Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter Sixteen

Staring at the ceiling wasn't the most interesting past time, but at least he was alive to see it. He knew he should be grateful for that. He should be grateful Sora had stepped in when he did. Masamune was about to rip him in two. But he partly resented his own boyfriend for proving that Riku was weaker. A part of him thought he should have died there.

He blinked and shifted when he heard the door open and saw Kairi, her head bowed. There were tear tracks on her face and he sat up, worried. "Kairi?"

She jerked her head up and swiftly wiped them away. "Sorry. I thought you might still be asleep."

He studied her a moment, and then silently opened one arm. She rushed toward him and launched into his arms. She didn't cry anymore, for which he was grateful, but her arms did latch tightly around his middle. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Thanks to Sora," He muttered, and flinched, expecting a reprimand. But none came, just her head burying into his chest. "Kairi?"

It was the second time he had said her name worriedly in as many minutes. She looked up at him and he felt a sudden fear wash over him. "Where's Sora?"

She didn't answer, just kept her weight on him, and he closed his eyes, remembering Sora dragging him off, his eyes so bright with anger they were practically on fire. He knew where Sora was. "Sephiroth will have healed and rested by now."

"He had, when Sora went," Kairi murmured, and Riku froze.

"Where are they?" He asked, already preparing to get up. Kairi shook her head. He stopped and looked at her quizzically. They had healed him and he had slept a few hours – there was no reason he couldn't at least help Sora – he had to accept he was strong enough to dothat.

Kairi sighed but leaned back to look at him. "We lost track of them. It's a bit hard when Sephiroth can fly and Sora can glide and quick run and... We don't know where they ended up and neither of them has come back."

He glanced at the bracelet that Kairi had given to him, that Sora also wore, and wondered. The jewel was swirls of yellow and gray now. Gray he had seen before, usually meaning concern or worry – it had flashed that a lot as Sora dragged him back after the fight with Sephiroth's fight. Yellow he saw more rarely and he was puzzled as to the exact meaning – but it wasn't good. And there was no red, no anger that meant he was still in battle. "The fight's finished."

"Can you trace him with that?" she asked, her eyes lighting up with hope. He hesitated, not wanting to dash her hopes. He had no idea – but he doubted it. Still, he just shrugged.

"Show me where you last saw them," he commanded softly. She looked hesitant, but he was already moving forward, pushing her in front of him. She was dressed in her new outfit of shorts and tops, and he felt faintly ashamed he had chosen today, only a day after her birthday, to challenge Sephiroth.

"Alright. And I'll explain the fight as we saw it on the way," she responded, and they left, sneaking by the quietly arguing adults and out the door. He wasn't supposed to be out yet, incase Sephiroth had done something they hadn't sensed to him – or so they said. Most likely the case had been so he didn't get right back up and go after him again. Which he was doing now. Kairi probably had been told to stay inside as well – because she would go after Sora.

Now they both were.

He paced the edge of the cliff, mentally swearing every time he spotted another drop of blood. "This was where they fought the first time, too?"

"That's what everyone else said. And where Cloud and Sephiroth had disappeared. But they didn't contain their fight this time. They went up there first." Kairi pointed up one wall to another cliff far above them. Riku studied it for a moment – and then walked to the cliff wall and began to climb. He wasn't surprised when Kairi started up behind him. The wall wasn't good for climbing, and though he heard her slip a few times, he never heard her gasp.

At the top his arms ached from the tension and the effort of the same repetitive movement, but he was faintly amazed to see Kairi not far behind. Before any of this had happened, even he wouldn't have been able to climb this, when he was fifteen. Or maybe he would have been, but not so quickly, and not without falling off a few times first. Kairi wouldn't have been able to – but she did now.

There was more blood, and even some black feathers just lying about. But it just went on – and when he went to where it stopped and peered down the side of another cliff, there was no blood or feathers – they had glided or flew from here, maybe fighting the whole way. He would never be able to track them now. His eyes flicked to the bracelet on his wrist once more and he took a breath. He wasn't much into magic, especially not of objects, except the ones he could make.

He turned to Kairi. "I'm going to see if this has any other uses than telling me emotions."

She smiled at him, but she had a feather in her hand and her eyes were dark. He felt a hint of envy – he had injured Sephiroth, but not enough that they moved from the battlefield. Physically, he and Sora amounted to the same – but Sora had all those extra abilities and it stung, but Sora was a better fighter than him now.

