The Grey Ancient

by Ancient2

This is the Kingdom Hearts storyline through Riku's point of view. It's a take on who he is, where did he come from, and 'what' he is. Neither of the Light, nor the Darkness. So then where does he belong?

29. Chapter 29

The Ties of Family

Before Riku had waken up from his dreamworld again, he had a few laughs as he took the time there to create a Juggle Pup and Sir Kyroo from the recipes from Monstro's Gullet. Juggle Pup had immediately ran to Loz to play with him, while Sir Kyroo hopped over to his mother. Like a chivalrous knight offering his services to defend the lady. Though he was a gentlemen, he was a frog, and Aeris had to stop in mid-action as she reached into her pocket for a Princess Kiss.

She had hoped no body noticed, but Riku definitely saw this. And he was about to tease her about it when sleep suddenly took over him. He had fallen back in the sea between Sleeping Worlds. Ready to dive to the Sleeping World he decided to go to after Prankster's Paradise, taking Kab Kannon and Sir Kyroo with him.

The Dive into this new Sleeping World took Riku down a blue tunnel grid with coding along its walls. Dodging through Gateways and Security Walls as he dived through red circles of coding, which the further he went down turned back into blue again. It was one of the quickest Sleeping World Dives he has done so far.

"(Gasp)!" He was dropped right in the middle of the Sleeping World, slightly disoriented and lost.

His outfit at changed to dark blue bodysuit with blue neon circuitry all leading to the disc Dream Eater Sigil port on his back. A visor graced his head. This world was unlike any other world he has ever been before. The place was a dark blue with only neon blue circuitry to light it up. This wasn't a world influenced by the power of darkness, it just wasn't as bright as most worlds in the realm of light. It was somewhat jarring, but at the same time fascinating.

"My clothes... Is this world special?" He looked down at himself inspecting the bodysuit, it was armored and custom-tailored to him. Suddenly the hextagon tiled floor around him began to light up as a heavy wind came brushing down on him like something coming down on a landing pad. Riku looked up at the possible threat, expecting something big to becoming down at him. "A Dream Eater? No... Let's see how this plays out."

It was a gate, being flown down on the landing pad from who-knows-where like a ship. The ship was as dark colored as everything else in this world, however its yellow neon lighting instead of blue made it stand out from the rest.

Armed guards came the Gate-ship lifts. Their neon circuitry a dim orange that didn't cover much of their bodysuits at all, as if covered with their armor, giving them more of an intimidating look. They surrounded Riku. The two in front grabbing Riku, which Riku resisted their grip on his arms.

"Another stray." Replied one of the front guards, his voice sounding mecahnical and monotoned. Almost robotic. Riku broke away from their grip, but followed them without a fight. Things were probably run differently in this world; it was best not to jump into any fights without information on the situation. For now, he would just see where this goes.

They had taken him back onto the Gate-ship lift, handcuffing him up as the ship took off again. Rocketing off further into the unkown. Turns out Riku wasn't alone on this jailrun. A young man a couple years older than Riku with short combedback brown hair and icy blue eyes was tied up as well. He wasn't wearing a helmet and his neon circuitry was more of a white than Riku's. His bodysuit was also black.

"Are you a prisoner?" The guy asked looking over at Riku, striking up a conversation.

"Yeah. It looks that way." Technically he allowed himself to be captured so he had been a more willing prisoner than this guy. But this was still a good opprotunity. Maybe he could find out what was going on with this place from this.

"Name's Sam."

"I'm Riku." With introductions out of the way, they looked ahead towards where they were heading. "Where are we, Sam?"

"We're on the Grid."

The Grid

When the ship landed Sam and Riku had been split up. Sam was taking to an unkown location, while Riku was taken to an enclosed track with a wall on the outerside and a shield on the inner. Bleachers surrounded the tracks, lifted above the wall, rows upon rows of seats filled with cheering audiences. But something about being on the shield off tracks was making Riku feel uneasy.

"You're in luck." Said a man from behind Riku. He wore a brighter orange neon circuitry bodysuit that covered more of the suit than the guards before. He also had two bodyguards around him. Riku assumed that this guy was the boss around here. "Only a precious few are granted Light Cycle battle privileges."

One of the guards approached Riku, holding out something at an arms length for Riku to reach out and grab.

"Huh?" This guy was huge and Riku could Sense something different about him. He just couldn't tell what it was yet. It was eerie, as of his heart was...silenced. Riku took the item from him and he return to his boss's side. "You gonna explain why it's so lucky?"

"I'll show you." The man nodded his head in the direction behind Riku. Startling Riku as two vechiles that he couldn't even call motorcycles zoomed right passed him on both sides. The audience was going wild as Riku wrapped his head around all this.

So the thing that was given to him, which was practically a neon glowing metal rod, contained one of these so called Light Cycles. And the goal of the game is to survive.

"How hard can it be?" Going with the flow, Riku got a running start. Building up speed as he jumped, holding the rod like he would a bike's handles. The blue neon light from the rod taking shape, starting with the wheels then taking forming. It was like a low-ride, heavy duty sportsbike. Riku did a front wheeling in startle of its power, getting the hang of it as he brought it down again. Taking the turn along the tracks as he joined the race.

He caught up to his oppenents pretty quick, passing them as he took the lead. His Light Cycle's monitor between the handle grips warned him of approaching "DANGER!" as his oppenents lauched their cycle's weapons fire at him. Dodging them as he leaned with his bike to move out of the way.

As he moved out of the way, one of the riders on the other side of him got too close to his Light Cycle's ribbon. Digitizing away as they hit it. Riku was slightly alarmed by this new information, noting to avoid the ribbons. That was one racer out of the game. And the other one was still on his tail.

But not for long as Riku crossed in front of the other rider, putting them directly in Riku's ribbon and knocking him out of the race. But it turns out those two weren't the only one competing with Riku on the tracks. And a Gate-ship flying over the tracks starting to shot a laser beam down on them wasn't much help either. But what's a race without a challenge. And Riku hate to admit it, but he was kinda having fun.

Being in the lead was a burden in itself, as the racers from behind continued to fire their weapons at him. Things got a little crazy as he had to use his own weapons fire to take down a flying competitor that came out of nowhere from behind him. Giving another racer enough time to take the lead from Riku.

But Riku wouldn't stand for that. Jumping in the air with a boost from his assault shot to take the lead again. But the Gate-ship-from-nerf-town came down again and got in his way, leaving the other rider to use a boost pass Riku. Catching up to them, Riku jumped over their ribbon and began firing at them, taking them out of the race. Another flyer and cycle came close by. Forcing Riku to use his cycle ribbon to take out the rider while he fired at the flyer.

Things, however, took a turn from fun as a giant Nightmare came flying down on the tracks behind Riku. This flying-preymantis-of-a-Nightmare, called Commantis, came charging at Riku. He attacked it with his ribbon while turning out of the way as it spiral rammed at him. Now in front of him, he could use his weapons fire on it. Doing some damage as he used his boost to avoid its assault shots.

But Riku was getting too close. He would have to let the distance return between them before firing again to avoid the Commantis. It was like an intrigant dance with his boosters and weapons. Where one false move could lead him with a Commantis claw in the face knocking him off the tracks. The Commantis tried to spiral ram him a few more times, leaving Riku's ribbon to do the damage until it charged its way to the front again.

The Commantis fired another Assault Shot at Riku. Only this time, he jumped in the air to avoid them as he opened fired at the Commantis. He was close, Riku could Sense that the Nightmare was on its last legs. This was almost over. With a few more shots, Riku had it on the run. It flew off, ending the race.

"I think I've had enough entertainment for one day." Riku did a swift U-turn drift. Catching the spectators off guard, audience and security alike, as he blasted through the first wall he could see with his weapons fire and got out of there. Taking the leap out of the stadium and going as far as he could go.

Where he would go on this strange world was a mystery. Perhaps his best option was to head towards a familiar face. Using Sense to find the location of Sam's heart, Riku headed in that direction. Noticing that Sam had somehow escaped his confinement, too. Stopping at a bridge not too far from Sam, he got off of his Light Cycle and walked over. Meeting Sam half way as he ran over to Riku.

"You made it. You escaped from the games." Sam said in relief. That was one-less rescue he would have to pull off.

"Yeah."

"I know a way off the Grid. Wanna come with?"

"Mnh, No. You go ahead." Riku grunted, a little upset that they would have to part ways after going through the troubles of finding Sam again. But Sam was trying to escape the Grid, and Riku had come here to find the Sleeping Keyhole. But then Riku noticed that Sam said he knew way off this world. Traveling between worlds or even knowing about other worlds was not a well known means to have, especially when it came to Sleeping Worlds. "Wait, what's the way out?"

"Through the Portal."

"Portal?" How did Sam know about the Portal? Was there more than one? Most likely. Did he make a portal of his own to get here, or was he already apart of this Sleeping World? Like, he had opened a portal to this world before it had fallen into a sleep. Then...maybe his heart has yet to fully awaken from the darkness to the realm of light along with this world, too...

"Yeah, it's like a gate that opened when I came here." Sam explained, proving that this world was connected to another world. Possibly even more than one world. It was rare for Riku to encounter worlds like this. He had only seen worlds connected like this one thrice. "Once I'm back in the real world I can delete CLU. And then...then my dad will be able to come home."

"Your dad?" This was touching a soft spot for Riku...just as much as it was for Sam.

