Whoa! A pretty timely update for a change? Nice! Anyway, this is just another interval chapter between worlds (its a structure ya'll should mostly get used to in Keys, two chapters per Disney world then a plotty interval, though there's some instances in which we'll break from that for sure). And this one's ok. Includes a lot of interactions I really enjoyed writing, plus some really interesting build up at the end, so that's fun. But for now, enjoy!


Chapter 13: Chasing the Shadows

I want you for a lifetime
So if you're gonna think twice, baby
I don't wanna know, baby, I don't wanna know

"Oh! Hi, Riku! I… guess you missed me? Probably 'cause you and the king are super busy trying to help Master Aqua, which—I know, I know, is really important and I shouldn't be distracting you from it, but… B-but I wanted to check in and see how you're doing, s-so… so yeah. Call me back whenever you can, ok? I… I'll talk to you later. B-bye!"

Normally, Riku would have welcomed just about any unexpected message from Sora with a warm smile. Given all the time they're forced to spend apart, be it because of disaster or duty or anything else really, even just getting a casual moment of conversation is something Riku looks forward to immensely anymore. And yet, he can't help but frown as he watches this message play out on his Gummiphone's screen. It had started off normal enough, with Sora as upbeat and lively as he always is, if not a bit distracted. But as the message went on, the more Riku noticed the usual tells as to when something's off with Sora, tells he's known and recognized ever since their friendship was formed before either of them could remember. Sora's cheery tone started to slip, his train of thought disconnecting as he continually glanced away out of worry, anxiety, or something else entirely. And considering just how quickly and abruptly he'd brought his message to a close without really saying much at all within it, Riku can't help but wonder if there's much more to it than just a simple hello.

"Whatcha watchin', Riku?" Mickey asks as he trails alongside him, noticing his tight focus on his phone.

"Oh, it's just a message Sora left for me. I must have missed a call from him earlier," Riku explains, handing the Gummiphone over to the king so he can see. "Say, Mickey… you don't notice anything… off about that message, do you?"

Mickey frowns as he watches the quick message before shaking his head and returning the Gummiphone to Riku. "Well, gosh, I can't say that I do. To me, it just seems like Sora just wanted to see how things are going on our end. Why don't ya give him a call back when we're done?"

"Yeah," Riku nods, putting his phone away. He should have figured that Mickey wouldn't have been able to catch onto those little tells that he had so easily seen. The hesitant pauses, the faltering smiles, even the slightest shift in his voice all offer themselves as hints to Riku, hints that something might be wrong with his best friend, even if Sora didn't outright admit that himself. Which is why Riku knows it's up to him to figure out what that something is, one way or another. "I really should…"

"Well, we shouldn't take very long here, so you'll have a good chance once we leave," Mickey notes with a small grin, leading the rest of the way through the bustling streets. "Though I'm sure Kairi wouldn't mind getting a chance to talk to Sora too."

Riku smirks, his worry lifting slightly at the thought of seeing his other closest friend so soon. "I know for a fact she wouldn't."

Acting on Yen Sid's first instructions for them, Riku and Mickey voyaged out to Radiant Garden, the special sets of clothing they're meant to deliver to Kairi and Lea in hand. It's more of a side-step in their overall mission to find and save Aqua, but they still have hopes that this trip will offer them some assistance on that matter as well. After all, according to the king, Radiant Garden is the last place Aqua had been seen within the realm of light before her disappearance into the Realm of Darkness over a decade ago. If there's any place to begin their search for the missing master anew, it would be here.

They'd begun that search by paying a visit to Ansem the Wise's remaining apprentices. While Ienzo, Dilan, and Aeleus hadn't been able to tell them much about Aqua, they were able to fill in some of the details about what had been happening in the city around that time. Mickey and Riku both made sure to take careful mental notes of everything the apprentices had told them, knowing that any minor detail could very well end up being the key that could somehow lead them to Aqua after all.

Upon leaving the lab, the pair had opted to take care of the simpler task first by venturing over to Merlin's house to take care of their other errand here. They aren't entirely sure if Yen Sid had forwarded the message of their arrival to the wizard, which is why Mickey made the move to knock on the front door. However, just before he does, that door disappears off its hinges entirely, much to the duo's shared alarm.

"Ah, your majesty! And young Riku as well!" Merlin's voice sounds out from within the house. "Do come in. I'm just in the middle of working on a certain… project."

Intrigued, the pair exchange a glance before heading inside, only to find the wizard hard at work on what appears to be a spell in the front room's central table. "Master Merlin!" Mickey greets with a cordial nod and grin. "It's great to see ya again!"

"Same to you, Your Highness," Merlin returns, glancing up from his work to offer the king the same show of respect. "Terribly sorry about not coming to the door to let you boys in myself, but as you can see, you caught me at a bit of a bad time."

"If you don't mind me asking," Riku speaks up, curiously looking at the bizarre ball of what seems to be darkness the wizard's putting together. "What exactly are you working on, master?"