But he tried to focus only on good thoughts of Sora, and fumbling around for a way, he thought of the bracelet, and it's twin on Sora's wrist. Bending his will with all of his need to find the other boy, he tried to touch the other bracelet. He got more than he bargained for when the bracelet on his wrist flared with a rainbow of colors – and then everything around him faded. For a moment, there was only blackness around him and he tried not to panic – this didn't have the same smell as the realm of darkness.

He focused on Sora. It had to be doing something – there was no other reason for this to be happening. For long moments he thought he would be trapped in the dark again – and then there was a flash of light in the dark, and his mind was joined to another. He realized a moment later he was wrong, and there were two others. 'Riku?'

He choked down a cry at the voice – Sora's. And Roxas had asked as well, though his was fainter. Instead he struggled to reach them more, seeking where they were. He tried to think a question in there direction, but he had a sense that he was only confusing them. But Roxas seemed to get it after a moment and suddenly he could see again – except he was seeing water, and the castle above. It was only for a second, but he knew where they were. 'Good. Now get back to your body. I don't know what you did, but it's draining you and don't do it again – or at least anchor yourself next time.'

Riku had no idea what Roxas was talking about. Sora didn't seem to either by the confusion he could sense – but Sora trusted Roxas and he could almost feel the other boy gently pushing him back. Half panicked, he tried to struggle. But when Roxas joined in he was thrust away from them and mentally he cried out, 'Sora!'

He had found him – but now he was back in the dark. He didn't even know if Sora was all right, just where they were. They had pushed him out too fast. He wanted to try it again, talk to them, figure out what he had just done – but he had a feeling neither of them would like that and reluctantly he went back, focusing on himself. It was harder this time and for a moment the image of his bracelet and Sora's blurred – but then he heard a voice call his name and his eyes snapped open.

The first thing he saw was blue rock – he was on the ground. He also saw the flash of silver that was Kairi's jacket. He looked up and met her eyes from where she was crouched over him. "I'm on the ground."

"You fell. You were staring at the bracelet and then you just... collapsed. Are you all right? Did you find them?" Kairi helped him as he made to stand. His vision blurred and for a moment he could almost see the place where they were again – and then he saw the path there.

He had to smirk. He had still been skeptical about the bracelet, despite that it seemed to be accurate – but if he could find a way to do that without going unconscious, then the bracelet was more than worth the space on his wrists it took up. To be able to find Sora at anytime was priceless. It would have been better if both he and Kairi were wearing one, but maybe later they could find a third and connect them. Or... maybe he could make one. He had been studying in the library, though that was mostly battle items.

He shook his head. There was enough time to think of that later. "I found them. Talked to them a little."

"To Sora and Sephiroth?" Kairi asked, sounding shocked. "Through the bracelet?"

He blinked slowly and then shook his head once, sharply. "No, to Sora and Roxas."

He could see her thinking about that, the little frown on her face contemplative – but it quickly changed to worried and determined. "Why are we still standing here then?"

He smiled slightly and started jogging, his eyes sliding over to Kairi. Once satisfied that she could keep up and this wouldn't drain her stamina he said, "We're going back to the castle. Below it, actually. The waterways."

"But... The waterways? How did they even get there?" Her eyes flicked to the castle and he followed her gaze. It was quite the distance away. He could almost see it. Ultima flashing through the air and that deadly weapon of Sephiroth's slashing his boyfriend, throwing him up and away, a new cut one his chest, not deep enough to kill – this time. Riku had first hand experience of Sephiroth's weapon, and one wrong move on Sora's part would have that sword slicing through him.

He shook the vision off. Sora was alive. It hadn't happened –to either of them. It could have happened to him. It almost had – and Sora had saved him. There was a flood of shame and guilt there over being angry at Sora, but he pushed it away. He could think on it later. "I don't know. They just did."

"Why did he have to be so stupid?" Kairi cried out in frustration as they jogged. He gave her a sidelong glance, but she wasn't even looking at him. She seemed to have forgotten, or no longer cared, that it was because of him originally that Sora had left. She was too forgiving for his tastes. They all forgave him too easily.

He left the question hanging in the air, silently repeating it to himself. Why had he been so stupid? He had wanted to prove himself. That was the only reason he could think of – except proving himself wouldn't get their island back. If Sephiroth had killed him, they might have continued on their own – and died without that third part by their side.

They went to the castle in silence, and Riku headed down toward the waterway, Kairi following behind him. "They should be around here."

"Yes. I can see that," Kairi said, her voice hushed. He pivoted to face in her direction and his eyes widened. There was blood on the walls and feathers floating on the water. His eyes followed the trail of blood to where it went over a wall and he found himself following it, tracing it and climbing the wall beside it and up on a ledge. From there he could see into a courtyard – and he saw Roxas sitting there, looking up at him quietly.