"He vanished- twenty years ago when he came here to the Grid. But because he needed to protect his disc from CLU, he went into hiding. He's been trapped there ever since." Sam explained his story slight crestfallen, but the determination returned to him as he felt that now he was here he could do something about it. "But I'm going to change that."

"I see..." A dad lost to the world for a long time. Riku could understand the feelings Sam was going through, and he wanted to help... If Riku could help Sam find his dad, then maybe...there was a chance for Riku to find his dad, too. "Sam, you mind if I go with you after all? To the Portal?"

"Sure. I'll take what help I can get." Sam more than welcomed Riku to tag along. However, they couldn't go just yet. "But first there's somebody I need to meet. He's in the City."

While they headed towards the place Sam needed to go, Sam explained his story and his dad's. Apparently his dad, Kevin Flynn, tried to get back to him in the real world but the portal shut on him- since it uses massive power it can't stay open for long- and can only be opened on the other side like a safe. So his dad had been trapped in the Grid for 20 years. Sam reopened the portal when he came in, but it wouldn't be open for long. They needed to leave soon, but his dad wouldn't leave without his disc. It was his life's work and the master key to the Grid, a way out for more than just the two of them. And if CLU got out, someone who disliked imperfection, then it would be game over for their world and possibly others.

His dad wanted to wait and see what CLU next move was, while Sam didn't. Sam couldn't understand his dad's way of living, while his dad hinted that he didn't have to understand because it IS a way of living. That sometimes life can make you move past things like wants and hopes. But Sam wasn't going to have it, he went off to find out what CLU was up to on his own.

It made Sam feel a little bad about his last interaction with his dad. But he just didn't get him. The years in the Grid changed his dad from the person he use to know into someone he couldn't understand. But...that doesn't mean he couldn't try to understand him. Sam felt bad for not putting in the effort back then.

Riku hoped that Sam would be able to reconcile with his dad later. For now they had to make it to Sam's contact in one piece. The Nightmares that were blockading their path on the City streets weren't helping their case. But at least they forced Riku to take his time and look around, leading him to find an item chest and a Special Link Portal in the center of the lanes.

They ended up having to take a back alley from the City streets into the Throughput. Going through what looked like the urban area of the city, taking hexagonal and octagonal platforms to rise higher up the digital plateau. Finding some Nightmares and item boxes along the way, using Flowmotion and Reality Shifts to reach certain areas.

Riku and Sam made it to the Bridge, a closed area with a red hexagonal platform lift taking them up to the Docks. Before taking the line up, Riku activated Firion's Link Portal battle. Hoping that defeating this person's Nightmares will help their sleep and return to them their dreams. The Battle Portal took him up the digital line anyway as he fight Nightmare Komory Bats on the way up. Riku stopped a few times on the digital line as he noticed a few item chest on side platforms along the bridge, killing two birds with one stone.

Taking one small side digital line down to the exit platform and into the city. They were running through many streets and crosswalks, when Sam had taken them to a stop.

"Kill some time till I get back." Sam went on ahead, leaving Riku to himself for a bit.

"..." Riku had been loitering on the sidewalk, facing a crosswalk as he leaned against the building. He had decided to train his patience as he waited for Sam. But two Cyber Yogs and Eagliders had another thing in mind for Riku, breaking his moment of peace and quiet. Riku summoned his Keyblade, ready for the confrontation. "Glad I get to fight more than boredom."

His first targets to take out were the Eagliders. Sure, the Cyber Yogs had lasers coming out of their antlers, but the Eagliders could strike from above. And since more Nightmares were coming into the fray, he needed to get rid of the highest threat, literally.

As things got crowded he decided to Flowmotion attack to thin the herd out. He used Code Break, a Flowmotion attack that hacked the world's coding to strike at the Nightmares digitally. Hacking through one of the Nightmares and making them rampage through the others. The attack had burned through the smaller Nightmares, leaving only the Cyber Yogs left. Riku's Keyblade cleared them out with ease.

The fight had been a good workout. But Riku was beginning to wonder what was taking Sam so long?

"?!" Suddenly Riku heard a noise coming from the corner street behind him. "What?"

He ran to investigate it. Coming to a large building were Sam and an older man, most likely his dad, were walking towards it. Sam was carrying an unconscious female. She had a blackbody suit with white circuitry just like Sam and her hair was a black short bob-cut.

"Sam!" Riku called to him as he ran up to them. Both of them turned to address him, the old man with skepticism. He was rocking a beard and combed back grey hair, wearing a long black, open coat with neon inner lining. He had hard ice blue eyes. Perhaps skepticism was too basic a description of the old man's emotions. If Riku were to describe this man's heart in another word, from what he Sensed, he would have to say...tired.

"Who's this?"

"I'm Riku." Manner's first, Riku greeted Sam's dad. "Sam and I were on our way to the Portal."

"..." The old man looked over to his son, silently asking if he could trust this stranger. Sam nodded, vouching for him, which was enough for the old man. They looked back at Riku. "Come with us."

"Where are we headed?"

"The Portal, but we need a Solar Sailer." The old man explained. "There's one in the underground docks."

While they made their way there, the Sleeping World revealed to Riku a memory. Something almost similar to experiencing a Daydream. It turns out, from the memory, Sam had lost his dad's disc to CLU, injuring their female companion in the process. His dad was silently furious, Sam insisted they he could go back and get the disc from CLU before he does any damage. But his father refused his reckless endeavor, saying that he had already done enough. He wanted Sam to be still and wait so the solution could come to them.

From his moment of thinking, he had come up with a plan to hop a Solar Sailer. Beating CLU to the Portal was their only shot. They'd have to carry their unconscious companion as they made their full-on sprint, but they will make it.

Coming back from the memory, Riku rushed through the Nightmares. Sparing only a second to open passing item chests as they made their way to the underground Docks. He even found a big item chest, which turned out to be a disappointment as it contained a Thundara. Fortunately, he already knew that spell. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a waste of an item box. And time was of the essence, they needed to make their way through the city and head to the Dock.

It didn't help matters much that Riku found more item chests along the way and a Vaan's Link Portal. Luckily, this portal was slightly different from the others. Instead of just fighting off Nightmares, like most Link Portals tended to call for, this one was a friendship link that let Riku borrow Vaan's Spirits to help him in battle for a limited time before heading back to their own. Unlike the other encounters, it would seem that this person's link of the heart through dreams was not reaching out to Riku for help with their Nightmares but to help Riku with his. It was...surprising, but still refreshing.

The gate leading to the elevator down was locked. Riku had to use Reality Shift to hack and unlock the gate, which surprised Riku that nobody questioned it and just accepted it as a thing he could do. Perhaps in this world that wasn't too surprising of a skill to have. Taking the elevator down as far as it would go, they had to run through the floor to the next elevator.

Going through Nightmares and mounted turrets on the glass barrier along the way. Riku had Flowmotion a few turrets out of the way, but the command for them to Auto Destruct destroyed the glass they were mounted on as well. It was a clear jump down, but Riku was unsure if the others could make it, especially with their unconscious companion. So he vouched for taking the slightly longer and safer route, fighting through Nightmares and hacking another gate to unlock another elevator to take down to the bottom. The long way wasn't so bad, he even obtained Counter Aura from an item chest along the way.

More Nightmare were waiting for them there, and a few item boxes, Riku got them all. The area was clear and the entrance way to the Solar Sailer was just up ahead. But before Riku could go through, his Drop Gauge empty. Knocking him into a sleep before he even knew it.

"What is he wearing?"

"It looks like program armor. Like it was made of circuitry and data."

"I kinda like it."

Riku had woken up in the claws of his Kab Kannon who had caught him before he even dropped to the ground. It looks like he hadn't been knocked out for more than 5 seconds. The others didn't even have a chance to look back to notice something was up. But Riku took advantage of going unnoticed, nodding to his Kab Kannon in gratitude before catching up to the others to head on board the Solar Sailer.

While on board, Kevin and Sam worked on their companion's disc to try and help her. More like try to repair her from what Riku could see. It looked like the old man was trying to reconfigure her damaged data while Sam held it up and open from his disc. Riku just lean back, out of the way, and let them do their thing.

"Is she gonna make it?" Sam asked his dad as he worked.

"I don't know."

"But didn't you write her code?"

"Some of it." Kevin admitted as he scrolled through the spherical data. "But...the rest is just...beyond me."

He click on a section, making the data zoom in on coding that resembled the form of a DNA strand.

"She's an ISO." Sam declared, as if everyone in the room new what that was.

"ISO?" Riku didn't understand. Did that make her different?

"A whole new life form." Kevin explained while still working. "Quorra is the last ISO."

"And you created them?" Sam asked in astound disbelief. But his dad smirked, a spark returning to his eyes, as if his son was missing the whole picture.

"They manifested, like a flame. They weren't really...really from anywhere." Kevin explained in passion about how this life came to be on its own. "The conditions were right and they came into being. For centuries we've dreamed of a pure existence beyond our own. I found them in here, like flowers in a wasteland. They were spectacular.

"Everything I'd hoped to find in the system- control, order, perfection- none of it meant a thing. The ISOs- they were gonna be my gift to the world." He finally found the cause of the problem. Pinpointing on the damaged data, he pulled it out, allowing the rest of the coding to reconnect around the removed area. He tossed the damaged data away, letting it float off into the ether. "There, good as new. It's gonna take a while for her system to reboot."

"So what happened...to your gift?" Kevin had said that there were many ISOs and now Quorra is the last ones. Riku wanted to know what caused this change? Perhaps...the same thing that happen to his people...