"Oh, just a special curriculum exam for my two star pupils," Merlin quips proudly. "Or rather, my only two pupils. Either way, I imagine this will be more than enough to test their mettle, don't you boys agree?" The wizard briefly lifts his hands away from the spell of darkness to reveal the small, steadily forming creature inside of it, one that both Riku and Mickey quickly recognize.

"Is that…?"

"A Darkside, yes," Merlin nods, finishing Riku's question. "It should prove to be a more than suitable target for Lea and Kairi to demonstrate that they're ready to move onto the next part of their training. Large and intimidating, but not too dangerous of an opponent for them to match wits against so long as they're working together."

"You're not… pitting them against anything they can't handle, are you?" Riku asks with a frown. He suddenly finds himself slightly concerned about Kairi's wellbeing as he looks over the monster Merlin intends her to eventually fight, wondering how she might fare against it given her relative lack of experience in a fight. Then again, it has been quite awhile since he's seen her in a fray; for all he knows, her training could be working wonders for her skills. Which of course, makes him all the more eager for her to finally be able to properly join him and Sora someday, so that the three of them can finally be together both in the battlefield and beyond it.

"Oh, goodness, no, of course I'm not!" Merlin huffs in faux offense. "My boy, the two of them came here to be taught and that's exactly what I'm doing: teaching them, not torturing them. And if you don't believe me, why don't you ask them yourself?"

With a succinct snap of his fingers, the wizard instantly teleports both of his pupils into the room, though clearly, he does so without any sort of warning. Lea and Kairi have their backs turned to the group from the moment they arrive, Keyblades in hand and their defensive battle stances steady. That is, until they happen to notice their very sudden change of scenery.

"Wha—hey!" Lea exclaims, aptly baffled. "How'd we end up back here?"

"What happened to all those Heartless?" Kairi asks, just as confused as she glances back at the wizard behind them. "Merlin, did we do something wro-" She cuts herself off with a sharp gasp as she notices their teacher isn't the only one present in the room. "Riku!" she exclaims with a delighted smile, not hesitating to catch her longtime friend in a warm embrace.

"Good to see you too, Kairi," Riku chuckles, easily returning her hug.

"Well, any break in the routine Heartless-grinding is fine by me," Lea remarks, offering Riku and Mickey a small greeting smirk. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Now, now, Lea," Merlin chastises. "Don't think that this visit is a chance for you to shirk your responsibilities. I'm sending you and Kairi right back into your lesson the moment Riku and His Majesty leave."

"Tch, ya just couldn't let us have so much as a little break, could you?" Lea asks, exasperated.

"We just had a break a few hours ago!" Kairi points out with a wry, teasing smile. "Admit it, you're just being lazy."

"Who, me?" Lea asks just as playfully. "Never. I just think that all work and no play is bound to make a guy a pretty dull Keyblade wielder. You two have been doing this way longer than we have-" He addresses Riku and Mickey. "So you can vouch for that, right?"

"Hm… I don't know about that…" Mickey shakes his head dubiously.

"Yeah, I can't say I feel the same," Riku says, raising a critical eyebrow. "But don't worry; I know someone who'd probably agree with you."

"Let me guess…" Kairi's grin deepens as both her and Riku knowingly say the exact same name.

"Sora."

Of course, this immediately elicits a bright, shared laugh from the pair, both of them knowing how occasionally flighty Sora can be all too well. Even if it is a quality about him both of them still find endearing all the same.

"Well, as great as it is to catch up," Mickey says after the bout of levity fades. "I'm afraid we can't stay for too long."

"That's right," Riku agrees. "We have to keep looking for clues that'll help us find Aqua. In fact, we only really stopped by to drop these off."

At this, Riku and Mickey present the suitcases Yen Sid had tasked them with delivering, much to Kairi's curiosity and Lea's relative apathy. "Oh, wow, suitcases," Lea deadpans. "Would've been great to have one of these when I was packing my bags to come stay here, but eh, guess it's the thought that counts."

"Wait," Kairi interjects, knowing more accurately what these suitcases likely contain as she takes hers. "Are these… new clothes? Like yours?"

"Yeah," Riku says with a small grin. "And like Sora's too, I guess."

"Oh? So Sora really does have a new outfit..." Kairi mutters, more to herself than anyone else. It's a confirmation of something she'd heard a few days prior, and even now she finds herself quite intrigued to see exactly what said outfit looks like, perhaps even more than her own.

"New clothes, eh?" Lea casually lifts his suitcase up and down. "What's the occasion? Is it a 'Welcome to the Keyblade Club' gift or something?"

"That's... sorta right, actually!" Mickey points out. "Master Yen Sid said these special clothes are supposed to protect us all from the darkness, which is gonna be a big help against Xehanort and the Organization."

"Ah, then these special garments must be the work of Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather," Merlin notes, briefly looking over Riku and Mickey's new outfits. "I knew the magic woven into them seemed familiar. In that case, you're all in good hands when it comes to those clothes, I can guarantee."

"Well, that's good to know, but…" Kairi trails off with a small frown as she looks to Riku and the king. "I'm not really sure if it was worth so much effort in the first place. After all, it's not like we're going to be going up against Xehanort himself like the two of you and Sora are."