Riku scrambled off the ledge and over to Roxas, who stared up at him with dark, serious eyes. "I'll switch back with him soon. He just needed... space. Away from the fight."

There was a quiet gasp from behind them. Roxas didn't look, and Riku had a feeling that the blond already knew why Kairi was gasping. Riku turned – and stifled a gasp himself. Sephiroth was there – not standing, not sitting, but unconscious, and in a mangled heap. His wing was at an odd angle and feathers were strewn everywhere.

"Roxas." Kairi's voice was firm, worried – and a little angry. "This was done by claws. I though he was being careful."

There was a quiet inaudible mutter from Roxas and then Riku tilted his head. He got a whisper of something from his bracelet and he turned, suspecting that now he could feel it. When the whisper of power was gone, there was Sora, his face pale and his hands balling quickly into fists to hide the shaking. "I was careful. Very careful."

Riku didn't like the sound of that. He tried to catch Sora's eyes, to see if he was implying what he thought he was. At the same time, he begged Kairi not to ask. He didn't want to know – this was Sora. If it had been him – that was different. But not Sora. Kairi asked anyway. "If you were careful, how did you transform?"

Riku saw Sora close his eyes as they both stared at him. Riku wished he could do the same – but instead he stared at his boyfriend, at the way he shook and bit his lip. His face was pale enough that Riku wondered if he would honestly be sick. Sora finally answered after a long silence, "I went Anti on purpose."

The silence was louder than any screams could have been and into it Sora babbled, "I didn't even know I could. I was just so angry with him and it was so easy. It was... there was Master Form, but then there was Anti Form, so powerful and I wanted to hurt him for what he had done. But at the same time, I knew I shouldn't, so I..."

He trailed off and Riku glanced at Kairi, seeing the horror flicker on her face – and then into disappointment, shaded with sympathy. "Sora... You can't just... If you know something's wrong, you can't just turn to another part of yourself and have it do it! Do you want to fall into darkness?"

"Like me," Riku added quietly, and he didn't need to look at either of them to see they had stiffened. But a hand slipped into his quickly, and he glanced up to see Sora staring at him worriedly. "I should be the one worried."

Sora smiled, a bit bitterly. "I won't do it again. I... I shouldn't have done it in the first place. But I wasn't thinking. He almostkilled you. I didn't want him to get away with that."

Quietly, so Kairi wouldn't hear Riku asked, "Did you want to kill him?"

Sora looked at him silently, his expression too serious for his usual moods. "I think I did."

"Do you regret it?" This was important. And Kairi would understand, she always did, but he needed to hear it first, without the other questions she would ask.

"Yes," Sora answered, and Riku smiled. He could see the guilt there. Sora just reacted first – he did regret things later.

"I can't kill him anyway. It's not my fight. It's not either of ours. I should have remembered that." Sora sighed, but he had relaxed a little, and they both turned. Riku smirked as Kairi pretended to be looking in the opposite direction. It was good of her to give them some time. He slipped his hand out of Sora's and they strode toward her together.

"I healed him a little," She told them immediately, and Riku grimaced, but didn't object. Sephiroth still looked mangled, but he was also stirring somewhat. He narrowed his eyes at the silver-haired man. He didn't really want to be here when he woke up.

Sora on the other hand was staring at Sephiroth and shuddering slightly. "I didn't even know I could turn into Anti Form on purpose. But I did – I'm never going to do that again."

There was a pause and then as Kairi bit her lip, and Sora asked, "Do you two mind if... If I do go Final Form? Not now... But maybe in the gummi ship or in town when there's backup around."

It took a moment for Riku to remember what Final Form was. Another form – and then he did remember. The form that cancelled out Anti Form. It made that darkness less close to the surface. Riku's eyes lingered on Sora, on the turn of his lips that was down, and the eyes that were staring at anything except them. "As soon as we're all well rested, I not only not mind, I'll make sure you do it."

"Me too," Kairi said softly, placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. "But... Are you sure you're okay? This... is different. You've never..."

He looked at her calmly over Sora's head and her eyes flicked up to his. He had given into the darkness before – he even still used the dark powers sometimes. Sora had just given into it once on purpose – and he hadn't even done something truly bad. Sephiroth deserved it – but Sora didn't deserve the guilt he was feeling now. Especially when it was, if either of them actually thought about, his fault. Sora went after Sephiroth because of him, and Anti Form was originally his fault as well.