"CLU. CLU happened." Kevin said, there was bitterness in his voice. "He was built to create the perfect system. But endless potential can never, ever be fully realized. CLU saw the ISOs as an imperfection, so he destroyed them."

"He screwed up." Sam remarked in detest at what CLU had done to these new lifeforms. Quorra was coming to, her soft blue eyes opening as Kevin corrected Sam's misconception. Confessing his foolish hubris.

"No, he's me. I screwed it up. Chasing after perfection- chasing after what was right in front of me." He was looking a his son with so much melancholy and regret for the years he had missed. "Right in front of me."

"..."

Riku went on ahead on the walkway of the Solar Sailer to give them some time to themselves.

"Look too hard for one thing, and you miss everything else." His dad suffered through the same thing. The same mistake that Riku and his older brothers had almost fallen into as well... "And then, the people around you get hurt in the process."

They had been able to correct their mistakes and the damage wasn't too unfixable. Others, like his father, were still looking so hard for something in the darkness...

"Like Xehanort." Riku said the thought aloud, looking over the edge at the seemingly endless ether below the walkway that was blanketed by darkness. "His single-minded thirst for answers created Ansem. We all have a little of that curiosity in us... So if we're not careful, any one of us could create an Ansem."

Riku was thrown out his thoughts as the Gate ship from before came heading towards them from the side. From what he had learned so far the ship was most likely CLU's. He wasn't the only one to notice it.

"Great. They found us." Riku groaned as the ship came flying in. He ran back to the others as their Solar Sailer changed direction.

"We've been put on a new course." Kevin Flynn announce.

They were force docked with CLU's ship, taking cover behind the loading dock's barriers. Quorra was the first to take a peek out. One of the guards approached the Solar Sailer, one that was different from the other guards...stronger. Riku and the others braced themselves for the inevitable encounter.

But Quorra seemed to have another plan.

She turned to Kevin, handing him her disc. He was confused but still took it, possibly to hold on to it for her for safe keeping. That's when the silent female spoke for the first time around Riku.

"Good-bye."

"!" She ran out of cover.

"Quorra. Quorra!" The old man called for her to come back.

"No, wait!" Sam called out, his dad having to hold him back from running out of cover as well. Stopping Riku from running out as well.

She ran off in the opposite direction, the guard giving chase after her. She didn't get far as he struck her from above, jumping down from a cargo crate. The three of them flinched as he not gently confined her for capture. She was dragged off- most likely to be taken to CLU for extermination.

"She's removing herself from the equation." She was doing this so that the others would be safe, Kevin knew this, but that doesn't mean he liked it.

"We can't just let her go." Sam was still restless as his dad held him back. They had to do something.

"Yeah." Riku nodded in agreement.

"No." Kevin insisted as he place a hand holding Quorra's disc on Sam's shoulder. "Hold on, Sam. What about getting you to the Portal? You shut them down from the outside."

"But Quorra comes first!" Sam pointed out, realizing that he would have to reason with his dad to take action since blazing through wasn't going to cut it for his dad. "And we still have to get back your disc."

"Sam. If you chase two rabbits, you won't catch either." Sam reasoning wasn't going to work on him. Looks like it was up to Riku to present an alternative solution.

"If this is a father-son thing, I won't butt in, but we should probably get back that disc at least- before CLU uses it to destroy the outside world." They could go retrieve the disc before CLU makes it to the Portal, and if Quorra just so happens to be there too they could save her as well. It was killing two birds with one stone instead of chasing rabbits. "Come on, Sam."

"Right." Sam nodded, getting where Riku was going with this. He turned to his dad, coming up with a plan. "Meet me on the flight deck, and get us some wheels."

"Wheels? What's your plan?"

"I'm a User. I'll improvise." He smirked before running off with Riku. But just in case, to make sure Riku new the plan. "Riku, I gotta save Quorra too."

"I know. We will."

"Hehe." Sam was glad that they were on the same picture. Even through the unspoken comradery between the two of them, Sam felt the two of them were similar in many ways. "The disc should be somewhere on the Throneship. I saw it dock here earlier."

They looked around the massive cargo area for CLU's Throneship.

"Over there!" Sam spotted it up on the floor above them.

"All right." Riku made his way through the cargo area of Rectifier 1F, fighting through Guards as he made his way up to the ship with Sam. Finding some item chests along the way as well.

The place was massive, cargo containers scattered the area and there was no shortage of Nightmares here, too. But on the bright side, Riku found a Peepsta Hoo recipe. Happily making the Spirit owl to join with the rest of his Dream Eater family.

He even found another Link Portal along the small hallway to the left leading to Rectifier 2F. Auron's battle portal to be precise. His nightmares consisted of a lot of cat and owls, what that said about the person themselves Riku would never fully know. Either way, the fight was over in under 20 seconds, so it was no real trouble.

More items to find and a horrible amount of stairway to climb. Like parent like child, it would seem that trial by stairs ran in the family. But once at the top they were greeted with multiple walkways and a Recognizer that did not "recognize" them. Firing lasers at them while Nightmares confronted them.

The Dodge game was not a fun game that Riku liked to play for long. Using Code Breaker Reality Shift, Riku hacked into the Recognizer, granting them access on the floor and authorization to the transport. Which allowed them passage to non-accessible areas on the floor that couldn't be reached on foot.

Riku found a big chest containing the lesson for Gravity Strike, giving Riku a new skill for future use. It was a nice thing to have. However, this wasn't the way to go forward. They had to take the transport back to head over to the elevator that would take them up to the Throneship.

The first room of the Throneship was small and orange. An entry room opening up to the second room: a long corridor light blue room that was darkly lit. Guards were all over this room, most likely protecting CLU and blocking the path to the throne room from intruders. This took a little more time to go through them all. Riku was even surprise that he even found another Link Portal so deep in CLU's ship. Celes's Link Portal called to Riku for help battling their Nightmares. Didn't help much that they were all Sir Kyroos and had Riku constantly blocking their swords. Having enough he just Thundara the room.

The next room was a large triangular shape, the orange returning as the room color. But that wasn't the important piece. What was though, was the pillar standing in the middle end of the room, housing Kevin Flynn's disc.

Sam grabbed it. The alarms set off. The outer doors opened, the Guard from before holding Quorra captive was there on the other side. This Guard was slightly different from the other Guards- even in looks- this one had a name. The Sleeping World's Heart whispered in to Riku's ear like sleep talking. It whispered the name... Tr- Tr... Rinzler...

"Sam. Go!" Quorra told them to go, flee while they still had the chance. The Guard, Rinzler, pushed Quorra out of the way, pulling out his blade discs. Riku and Sam pulling out their own weapons as well.

Sam threw his weapon at the Rinzler, distracting him as Riku wall kick. The momentum of the kick along with his Keyblade strike knocked the guard off the ship.

"What are you doing here?" Quorra couldn't believe they had almost risked everything to get here. She had sacrificed herself just for them to escape, not to launch a daring rescue that could have ruined the plan.

"To the flight deck." Sam knew that their was no time to explain. They needed to get to the Portal before CLU does.

"But CLU will be here any minute. We'll never make it."

"Don't worry. Riku's here to help."

It was at moments like this, Riku really wished that he knew Teleportation spells. After running down all those stairs and walkways again, he would dedicate his life to mastering the skill once this was all over. They had made it all the way back to Rectifier 1F's entrance. Where Kevin was waiting for them with their escape ride.

A small glider that could take to the sky. It was a three setter, but Riku didn't mind standing as Sam reached out a hand to help pull him in to the back with him. The orange neon circuitry changed to light blue as Kevin took the controls, piloting them to the Portal.

The flight wasn't too long. Flynn landed the glider on the landing deck of the Portal. Leaving them to walk down the runway to get to the Portal. At this point, taking down all the Nightmares and Guards that got in their way was pointless due to the lack of time. They ran pass them- though Riku did have a second to spare for the item box near the entry way- all the way to the stairway up to the Portal.

The wind blew chaotically up top. The Portal just up ahead passed another walkway. CLU was waiting for them there, stopping them from going further.

"This is mine." Flynn wanted to handle this as he approached CLU, telling the others to stay out of it. "Had a feeling you'd be here!"

"You! You promised that we would change the world...together!" CLU accused Flynn over the roaring winds. "You broke your promise!"

"..."

"I took the System to its maximum potential." CLU declared as he summoned Commantis Nightmare to him. "And now, you see the applications at my disposal!"

"I don't believe it." Flynn looked up at the giant Nightmare standing in their way. Standing in their way of returning home.

Riku walked up, tagging in for Flynn as this fight was his to finish. He had a score to settle with Commantis.

"You can leave this one to me."

"..."

"(Exhale)," Riku summoned his Keyblade to him as his Spirits appeared at his side. At least this time he would have more freedom to move.

"Cut him down!" Commanded CLU to his Commantis.

"Fire." Shouted Riku, taking the first shot as he fired a Dark Firaga at Commantis.

Commantis continued to circle around the area, forcing Riku to keep up with it and use Balloonga to reach it. Riku wished he could use Slow to make this Nightmare to stop moving around, or at least to slow down. But most of the Magic that he knew seemed to be sealed up when he entered the realm of the Sleeping Worlds. And the only way to get the spells back was to relearn them on the Sleeping Worlds.

'Focus, this is no time to complain.' Riku thought to himself, getting his head in the game. The only choice he had was to use what he's got. As Commantis circled back to him, Riku cast the strongest Thundara he could. "Thunder."

