Chapter 13: Land of Musketeers: Riku's Side

A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday and got to relax.

Hope you're all excited about KH3: ReMind, I've heard that it's amazing so far and I can't wait to play it!

We're finally on Riku's side again! This wasn't my favorite world when I was playing Riku's side because it just felt like there wasn't really a story for him while he was here. Just because Sora is the main character of the franchise doesn't mean the other characters can't have interesting stories!

Anyway, let's get on with the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I just own my oc's.

Enjoy!

/

"Absolutely not!" Donald barked.

With Queen Minnie safe, Mickey brought everyone back to Yen Sid's tower to figure out their next move. After learning that Maleficent knew about Master Xehanort and the secret data within Jiminy's journal, it was only a matter of time before their plans for save Lumen and the others were revealed. They didn't know how much of the data Maleficent knew about, but they couldn't take any chances. They needed to act fast before the enemy did.

Lea had suggested an insane idea which lead to Donald's little outburst.

"Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

"I don't see you coming up with anything better" Lea retorted.

Tsukiko looked at her boyfriend worriedly.

"Honey, are you sure you really want to do that?"

Lea nodded.

"It's something that I've thought about for a while. I want this"

Taiyouko, who had been oddly quiet since she arrived at the tower, looked at Yen Sid.

"Will this help us out with our little problem?"

Yen Sid stoked his beard in thought. Ever since the exam began, things had been going from bad to worse. It was obvious that this was no coincidence.

"I sensed something was amiss nearly the moment Sora, Riku and Hikari departed" he said.

"Xehanort must have known what we were attempting before we even began"

"Why didn't you pull them out of it if you sensed something was wrong?!" Taiyouko snapped.

Yen Sid the sorceress a stern look.

"You must understand, this examination is in no way how the Mark of Mastery is usually found. However, in light of what they must do next…it was a necessity. If they complete their test, by finding the seven doors of sleep, they will return home with a new power. At that point, they will be true masters. However, the dangers make this more trial than test"

"But are they safe now?" Mickey asked.

"Considering their ability, I would like to believe that they are" Yen Sid said.

"However, all my attempts to locate them end…questionably. Xehanort is a devious tactician/ There is nothing we can do that he will not, to some extent, be able to predict"

"So…."

Yen Sid sighed wearily, starting to feel his very old age.

"As you can see, the Organization's members are complete people again. Xehanort will be no different. We cannot afford another moment's hesitation. We must consider any strategy to outwit Xehanort and catch him off guard"

He looked at Lea, considering taking him up on his idea.

"I must warn you-the road will not be easy to take"

Lea crossed his arms, clearly not budging from his decision.

"I've made up my mind. Nothing you say will change it"

Yen Sid nodded solemnly.

"Very well. Travel back to Radiant Garden where you will find the wizard, Merlin. From there, he will be the one who will help you accomplish your goal"

"Got it"

Lea grabbed Tsukiko's hand as he started to leave and pulled her along.

"Come with me" he said.

He took her out in the hallway and made sure they were away from everyone before he looked at her.

"What is it, Axel?"

Lea grabbed both of her hands with his and gave them a squeeze. Tsukiko noticed that they were shaking as he looked at her.

"There's one little thing I need to do before I see Merlin…and I need you to help me with it" he started to say.

Tsukiko looked at her boyfriend in confusion but nodded. She wasn't going to throw away any chance she got to be with him, now that he was back.

"Of course. What do you need me to do?"

Lea squeezed her hands and said something she never thought he would say.

"Say what?!"

/

Things on Riku's end weren't as insane was it was with Mickey and the others. He arrived at some sort or Opera house where he noticed something was going on near the entrance.

"Wonder what's going on here?"

He walked closer and noticed it was Pete of all people. Hikari mentioned that was working for Maleficent so the fact that a dream version of him was here meant that Pete was up to no good.

'I don't know why Pete's here, but it's obvious he's up to something'

He quickly followed after the cat inside the opera house. The building was deserted which made it easier for him to find Pete.

