"Bah, I don't need practice!" Donald grumbled, crossing his arms.
"But the King is the one who asked Merlin to teach us," Goofy answered as he scratched his chin.
Sora put his hands behind his head, flashing Donald a sly grin. "Are you saying your King was wrong?"
Donald let out a furious quack as he rushed in front of Sora, hands on his hips as he blocked the teen from moving. He angrily tapped his foot as Sora burst out in laughter.
The group had just moved on from the secret clearing beyond the fire-emblem door in the Third District. Cid had instructed them to find him in a 'house' in the district, but finding the place was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The district was filled with nothing but small houses, and they were at a loss of where to start their search.
"Aw, lighten up, Donald! It was just a joke!" Sora said apologetically as Donald let out another string of angry and undecipherable quacks. They were too concerned in their own affairs to notice a crafty Soldier Heartless creep up behind them, claws bared and ready to attack.
At the last possible moment, Akira noticed the uninvited guest, the happy expression on her face fading. "Donald, look out!" she cried.
Before any of them had a moment to react, the Heartless had vanished amidst a flash of red; whatever it was had completely slashed through the Heartless, defeating it with one swift move. Donald and Goofy stood in shock at the Heartless' instant defeat, but Sora and Akira stood frozen for a completely different reason.
The owner of the red blade, the one who had defeated the Heartless… it simply couldn't be…
"There you are! What's going on?" the boy asked with a familiar cocky smile on his face.
Sora slowly approached him, eyes glued to the newcomer. "Riku?"
"It-it's not…" Akira said, her voice cracking, "It couldn't possibly… How?"
Riku attempted to speak but Sora pulling every which way at his cheeks made this an impossible endeavour. Riku struggled to speak, knocking his friend's hands away with a chuckle. "Hey, cut it out!" he said once Sora gave him some room to breathe.
It was all the proof she needed; their friend was real, safe, and reunited with them. "Riku!" Akira cried happily, grabbing his arm with both hands and smiling joyfully.
"I'm not dreaming this time, right?" Sora asked as he properly scanned his friend, his heart beating quickly from the adrenaline.
"I hope not," Riku said casually as Akira let go of his arm, "It took forever to find you."
Sora and Akira could do nothing but gaze at him with stars in their eyes, at a loss for words. Riku was real and he was here. They almost expected to find him in some distant world trapped by a massive enemy, as what seemed to be the norm during their adventures; but finding him safe and sound, and right under their noses no less, filled them with absolute joy.
Riku scratched the back of his head. His friends looked so ecstatic to see him; it was almost impossible not to smile. "It's good to see you two again," he said with a smile.
"Likewise," Akira said in a wistful voice.
Sora snapped back to reality when he noticed something very important was missing. "Wait a minute… where's Kairi?"
Riku looked stunned. "Isn't she with you?"
"No, we figured she'd…" Akira started, her breath catching halfway through her sentence. It was still so difficult to talk about their missing friend, "She'd be with you. Sora and I ended up in the same place after that night…"
"I see," Riku said softly. He nodded and brought his fist to his hand, looking determined. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island." He looked to the sky, counting the stars that shined above them. "We're finally free. Hey, she might even be looking for us now."
As he monologued to the sky, a smaller shadow Heartless had begun to slither towards him, raising its paw to claw at him when it came close to his leg. Sora caught sight of it and instantly summoned his Keyblade in a small flash of light.
Riku continued, oblivious to the situation that unfolded before him as he kept his gaze locked to the sky. "We'll all be together again soon. Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this –"
He was interrupted by the sudden sound of Sora's blade swiping through the air, and a Heartless vanishing in a cloud of dark smoke.
"Leave it to who?" Sora jeered as Riku took in the scene.
"Sora, how did you -"
Sora and Akira gave each other a cunning smile before he spoke. "We've been looking for you, and Kairi too. With their help." He gestured to Donald and Goofy, but Riku seemed apprehensive of their new friends. He said nothing, but the stern look on his face said a lot.
"Who are they?" he asked, unamused.
Donald cleared his throat and began to introduce themselves, but Sora interrupted him amidst his excitement. "We've visited so many places and worlds, looking for you," he said excitedly as Donald shot him a glare.
Riku's expression soured. "Really? Well what do you know? I never would have guessed."
Goofy approached Sora and encouragingly put his hands on his shoulders. "And guess what? Sora's the Keyblade master!"
