Disclaimer: not mine
Chapter 43
Riku stared at his reflection in the mirror, for the first time in what felt like forever, the face he saw was the one he expected to. His hair was still too long but the rest was how he remembered. Sometimes, being human felt like a fading dream and that scared him, if he lost his humanity would he become like Maleficent? Warm arms wrapped around him and he closed his eyes, basking in her feelings.
"Alright?" Kairi asked, and he nodded.
He turned in her embrace, gently cupping her cheek in one hand, leaning in for a soft kiss. "I…I feel like me," he told her.
"You've always been you, Riku," she promised. "Ready?" she asked.
He took a deep breath, leaning her forehead against hers, closing his eyes, and she waited quietly. Honestly, he wasn't sure, but if he didn't try now then he never would. How had Sora managed to leave the safety of Merlin's the first time after he was turned? He took Kairi's hand and moved towards the door, he could do it, he could.
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Sora's head snapped around to the stairs and then he was off, launching up them. Riku was in the hallway, breathing a little fast, but otherwise he looked okay…he looked human. Sora was a little jealous that Riku didn't need Merlin's magic for that, he'd simply figured out how to shift his own shape. "Why didn't you call me?" he pouted, and Riku opened his eyes, calming as he reached out his free hand to him.
Sora took his hand, squeezing it gently. "You're doing great," he told Riku. "Better than I did."
"Really?" Riku asked, and Sora nodded.
"Took me forever to get up the guts to go through the door to the District," he promised.
"How long?" Kairi asked, and he shrugged slightly.
"Not like I was looking at a clock Kairi," he whined playfully.
Riku was relaxing as they playfully bickered, even as they began moving to the stairs. Sora was glad it was just passed lunch since it meant most of the group were out working. It was just Merlin, Cid, and Aerith downstairs at the moment which would make it easier for Riku.
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Aerith looked up as the three teens walked down the stairs, Riku safely in between Sora and Kairi. She smiled softly when Riku met her eyes but just kept on working, mixing herbs together. She was the main healer in town and there were a lot of injuries thanks to the restoration work, Heartless attacks, and just kids being kids.
They'd been told that Riku could feel emotions now and that didn't bother her, she just worried about exposure to Cloud and his depression, how would Riku handle that? Or the likely instinctive reaction Cloud had whenever he caught a glimpse of Riku due to his rather scary resemblance to Sephiroth. She knew there was no link between the two, she was still an Ancient after all, and Riku had been strictly unaltered human before his adoption by Maleficent. It was strange but things like that happened, it was a wild universe.
How would Riku manage that ability in a fight? Heartless were all instinct…did that mean emotion though? And thanks to Demyx and Axel they knew higher level Nobodies weren't necessarily emotionless either. That was why Merlin had declared they would not leave Radiant Garden until sure Riku could handle being in a fight.
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Yen Sid sat back as he sensed the arrival of three…two people…and a Nobody? The wards recognised the two, surprising him. Curious, he waited, the door finally opening to reveal first Aqua, then Ventus, and a stranger who was the Nobody. Why were they with one? "Welcome back Master Aqua, Ventus. It is good to have you both returned to us."
"Thank you Master Yen Sid," Aqua nodded to him. "This is Demyx," she introduced the blond who offered a wave.
"A Nobody."
"Aww…do you have to say it like that?" It…Demyx winced, shifting behind Ventus which didn't work due to the height difference.
"Demyx helped with intelligence against the Organisation," Ventus offered. "And he does have a Heart, it's just growing."
He what? Yen Sid focused on the young Nobody, making him shift nervously.
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Demyx really wanted to leave, the old wizard master guy was freaking him out. Why had he agreed to go with them? He liked not having missions anymore…but he owed Sora and Ax…Lea. It was weird to have someone stand up for him like Ventus was now, to be told he had a Heart even if it was only new and small for now. But he was part of their group now, people actually seemed to like him, didn't tell him to stop lazing around or stop playing his sitar. He didn't remember anything before the Organisation, had thought he belonged there, but he knew now that he hadn't. He'd only been tolerated for his skills, nothing more.
"Maybe I'm not a Somebody, but I want to help," he whispered.
"Indeed," the old wizard stared at him with those creepy eyes before looking back to the other two. "And what has brought you here, now?"