Knowing it would take longer to look around by himself, he summoned Sunny and Hika to help with the search.

"If you see a large looked cat, make sure he doesn't leave this building"

Sunny quickly took off while Hika slowly started to walk away. The Pegaslick seemed to not have a lot of energy as it struggled to move forward. That bothered Riku a bit.

"You alright, Hika? Are you injured?"

The Dream Eater made a small whimpering noise but continued on. Riku started to worry now. If his dream eater version of his girlfriend was acting strangely, then did that mean something happen to Hikari? Quickly getting in front of Hika, he held her in place so she wouldn't move further.

"How about you sit this one out? You're not looking so good"

Hika just huffed and nudged herself past Riku to keep moving. Riku didn't know what to do. He had never seen his Dream Eaters act this way, so he wondered if something was wrong. Since he didn't know what else to do, he decided to keep a close eye on Hika. Despite being made of dreams, she was still a part of his team, and Riku wasn't going to lose his teammates.

/

They made it to the stage where it looked like a play was being put together. As he made his way closer to the stage, he noticed Pete and his minions setting up wooden cutouts of three very familiar figures.

'Is that…Mickey and the others? Yeesh, those three are together even when they're made of wood' Riku smiled.

Pete walked over to the side of the stage where the device that controlled everything was. Pulling down one of the levers, he grinned darkly when he saw a shelf drop and a bunch of boxes slid off and landed on the wooden cutouts. Riku paled when he saw what Pete was planning to do. He was trying to hurt Mickey at the others. And the fact that Mickey wasn't here on this version of the dream meant…

"He's on Hikari's side…he's going to go on Hikari's side and hurt them all"

Balling his hands into fists, he glared harshly.

"Oh, hell no"

It was bad enough that he couldn't help her with this exam. No way was he going to let some fat cat harm his girlfriend. Storming towards the stage, he ran towards the back where he saw Pete sneak off to.

'Let's see if you really do have nine lives, fat boy'

As he ran through the back rooms, he passed a chest that was moving and rattling. Looking at it, he cautiously pulled out his Keyblade and unlocked it. When the lid popped open, he feared that a Nightmare would jump out, but what did hop out was not what he expected.

"Minnie?!"

Princess Minnie brushed herself off, looking like she had been through a lot.

"Thank you for saving me" she said hurriedly.

She rushed past Riku, clearly in a hurry to be somewhere.

"Where are you going?" he called out.

"I have to help the Musketeers" Minnie called over her shoulder.

Thinking she was referring to Mickey, Riku ran after her.

"What happened? I wanna help"

Minnie stopped running and looked frazzled over her current situation.

"The stage has been rigged with a machine to lure Mickey and the others into a terrible trap" she explained.

As she was talking, one of Pete's minions, they Beagle Boys, was sneaking behind them with something in his hands.

"If only I could find something to control the device from here…"

Hika had spotted the Beagle Boy and saw he was carrying some sort of lever. She started making noises and stomped her foot to get their attention.

Riku glared when he saw what the Beagle Boy had.

"Hey!"

The Beagle Boy jumped and ran further behind the stage.

"That's the gadget we need" Minnie said.

Riku didn't waste any time and ran after the minion.

If he wasn't so pissed off about what Pete was trying to do, he would have found this little chase comical. The Beagle Boy would hide in one of the rooms and when Riku got close, he'd freak out and bolt for another room. Soon the minion ran out of rooms to hide in. Reaching a dead end, the poor thing pressed himself against the wall as Riku closed in on him.

Knowing that he lost, he offered the lever to Riku with shaking hands. Riku grabbed the lever and glared darkly at Pete's henchman.

"If you ever try to harm my girlfriend and her friends again, I'll skin you alive"

The Beagle Boy yelped and quickly ran off, not wanting to see if RIku would follow up with his threat.

Knowing Pete's minions wouldn't cause him any more trouble, he headed back to the machine that controlled the stage.

"Alright, Hikari. Let's make sure you don't get any injuries on your end of this world"

He put the lever in and turned it, causing the machine to start up and move the stage around. He could hear Pete freaking out, wondering why his plan was suddenly ruined.