Commantis stunned for a second, giving Riku enough time to Thunder Dash up to the Nightmare and strike at it with his Keyblade. The Commantis began to move again, but with a big dent in its health. It launched spinning attacks at Riku that he had to Dodge from getting sliced. The spin made it dizzy, taking it out of the sky for a bit.

Riku took advantage of this, attacking it from ground level with his Keyblade until it seemed to short circuit. This was his chance, Riku used Reality Shift, Code Breaking to jam the Commantis from moving.

But that didn't mean the Commantis was vulnerable. It unleashed circular slash attacks all around itself, making it hard for Riku or his Dream Eaters to approach. Riku did manage to get a few strikes in once he reached the Nightmare, but Commantis eventually broke free of the jamming- going on the move again.

A Thundara eventually knocked the Nightmare down again, giving Riku a chance to ground strike it again. Riku even got its health down low enough Code Break jam it again. He launched all the Thundara and Dark Firaga at Commantis as he Balloonga his way up to strike higher at Commantis before Spark Diving away as Commantis struck back. But Commantis was almost done. All it took Riku was one. more. strike.

Commantis glitched and digitized away as it deleted. CLU was crestfallen that his perfect creation was defeated by something imperfect. He turned back to Flynn in frustration.

"I created the perfect system!"

"The thing about perfection is that it's unknowable." Flynn tried to explain the error in CLU's logic. While also understanding that it was just as much his fault that CLU was lead down this wrong path. "It's impossible, but it's also...right in front of us, all the time. You wouldn't know that because I didn't when I created you. I'm sorry, CLU. I'm sorry."

He held out open arms to clue, hoping to let bygones be bygones. All CLU had to do was reach out to him, too.

"..." But CLU refused.

He kicked Flynn away, knocking him to the ground. Sam came charging at him in retaliation, but CLU just tossed Sam behind him like a ragdoll. Riku decided to jump in. Not approaching CLU, but standing between CLU and Sam with his Keyblade until Sam got back up on his feet again.

Quorra checked over Flynn to make sure he was okay, reaching out a hand to help him up. Flynn, on the other hand, saw other things as priority. He grabbed her hand, handing her something.

"Go." He commanded Quorra to help the others. She nodded in comply, swing over to stand between CLU and the Portal with the others as she pulled out her weapon.

"CLU!" Flynn called out to him, sitting up. "Remember what you came for."

"..." That seemed to get CLU's attention as he turned back from the others...to head over to Flynn. The walkway bridge retracted into itself, separating the two sides and isolating Flynn from the others. CLU kicked him down again, ripping the disc from Flynn's back. Only to distraught that it wasn't Flynn's. "No..."

He looked back to see that Flynn's master key disc was now on Quorra's back.

"No... Why?" He asked down at Flynn with defeat in his voice, feeling betrayed. Why did Flynn turn his back on all they had worked so hard for? He had created CLU, so why did he betray him?

"He's my son."

"..." He held up the disc as a blade, hesitating in his rage to strike down his creator. However... He couldn't do it. "Gh!"

He flung the disc to stab into the floor next to Flynn. Unable to end the creator that in his own right was CLU's father too. His priority was to get to the Portal, not take down a beaten old man, so he dashed at Sam and Quorra.

"Go!" Flynn commanded Sam and Quorra to hurry up and leave.

CLU took a running jump to the other side of the bridge, barely grabbing on to the edge.

"Dad!" Sam call out to him, silently begging his dad to come with them. He could make it, he had to make it.

"Sam! It's time!" But it looks like Flynn wasn't going to make it home with them.

"No!"

"Sam. It's what he wants." This was hard for Quorra as well, but she would respect Flynn's wish and made sure his son got home safe. But Same refused to accept this.

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Take her!" As long as the two of them got out of here, Flynn didn't mind getting trapped in the Grid again. When Quorra handed over Flynn's disc to Sam, he was pleased that Sam took it. He was taking the needed step to go home without him. Taking the steps to press onward and grow. "Yes!"

"..." Sam looked at his dad one last time- what might have been his last time. Lifting up the disc to the Portal to activate it. Riku watched on, not interfering with this world's course. Wherever these two were going, it was not his path to follow.

"(Gasp in awe)." However, it was a pretty light show.

"..." Flynn smiled for the first time in a long time, glad that he had done his son right in the end. He wasn't there much to watch his son grow. But he was glad Sam turned out to be the person he is now. No matter what happens to him in the future, he was proud of Sam. "Good-bye, kiddo."

"..." Sam nodded back to his father in farewell, unable to form words as he fought back the tears.

CLU had finally lifted himself up on the bridge again, running towards the Portal and them.

"!" Riku ran up to intercept him, blocking him off from Sam and Quorra. "Don't even think about it."

"(Gasp)!" Wanting to keep CLU away from his son and the Portal, Flynn unleashed a pulse that pushed CLU back.

No.

That's not the right word.

It was pulling CLU in...towards Flynn.

CLU tried to resisted, marching forward against the pull. It was a useless endeavor. The pull lifted CLU off his feet, launching him back towards Flynn...where Flynn absorbed CLU into himself. Embracing his data to him like a lost child that went astray, before unleashing the energy out with a burst.

The light was blinding as Sam and Quorra went through the Portal and Flynn with CLU burst into the data that scatter. When the light faded away, Riku was all alone...

Riku looked up at the portal gate, processing what just happened. The never ending search of a son for a lost father... The sacrifices of a father for his son...

"The Portal is gone." Riku said aloud to himself. "These gates that connect worlds- maybe when we pass through them, we're challenged, and changed. And it's not over. There are more trials ahead we have to overcome. (Gasping Smirk). But we'll be ready, Sora."

The Sleeping Keyhole revealed itself over the portal gate. Unlocking it with his Keyblade and waking up this world once again, he was gifted with the Dual Disc Keyblade. A strong attack Keyblade with easier critical landing hits. Strength was this Keyblades strongpoint, not Magic.

Riku had done what he could for this world. However, this world still had more to offer. And before his Drop Gauge dropped him like a rock, by the Lifestream, Riku was going to see it. Taking the Solar Sailer back to Rectifier 1F, Riku explored the cargo area that he didn't have time to go through before. Going through the crates and finding items he had missed before. And it was a good thing he had time now, cause there was a lot of them. He bumped into some Nightmares along the way, however, their numbers and greatly decreased.

By the time Riku had gone through all the crates, his Drop Gauge emptied like a gas tank. Riku was knocked to sleep faster than any time he had before. The search through all those crates tiring him out...

"Oh, it's gone now. That was so cool how it glitched away like that." Loz commented to the others before noticing that Riku was waking up. "Oh hi Riku!"

"Hey," Riku groaned standing up again. The soreness in his legs were starting to get to him so he bent a little to give them a rub. "Ugh, how can I be so sore HERE?"

"Cause you've done too much cardio." Aeris pointed out, casting a Cura on her son's sore body. "What in the world did you do there, Riku?"

The relief was immediate, but the reason behind the pain was a little embarrassing.

"Running up and down a flight of stairs and going through a crate yard." Riku mumbled out an answer, not looking her in the eye.

"Well no wonder you were sore. I bet you didn't even pace yourself."

"Yeah, I was being stubborn." Riku admitted rubbing the back of his head. "And in the end, I've come to a conclusion...I hate stairs."

"Hehe, it seems to be a family trait." Aeris giggle in bittersweet remembrance.

"Huh?" Before Riku could infer some more, the ground under began to rumble. Steadying themselves, the boys braced for whatever was coming. Safe in their dreamworld they knew whatever it was posed no threat. Not too far from Riku and the others a replica of Shinra Corp. from Aeris's memory raised from the ground. An entire building formed itself inside his dreamworld, Riku couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What- what is that...?"

"That, my dear, is your father's and my own 71 Floors of personal Hades."

"?!" All of Aeris's boys looked at the building with a new light, remembering the things their mother had told them about this place.

"So this is Shinra Corp." Riku had never been inside this building before but after the things his mother told him about... The things that they had did to her and his dad... He despised this building and was glad that it was gone. A dark side of him was glad that his dad had burned it to the ground.

"Yes..." Aeris replied, pulling Riku from his darkening thoughts. "Luckily for us, we only had to go through three Floors of stairway before reaching an elevator in order to escape. So yes, I agree. Stairs are the worse..."

With a wave of her hand the Shrina Corp. fades out of existence again.

"Your father probably agrees too." Aeris couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Promise Land knows that he had been running up those stairs to get to her in time... But that was a long time ago. Aeris wanted to return the conversation to the present. "So where did you go? What was the world like?"

"Some place called the Grid."

"The Grid?! I know that place." Aeris eyes lit up.

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's a digital world that can hold thousands upon a million times of information. Ansem the Wise had found its old system and made a copy of its Master Control Program and used it in his computer to serve his own purpose. It's back in Hollow Bastion Castle. We use it to help us study Ansem's research and get a better understanding of the Darkness and Heartless."

"So the Sleeping World I went to was original data of that system, and the one back in Hollow Bastion is the copy..." Riku was trying to wrap his head around this. If the data can be copied, can it also be changed and easily manipulated? The Sleeping World already worked under different rules than the other worlds, could the digital entity inhabiting its world also be different? With memory so easy to manipulate and programing holding so vast of data, easy to be copied, did they even have hearts? He felt something coming from the Guards he had fought there, and even from Quorra, but was it even real...? "With a world that's so easy to copy, did it even have a real World's Heart? Data does not dream, it cannot dream."

