Walls of a polished dark stone towered over them after the griffin dropped them off. Sora and Kairi stared up at it in wonder, having never seen something so massive or at least not what they remembered. They jumped when they heard Yen Sid's voice from the griffin.
"Be wary of that sharp tongue of yours, Prince Riku. I've known you since you were small, so I can excuse it, but there are other sorcerers out here: some with ill intent. Be cautious. Protect each other, and may the light guide you." Leaving them with that, the griffin screeched before taking off in a torrent of wind.
"Was that supposed to be a warning? Gods, wizards annoy me," Riku sighed, waving and heading to the gates. Two guards stood behind the gates, looking them all up and down in suspicion. They seemed to straighten up once they noticed Riku.
"The Elven Prince! What brings you here? Did you catch wind that this kingdom has woken up?"
"Partly. I'm also trying to find some friends who may have come here a while ago: two half elves that look pretty much the same." He leaned nonchalantly against the gates. "And it's time for the rulers of the sleeping kingdoms to come together again."
The two of them still regarded the rest of the group with suspicion until a shout behind them made them quickly move out of the way.
"Riku! You're back!" A blonde haired girl came running over, her white dress trailing about elegantly. "It's been such a long time! And you cut your hair. I did like your longer hair, but this looks good on you too."
"Hey, Namine. Uh, yeah, let's just say a lot's happened since we last met."
There were looks of confusion between Sora, Kairi, and Xion. It seemed that they knew each other quite well.
"So, looks like they're friends. What do you make of them?" Sora whispered to Kairi, leaning towards her slightly.
"Yeah, I'd say so. Looks like she's a bit younger than him. Why? You jealous or something?" Kairi teased, giving her usual devilish grin.
"I-I'm just curious is all, geez."
The guards immediately opened the gates at Namine's command as well as the "look" she gave them. She glanced over the others, waving to them with a grin.
"You two must be Sora and Kairi, right?"
"Wait, how do you know our names?" Kairi asked, a bit taken aback, but at this point, she was used to weird stuff like this happening.
"Well, I remember all the princes and princesses of the sleeping kingdoms. After all, I was the one who cast the spell to protect all of us. I know your names even if we haven't met in person. I don't know you, though." She looked to Xion who immediately backed up some. "I'm Namine. What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Xion. I'm..not anyone important. Just travelling with them, so I can see my friend again." She spoke quietly but tried her best to present herself in a respectful manner.
"Nice to meet you, Xion. I hope we can help you find whoever you're looking for."
"It's actually the same person, well half of the pair we're looking for. They probably arrived here while all of you here in the Twilight Realm were still asleep: Ventus and Roxas, two half elves," Riku spoke up. It was nice to see her again, but he had to stay on track with their mission.
"Ventus and Roxas..let's see..oh yes! They were here when I woke up. They've been a big help. If I recall, Ventus is at the archery range, and I'm not quite sure where Roxas is, but they're definitely still here. They say something serious happened, but they said they couldn't tell me yet because they made a promise. Do you know anything about that?" Namine tilted her head to the side, looking to Riku for an answer.
"Yeah. That promise was to me. Like I said, I'll tell you everything, but I want to see them first. I need to see that they're okay." Riku scratched the back of his head, not able to keep eye contact with her.
Namine gestured for them to follow her. Through the gates, they all stared around in wonder at the city before them. The cobblestone streets were lined with some of the tallest buildings they had ever seen. In the middle stood the gigantic clock tower. As it chimed on the hour, birds all over the city took off, forming morphing shapes as they crowded together. Sora could see why this was called the Twilight Realm. The sky seemed to always be in hues of orange and red as if the sun was perpetually setting.
Riku had them stop once they were in a town square, looking around to check his bearings.
"I think it's best we split up for now. I'll go to the archery range. The rest of you can go look for Roxas," he said, figuring they could cover more ground that way. There was strange feeling in the back of his mind like something starting to claw on the walls, and he didn't care for it at all.
"Could I go with you, Riku?" Sora asked, giving him the biggest puppy dog eyes he could manage.
"Uh, sure I guess. Any particular reason why?" Riku couldn't help but chuckle at that look, feeling like his heart would melt if he stared for too long.
"N-no reason, really. I just thought you'd like some company since you usually go alone a lot," he stammered.
"Or you just want alone time with Riku," Kairi whispered from behind.
Sora quickly covered his face as he could feel a blush of embarrassment forming on his cheeks.
