"We couldn't have risked all thirteen coming down on the two of us." Mickey said.

"But Ienzo-"

"They can't track him, and they aren't trying to. They're watching you and I, so we have to be quick and very, very careful."

"Couldn't I have just worn the coat?" Riku asked once again. Mickey sighed.

"It was what Master Yen Sid commanded."

"You are a king."

"And as a king, I have to listen to my most trusted advisors, or else I wouldn't be a good king."

It was impossible to know how long they had been walking or debating. The concept of time was warped within the Realm of Darkness, but Riku was sure they had gone through the identical conversation at least twice already, never fully reaching an agreement or a satisfying conclusion.

Sora should have been there with him, a full-fledged keyblade master. He would have followed the same path Riku did if the roles had been reversed. Things were supposed to be different... and they were, but it wasn't what Riku had hoped for. He didn't even know it was hope, he thought it was a given that he'd stay with his friends from the moment he swam up to the surface, Kairi calling his and Sora's name from the distant shore.

He never thought he would need to return here.

"An advisor does not command a king, an advisor advises," Riku sniped childishly, regretting it instantly.

"And a king is not dictated by a stubborn teenager," Mickey rebounded, eyes going wide and his large, gloved hands immediately flying to his mouth. Riku felt a pang in his chest. "Gosh, Riku, I'm-"

"No, don't apologize. You're right. It's not my place to dictate you. I think- I think the darkness might be getting to me, and always needing control is, what you might call a bad habit of mine."

"I think it might be getting to me, too," Mickey said, his magnetic eyes filling with concern. "But having that habit doesn't make you bad, it simply makes you a leader! You trust your own instincts first and foremost, like I do. That can be good, but it can also get you into a lot of trouble, as you've come to learn on your own." Riku nodded, pondering in the back of his mind what his majesty might have done as reckless as Riku had. "I had to learn, too. Master Yen Sid really helped me out of a lot of tight spots, that's why I trust what he says. He's never let me down!"

"What about Aqua?" Riku questioned. Mickey sighed again, heavier this time.

"Riku," his voice was soft as a whisper, "I'm really trying, but…"

"I'm sorry... I really am. I'll stop being such a downer."

"No, no, it's alright to have questions,"

"I shouldn't have brought it up... again... I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me." Riku let his head hang from his tired shoulders.

"No, it's my fault, I shouldn't have-"

"Wait, wait, wait, stop, stop." Riku interrupted, halting on the dirt road. "Do you see what we're doing?"

"Gosh, I know," Mickey replied anxiously. "We can't be angry at each other.. so we take it out on ourselves."

"I don't remember it being this hard before."

They trudged continuously onwards, cutting through forests of rotten, twisted, charcoal trees, the scraggly branches clawing at their clothes, begging them to halt. They leapt onto unstable rock formations that crumbled under their weight, avoiding the thorny thickets and sinister heartless booby traps until finally, finally, the path became dirt again, and the dome of the world could be seen in the great expanse.

"I do feel sorry about Ienzo…" Mickey started, "Riku... there's something I have to admit."

"You have all my attention," Riku quipped, his heart aimless and careless after the relentless struggle of the day.

"There is another, more important reason why Master Yen Sid and I didn't want you using the power of darkness."

"Mickey," Riku bemoaned, "I thought you weren't going to keep secrets from me anymore."

"I don't think I said that."

"I know," Riku allowed, "I had hoped it was implied."

"I'm sorry Riku. It was my idea to keep it from you. I was worried about how you may react."

"You don't have to worry about me," Riku flared. "I mean," he allowed the words to come to him organically, "I don't want to be kept in the dark to spare my feelings. I'm not a child."

"No, but…" Mickey considered, "you were able to control bad Xehanort's darkness within your heart, but what about your own darkness?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… gosh, Riku, please don't take this the wrong way, but, it was your own darkness that allowed Xehanort into your heart in the first place..."

"And that will never happen again," Riku said firmly.

"I know, but… Riku, you don't belong to the darkness. Xehanort may hold no power over you, but that doesn't mean you're immune to your own heart."

"I don't understand."

"I tried for years to find a safe way to rescue Aqua all by myself, but I couldn't leave my wife or my kingdom anymore without a clue of my whereabouts or when I was to return. That's not what a good king does."

There was a specific shift in their dynamic in that moment, one that was foreign and, if he was completely honest, somewhat uncomfortable to the young Riku, despite his experience.

"And Minnie was always so worried about me… I never got to see her." His ears drooped. "I still don't."

"I'm sorry Mickey," Riku replied earnestly. "I still don't see how this-"

"And when you and Sora didn't show up on your Island with Donald, Goofy, and I, I thought… I was…" Mickey exhaled. Riku decided to let him be. He turned and faced the edge of the world with the tiny ruler. The sky threatened a dawn that it would never yield. "You're incredibly lucky that destiny brought Kairi to you."

"Brought Kairi to Sora, you mean," Riku corrected.

"And you," Mickey replied thoughtfully. "You were both meant to protect her."

"Hmph," sounded Riku, devoid of sentiment, "she doesn't need me to protect her."

"Now that's just not true. Her and Sora both need you, and you need them."

"Yea," Riku considered, "I guess, when you put it like that…"

"What I'm saying is that even those with the power to fight the darkness can still get trapped within it, and if the worst happens, you have to be prepared to guard your heart."

"I don't think I'll ever make that mistake again, Mickey, you don't have to worry." Riku smiled solemnly, wishing his trajectory in life wasn't defined by the mistakes he made as a naive, arrogant child.

"I'm not worried about you anymore than I'd be worried about any other young keyblade wielder." Mickey beamed up at him full of hope and enlightenment. "Well, that's not true, you are one of my best pals."

"You too, Mickey," Riku said, feeling the flicker of light inside himself again. "Hey, what you said before about trusting your advisors? Well, I trust your advice more than anyone's." Riku leaned in to whisper in his ear, as if the anyone in the worlds could hear him. " But don't tell Sora or Kairi that I said that."

"Gosh, ha-Ha" Mickey chuckled, "Surely Sora doesn't think you listen to him." Riku laughed heartily, caught off guard by the ever-so cordial king's candid jape.

"I must be wearing off on you," said Riku.

"Did you see my outfit?" They both cracked up. It was good to laugh, important even.