"So you think that it's fake because it's so different?" There was a hissed in her voice and her fists clinched at her sides. Aeris was irked at Riku's discriminatory turn of conclusion.

"Ooo, you're in trouble." Kadaj silently teased a Riku, smiling a little inside.

"First of all, you were in the realm of dreams, that world WAS real. Second, Ansem made a copy of the Master Control Program- in turn, making a copy of the Master Key. Making a copy of another doorway into the Grid, NOT another Grid." Aeris lectured in correction, not wanting her son to think that world wasn't worthy of a heart just because it worked differently. "And thirdly, even if the world seemed so cold and calculative with all its collective data that doesn't mean that it lacks a heart. Even if its people can be hacked and manipulated to change their entire being, that doesn't mean that the person they original were isn't buried under that. It's the core of their being, the voice of their heart. Regardless if their memory can be changed or manipulated, the person that they are is still in there reaching out to the surface. With a helping hand of another they can find their back again. You've seen this for yourself before, have you not?"

"?!" She was right- he had seen this before...with Sora. How could he be so insensitive. "Sorry..."

"Please, don't belittle Tron and his world's existence because their hearts run a little different from ours..." Aeris pleaded with Riku to understand, calming her anger down.

"Tron?" The name confused him. "Who's that?"

"You don't know Tron? Did you not run in to him there?"

"Not anyone named Tron."

"Hmmm... Rinzler, then?"

"I did run into a Rinzler, but he wasn't that friendly."

"Ahhh, that "was" Tron." Aeris explained. "He once told the others and me about how his program had been hacked and his memory had been changed so much that he had been manipulated into the identity of Rinzler. It had taken the help of a friend to help him turn back to himself again. The Grid must have fallen into darkness before Tron got the help he needed."

"Most likely. His world was crazy."

"How crazy are we talking?" Loz asked. For him crazy meant fun.

"Ships and gliders in the sky; fast speed vehicles with deadly ribbon trails; deadly cycle races for sport."

"That sounds great!"

"?!" Riku was caught off by Loz's excitement at deadly sport. "It was sorta fun. They called it Light Cycles."

"Show us." Yazoo insisted in monotone. Riku complied to Yazoo's rare moment of excited interest.

Following in his mother's example, Riku formed a Light Cycle rod to his hand as his Grid armor returned. And with a little more effort he recreated the track with his own spin. Lifting it up like a bridge with rising ramps and turns. The area around the track darkened like the Grid, neon circuitry acting as its only light as it gave off a glow.

"This is a Light Cycle. It's a really fast pace machinery that forms from light when you hold it like a handle." Riku explained, turning the rod horizontal to hold with both hands. The Light Cycle form in his grip, peaking the interest of his brothers. "It's a little hard to handle and it was consider a lucky privilege's to be able to participate in Light Cycle races."

"Sounds like you're up for a race." Kadaj figured, rising to the subtle challenge.

"Sure." Riku created and toss the three of them their own Light Cycle rods. Their own Grid armor- similar to Riku's- forming on their body the moment they caught their Cycle rod. "Minus the deadly."

"Still sounds fun. I'll play." Loz replied, only slightly disappointed at the lack of deadly.

"Hm," Yazoo interest peaked, nonchalantly examining the armor on him through his visor.

"Mom, you in?" Riku asked over to Aeris, ready to offer her a Light Cycle as well.

"No thanks, you boys have fun." Aeris declined shaking her hands 'no'. "I'll just be the ref for you guys."

"All right." Riku nodded to his mother before turning back to his brothers in snark. "Do you guys even know how to ride?"

"We know how to ride." Kadaj snarked back as Yazoo came in with a subtle burn.

"Longer than you."

"Time doesn't mean skill." Riku shot back with a smirk. The competitive nature rising in him as he revved his Light Cycle to head up the ramp to the track.

"All right, we're doing this!" Loz said with excited as he rides up with the rest of his brothers up the ramp to the Starting Line. The Cycle had a kick to it as it took them a moment to get use to the power. It gave them a little tingle inside of excitement. They had to get one of these things in the real realm later.

"Just so you know, you can jump, boost, and watch out for each others' ribbons-"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll figure it out for ourselves." Kadaj brushed off Riku's helpful advice, wanting to discover the capacity of this Cycle for himself.

"All right, suit yourself."

They all stopped at the Starting Line, waiting for their mother to walk up to the sideline. Aeris didn't take her time coming, however she didn't put her all into running to the starting point. As the acting ref, she took her position as the starter, rising her hand.

"Are you boys ready?" The revved their engines in respond. "I want a clean race, no funny business. You're doing three laps. If you stop before the end, you're out. On my mark! Get set!"

Their feet were itching on the break.

"Go!"

And they were off. Aeris's hair blew wildly as they sped off. Riku's Dream Eaters watched the race from the bleacher. With the exception of Riku's new Spirit, Peepsta Hoo, whom watched from its perk near the top of the tree.

Kadaj took the lead, doing a front wheeling boost to make some distance between the others. Loz, Riku, and Yazoo were neck-and-neck behind him. If Riku used his weapons fire on Kadaj he could take the lead. But he didn't want to accidently hurt Kadaj, so he'll have to come up with another way. And Yazoo wasn't helping by continually ramming into Riku's side.

"Ha haha!" Thinking that looked fun, Loz joined in the ramming game, coming at Riku from the left.

"Nope." Refusing to be sandwiched, Riku used his jump boost to skyrocket out of the way and taking the lead on the two of them. But Yazoo was quick to use his boost as well, gaining a good distance ahead of Riku. Only to turn around to play chicken with Riku. Forget crossing a ribbon, the collision between the two Light Cycles would have caused an explosion. Not wanting any of that, Riku moved a lane to dodge him, looking back as Yazoo turned back around. "Are you even trying to win?"

"Hmph," Yazoo smirked, only in this for the fun of the race, not the victory.

Kadaj looked back at the chaos behind him, making sure he kept his lead as they headed for a turn.

"I wanna play, too!"

"!" Riku had forgotten about Loz for a second, having to speed boost to avoid being T-boned. He couldn't believe Loz was crazy enough to do that. "Crap, Loz."

"Hehe hahaha, Weeee!" Loz wheelied on ahead of Riku and Yazoo, boosting away as his ribbon continued to cut them off.

"Tch." Riku clicked his tongue as he had to jump over Loz's Light Cycle ribbon. Yazoo forced to do the same. More subtle with his irritancy as he fired his weapons at Loz.

"Hm." He smiled a little as his weapons hit mark.

"Hey, no weapons!" Riku berated at Yazoo.

"Then why do we have them?" Yazoo had a point there.

"Still, no deadly fire."

"Fine." Yazoo sighed. Riku could practically feel Yazoo's eyes figuratively rolling in his voice. He also felt the Dark Thunder being shot at his Cycle.

"Hey!"

"It's not deadly."

"All right, that's it." Riku growled, shooting back at Yazoo some Dark Firaga fires, making Yazoo chuckle.

"Boom, Boom, Boom!" Loz shouted in laughter as he shot out some Dark Firagas back at his two younger brothers, too.

They dodged, only for the Dark Firagas to hit the bridge.

"WHOA!" "Woooooee!" "!" The three of them practically shouted as Loz's Dark Firaga took out the section of the bridge they were on. They were all riding along the falling bridge sections, jumping on to the next falling piece to get back on the track. The process was exhilarating.

"Ha HA!" It even got a laugh out of Yazoo has his eyes gleamed with thrill.

Getting back on the track they got back in the race again, turning the curve that would bring them back around for their first lap. They hadn't stopped during their little fall so they were still in the race. However, Kadaj had the lead. And Yazoo and Kadaj weren't done playing with their little brother. Loz had jumped off his bike, taking to the air as he turned his Light Cycle back to its rod form. Jumping behind him to land on Riku's cycle.

"Heh," Loz grinned like the devious older brother, giving Riku a noogie from behind as Riku tried to regain his Cycle's balance. Which was hard to do with Loz standing- one knee down- on his bike while holding Riku in a headlock.

"What- Hey! Quit it, that's cheating!" Riku shouted at his brother as he tried to smack his hands away. Crossing the first lap with Loz on his back and Yazoo not too far behind him.

"Boys, no dirty racing!" Aeris told them in lecture by the start's side line, looking at Loz when she said it.

"Fine." Loz slightly pouted, jumping off of Riku's cycle to Yazoo's to take a moment to form his Light Cycle again back to the position he had before. But he didn't keep it for long as Loz used his boost to get ahead of Riku and then cut in front of him. "Heh!"

"!" Riku jumped to avoid Loz's ribbon. The Light Cycle race on the Grid was hard but his brothers were keeping him on his toes. He was certainly having more fun with them than on the Grid. "You should save your boost."

"Why? Having fun hanging in the back with us?" Yazoo teased at Riku, catching up to Riku using his boost as Loz and him rammed at Riku from the side.

"No, cause you'll need it to get over the break." Riku said, reminding them of the giant break in the tracks.

They were coming to that part of the bridge fast, and their cycles' booster hadn't recharged yet.

"Catch you later, guys!" Riku snarked behind at them as he went on ahead. Leaving the two behind as they smirked in pride at their little brother's comeback.

Riku took off with a wheelie, giving himself a boost start before taking the jump over to the other side. Yazoo and Loz wouldn't be able to make the jump without their boost, forcing them to stop. They were out of the race.

"Well that was fun!" Loz chuckled from his belly while Yazoo let out a small, calm smirk.