Riku only smirked and motioned for him to go with him while Kairi and Xion went with Namine.
It took a bit of time, but Riku was starting to gain his bearings of this place again. It seemed like ages ago since he was last here. It was a better time, but now everything seemed different. They wandered for a bit before he finally found the right path into a wooded area in stark contrast to the city around it. He figured Ventus would hang out here since the small forest resembled their home quite a bit. It saddened him to think that Ventus probably recalled next to nothing of their old kingdom. He was younger than Riku and wasn't even in the epicenter of the action when they had to flee. Riku stopped as flashes of light could be seen through the trees one after the other in groups of three.
"Woah, what's that?" Sora walked over to stand at his side. Was it some kind of magic?
"Hm, seems he's staying in practice. Follow me. I know you can't be as quiet as me, but just try to be sneaky."
Riku quieted his footsteps, so he barely made any sound, keeping to the balls of his feet. Sora watched his movements carefully, trying his best to mimic them. Peeking past a rather large tree, they saw a guy with blonde hair that stood up. Sora recognized him as the one with the pointed ears from the vision. He was wearing different clothes, but it was definitely the same guy. He held a golden bow that seemed to shimmer in the light. With a practiced hand, he took an arrow and drew it into the bow.
"Jhol!" At the command, the arrow was bathed in brilliant light. That light burst out as soon as it hit the target. One of his ears twitched when Sora accidentally stepped on a twig, breaking the silence with a hollow snap. He whirled around with the bow and two more arrows in hand but instantly lowered it when he spotted Riku. For a moment, there was a look of disbelief, having to rub his eyes to be sure what he was seeing was real and not some phantom image from his dreams. With tear filled eyes, Ventus dropped the bow and arrows and came running over, instantly hugging Riku with enough force that Riku nearly fell over.
"Riku! You're okay! I..I didn't think I'd ever see you again!" He gripped onto his shirt, not ever wanting to let go. "Wh-when Roxas and I left you..you were all beaten up and bloodied."
"I know, but I'm okay. I made a promise that I'd come back for you two, didn't I? And you kept your word and stayed safe here." Riku rubbed his back soothingly. "And you've been keeping up with your archery too."
He nodded against Riku's shoulder, sniffling before pulling away to wipe away his tears.
"I'm just happy to see you in one piece." Ventus glanced over at Sora with a wave, gesturing for him to come over. "Hey, I'm Ventus, but my friends call me Ven for short. Have you been travelling with Riku?"
"Oh, yeah! I'm Sora. Nice to meet you. I have. I'm from one of the sleeping kingdoms. I guess it was Riku's mission to get me and my friend since we had woken up." Sora walked over, crossing his arms behind his head. Ventus seemed nice. It made him glad that he was with Riku in a place like Oblivion. The three of them turned their heads when they heard bushes rustling, though it was Riku and Ventus first due to their heightened hearing. A guy who looked nearly exactly like Ventus besides the more human like ears popped up, looking from Riku to Sora before sprinting over. Riku barely had enough time to prepare himself before the other ran into him to hug him too. Sora noticed the two scabbards attached to his belt. Two keyblades?
"I'm guessing you're Roxas," Sora said once they had stopped hugging, offering his hand.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sora, right? I overheard you guys as I was heading over here." Roxas looked Sora up and down before gladly shaking his hand.
"Sharp as ever. Where have you been?" Riku asked with an inquisitive look.
"Sorry. I was hanging out with some friends, but then Princess Namine showed up with some other people and said you were looking for me, so, uh, here I am."
"What? You were hanging out with Hayner, Pence, and Olette and didn't invite me?" Ventus pouted, turning his head to the side.
"You were busy practicing your light forms on your arrows. I wasn't about to disturb you. Besides, I should probably practice dual wielding more. Still getting the hang of it," Roxas chuckled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll be sure to invite you next time. I promise."
"Well, there's much to discuss with you two, but I better talk to Namine about something first. Can I trust you two to keep Sora company?" Riku figured it was better to tell her about all that's happened now instead of waiting. She needed to know the truth. With nods from the twins, he started to head out of the wooded area.
"I won't be long," he said to Sora before disappearing past the trees.
Ventus and Roxas motioned for Sora to follow them, picking out a shady spot beneath one of the bigger trees in the area. With a sigh, Sora leaned against the massive trunk, peering up at the twilight sky.
"Seems he's at 'let's get straight to business' as usual, but I'm happy to see him doing alright." Ventus picked at the grass beneath him, smiling over at Sora.