Smiling gently, Riku grabbed Hikari's necklace and gave it a squeeze.

"Don't worry, Hikari. I always got your back, even when we're not together"

Princess Minnie rushed over to him, looking relived and happy.

"They're safe! Oh, thank goodness" she cheered.

"You truly saved the day. I see you're as brave as a Royal Musketeer"

"What's a Musketeer, anyway?" Riku had to ask.

Minnie gestured for him to come close. When he knelt, she whispered something he didn't expect.

"They really say that?"

Minnie nodded.

"Of course. Every Musketeer is taught those words. It's a very important motto and solemn pledge"

Riku wore a lop-sided smirk. He had heard this saying many times from Sora. How ironic that he would hear it in the dream worlds too.

"I guess you're right. And it does fit the moment"

He summoned his keyblade and held it up high.

"All for one…and one for all"

He felt silly for saying such a thing out loud, but he knew it would have made Sora and Hikari happy. Plus, Princess Minnie seemed happy too.

"Wonderful! Now you really do sound like a Musketeer"

She heard a commotion by the stage and gave Riku a curtsey.

"I do apologize for leaving so suddenly, but I need to make sure the Musketeers are alright"

Riku waved her off and urged her to go.

"I should be going too. Be careful and don't let Pete get away with his plans"

Minnie quickly left, leaving Riku alone with his Dream Eaters.

"All for one, and one for all, huh?" he muttered to himself.

He went over to Hika and stroked her muzzle.

"If Hikari heard me say that, she would just laugh at me"

Hika suddenly made a pained noise and swayed on her legs.

"Hikai?!"

The Pegaslick staggered forward a few steps before collapsing to the ground. Riku watched in horror as his Dream Eater glowed before dissolving into particles of light and disappearing.

"NO!"

He dropped to the ground where Hika once was. How could this happen. Why did it happen?" His Dream Eaters were an extension of him so if he was fine why did Hika suddenly vanish?

Or…did something happen to Hikari on her end of this world?

'Hikari…please tell me you're okay' he thought.

"Sora! Riku!"

Riku thought his heart stopped when he heard an oh so familiar voice.

It couldn't be….

"Hikari?!"

Jumping to his feet, he bolted towards the exit of the Opera house. There was no way that he heard his girlfriend's voice just now. She couldn't be here. These were his dreams.

"Riku, can you hear me?" Hikari called out.

It sure sounded like she was really here. Quickening his pace, he flew out the doors and staggered near the stairs leading to the Opera house.

He could feel his heart jump to his throat at the sight before him. Standing in the middle of the courtyard was in face Hikari. Not a projection of her like he saw in Traverse Town. It was actually, physically her!

Riku was in such shock that he lost the function to speak. His girlfriend was actually here! But how?! So many thoughts were going through his brain, yet he didn't have the power to sort them out.

'Hikari…how are you here?'

Hikari's back was turned towards the Opera house, otherwise she would have seen her boyfriend gawking at her. She obviously thought Riku wasn't here because she stared up at the stars, thinking he was there.

"Riku, if you can hear me, I think we're in trouble!" she called out.

"We're not really dreaming!"

That threw Riku off.

'What are you saying, Hikari?'

He didn't have time to think on that cause next thing he knew, Hikari jumped on her Dream Eater and flew off to leave this world.

"Hikari!" he yelled out.

He ran to Sunny and jumped on her back.

"After her!"

Sunny bolted, making sure they didn't lose sight of Hikari.

There were so many things going on in Riku's head. But the one that kept popping up was the one that he wanted the answer to the most.

'Hikari…how did you get into my dreams?'

/

A/N: Now this is a strange turn of events. Hikari wound up in Riku's dreams, but, how did she?

And what exactly did Lea ask Tsukiko that caused her to freak out?

Sorry this chapter was super sort and choppy. Like I said, they really didn't add a big story to Riku's side of the game it seems like.

Please review and tell me what you think!

Take care!