"Whoever said you weren't?" Riku asks, confused. "Isn't that why you're both here? So you can train to help out in the fight against the Organization?"

"Well, yeah…" Kairi shrugs, still uncertain. "But… I thought that was it. We were just going to help. I mean, let's be serious here, Riku," she laughed a bit bitterly. "It's not like I ever really get to do anything as important as you and Sora do."

Riku pauses, genuinely taken aback by such a remark. He's nearly surprised to find that Kairi feels this way, but when he takes a moment to think about it, he knows he shouldn't be. Not when he knows all too well what it's like to feel too powerless to prevail compared to everyone else around him too. It's a feeling he's been acquainted with before, one that it took ages for him to finally learn to rise above. And it's a feeling he can only hope Kairi can eventually come to overcome too, to the point that he's more than glad to give her a bit of a boost to help her get there. "Well, you do now," he says after a moment of thought, his tone both serious and reassuring. "You're one of the seven lights now, Kairi. So are you, Lea, so is Mickey, so is Sora, and so am I. It's going to take each of us working together to put a stop to Xehanort's plans, to save the worlds from whatever the Organization has up their sleeves once and for all. And if that's not something important, then I don't know what is."

While both Kairi and Lea are amazed by such a short, yet inspiring speech, Mickey simply smiles and nods his earnest approval over it. Because really, hearing something like this from Riku is more than a telling testament of how far he's come since their journeys together began. After all, he knows well there had been a time not too long ago when Riku had been the one to need such encouraging advice to get him through his struggles against the darkness. But now, he's the one giving that advice to others with confidence and clarity, and the king can't help but be more than proud of his young companion for that. "Well said, Riku," he concurs warmly. "And that's why we gotta get the rest of our lost lights back too, like Aqua!"

"Speaking of which, we should probably get back to looking around town for any clues we can find about her," Riku reminds the king.

"Are you sure you can't stay just a little longer?" Kairi asks, glad to have any rare moment she can get with either Riku or Sora lately.

"Yeah, are ya sure?" Lea asks, dropping his voice a bit. "You heard the old coot; the minute you two leave, he's gonna toss us right back into a whole mess of Heartless."

"I heard that!" Merlin snaps with an impatient scowl. "Just for that little crack, I'm assigning you to one extra hour of early morning training, my boy. Maybe that will finally teach you some much-needed manners."

"Wha—Aw, come on!" Lea groans, ignoring Kairi's amused chuckle. "I swear, if somebody told me I'd never get to sleep in again, I would've seriously thought twice about this whole Keyblade wielder thing."

A bout of good-natured laughter arises amongst the rest of the group at this, and despite his initial dour attitude, Lea himself eventually joins in on it. Even so as it comes to a close, Riku and Mickey prepare to take their leave, though not before offering the others an encouraging farewell on their way out.

"Good luck with your training!" Mickey bids Lea and Kairi a bright wave. "And just think, pretty soon, you two will be right out there, fighting alongside the rest of us!"

"That is, if you don't overwork yourselves first," Riku reminds with a small grin.

"Hey, tell the old man that, not us," Lea says, crossing his arms.

"And don't overwork yourselves either," Kairi retorts knowingly. "That means you, Riku."

"No promises," Riku replies, though his tone is still light all the same. "After all, like I said, we all have very important work to do."

"Right," Kairi nods. Even so, she still follows him as he begins to trail out of the house after Mickey, intent on asking him one final question before he goes. "Um, hey, Riku?" she begins, working on the moment of privacy the others allow them as she lingers in the doorframe. "Speaking of which, do you have any idea what Sora's up to now? Or how he's doing?"

"Well, he's out with Donald and Goofy, searching the worlds for the thirteen Keys to Kingdom Hearts so we can get them before Xehanort does," Riku explains. "As for how he's doing…" Now it's his turn to avert Kairi's questioning gaze as he briefly considers showing her the message Sora had left for him, though he very quickly decides against it. After all, for all he knows, he could very well be worrying over nothing; there's no need to cause Kairi such worry too, especially when she should be focusing on her training instead. "He's fine," he says, ignoring the strange burst of guilt that fills him as he does. "Same old Sora as always."

Warmed by this assurance, Kairi lets out another small, bright laugh. "That's good to hear. Maybe one day soon, the three of us will finally get a chance to all be together in the same place at the same time for a change."

"I'll be looking forward to that," Riku's former grin returns. "In fact, I have a feeling it'll happen before you know it."

"So do I," Kairi soundly agrees. Just before he can fully step out however, she catches him off guard with another sudden embrace, paying no mind to the several sets of eyes still within their range. "I hope you know how much I miss you and Sora both," she drops her voice down to a sincere whisper. "We'll have a lot of lost time to make up for once all this is over."

For a moment, Riku finds himself largely mystified by a thought. The peaceful days they used to spend together on the Destiny Islands seem so distant now, like something that only exists as a mere memory in his mind. But what Kairi is implying, the notion that the three of them can someday reclaim what this ongoing conflict has stolen from them, that they can know such blissful, simple days again… it almost sounds too good to be true. Which of course, only makes him yearn for such a day, and strive to make it a reality, no matter how far off and wishful it might seem. "Yeah," he finally returns her hug, wishing he had more time to maintain it. "But once we're all back home, we'll have plenty of time to do it."