"Yes." His hair only giving away the slight nod as he crossed his arms.

"Want to head back to mother?"

"Sure." Starting up their Light Cycles again the two of them turned around to head back to the Starting Point's sidelines. They would have to watch the rest of the race from the side with their mother.

That only left Kadaj and Riku in the race.

"Huh?" Kadaj looked back to see Riku jumping back down on the tracks right behind him, now closer than ever. "Tch."

He cut in front of Riku, forcing Riku to move with Kadaj's ribbon. His Light Cycle jump was not ready to use again. Luckily it charged quicker than the booster so he could jumped over Kadaj's ribbon before Kadaj cornered him into the inner track barrier. Which was good since they were coming around the turn again. Kadaj laughed back at his brother.

"Haha, I have a present for you, brother! Shall I give you my dust?!"

"Don't be so generous!" Riku laughed as he used a booster to catch up to the side of Kadaj as they finished their second lap. Their mother and other brothers watching them from the sideline.

"Go boys!" Aeris cheered for them as they came to their final lap around.

Kadaj and Riku kept ramming into each others' side as they refused to give the other the lead. Kadaj pushed Riku away from him by throwing some Thundara at him. Riku had to lean his Cycle to the side to dodge his brother's on coming Magic.

"Haha." Kadaj couldn't help but laugh as he watched Riku play dodgeball with his thunder. He couldn't help but ram into his brother a few more time before the break in the tracks came around again.

They boost together taking the jump over the break in the bridge side-by-side. Taking a second to recover the balance of their Cycles as they touched down on the tracks again. But Kadaj launched a small Fire attack at Riku once he got his balance, making Riku flinch enough to give Kadaj a lead. But not sitting down and taking his brother's sass, Riku decided to give him a piece of his own medicine.

"Freeze." He launched a small Blizzard attack on the track up ahead of them. Kadaj didn't have enough time to react as the move caught him off guard. Riku jumped over it, while Kadaj went through it. The small patch of ice on the track made Kadaj lose control for a second as he slid hard right. Forcing Kadaj to do a small circle to get his balance again, giving Riku a big lead.

"No, that was such a good lead!" Kadaj growled in frustration at his lead being taken.

"Holy crap, Kadaj." Riku looked back at Kadaj. Impressed at Kadaj's recovery but also alarmed that a small Blizzard did so much damage. "You okay?!"

"Tch, I'm fine!" Kadaj yelled, angry and fluster at his lost of the lead. "I worked so hard for that lead!"

"I know, man, you should have held on to that." Riku teased, egging him on since he was okay. Chuckling to himself as Kadaj got more frustrated.

"I tried!"

"I can see why, it feels so great in the front." Riku bragged as they came up to the curve near the finish line.

"Enjoy it while it last, 'cause you're not keeping it." Kadaj used his boost to catch up to Riku.

The boost made it hard on the turn for Kadaj, making him turn harder than he needed. Swinging further on the track which kept Riku in the lead. The both of them on their boost as the crossed the last stretch to the Finish Line. Riku and Kadaj a close neck-and-neck.

"Yeahhh!" "Nooo!" But Riku kept just enough of a nose-lead to take the Finish. Riku cheered in victory as Kadaj groaned in frustration. The both of them coming to a stop just ahead of the Finish returning to the sideline with the Cheering noises of the Dream Eaters in the bleacher as their mother cheered and clapped along with their brothers.

"You did it, guys! You did good!" Aeris praised at her sons for a good race.

"If you Greedy Cheater didn't ruin this for me, I would've had the most beautiful win." Kadaj growled at Riku, being somewhat of a sore loser as he pointed an accusing finger at Riku.

"I agree. Riku did really well." Aeris said, putting an end to Kadaj's negativity without pointing out that all of them had used Magic during the race to their advantage. "Do you have something nice to say about Riku, Kadaj?"

"...I've seen...worse haircuts?"

"..." The others went silent. Comprehending what Kadaj had just said before bursting into laughter. Riku couldn't even be mad about it. That was so funny, it caught him off guard.

"Sorry, compliments are hard for me." Kadaj chuckled at himself with the others. The comedic timing of the moment getting to him, too.

"Oh my Heart, that was so funny." Aeris struggled to say out as the chuckles died down in her. Wiping away a stray tear of laughter as they all calmed down again.

"You're awful, Kadaj. But I love it." Riku said, shaking his head in humorous exasperation.

"(Chuckle) Yeah... But that was fun."

"Wanna do this again?"

"We should do this in the real realm!" Loz suggested with excitement.

"I don't know about finding Cycles exactly like this." Aeris pointed out in helpful advice. "But I do know the guy that helped make Cloud's bike."

"!" Well that was a good second option.

"Think he'll be willing to make four?" Yazoo asked, breaking the silent excitement.

"Who knows? He might even like the challenge." Cid did like doing these kind of jobs. It was like a hobby of his. But it didn't come cheap. "You'd better start saving up your munny though."

"Done!" All four brothers said at the same time. Almost making their mother start laughing again.

Riku was about to say more when the urge to sleep took over him. Rocking back on his Cycle that faded back into its rod form as he clocked out. His Peepsta Hoo flying to his side as the darkness took him.

Riku had woken up...to the call of a Sleeping World. Through their hearts? Dreams? Riku wasn't quite certain yet. But somebody "was" calling to him, and he would answer. Besides, he didn't think he was the only one receiving the call.

Diving down into the Sleeping World, Riku took his Peepsta Hoo and his Meow Wow with him as his Tama Sheep followed as a passive. Riku didn't know where he was going as he dived blindly following the call, but the dive down into the Sleeping World seemed familiar. Before he knew it, he was in the First District of Traverse Town.

"Traverse Town? Why am I back?" He looked around, confused. Only to pause as he felt the familiar presence that was more than likely the reason behind all this. He calmed himself with a sigh, knowing that there would be a troublesome request coming his way. "Joshua."

"Nice of you to join us." Joshua greeted Riku as he approached.

"What happened?" Riku turned around to address him.

"Trouble happened." Joshua answered, a hint of exhaustion in his voice. "I was hoping one of you could help."

He knew he wasn't the only who answered the call.

"When did Sora get here?"

"Bravo, Riku. Why can't he be this quick on the uptake?"

"Yeah, well, Sora's a little..." Riku awkwardly laughed, trying to find a way to put it nicely. Sora was great, he had a lot of heart in him, but...he wasn't exactly the brightest... There was no nice way to put it. So he just laughed it off, avoiding the grenade entirely. "(Awkward Laugh)"

"Now, let's get down to the problem." Joshua followed along, dropping the subject, since there were more important things to address that need attention. "We've got a nasty Dream Eater on our hands. It keeps jumping between worlds. Not only that, it knows how to summon creatures like it- pretty powerful ones, too. The others are on a mission to stop it, but they need help."

"The others? You mean Shiki and her friends?"

"That's right. They found their Game partners, and Shiki is over fighting in the other Traverse Town. In fact, Sora is helping them out."

"Good to hear. So what can I do?"

"Actually, the Dream Eater just reappeared in the fountain plaza." Joshua pointed with his head in the direction of the pathway that lead to the plaza. "I sent Beat and his partner to face it."

"I'm on it." Joshua didn't have to say anymore, Riku was already heading over there.

"..." Joshua was going to let him go to handle this. But...there was something going on around Sora and Riku that they needed to be aware of. Sora wouldn't get it, but Riku would be able to figure it out. For both of their sake, he had to tell 'em. Joshua turned to look at him. "Riku. There's something else you need to know."

"Hmm?" Riku turned around as Joshua called back to him. A little confused as to what the holdup was.

"These two Traverse Towns separated by the Portal..." There was no easy way saying this, so Joshua got straight to the point. "I was under the impression they were parallel worlds, but it looks like I was wrong."

"Wrong how?" That got Riku's attention. He turned around all the way. This didn't sound good.

"That's where it gets tricky." Joshua said, resting a clenched hand on his chin in thought as he tried to piece this together. "After you and Sora left, Shiki crossed the Portal to join her Game partner. Did you notice Players have a mission timer inscribed on their hands?"

"..." Yeah he did notice that. Shiki had one. At first he had thought it was a tattoo, but then he noticed that the numbers were changing- more like counting down like a clock. It was a countdown timer on the palm of her hand and it looked concerning. But since she had tried so hard to keep it covered, he didn't bring any attention to it.

"Well, when she got to the other side, Shiki had more time left on her clock than her partner." Joshua continued explaining the details that deserved some questions. "And when Beat's partner crossed over from the other side, she had LESS time left."

"So time flows differently here than there? So what? That's true of any two worlds." That wasn't too alarming, most worlds that Riku had been to run on different timeframes from another. It just really stinks for them since these guys were stuck in a "Reaper Game" and time was precious. "Their home world would be running on a different time axis, too."

"Yes, I understand that. But if these Traverse Towns were parallel worlds, then time would flow the same in both." Joshua pointed out. "But it doesn't, ergo they are not parallel worlds."

"..." But...couldn't that also mean that Traverse Town fell into slumber on more than once. And that both Sleeping Worlds are the product of two separate occasions Traverse Town ha fallen to darkness and its heart fell into slumber. "You mean there's a past... and a future."

"No. Impossible." Joshua disagreed with his reasoning. "The worlds are clearly separate- it's not just time that sets them apart. As you yourself noted, every world flows at its own pace, which tells me that for all their similarities, these are two distinct worlds."

"Distinct worlds?" That got Riku's attention...

