give the boy room, dismissing his Keyblade. That surprised Riku but Sora nodded at him.

"Come on, let's get some breakfast and we'll fill you in on what's happened," Sora offered. They headed for the kitchen, Riku staying close to Sora.

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Mickey wasn't surprised by the way Riku was staying at Sora's side, of them all, he'd know him the best. Even with the time in their reality since the two had parted, they had still known each other for fourteen years before then. Sora would be the most familiar to Riku, though he got the feeling their Sora was different to his, he could tell by the looks Riku sometimes gave him when he said something. He hoped that Riku could accept this older, different, Sora, and that Sora could get used to a younger, more innocent in some ways, Riku. He watched Riku as Sora moved to cook, seeing his surprise.

"Your Sora doesn't cook?"

"Not unless you want to poison everyone," Riku answered softly, getting a snort form Terra. "Kairi's a bit better than him."

"And you?" Mickey asked, curious.

"Nothing fancy but I can get by. I've had to the last few years."

"So you got malnourished off your own cooking?" Sora asked, turning around, and Riku shrugged.

"Wasn't much around," he admitted. "Between Maleficent's, then the Realm of Darkness, and then DiZ while trying to restore Sora's memory… at least then we could grab food in Twilight Town if we were careful. I just…wasn't hungry all that often, too busy trying to save Sora."

Sora soon set plates out and took the seat on Riku's other side, leaving him sandwiched between them, Terra across from him.

"So how old are you?" Terra asked as they ate.

"Seventeen last week my time. We had a party just before leaving for Yen Sid's, first one I've had in years." He smiled at the memory.

"Back on the Islands?" Sora asked curiously, and Riku nodded.

"Your Mum cooked her famous birthday cake, you nearly fell out the window from bouncing around on a sugar high," his smile faded and he looked away, hands clenching into fists. "The last time I saw…you were just sitting there against the wall, that silly look you always have when asleep…what if…what if he hasn't woken up?"

Ah. Not knowing his Sora's fate...could he live with that if they never found a way to send him back? He felt bad for Riku, not knowing if his best friend was doomed to sleep forever, but it was Sora and Mickey knew Sora would have been fighting to wake up even as Riku fought for him. "You gotta believe in him, Riku. If your Sora's anything like ours, he was fighting just as hard as you were to wake up."

Riku looked at him but then slowly nodded.

"Sora's asleep?" Terra asked, looking at their Sora.

Riku winced and Sora touched his arm, giving him a smile when he looked at him.

"I'll explain it to him," Sora told him. He glanced at Mickey and he nodded.

"Come on Riku, let's take a walk, you could use some fresh air," Mickey stood up, smiling at Riku.

Riku looked between Sora and Terra before nodding and standing, following him from the kitchen.

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Sora looked down as his Gummiphone rang, wincing when he saw the name.

"Selphie?" Terra asked, and he nodded. "Better answer."

"Yeah, but how do I explain this?"

"You'll have to eventually, if she sees him without warning…"

Sora winced, yeah, that'd be bad. Would she believe he wasn't the Riku she knew?

"It's a pretty crazy story but…I can't deny that that kid is nothing like the Riku we faced in Halloween Town."

That had been the real Terra's first and only meeting with Riku. Despite having part of Xehanort's Heart in him, he still acted like the Riku he'd been since falling to the Darkness. Apparently it wasn't meant to do a lot for now, except keep them all in line, which was probably the only reason Riku hadn't managed to kill anyone yet.

"it's not going to be easy to get everyone to accept him, especially as a Guardian. That's your plan, isn't it?"

"He was taking the Mastery exam, Terra. By the sounds of it, he and the other me finished it and should have been named Masters, that more than makes him eligible."

"The other you, and that sounds very weird, probably won't be passed though."

"Because he didn't see the unseeable trap," Sora sighed. "With Master Yen Sid running it, you're right. He might be the oldest and wisest but I still prefer taking orders from Mickey." He wondered if that Sora had issues with Yen Sid too? If he'd had a Nobody, that Roxas, then probably even more issues than he had with the man. He would be the hardest sell on Riku being one of the good guys, especially since he used Light and Darkness. The old Master still gave Terra looks over still having Darkness in his Heart.

His phone rang again and he sighed but answered. "I'm fine Selphie."

TBC….