"I can't wait," Kairi warmly returns once they part. They offer each other another fond wave as Riku finally leaves to follow Mickey. But even as they say farewell, they're both already looking forward to the next time they'll meet, even if there's no telling when that meeting may be.

After departing from Merlin's house, Riku and Mickey take a moment to regroup. With the easiest part of their mission in Radiant Garden now complete, they find themselves faced with a much more open-ended task instead: looking for clues on Aqua's disappearance. "Alright," the king begins, more than resolved to finally bring his longtime friend back to the realm of light once more. "So Master Yen Sid said we should follow Aqua's journey to see if we can find any clues about where she might be now. So what better place to start than where she fell into the Realm of Darkness in the first place?"

"So that really happened here?" Riku asks, glancing around the now shining city. A place that seems like it couldn't be connected to the Realm of Darkness in the slightest. "Do you know where exactly? And how?"

"Where, yes," Mickey nods as he leads the way. "As for how… I only know some of what happened that day. Aqua didn't really have much of a chance to explain everything when I saw her a while back."

"Right…" Riku muses before a sudden idea strikes him. "Wait. What if we try to get into the Realm of Darkness from the same place Aqua fell into it from? Maybe that might be able to lead us to where she is down there now."

"Hm… I like the idea, but I doubt it would work…" Mickey frowns as they round the next corner. "Especially since this is the place."

Riku immediately understands the king's doubts upon taking in the serene courtyard ahead of them. Much like all of Radiant Garden's restored infrastructure, it's a lovely sight, lined with fresh-cut cobblestone and flanked by blooming flower beds on all sides. By all accounts, it hardly seems like the sort of place where any sort of gateway into the deepest darkness could be opened at all, much less now, given just how bright and peaceful it seems to be.

"So… she fell in here?" Riku asks, thoughtfully skimming over the area. "After diving into the darkness to save Terra, right?"

"Yeah, she said he was acting strange," Mickey recalls.

"Strange… how exactly?"

"She sensed darkness in him," the king says worriedly. "And they ended up getting into a big fight."

"And in the aftermath, the two of them disappeared," Riku surmises, trying to put all of the scattered pieces of this puzzle together. He thinks back on what they'd heard from Ienzo and the others earlier, as he tries to put together a timeline of what might have transpired. "So around the same time, the guards found a stranger with white hair lying unconscious here in the square—a man who called himself 'Xehanort'."

"That's right," Mickey nods. "Ansem the Wise took the stranger in, but that was a mistake. 'Xehanort' betrayed his master, stole his research, and along with his fellow apprentices, separated his heart from his body." From there, the rest of the twisted tale is quite well known to both members of the pair, but even so, the king relays it anyway. "Xehanort's heart took his master's name, Ansem, and traveled to the past to give his younger self instructions. He even briefly had control of you."

"Don't remind me…" Riku mutters bitterly. After all, even if he's worked so hard to move past his foolish fall into darkness, he still can't help but bear some of the lingering shame of it all the same.

"Oh, uh… sorry," Mickey apologizes, knowing it's something of a sore subject for his young companion. Which is why he hurries to play it off by continuing the story. "Anyway, Xehanort's empty body stayed in the present, took the name Xemnas, and founded Organization XIII. Their goal was to prepare thirteen vessels for Xehanort's heart, that is, until we put an end to the Organization."

"But all the while," Riku picks up where the king leaves off. "Young Xehanort had been visiting the future to choose thirteen vessels of his own—hearts with strong enough ties to him to begin a new Organization, the real Organization XIII. They almost made Sora their thirteenth, but we saved him just in time. But I still can't help but wonder why Xehanort wanted him as a vessel to begin with…"

"It's hard to know for sure," Mickey shrugs. "For all we know, he might have just wanted to take someone from our side to use against us. And he knew that none of us would want to fight Sora, even if he had been forced to work for the Organization."

"No, we wouldn't…" Riku muses softly. The mere thought of fighting sets an uneasy pit in his stomach, largely since he'd done that very thing before. When he'd been on the wrong side of the conflict, the one who'd willingly and readily attacked his best friend out of petty jealousy and malice. But if things were the other way around, if Sora had been the one driven into darkness, forced to stand against him in some sort of brutal battle… Riku's not so sure he'd even be able to face him at all.

"But on the bright side," Mickey perks up, hoping to help Riku do the same. "At least it looks like the Organization isn't targeting Sora anymore now that we put a stop to their plans."

"Thankfully," Riku sighs, relieved by that fact alone if nothing else. Even if he still doesn't like just how close they'd been, how closed he'd been to losing Sora, quite possibly forever. "But even if we did stop them before, they're still looking to pick a fight with us now. Yet none of that explains what happened to Terra. I thought you said Aqua saved him."