"Yes... but this is all conjecture." Joshua shook his head, trying to make sense of it all, letting his hand fall back down to his side. "It's like the same world imagined by two people. What does that tell you? That we're in..."

"A dream..." Riku already knew this, Sora did, too. They had both come all the way here for the Mark of Mastery exam. However, they had entered into the realm of the Sleeping Worlds at the same time and at some point got separated. And during this separation they had taken two different paths. One where Sora had gone on ahead of Riku yet still behind Riku's time flow. Two separate dreams. And one of those dreams was...

"Yes. Bravo again, Riku." Joshua praised, still taking this all serious. "In which case none of this may matter one bit to me or my friends. But to you and Sora, I think it might be a vital clue."

"Right... Thanks." Riku appreciated the heads up. For now, he'll put that information away for later investigation, right now he was hear to do an urgent favor. So you need me in the plaza?"

"Wow, I'm running out of "bravos."" Joshua said with a little bit of cheek. But Riku just took it as Joshua being himself.

"Be right back." Riku headed off to the Back Streets, making his way to the Fountain Plaza. Fighting some Nightmares along the way as he Shock Dived his way up to higher Bridgeway's. Which lead to the Fountain Plaza, where Beat and his partner were struggling with a Spellican Nightmare. It looked like a giant bird holding a wand, with no bottom half, wearing a book for a hat. "Beat!"

"About time, yo!"

"Beat, what happened to your Dream Eaters?" Riku asked, summoning his Keyblade to join the fight.

"Don't need 'em when I've got my Game partner. And I don't need you!" Beat huff out in defiance of Riku's help, acting the tough guy. But his smaller, younger partner thought otherwise.

"Oh, here we go again." She lightly groaned, looking over at Beat. Before turning to Riku to call him out on his bluff. "Five seconds ago, it was, "Where's Riku?"- and now the act?"

"Bwaaah!" Beat jumped, looking over at the two of them in embarrassment. "Don't tell him that."

"(Giggle)" She just laughed. His reactions always bringing a chuckle to her stomach. The Nightmare seemed to be getting annoyed at being ignore, but she paid it no mind as she turned around to introduce herself to Riku. "It's so nice to meet you. I'm Rhyme. Riku, right? Sorry my partner's acting like a doofus."

She was like a small, softer version of Beat. More than likely they were siblings. That would explain why Beat was trying so hard to find her earlier. She had a gentler and easygoing personality to her that actually got Riku going with the flow as he de-summoned his Keyblade.

"I am not!" Beat objected. Riku watched between them as the two siblings began to argue with each other. It looks like they did this often- and Riku knew a thing or two about messing with your siblings- so he just sat back and enjoyed the show. "You always gotta go around and... and garnish my reputation!"

"Since when? You burned that bridge all by yourself." Riku couldn't help himself as he tried to cover up his laughs. The girl's got spunk, and could throw burns like Magic. "Nobody raises his reputation by lowering others."

"Yo, Riku. You gonna sit there and let her get in my grill?" Beat called Riku out on his lack of backup as he laughed at Beat's gripe.

"Sorry, it's just...you two are cut from the same cloth." Riku tried to stop his laughter, holding out his hands in surrender as they both turned on him.

"-I ain't made of cloth!" "-I know!" Beat and Rhyme said at the same time- with different energy and understanding. Riku couldn't help but laugh.

"Beat looks and talks like a punk, but there's a heart of gold in there somewhere." Rhyme said, calling Beat out. Riku couldn't help but go along, Beat's reactions were priceless- he was getting really buttered.

"Yeah. He's come through for me, so I know what you mean."

"There, see? I'm a-" Beat agreed along with Riku, missing the whole joke, before narrowing down on what his baby sis had said. "Rhyme! You didn't just call me a punk again!"

"Huh? (Nervous laughter)…""(Open Laughter)" Rhyme awkwardly avoided answering that, while Riku burst out laughing. The two of them were just too much. It reminded him and Sora a lot, along with his brothers. It tickled him awfully. Too bad it wasn't doing the same for the Spellican that they had completely ignored.

It loudly squawked at them in fury, making them face it again for a fight.

"All right, now we ruffled its feathers." Riku drew his Keyblade again. The Spellican shot Thunders in front of them like a border line. "Ready to do this?"

"Yeah!" They both answered, pumped for the fight.

The Spellican summoned smaller copies of itself to battle. They would have to split their forces to deal with all of the Nightmares.

"Me and Rhyme'll handle things here." Beat said, going after the copies. Rhyme blocked the way with Beat, leaving the big Nightmare to Riku.

"You go after that thing!" Rhyme said as the Spellican ran off.

"Right!" Riku chased after it into the Back Streets, leaving the rest to Beat and Rhyme.

Nightmare blocked his path, but he was able to make short work of them, and ran across the building walls to avoid the ones he didn't have time for. The Spellican glided through the streets, luring Riku into a stampede of Cera Terrors. These colorful triceratops had clawed feet, a beak-like mouth with a horn on their nose, and two elegant long horns that would put a bull to shame. The path was narrow and closed in between buildings. He could only fight his way through or run back, and he wasn't going to let the others down by letting the Spellican get away.

"Quantity versus quality, huh?" Riku taunted at the rushing Cera Terrors. Lucky for him, the path was narrow so only three at a time could charge at him. "Thunder!"

He stunned the front Cera Terrors with a Thundara, halting the rest as he took care of the first three. Thunder Dashing his way down the line as he took out the rest of them from above. Jumping along the walls to avoid being rammed every so often. There spiked covered body looked like they could do just as much damage as their horns. The Dream Eaters alone were a fascinating spectacle. Riku was really hoping that he could find a recipe for them somewhere in Traverse Town, he really wanted a Cera Terror of his own.

"You're done!" Riku declared as he finished off the last Cera Terror. Following after the Spellican around the corner it got away in a better mood than someone whom had just fought his way through a stampede. Cause he had just gotten the recipe for Cera Terror from the last one. He was just dying to make his own once he finished things up here.

"Riku, the Third District!" Joshua instructed to him from above on a small building bridge-way behind Riku. He turned around and looked up. "We're going to pin it between both worlds!"

"Got it!" Riku ran for the Third District. Tanking through the Nightmares blocking his way along the First District, swinging on the lamp-posts as he rained Thundara from above. Making his way up the steps to the Second District. There wasn't any time to waste, so he Thunder Dash over the building on the right that stood in-between the way the entrance of the Second District and the Third District.

He had caught up with the Spellican, Dashing on a building to get a starting jump ahead of the Nightmare. Blocking its path to go any further, Riku stopped the Spellican in the open square by the Lady and the Tramp fountain. Keyblade out and ready.

"I got you now!"

"This is my street, yo!" Beat shouted at the Spellican, catching up to it and Riku, along with Rhyme.

"You gotta play by the rules."

But the Spellican was playing by no rules but its own as it made a run for it.

"Oh, no!" "Hey!" Beats and Rhyme shouted as it retreated to the other world. Riku put his Keyblade away, realizing that with no means to go after it, he would have to leave the Spellican for Sora to handle on the other world.

"Sora, you got this."

"This is so tired, yo." Beat complained in frustration as Rhyme and him came down the stairs to join up with Riku. "Every time we chase him down..."

"I know." Riku could understand his frustration. It was a good thing they have help in this. "But we've got an ally on the other side. Don't worry."

"Yeah, well, I still don't like it." Beat retorted back.

"..." Joshua couldn't help but grin at three of them below, admiring how determined they were to never give up even if the fight seem fruitless and tiring. Deciding to reveal himself now, he floated down from the roof he was standing on, to join the others. "You know, you are such a good listener, Beat. You're like a sponge, really."

"Me? I'm not a sponge. I'm just me." Beat grinned, missing the sarcasm entirely, making his sister laugh.

"You mean "Daisukenojo Bito"?"

"Hey!" Beat cringed at the words Joshua spoke. "Don't use my full name!"

That was a name?

"That's a weird name." Riku spoke aloud the honest thought.

"Hey!" Beat took offense to that as his sister laughed at their banter. Riku couldn't help but laugh along, too.

"Hm?" Suddenly a second Keyhole reveals itself, and Riku wasn't the only one to notice it as it shined down on the fountain area. "Well, it's time to go."

"Hey, Riku- thanks." Rhyme called over to Riku in appreciation for his help as he walked off to lock the Keyhole.

"Yeah, stay cool." Beat nodded in agreement with his sis, smiling at Riku as they said their goodbyes for now. "We'll catch up with you soon."

"Mm-hmm. Say hi to Sora." Rhyme waved goodbye as Beat gave a quick thumbs-up.

"Sure." Riku gave a small wave back as he looked over his shoulder.

"Riku. Remember what I said. Be careful." Joshua reminded him before he departs. The other two not fully understanding the warning. "If this really is a dream, it's going to lie to you to try and make you think it's real."

"I got it." Joshua didn't have to worry about that from Riku. Now Sora on the other hand... Nah, he'll be fine. If there was one think Riku knew about Sora: it was that he was ridiculously stubborn.

"What? I don't got it." Beat said over to Joshua.

"You and Sora would break your heads on this one." Joshua brushed off Beats confusion, deciding it would be too much of a bother to explain it to him.

"Bwaaah?" Now Beat was even more confused, Rhyme and Riku couldn't help but laugh. The truth behind Joshua's words hit right on the dot. Even Joshua found himself laughing too as Beat laughed along at the hidden joke- or more like a chain reaction to the others laughter.