"You know him. He's always sort of had a stick up his ass, but he means well. He has a lot on his shoulders. Maybe he should go for a dunk in a hot spring or get laid or something," Roxas said matter of factly, resulting in a laugh from Ventus and something like a snort of surprise from Sora. "I know you guys agree with me. Don't even try to deny it just because he's the prince."
"I mean, you're right. No matter what it is, he deserves some time to relax. I think I've only seen him in an almost relaxed state when we were doing little training sessions," Sora said, turning a bit red when he remembered seeing him in that tight tank top without his jacket.
"I mean, can you really blame him for being always on guard? After what Xehanort did to him or tried to do?" Ventus' smile quickly disappeared as if he was remembering something he didn't want to. Roxas went quiet as well, running his hands along the scabbard of one of his keyblades.
"What did happen if it's okay? This crystal showed me some events, and Riku told me a bit about how you guys escaped, but other than that, I don't know what happened in between," Sora said, hoping he wasn't overstepping any boundaries. He considered Riku a friend with some..added feelings.
Ventus and Roxas looked at each other for a few seconds before Roxas shrugged, taking a deep breath.
"When Xehanort found out that using Riku as a dream eater to enter the dreams of the others in the sleeping kingdoms wasn't going to work, he tried something else: making him a nightmare. He basically tried to warp Riku as a dream eater into something more sinister. I'm sure you've seen the sigil on his left arm. Well, he has an even bigger one on his back. Xehanort, with the help of other organization members and Vanitas, tried to manipulate the darkness within Riku. One time, they left the door slightly cracked, so I snuck up to it and watched to see what they were doing. It was..awful. Riku was screaming in pain, body writhing. He was shirtless so they large sigil on his back was showing. It glowed an eerie purple, and his eyes..they were wavering between his usual color and bright yellow. For a few moments, I saw these ominous looking webbed wings coming out of the sigil before disappearing. Riku is a fighter. That I know for sure. Simply trying to resist whatever they were trying to turn him into was probably so painful, but he did it. He didn't want you to worry about him. That's probably why he didn't tell you that part." Roxas took another deep breath once he was done, closing his eyes for a few moments as images flashed across them. "But, now we have a chance to make things right. Ventus and I were taken unwillingly. We were out one day and got knocked out cold by someone. When we woke up, our memory was hazy, and we were in Oblivion. To be honest, I stayed because of two friends I made in there: Xion and Axel."
"Xion's with us actually! She was spying on us, but Riku knocked her out and brought her to the Elven kingdom. Oh, sorry, I mean New Elven Kingdom. I'm sure she's anxious to see you." Sora hoped she wasn't about to try to drag Roxas back there. He had faith in her, but there was still that bit of doubt. "And..thank you for telling me about Riku. I won't push him to tell me. I just need to gain more of his trust."
"Yeah, I saw her, but seeing Riku came first. We'll have plenty of time to catch up. I'm pretty sure Axel is still with the others. I hope that I can convince him to come to our side." Sora noticed the look of sadness on his face even though he tried to play it cool with a grin.
"If Xion decided to change sides for you, then I'm sure Axel would do the same. After all, we need all the help we can get." Sora looked to the sky again, his mind swimming with thoughts. "I was wondering something. Riku's the rightful heir to the throne, right? He's around my age, so why hasn't he taken the title of king yet?"
"We've been bugging him about that too. He's twenty one. He's definitely old enough to take the responsibility, but for now, Terra still rules as Regent in his place until he's ready," Ventus said, picking up a dandelion that was nearby.
"Oh, he's the Regent Elf King? I totally called him 'your majesty.' My bad." Sora laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm sure he didn't mind. He probably got a kick out of that." Ventus studied the dandelion for a second before blowing on it. Fluffy little wisps flew up into the air. The three of them watched as they travelled along the gentle breeze into the blazing sky. "I miss him and Aqua. I can't wait to see them again."
After a moment, Roxas stood back up, stretching his arms over his head. He offered Sora a helping hand up. Sora was surprised at his strength, pulling him up onto his feet in under a second.
"Let's go meet up with the others while Riku's talking to Princess Namine. No sense in just sitting around, right?"
Ventus and Sora nodded, following after Roxas. Sora clenched his fists as he walked back out into the city. He'd make Xehanort pay for doing that to Riku. That was a promise.
Right the wrongs of the past.
Sora kept repeating that in his head. He was definitely going to do that. Even if it came at a cost, he would make sure this world knew peace again.