The king's expression hardens at this, as he takes the time to reach a realization that he hadn't really accounted for until now. A realization that, by most accounts, helps the mostly full picture they have finally fully come together. Even if the final piece to make it complete is a largely bitter truth that Mickey wishes wasn't a truth at all. "She did. The problem is, we didn't notice," he reveals, shaking his head. "You remember the end of the Mark of Mastery exam, when Master Xehanort made his grand return? That's the Xehanort I remember. He was already a pretty old man then. But how do you explain Ansem and Xemnas, his Heartless and Nobody? Isn't it strange how young they look? Why aren't they old men? If they're both connected to him, they should look like him, don't you think?"

"Hm… you have a point," Riku notes, though he does bring up an interesting argument against the king's logic. "But I feel like that might not always have to be true. I mean, Roxas is Sora's Nobody, but they don't look anything like each other. Same for Naminé and Kairi."

"That's because Roxas and Naminé are special cases, and so are Xemnas and Ansem," Mickey justifies knowingly. "Xehanort was using a different body when the split that made Ansem and Xemnas were made. I saw the 'Xehanort' Ansem the Wise had taken in once. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite figure out how. But looking back now, I know for sure; he wasn't just some stranger Ansem had taken under his wing. It was the young man whose body Master Xehanort possessed! The very same body the guards found lying right here in this spot twelve years ago, right after Aqua disappeared and after Terra seemed to as well."

Riku jolts, absolutely shocked by the implications of what Mickey just revealed. His eyes are wide as he stares at the center of the courtyard, where, over a decade ago Xehanort had once masqueraded in a body that didn't belong to him in the slightest. The very same body of one of the lost Keyblade wielders they still need to find. "No way…" Riku shakes his head incredulously. "That… that was Terra?! Master Xehanort was using Terra this whole time?"

Mickey nods, his expression still grave over the dreadful thought. "Master Xehanort did tell us 'another on our list' belonged to him. Looks like he was talking about Terra. Turns out, Aqua saved more than just her friend that day. She saved Xehanort too, even if she didn't mean to."

"Ok, but… Master Xehanort is an old man again now," Riku counters, still baffled by how it's all coming together. "Where did Terra's body go?"

"Hm… I'm not—wait!" the king stops, another realization hitting him. "Master Xehanort's collecting vessels now! He claimed to have two of our seven lights; we got Sora back, but Terra must still be on Xehanort's side, unable to break free or fight back!"

"And until he can, he's with Organization XIII…" Riku finishes glumly. He can't claim to have ever met Terra, at least as far as he can remember, but from what little he knows about the lost wielder, he knows that such a brave and noble warrior hardly deserves such a sinister fate. A fate that Riku feels like he can relate to all too well, even if he hadn't been languishing in it anywhere near as long as Terra has. "Well, at the very least,," he continues with a small sigh. "Now we know we should be on the lookout for him too. We should let Sora know."

"Gosh, looks like we'll have a perfect chance to right now!" Mickey exclaims, catching onto the sound of Riku's Gummiphone ringing first. He fishes the phone out of his pocket, and sure enough, he's met with a call from Sora, who, not too surprisingly, is already wrapped up in some sort of argument with his companions.

"-don't need to tell him about it!" The first part of whatever Sora's saying is unclear, but sure enough, Riku can tell he's quite frustrated just by his tone alone. Though over what, he has no idea. "Like I keep telling you guys, it's gone now, which means we don't need to keep worrying about it!"

"Well, if it really is gone," Donald counters just as impatiently. "Then why won't you prove it by showing us?"

"Show what?" Riku finally interjects before Sora can fire back another heated retort.

"R-Riku!" Sora gasps, startled as he looks back to his own screen. "Uh… n-nothing! It's nothing! Just a-"

"Just a really big scar Young Xehanort tore up right across Sora's chest," Goofy informs succinctly and knowingly.

"Hey!" Sora exclaims, flustered as he pulls his jacket tighter around himself. Just in case.

"What?!" Riku starts, exchanging an immensely concerned glance with Mickey. "Sora, what happened? Are you alright? What did he-"

"Whoa, hey, relax! I'm fine!" Sora quickly assures, even if there's the slightest hint of some unknown sort of panic in his eyes. Panic that Riku feels himself sharing some piece of, however small, when he tries to imagine the brutal blow that might have caused such a supposed scar. "It was just a little… battle damage, is all," Sora rebuffs, throwing on a casual smile. "Nothing too serious, didn't even hurt! And the best part is, it's completely gone now, like it was never there in the first place!"

"Which I'm not buying!" Donald huffs, exasperated. "Wounds like that don't just heal all by themselves!"

"Well this one did," Sora argues between gritted teeth. "So we don't have to keep harping on about it anymore. Sorry to waste your time, you guys," he says to Riku and Mickey. "I kept trying to tell them that you two are way too busy for dumb stuff like this-"

"But since he won't listen to us-" Donald interrupts, shooting Sora an annoyed glare.

"We figured he'd listen to the two of you for sure!" Goofy chuckles, a bit amused by his companions' usual bickering.

"Well, actually, we're glad you called," Mickey says with a grin. "We were just about to call you fellas, but it looks like you beat us to the punch. But first, how's the search for the thirteen Keys going?"