"..." Turning back to the Keyhole, Riku used his Keyblade to lock it. Keeping the Spellican from ever crossing back to this world again. With nowhere else for it to run, Sora would be able to finish it off over there. And with the Keyhole locked, Riku was gifted with the Keyblade: Knockout Punch. It was strong with more Reality Shifts frequency, but lower critical hit chance.

With the locking of the Keyhole, Riku had left the Third District. But he felt like there was so much more that Traverse Town had to offer. And his Drop Gauge was still just over half full. He wanted to explore. Not only was he lead to a Special Portal that rewarded him with a Flowbermeow recipe. And with things finally calmed down, he had a moment to make his two new Dream Eaters. Flowbermeow was cute, and he had the strangest feeling that his mother would love this Spirit; but, Cera Terror was the one he was excited for.

He had even found a Secret Portal in front of the Flower & Plant building. Curious, Riku took it and was led to inside the building where another Hockomonkey was waiting for him. This one was different than the one he had fought before. It had double the amount of health the first Hockomonkey had and it was slightly stronger. Taking one hit from the Hockomonkey corrected Riku's previous judgement, this Hockomonkey was a lot stronger. And Riku was slightly under prepared for this fight. After a long fight, and many item uses later, Riku had immerged the winner.

However the Secret Portal he found in the Fountain Plaza, leading to Julius, was much worse. The fight was long and strenuous and he had to keep on his toes. What he would give to be able to use Slow, Gravity, or even Barrier. But he had Dark Firaga, Thunder Dash, and Ballonga- he could make this work. And after a long fight, Julius had retreated back into the Manhole he had come from, rewarding Riku the victory, a lot of bruises, and Ultima Weapon keyblade. It was a beautiful and powerful Keyblade that stood above any of the Keyblades Riku had so far. Worthy of its name, Riku equipped it, knowing that it would be a great help on the Sleeping Worlds to come.

But it was strange, the Secret Portal fights had been hyped up to a greater challenge as if intentionally. Like the Sleeping World was manipulating the dream for hard training... As if to try and help make Riku stronger... Was Sora being given the same Secret Portal challenge too? Were the other Sleeping Worlds opening Secret Portals for them as well? Riku would have to look in to that later- preferable when he's better equipped. For now, there was still so much for him to see on this world.

Exploring around some more, Riku had made his way to the Fourth District were the Coliseum was. It was a place were teams of Spirit Dream Eaters would battle each other through a series of tournaments for glory and medals. The medals were used as exchanges to purchase prizes from the Medal Shop. These battle games were called Flick Rush.

The giant arena was being run by Moogles, and the only way for Riku to participate in the Flick Rush game was to talk to the Moogle near the Coliseum entrance. Riku competed for a little bit, changing up his Dream Eater line up, mess with his Flick Rush Cards a bit, and sent off his Spirits team to face the challengers. Riku's team had gone all the way up from Training Cup to Yummy Cup, rising Riku all the way to Rank 16.

Riku had gotten a handful of medals during his tournaments and he used them at the Medal Shop immediately after. He exchanged them for Attacks and a Dream Eater Recipes: Drill Sye, Pegaslick, and Majik Lapin. Majik Lapin was somewhat of a special Dream Eater, since Riku had to purchase their recipe from the Medal Shop in Traverse Town through a decent shop level. They were an energetic rabbit-like Spirit that was great with Magic. This Dream Eater will be a great help in the furture.

There were three rare Spirit recipes there, but he wasn't Ranked high enough in Flick Rush to be able to purchase them. That was upsetting but he would leave it be for now.

What really caught him by surprise was the fact that the Medal Shop also sold Magic. Not just item magic, but the actual Magic. He could afford Stop... the Magic he could use before had to be bought in the Dream World in order for him to use it again. He could have used Stop on serval occasions, that would have been a lifesaver. How many more Magic spells did they have in these shops? Where there more?

Riku went to the Moogle Shop to investigate this. The Moogles were running several shops all over the worlds, the Sleeping Worlds were no different. The shops on the other Sleeping Worlds were run by hologram, while the Moogle Shop in Traverse Town stationed in the First District was run in-person. And they indeed had Magic on sale, and many other things.

The store was run by Shop Level, which build up the more purchases the customer made. Riku had previously been in a rush during high stake circumstances along the other Sleeping Worlds he had visited. So he had no time to stop and check out the Moogle Shops along the way. And now he regretted that as he was going through a shopping spree with the buildup of munny he hadn't know what to do with.

Riku had gotten a few more Attacks he could have used early. He got a Pricklemane, Hebby Repp, Woeflower, KO Kabuto, and a Fin Fatale Dream Eater recipes. But when he got to the Magic options, he felt a little sick inside. Fire, Blizzard, regular Thunder, Cure, Confuse, Slow, Sleep... all the spells he could have used earlier- and so much more. They even had Zero Gravity, Poison, and Spark!

"..." He silently bought his purchases. Stoned-face as he silently screamed on the inside in vex. "That's it, I'm done."

Riku Dropped on his own. Letting his Drop Gauge deplete through his sheer will of spite and livid exhaustion.

Riku had returned to the dreamworld. His clothes no longer the grid suit as if returning to normal when he slept. His brothers clothes back to normal, too, though they still held on to their Light Cycle rods. Strapped to their upper arm as if on the ready for another race. The race track was still there off in the distance whenever they were ready, and their grid armor was more than likely stored inside their Light Cycle rods too. It would seem that things formed from memories inside the dreamworld did not disappeared unless willed so, regardless of how long the wielder is gone.

The presence of his mother and brothers circled around him did not put a dent in his crappy mood.

"Oh, look, he's up." Aeris said with a smile.

"..." Her smile that usually made him feel better about anything was not working.

"That was a short nap." Yazoo tilted his head as he look down at Riku. His hair flowing with his movement like a silver stream.

"He doesn't look so good." Loz stated the obvious as he squatted down on his knees closer to Riku's level, looking at his scrunched up sour face.

"..." His only relief in all this was that Loz wasn't poking his face like he usually did whenever Riku was upset or annoyed.

"Aww, what's the matter baby brother? You cranky from your nap?" Kadaj mocked down at him in teasing. Resting his hands on his bent knees as he smirked at Riku.

"..." Riku sat up, got on his feet, and walked away. He was in no mood for this. Heading over to the Dream Eater Nursery with a stomp in his steps.

"Wha- Sweetie?" Aeris called to him in concern as he opened the door to the nursery and stepped in quietly.

"Aww, you mad?"

SLAM

Riku slammed the doors shut at Kadaj's teasing. Of course he was mad. Anyone could see that he was mad. He was mad at his own stupidity more than anything else. He knew that it was nobody's fault but his own and it made him feel awful about taking it out on others. But it didn't help that Kadaj was egging him own.

"Don't be mad, Riku." Came the monotone voice of Yazoo from the other side of the door, mumbled by the barrier.

"Riku, what's wrong?" His mother's voice muffled by the door. She gently knocked, only to receive no answer.

BANG, BANG

Loz, on the other hand, was not as gentle.

"Come out, brother."

BANG, BANG, BANG

"..." His anger started to simmer down, and gave way to sadness. He felt bad about the way he was behaving. Distracting himself by creating more Dream Eaters with his new recipes. As soon as they were born they all cuddled around him, as if sensing his sad mood. As if on instinct, giving him their warmth to chase the bad feelings away.

KNOCK, KNOCK

A knock in middle range of the previous two strengths followed after a long silence.

"Come on, little brother, open up." The teasing had left Kadaj's voice as he appealed from the other side of the door. "I promise to stop messing with you."

"..." Riku took a moment. Letting out a sigh, he leaned over to crack the door open with one arm.

CLOMP

"!" Only to be tackled by Kadaj as soon as he was given an inch. Kadaj had charged through the door, putting his little brother in a headlock.

"I lied." Kadaj chimed. Giving Riku noogies with glee. "Aww, why the sour face, little brother? Did you have a bad dream?"

"..." Well, he wasn't too far off.

"Did you lose a fight? A game?" Kadaj queried through the noogies, continuing with questions until Riku gave him a reaction. "Did you do something stupid?"

"!"

"Aww, you had a dumb moment. Is that why you're pouting?"

"I'm not pouting." Riku finally spoke, it was more of a grumble but the message was clear. He swat Kadaj's hand away from his head, only for it to become another annoyance.

"You ARE pouting." Kadaj was practically laughing at Riku's irritation as he poked at Riku's cheek. "Oh, this is priceless. What is still feeling?! Is this... Vindication?!"

"... (Snicker)." Riku was trying to fight off the happy feeling to spite his brother, but he couldn't. Kadaj's chuckling was making him want to chuckle, too. And even through Kadaj's teasing, he knew this was his brother's way of cheering him up. And that alone was enough to take away his pain.

"Ah, there he is. There's my cocky brother."

"Look who's talking." Riku snarked back, the both of them laughing.

The other three watching in from the door. Glad to see that Riku was feeling better from whatever had gotten him down. Kadaj's playful teasing had just been what he needed. Aeris smiled, proud of her boys as they messed around. Riku's Dream Eaters joining in the fray, wanting to play too.

Her boys have come along way from their time in the darkness. They had learned what it means to be a family. What it means to be brothers. No matter how much they messed with each other, they were always there for one another. No matter how far from home, they would hear their brothers call, and pick each other up when they're down.

She loved her boys...she loved her family. There was nothing in these worlds she wouldn't do for them. The feeling was mutual for them, too.