"Who would've thought it?" Donald said sarcastically as he tapped his foot, still angry at Sora for interrupting him.
Sora scowled at him. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"So, this is called a Keyblade?"
Sora averted his gaze to his hand that previously held his weapon, only to find it empty. He looked around in confusion to find none other than Riku with his weapon in hand, flashing it ironically at him. Sora shook his head; forget how Riku took it, he needed to find a way to get it back.
"Hey! Give it back!" he called.
Sora moved forward to grab it from him but Riku hopped back at the last moment, causing Sora to trip on his feet and fall over. Akira buried her face in her hands; she knew this scene all too well. Riku flaunts his skills, Sora gets angered, Sora challenges him to a spar, then Riku wipes the floor with him. Just like old times…
Riku gave a small chuckle at Sora's expense as his friend got to his feet. "Catch!"
He tossed the Keyblade back to Sora, who shakily caught it as he stood up. Akira giggled at their interaction as Sora flung his weapon over his shoulder. "Still your old competitive selves, I see," she said between laughs.
"Hey, I actually have a chance against Riku now!" Sora retorted with a smile, "Remember? We've been dubbed 'Junior Heroes'. Maybe now the score can be 47 to 1!"
"Heroes?" Riku asked softly, blinking twice.
"Kairi isn't here to officiate for you, though," Akira responded slyly, crossing her arms.
"So, you won't do it for us?" Riku said, motioning his arms out in an attempt to join in on their conversation, "Still your old lazy self, I see."
"Hmph. Not quite," she said with a smirk. She summoned her staff like Sora had before, raising it to eye-level to show her old, competitive friend. "I've been fighting the Heartless too. Hey, Merlin even said I'm a better spellcaster than Sora is!" she said, grinning widely.
Riku's smile fell as he looked to the ground. Who in the world was Merlin?
Sora glared at her. "That's not what I understood!"
"He said, and I quote, 'Sora could use some more practice'!" she said with a laugh.
"You too, huh?" Riku whispered to himself as he grew increasingly unamused. Even though his friends were right in front of him, their banter seemed so disconnected, almost as if their interactions were happening far away from him. He felt unwelcome in some of their conversations, like a third wheel on a date. He grew disappointed; he didn't expect to feel this way after reuniting with the very people he sacrificed so much to find.
"Ugh forget it, it's not important!" Sora said, waving his hands as Akira put her hands on her hips in a huff, "Anyways, hey Riku!"
Riku raised his eyes to meet his, still looking bored.
"Okay, so you're coming with us, right?" Sora asked excitedly, "We've got this awesome rocket. Wait 'til you see it!"
Donald angrily stamped his foot on the ground. "No, he's not coming!"
"What?" Sora yelled, "Come on! He's my friend!"
"I don't care!"
"We've looked everywhere for him, we can't just leave him!"
"We're at full capacity!"
"That's a lie!"
"The answer is no!"
Goofy meekly reached a hand out to them amidst their arguing. "Uh, guys? He's gone."
Sure enough, Riku had completely disappeared without a trace, not even making a sound. They looked around in confusion as they attempted to catch a glimpse of him scurrying away, but to no avail. He had truly up and vanished, leaving the teens confused and heartbroken.
"Riku?" Akira called, her voice echoing across the district. Yet, no answer came.
"Well… at least he's okay," Sora said optimistically.
"N-no, we have to find him!" she argued, filled with worry, "We've been looking for Kairi and him for so long. Wasn't that the whole point?" Sora nodded but didn't say anything. Akira took a deep breath. "He just looked… upset around the end, didn't he?"
"Maybe. But that's just how Riku is, right?" he answered, "He's never been one to put up with our nonsense."
Akira nodded. "…You're right."
Sora smiled as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, Riku's tough. He can take care of himself. And if we managed to find him, maybe we'll find Kairi soon too!"
"We won't be doing much searching if Cid blows his top because we're late!" Donald quacked.
Sora dropped his hands and sighed as the angry duck tapped his foot beside him. "Go on, get a move on!" Donald snapped as Sora began marching towards a row of houses, with Goofy and Akira following closely behind.
One of the small houses was lit on the inside, with Cid peering impatiently out the window, waving his arms frantically when he glimpsed the team approaching from afar. Before catching up with her friends, who broke into a sprint when they found Cid, Akira stopped and took one last look at the empty district behind her. It couldn't hurt to try…
"Riku!" she called one last time.
But the district remained as quiet as ever. She sighed heavily as she approached the house, defeated.