Sora finally cracks a proud grin at this, holding a hand forward to summon the Key they'd just claimed from the world they recently departed. "Oh, I dunno, I'd say it's going pretty good so far."

"You actually got one?" Riku asks, genuinely amazed.

"What do you mean, 'actually'?" Sora raises an eyebrow as he lets the Key disappear. "What, did you think we wouldn't be able to find any?"

"W-well, no," Riku smirks wryly. "I just thought it'd take a little longer for you three to get on the right track. I have to admit, I'm impressed you managed to track one down so quickly."

"Hey!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy alike exclaim in faux offense.

"Aw, don't take it too seriously, fellas," Mickey laughs brightly. "Think of it this way: if you already found the first one, then collecting the rest should be a breeze from here on out."

"That's what we're hoping for," Sora sighs, a bit disgruntled. "But things would be a lot easier if the Organization would just leave us alone already. Not to mention Maleficent and Pete." He pauses for a beat, seemingly realizing something before addressing his companions with an entirely new concern. "Say, you don't think they're going after the Keys too, do you?"

"No, they definitely said a 'black box'," Goofy points out.

"Maleficent going after a black box?" Riku asks, instantly suspicious. "What's that all about?"

"Good question! We… have no idea," Sora shrugs. "But we haven't seen them since Olympus so maybe it's nothing worth worrying about. I mean, it's not like those two have been much of a threat lately anyway."

"Hm. Well, you should still keep a careful eye out for them all the same," Riku warns, knowing from experience just how crafty Maleficent can be. "Same goes for the Organization."

"As a matter of fact," Mickey adds. "There's something you guys should know about one of their members. Now, this might be pretty hard to believe, but one of Xehanort's vessels is actually…"

"Terra," Riku finishes as the king hesitantly trails off.

"What?!" the trio on end of the line gasps, mutually dumbfounded by such a horrific claim.

"What do you mean Terra's on their side?" Sora asks, shaking his head in disbelief. "How's that even possible?"

"It's a… really long story," Riku sighs. "The short version of it is that Xehanort took over Terra's heart and body and has been using him to do his bidding ever since."

Sora's incredulous expression seems to wither into something Riku finds to be rather unreadable, his eyes wide as he draws a hand close to his heart. "H-he… he took over his…" he trails off, shaking his head as if to clear it before speaking up, his tone intensely earnest. "W-well, there's gotta be some way to set him free, right?"

"We're… not sure…" Mickey admits. "I think the best place to start is to find him first, then go from there. In fact, the same goes for our search for Aqua too, Riku."

Riku nods, though really, he's only half listening to the king as he instead keeps his focus on Sora. Even over the phone, he can notice the briefest hints of anxiety and what almost seems to be dread sparking up in his expression. His gaze is focused downward, his brows furrowed in worry, his mouth drawn into a tight, thin line, almost as if to keep any sort of unwanted words from falling out of it. Something's wrong here, Riku can sense that much; but as for the full extent of that something, he knows that's a discussion he needs to have with Sora on his own. "Yeah," Riku distantly replies to Mickey before looking back to his friend on the other line. "Um… Hey, Sora? Do you mind if I have a quick word with you? Alone?"

Mickey is quick to nod his agreement to this general request, as are both Donald and Goofy, even but Sora himself is clearly caught off guard by it. "Oh, uh, yeah, of course," he complies a beat or two later, getting up from his seat to head below the Gummi Ship's deck. "So… what's up?" he asks as soon as he's out of his companion's earshot.

Riku hesitates after he steps away from the king to get a bit of privacy himself. In theory, what he wants to ask about is hardly anything too difficult, though given what he'd just heard about a supposed scar, inflicted upon Sora by none other than Young Xehanort himself, he can't help but have more than a few misgivings. "I need you to be honest with me, Sora," Riku begins, his tone and expression both serious. "What really happened with that scar Young Xehanort gave you?"

Sora flinches, something that Riku notices just as much as he did all of the similar apprehensive signs Sora had shown in his message earlier. "Aw, c'mon, I already told you, Riku," he says with something of a forced laugh. "It was nothing. All that happened was that Donald's magic made us look different in the last world we went to—happens all the time—and I got a little beaten up while we were there-again, I'm used to it by now-and when we left and went back to normal, the scar was gone. Still is, see?" To prove his point, he pulls down the collar of his shirt just a little, clearly not enough to show very much of his chest at all. Yet what it does show reveals no apparent damage, and for the most part, that's enough to placate Riku. Mostly.

"Hm… all right," he closes his eyes thoughtfully. "In that case, I'm glad to see you're not hurt. But remember what we talked about; if you ever feel like something isn't right with you, then-"

"Then you need to be the first to know, I know," Sora practically groans, rolling his eyes. "I swear, you're almost as bad as Donald and Goofy when it comes to worrying way too much about me."

"I mean, can you really blame me?" Riku finally cracks a small smile. "With as reckless as you can be, it's not like you make it very easy to not worry about you."