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"Merlin suggested that if the Sleeping Worlds need awakening, then you send the three of us," Aqua answered. "Sora and Riku are not ready for the Mark of Mastery, Riku doesn't even wield a true Keyblade yet. Merlin has training for them and Kairi who does have a Keyblade. I agree with his plans as does Mickey. I think a mission such as this will be a good refresher for the two of us and a good way to become a team with Demyx."
"Hmmm." He looked between them. "You believe Ventus ready for the exam?"
She blinked, glancing at the startled Ven. Was he? She wouldn't have said so a decade ago, but after the graveyard and his time in the time spells? Ventus waited calmly for her to answer and she was proud of how far he'd come since he'd woken. "More ready than Riku," she admitted.
Riku had the physical and even magical skill but not the mental state, not yet, he was still to weighed down by guilt and now he'd become hesitant, unsure of himself. If he could summon a Keyblade, despite being a Dark Faerie, his own self-doubt would keep it from manifesting.
"I see…Very well, if this is your wish."
"It is," she nodded, relaxing a little. "Master Yen Sid, why the urgency? The Organisation has been defeated. Do you believe Master Xehanort will return?" she was curious to see if he agreed with the others about him returning now that his Heartless and Nobody had been defeated, despite there being no sign of him yet.
"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 as you experienced. And mark my words - he will trouble us yet again. We must be ready."
He leant back, stroking his beard as he stared at them. "Seven Sleeping Keyholes must be found and unlocked, and a great power retrieved. As you know, every world is walled off from the next, preventing travel between them. In the past, you could bridge these gaps because the walls were broken, or because you could open special Lanes with your Keyblades. But your new goals, the "Sleeping Keyholes," are harder to reach. Sora was able to bring many worlds back from the darkness - but some never returned completely. They still sleep, cut off from all outside channels. Not even the Heartless can enter," he explained, waving his hand as an image formed. "But these Sleeping Worlds are said to have their own manner of Darkness."
The small image of a dog-like creature appeared on the wizard's desk and she could practically feel Ven wanting to pet it.
"They are called "Dream Eaters," and there are two kinds - "Nightmares," which devour happy dreams, and benevolent "Spirits," which consume the Nightmares," he continued his explanation as a lighter coloured version of the creature appeared beside it. It pawed the
air cutely and rolled over and Aqua found it cute, even Demyx looked interested.
"The Dream Eaters will guide you to the Keyhole you seek at the heart of each world. One dream is connected to another, which means we must choose in which "Sleeping World" you will begin. I will send you to the Destiny Islands just before they were swallowed by the Darkness and plunged into sleep. Once dreams take you, you must let them guide you to the Sleeping Worlds. As there are seven pure lights, there are seven "Sleeping Keyholes." Unlocking these will both grant you new powers, and free the worlds from their wakelessness. But be careful once on the Islands, you must not be seen or interact with anyone, especially Sora, Kairi, and Riku. To do so could have drastic consequences," he warned seriously.
Aqua nodded, no matter how much she might want to change Sora and Riku's fates…the risks were too high. She might spare them their humanity but doom them to something worse like Riku falling to Darkness and never returning or Sora becoming a Heartless and Nobody when he freed Kairi's Heart. She glanced at Ventus; glad he was maintaining a perfect illusion of being human. If Sora had never been turned then Ven would still be fully human…but would he be awake or still waiting for her to come for him?
"We understand."
"Yeah, don't want the kids to think they're going nuts when they meet us later or something," Demyx winced, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Especially how we met."
She hadn't heard how Sora and Demyx met and wondered how bad it could have been. Demyx didn't seem the sort to have been cruel or even overly violent, even if they had fought.
"Very well. And remember, in the Sleeping Worlds, real time does not flow. Unless one restores the world by waking it from its slumber, it will stay locked in a dream forever. Thus, you may encounter familiar faces...but they are just figments of the dream. In actuality, they are sound asleep, trapped within a World that is also sleeping. What's more, whilst someone may no longer dwell in the real version of a world, dreams may paint a fuller picture, and restore what seems to be missing."
"Ah man, that sounds way too complicated," Demyx grimaced.
"So we could meet people we met before all of this…would they remember us?" Ven asked, and it was a good question.