"Why did you leave again?" she thought.
"You guys ever hear of Maleficent?" Cid asked with his hands on his hips.
"We just got here," Sora said with a frown as he let himself fall into a cushioned chair.
The house consisted of only one room, and a dingy one at that. Large boxes were placed in the areas where the wallpaper had peeled, and Donald shuddered at the sight of a stain on the floor near the entrance. Regardless, home is where the heart is, as they say, and all their old friends had gathered in the small house, making it a much happier and welcoming place.
Cid sighed as he rubbed his eyes impatiently. "And I've got a business to run!"
Akira gave Sora a shrug before responding to the cranky shopkeeper. "We don't know who that is."
Cid looked perplexed. "Oh. Well, they say she's in town," he said as he scratched his chin.
"Who is she, though?" Sora asked.
"A witch, man! She's a witch!" Cid answered passionately, though the group couldn't figure out if she was an actual witch or just a foul woman he had the misfortune of meeting.
"She's the reason this town is full of Heartless," Leon explained, his back propped against the wall and his arms crossed, "Don't take her lightly."
"She's been using the Heartless for years," Aerith said as she approached Cid's side, "We lost our world because of her."
"One day, a swarm of Heartless just... took over!" Cid quickly exclaimed, waving his arms.
"That was nine years ago," Leon finished, flashing Cid a scowl for interfering with Aerith's explanation.
Cid chewed on the tobacco stick in his mouth. "I got out of that mess and came here with these guys."
"That's awful!" Donald said solemnly, echoing his teammates' feelings.
Leon stood up straight, approaching them. "Our leader was a wise man named Ansem. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless."
"Oh! You mentioned an Ansem before, right?" Goofy asked, recalling their earlier conversation with Aerith when they first arrived in Traverse Town.
"Sure did, and I reckon Aerith told you about his report," Cid said as he crossed his arms, "Well, we think his report should tell us how to get rid of the Heartless."
"Where's this report?" Sora asked, leaning back in his chair.
Leon closed his eyes. "We don't know. It got scattered when our world was destroyed. But we think Maleficent may have most of them."
"Well, what can we do?" Akira asked, shrugging her shoulders.
"Try and keep a look out for them during your adventures, for now," Leon responded.
Cid stretched and yawned before addressing the group again. "Speaking of which, I finished installing your gummi. If you find any more, just bring them to me, I'll install them for you. Well, guess it's about time I go back to my real job. What's my real job? Heh… You'll see."
Cid chuckled to himself and rubbed his hands as Yuffie gave him a suspicious look. "In any case, did you guys hear the bell that rang earlier?" she asked.
"Yeah! It was so loud, it shook Cid's shop," Donald answered.
"That's it!" she said with a smile, "You know, there's a legend about it. They say something will happen if you ring it three times. Why don't you guys go take a look before jetting off on your next adventure?"
As the group of friends chattered with their Traverse Town comrades, they were too engrossed to notice two pairs of eyes watching them from the shadows outside the house. Amidst the darkness where they hid, Riku's silver hair glistened in the glow of the streetlamps, but it still wasn't enough to peel their gazes away from their banter. As he watched them talk and laugh together, he felt the anger slowly well up inside him. Sensing the distress within the boy's heart, the witch named Maleficent smiled as she tenderly placed her hand on his shoulder.
"You see? It's just as I told you. While you toiled away trying to find your dear friends, they quite simply replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, now they value them far more than they do you," Maleficent said in a comforting voice.
Riku stared unblinking at the scene that unraveled before him, becoming increasingly angered. It wasn't just that they had found new friends; it was everything they did together. They were off gallivanting and exploring worlds together like it was a party, while he spent every waking moment worrying about them, searching for them, and even throwing himself in danger for them. Is he supposed to just accept that lazy, indolent, dull, stick-in-the-mud Akira is actually some novice mage? And on top of that, Sora inherited some shiny new weapon and gets to run around with it calling himself 'master'? The stupidity of it all was almost enough to make Riku laugh.
"They barely noticed when you disappeared. Why, they merely went to join the rest of their new friends once you left them," Maleficent said, gesturing to the window where his old friends continued conversing with each other, "And they certainly don't hold much concern for the state of the other girl you are searching for. You're better off without them."
Maleficent bent down to reach his eye level, smiling maliciously when she noticed the angry glare in his eyes. "Now, think no more of them and come with me," she said softly, "I'll help you find what you're searching for…"