Though he expects Sora to share his bout of humor in this remark, he oddly doesn't. Instead he looks away with a begrudging scowl, his cheeks filling in with a bright burst of embarrassed red. "You don't have to babysit me, you know," he mutters crossly. "None of you guys do. I can take care of myself just fine. You really think I would have lasted this long if I couldn't?"

"You know that's not what I meant, Sora," Riku shakes his head, surprised at the relative bitterness in his friend's tone. Bitterness that's so rarely ever there in the first place. "I was just trying to-"

"Yeah, I know what you were 'trying' to do," Sora interrupts, clearly annoyed. "But maybe instead of doing that, why don't you get back to all of your super important 'Keyblade Master business' of yours so I can get back to keeping an eye on myself so you won't have to, ok?"

"Sora, wait, I just-" Riku doesn't get a chance to finish as Sora abruptly ends the conversation, hanging up his end of the line without so much as even offering any sort of goodbye. Riku lets out a disappointed sigh as his Gummiphone's screen goes black, his old worries still persisting, only this time, he finds they're coupled with a tinge of guilt as well.

In many ways, Sora's apparent frustration with being coddled and underestimated on so many different accounts makes sense. After all, Riku knows, likely better than anyone else, just how much Sora doesn't like to be held back or restrained. But at the same time, Riku knows he hadn't been trying to do that in the slightest; he'd been casually teasing, making jokes that, by all accounts, had seemingly been lost on Sora entirely when he usually would have taken them in strive, even laughed right along with him. But now, he'd only seemed flustered and annoyed by both them, and by the apparent concern Donald and Goofy had been showing toward his scar. Concern that Riku doesn't find entirely unwarranted given the very close call Sora had just faced against Xehanort and the Organization.

As he thinks about that unsettlingly close call, Riku realizes that perhaps in many ways, they're all still on edge from such a harrowing near-disaster. And yet, their unanimous lingering worries clearly aren't something Sora himself shares, which very likely explains why he's feeling so stifled by them in the first place. It all makes sense, Riku knows that just as well as he knows how frustrated Sora can get under that kind of suppressive scrutiny. And maybe he had been a bit tactless with his usual good-natured teasing, maybe he should make the effort to be more careful with touching his best friend's nerves moving forward. Maybe it's all just a mere coincidence, maybe he'd just managed to catch Sora on a bad day, at a bad time. Maybe he'd get over it within an hour or so and it would all mean nothing at all the next time they spoke, maybe it'd all be water under the bridge, like none of it ever happened.

And yet, he still can't help but fear that maybe… something might still be wrong all the same.

Mickey takes notice of his companion's fretful expression as Riku walks back over to him, solemnly putting his phone away. "Is everything ok, Riku?" the king asks, concerned.

"Yeah, everything's… everything's fine," Riku nods, practically echoing Sora's hasty answers, even if he still doesn't quite believe them. "I just wanted to tell Sora to be careful out there. After all, we never know what the Organization might try next."

"You've got that right," Mickey readily agrees. "But for now, we already gave the vestments to Kairi and Lea, and it doesn't look like we'll be getting too many other clues out here. Let's try stopping by Ansem the Wise's study again. Some of his leftover research might be able to help our search for Aqua!"

"Right," Riku agrees to this plan of action, following after the king as he takes the lead to the nearby castle. Yet even as he does, he stops short, for just the slightest second, upon the urge to pull out his Gummiphone and call Sora back. It feels wrong to leave a conversation hanging on such a sour note, especially considering there's no telling when the next time they'll talk to each other might be. But in the end, Riku lets his hand drift away from his pocket, deciding to let the matter be for now. After all, he knows Sora never stays angry at anyone for too long, especially not at him or Kairi; certainly it won't take too much time for him to come around and for the two of them to smooth things out, just as they always manage to do. And after it's all said and done, everything will go back to the way it was before, their momentary disagreement nothing more than a mere memory destined to eventually fade from both of their minds.

So in the meantime, Riku resolves himself to get back to their original mission once again: to chase the shadows that will lead them to Aqua, and to bring her back from the Realm of Darkness in the hopes that her rescue would lead them to many more.


The Keyblade Graveyard is a vast, desolate place, as hollow and dead as the countless lifeless Keyblades that mark the dried earth for as far as the eye can see. Such a lonely, haunted place hosts no life or vibrance, at least not anymore, not since the decisive, calamitous battle that had taken place upon its broken ground well over a decade ago. And in the wake of that devastating battle, only one sole thing remains, almost as if it's a monument to the great losses suffered by the light that fateful day.

It kneels, silent and still as ever, Keyblade dug deep into the brittle ground as it dutifully maintains its lonely vigil. Its cape only lightly rustles in the arid breeze that lofts through the graveyard, the only sound that can be heard for miles as it sits alone and unmoving, just as it has for nearly 12 years now.

Of course, its nearly-statuesque existence hasn't gone completely uninterrupted that entire time. An intrepid trio had ventured upon the wastes quite some time ago, and in the only bit of action it had seen in quite some time, it had been dealt a solid, yet honorable defeat at their hands. And yet, in the heart of one of the three, it had felt a spark, familiar, warm, yet sleeping deep within, unable to come to the surface.