"Perhaps, if it is the true person asleep within the World and not the World adding them in," Yen Sid answered after a few moments. "Are you ready?" he asked, standing, and they nodded.
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Lea watched the two teens as they scurried about, making sure they had everything. They'd never had to pack for a mission before after all. Had either of them really owned anything before coming to live at Merlin's? Dai would remember from Riku but Naminé…what had she had beyond her drawings?
He was happy to accompany them to the Coliseum to meet that memory goddess. It was a far better mission than the ones he'd spent the last decade performing, even if he was going as a glorified bodyguard. He was getting the hang of summoning his Keyblade when he wanted it but they weren't expecting trouble, though Sora had warned them of Hades habit of butting in.
He thought back to his journal and the missions he'd written of during the time Riku slept to repair his memory, the missions he'd done with Xion. It seemed like he'd enjoyed himself a lot more with a partner he could trust so this trip should be good. he just wished…he could remember her. Naminé did but trying to make them remember could hurt Riku and no one wanted that.
"You two ready yet?" he teased.
"Almost!" Naminé called back.
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"It feels kind of empty here now," Riku murmured.
"We'll be heading out in the morning too," Sora reminded him, curling closer, claws gently tracing one wing, making Riku shiver. Kairi was having a 'girls night', whatever that meant, with Yuffie and Aerith, meaning it was just the two of them in their shared bedroom.
Sora was just glad that Riku was willing to release his shift in the bedroom, he wasn't comfortable with others seeing his true form, and Sora got that, but at least he didn't try to hide from them. He thought Riku was beautiful no matter what form he wore – human, faerie, or even Ansem's.
Riku arched his back as Sora stroked more firmly. "Sora," he whined softly.
Riku bared his throat and Sora accept the silent invitation, nuzzling the skin before scraping his fangs over it, hearing Riku gasp, feeling him tremble. He latched on, feeling Riku's pulse thundering…but he couldn't smell fear. He'd bitten Riku in the Realm of Darkness, Riku had nicked himself on his fangs… a hand was in his hair, holding his head there.
"Please," Riku begged, other hand moving to Sora's own wings.
Sora moaned against warm, to him at least, skin and before he could think about it his fangs sank in, rich liquid filling his mouth. He gulped greedily at it, it tasted better than any other blood and it was hard to make himself stop, but he managed, lapping at the wound to help it heal. Other sensations trickled back in and he realised they were rocking against each other, Riku gasping and panting, his hands pressing along Sora's spine between his wings just right. It felt so good…
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Riku forced his eyes open, seeing Sora staring down at him, a trail of blood dripping from one corner of his mouth and Riku found himself leaning up to lick it away. Sora groaned and then they were kissing, hands under clothing, pushing and pulling at it. All worries about the morning gone.
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Kairi opened the bedroom door quietly, but not quietly enough with Sora's hearing, his head lifting from where he'd been lying on Riku's chest. The sheet was over the waists but it was very obvious what they'd been doing last night. She'd missed out but…she'd had fun, just a very different kind. She walked over to the bed and kissed him good morning, getting a bright smile. She saw the mild bruise on Riku's throat, the faint marks, and her eyes widened.
Sora shrugged slightly, looking bashful, and she smiled. It didn't bother her but…Sora could only drink human blood, so how could he take Riku's now? Before she could say anything, Riku began to stir, likely sensing her presence. Green/gold eyes opened, blinking slowly before he smiled sleepily and she sat on the bed to kiss him good morning too.
"So you had a good night without me?" she mock pouted, and Sora laughed even as Riku blushed, something that looked interesting with his new skin tone.
"Kairi!" he groaned, covering his face with a pillow, as Sora rolled on his back, laughing.
It was good to see them relaxed considering they would be leaving today. Riku had been out into Radiant Garden twice and it had gone okay, with their support he'd managed. She hoped wherever they ended up, it wasn't one of the larger Worlds, the more people the more trouble Riku would have. He'd gotten used to the crowd in the house before they began dispersing so she hoped wherever they went would help him keep adjusting rather than overwhelming him. She thought it had helped him to have Sora admit that large crowds fed his hunger, the scent of so much blood even hidden behind skin getting to him.