Much like himself, he supposed.

It hadn't been too long after that that it had first heard the witch's call. A girl explaining all too well the memories that kept it bound to this form and another, a true body, his body, not the empty metallic husk it exists as now. And upon her call, it had been reminding exactly why it had fought back, why it still remains and persists, even after his heart and body had been stolen away.

For them. He does it all for them.

And so it will until it finds them, until it can finally take back what rightfully belongs to him. His heart had been weak when it had fallen into the darkness, but his will, it is strong. It lingers, remaining steady and waiting until the day it can finally take that chance, can finally avenge itself and its friends.

Can finally bring them all together again.

And yet… that day seems so far off on every account. His body and heart are still ensnared by darkness, its own connection to the lights that keep it alive frail and fading. And without their lights to guide it, what more can it really do, other than remain, still and stagnant and empty as ever, only waiting, waiting… always waiting?

Until…

Its head snaps up at the slightest sign of a shift, one that it feels ripple through its entire hollow form. It's as though the winds have changed, however slightly, but they've changed all the same, and it can sense it. It knows. However small and subtle it might be, the chains keeping his heart and mind in the master's wicked thrall…

Are loosening.

If it was capable of emotions, it would be amazed, baffled, shocked even. For 12 years straight, those chains have kept everything else that had made him who he was until the strictest of restraints, rarely ever letting any part of who he used to be shine through. But now… this is something entirely different, entirely new. There still isn't enough freedom for him to return to himself, that much is obvious, but it can feel the master's focus steadily starting to drift away from his current vessel…

And to a completely new one instead.

Briefly, it wonders what poor fool is so unfortunate to share the same fate he had met, to catch the master's attention in a way that it will ultimately end up dooming them, just as it had him before. And yet, those wonderings are all too quickly silenced as a realization, strong yet bright and hopeful dawns upon it.

What if there's a possibility, however small and however slim, that the chains are loosening enough to give him exactly the sort of chance he's been looking for?

The chance to finally take back what rightfully belongs to him?

It's been waiting for that chance for all these empty, quiet years alone. And even as stark and fleeting as it is, it's a chance it isn't about to pass up so easily. Its armored body creaks from a lack of use as it slowly rises to stand, the dry soil surrounding its Keyblade crumbling as it slowly lifts it out of its longtime resting ground. It's been so very long since it's felt anything really, all form of emotion and personality stripped away from it the very same moment his heart and body had been taken too. And yet, what it lacks in those areas, it makes up for in memories. And if nothing else, it remembers that burning sense of justice, that determined resolve, that strong sense of purpose to fight back and persevere.

Even when it may seem impossible.

Yet even despite that purpose, it knows it can't do it alone. Its metallic form is sturdy, its Keyblade a powerful weapon for sure. But with the unforgiving iron grip the master holds over every other surviving part of him, it will certainly be hard pressed to reclaim them alone. It knows it needs those two lights, dim and fading but still bright and close as ever in the realm of its memories, to guide it, to stand by its side and support it.

To bring him back home, all three of them home, at long, long last.

And perhaps, if they aren't going to come to it, perhaps it's finally time for it to go to them. Wherever they are.

It's been ages since the last time it summoned its Keyblade Glider, but the weapon shifts forms just as easily as ever. It had never once left the graveyard since both his body and heart had departed it; it never had any reason to until now. In all honesty, it isn't even sure if it still possesses the power to open a gateway up to the Realms Between at all. But despite that concern, it knows it has to try all the same.

After all, anything is worth it to find them.

With a bit of focus and perhaps a bit of luck, the gateway it's hoping for appears, swirling with the promising potential of the mission it's about to embark on. As it mounts its Keyblade Glider however, it takes a moment to pause, taking stock of where it might be able to sense those two lost lights. One of them has all but disappeared into the darkness, distant and obscured in another realm entirely.

"Aqua…" it says, its voice empty and devoid of any feeling. Though somehow, a sense of longing flies upon it all the same. It can easily tell that, wherever she is, it won't have much luck finding her, at least not right now. But as for the other light…

"Ven…?" Its head tilts slightly towards the sky, remembering the last time it had felt his heart, buried deep in sleep within the heart of another. Within the heart of that young Keyblade wielder who had come to challenge it that day, who's surprising might had bested even its own. It isn't an exceptional lead to go off of, but at the very least it's something. If it finds that young wielder, then perhaps, it might lead it to him as well.

And so, it bows its head once more, reaffirming the promise it had made to them the day their friendship, their family had been so brutally, unfairly torn apart. "Finally…" it says, preparing to venture into the unknown for the first, and hopefully, the last time. To bring them all back together again, no matter how far apart they've managed to drift from one another in more ways than one. "It's time to set this right…"


Heyoooo! Now we got the Lingering Will in all this? Well that oughta make things... interesting moving forward (I swear, this story has so many moving parts already, I just gotta go and make things even more complicated for myself, don't I?) Either way, I'm eager to hear what ya'll thought of this, so lemme know in the REVIEWS! Next time around, we'll be goin... up a bit for our next Disney world (obvious hint is obvious lol). Until next time!