"Did you at least finish packing before getting distracted?" she asked, and now Sora was groaning while Riku chuckled. That answered that.
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Dai sat guard, able to see the amused glances the various gods threw his way. He didn't care how safe Olympus supposedly was, he had Riku's memories of Hades after all and he didn't trust that creep not to show up and try to kidnap Naminé. Lea obviously wasn't as worried since he was more relaxed, but even he was keeping an eye on things.
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Merlin smiled as the three appeared downstairs, dressed in their special clothing, and packed for their journey. Everyone had gathered to see them off, just like with the other two trios, he knew Maleficent had even summoned the boys to give her own advice to stay safe, though Riku had been torn over that while Sora just accepted it as her way of caring.
Not even he knew where they would end up, he had set the spell and the parameters, but after that it would be random. They would go to worlds with vampires and other immortal beings for Sora and Riku's sake but there would be other worlds too. They deserved the chance to relax after all they'd been through after all.
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Ven looked around, recognising where they were, the Destiny Islands. He had vague, dreamlike memories he knew came from Sora but he'd been there, it was where he'd remembered, told Vanitas he wouldn't fight him.
"Ven?" Aqua called, and he smiled at her.
"Well, we're here. Do we just…wait?" he asked.
"Do we even know when it's meant to happen?" Demyx asked, brushing sand out of his hair, shifting towards the water, made sense since it was the element he controlled.
"Night…there was a storm…" Ven struggled to bring up the memory, the first time he'd truly stirred within Sora's Heart because of his terror. He shivered but Aqua was there, drawing him out of the memories, an arm around his shoulders. He turned into her, burying his nose against her throat, inhaling her scent. He loved his enhanced senses, wished he had them fully like Sire, he could tell so much about people, could track them so easily via scent.
"Uh…I didn't think to ask before but…what're you doing about food while we're doing this?" Demyx asked, and Ven looked up to find he was watching them. Ventus could smell the slight nervousness but he didn't think Demyx was worried he'd try to drink from him. Could he drink from a Nobody?
"I've got blood packs," he promised. "And scissors to open them." There had to be some way to get fangs, they'd make things so much easier. And then he tensed, scenting the air. "We need to hide," he told them, grabbing Aqua's hand, pulling her along.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I smell Kairi and…maybe Sora and Riku? They smell different," he answered as they moved to hide.
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Aqua watched the three children as they ran across the sand. Older than the first time she'd met them, but Riku looked like how she remembered from her brief glimpse in the Realm of Darkness. It was strange to see Sora as a human, something she hadn't seen since the first time they met on the beach so many years ago. Watching him, so carefree and happy…it hurt to not be able to spare him what was to come but sparing him could condemn so many others. Could Sora have survived all he had if he was still human?
She glanced over to see Ventus watching Sora with wide eyes, had he ever seen Sora before waking?
"He looks so different," Ven whispered, answering that question.
"Yeah," Demyx agreed, "though he doesn't look very different to how he looks with the illusion."
It wasn't long before the three teens left for home, letting them relax without the risk of being seen. But not long after the sun began to set they noticed one boat return, Riku walking towards the small waterfall, seeming dazed. Aqua wanted to call out and warn him away but…would he even hear her? He didn't seem to be really aware of what he was doing. He vanished and soon after she felt the Darkness amassing, strange clouds gathering overhead.
"This is it," she looked at them, seeing their nerves and she didn't blame them. Not like they'd ever been to the Sleeping Worlds before.
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Yen Sid closed his eyes, it had begun. He didn't like sending the Nobody with them but for some reason they wanted it to go. Aqua did not appear too weakened by her time in that Realm and Ventus appeared to be doing well despite the decade of slumber. But there had been something…different about the boy, he just wasn't sure what yet. Then again, while his body had been in stasis, his Heart had been within Sora's so perhaps they had affected each other.
If either or both of them could attain the Power of Waking, that would be good. But was Ventus ready to become a Master? He had felt Sora, Riku, and Kairi vanish not long ago, sent by Merlin somewhere. He did not like not knowing what was happening with the current Keyblade wielders but everyone seemed unwilling to speak of the teens with him which made him very suspicious.
TBC…
I'm really torn on which world to have Sora and co end up at first. Should they get a relaxing one first? Or a vampire one? Something else?