"I'll be fine," Sora said seriously. "I just... I never thought it would be tempting. But I wanted to hurt him. And just to make him hurt, in revenge not because..."

Sora lowered his eyes and Riku put a hand on his other shoulder. He squeezed and saw Kairi do the same. Both of them exchanged worried glances before the three of them slowly made their way back to town.

It was a few days before they could get time away. But that was fine with Riku – it had given Kairi time to train with Leon. It was something she sorely needed. And he had studied in the library. Sora sometimes was with him, reading the spell book that Riku himself had given him. It gave them time to spend together – and no one interrupted them in the library when the temptation to put down the books and study each other became too much.

But sometimes Sora wasn't with him, and wasn't with Kairi. Riku checked the Chapel once, just to make sure Sora wasn't up there – but there was no sign Sora had been there anytime soon. It was only one afternoon he found where Sora was when he had drifted outside to sit on the ledge of one of the courtyards that stopped in the middle of the air.

It was a simple slip. A bit of sea-salt ice cream dripped down in back of him as he had shifted to stand. He looked up – and his gaze kept going up, to where he could see a hole in the machinery that grew out from the castle. Roxas stared down at him, his eyes a bit wide. But he didn't run, and Riku smirked in greeting – and then scowled as he looked up. He wasn't about to ask for help, but as he jumped and fell back, unable to gain access, he could hear Roxas chuckling.

Finally, in aggravation after seeing no way to get up from the wall and knowing Roxas would disappear if he was let out of his sight, he back edup to the edge of the ledge, and ran toward the wall. He took a breath, let it out – and sprinted at the wall. He was strong, and he was fast, and he knew quite well that he could get at least a few paces up the wall – but that far he could hardly get in normal space. In the in between space it was easier.

He went up a few paces, and then lunged upward. Roxas looked faintly surprised, and he saw a glimmer of respect as his hands scrabbled at the edge – and then he fell.

A hand snagged his wrist and pulled him up in one quick movement. "Sora would nag at me for the rest of our life if I let you get hurt."

"Think of the enjoyment you would be costing him if I was damaged," Riku mocked, and Roxas's eyes narrowed.

"I can still drop you," he threatened. Riku chuckled, suddenly amused, but didn't tease the Nobody further. Roxas pulled him up and he caught his balance and then settled against the wall, sitting down on the golden pipes. Roxas joined him a moment later, still licking at his popsicle. The silence was, for once, amiable, if slightly awkward.

"Is this where Sora has been going? Letting you out for a run?" Riku asked, ignoring the glare he received for his wording.

"I'm not a dog," Roxas responded coldly, and turned away.

"That's not an answer," Riku pointed out, smirking as Roxas's back stiffened. The Nobody was easily provoked – if he knew the right buttons. That those buttons were mostly pride, like his own, made it easier.

"Sometimes he has switched with me. Sometimes he's doing other things. If he wanted you to know, he would have told you," Roxas said, and there was a sneer on his face. Riku stiffened, a hundred thoughts flashing through his head.

Roxas had to be trying to provoke him. Sora wouldn't be hiding something now. But Roxas's mocking eyes said otherwise as the boy turned to stare at him more directly. He raised his chin and glared right back. "Then it can't be anything important."

"It's good you trust your boyfriend so well," Roxas said, his tone mocking. Riku felt himself flush with shame. His words had sounded trusting – but he hadn't been able to keep the suspicion from his voice, and Roxas had heard it. And what Roxas heard... So did Sora. It was his turn to look away.

"You two are so difficult," Roxas muttered, and then sat back down. "Relax, Riku. He's not doing anything dangerous. Sparring with the others and practicing magic, that's all."

The blond didn't sound happy about giving it away, but Riku didn't care. He relaxed and turned back, smiling slightly. It was the closest he would get to honestly smiling at Roxas – even if it was aimed to the other side of the boy in front of him. "Getting in trouble with Sora?"

"Shut up. That's none of your business." Roxas sounded truly upset and Riku was surprised. He just assumed the two always got along – or maybe not always, but most of the time. Roxas wasn't much like Sora – but he came from him. But now Roxas sounded upset and... there had been undertones to the few conversations with Roxas he had had recently. Undertones that he was now beginning to piece together.

He tilted his head and asked incredulously, "Are you jealous? That your Other has a boyfriend?"

"Riku. Shut. Up." Roxas stood again, and the ice cream was forgotten. Cold blue eyes stared at him and he resisted the urge to shudder. Roxas really felt emotions now – much better than when he had fought him those first times. There was real anger behind the boy now, and real power. Sora had never been truly angry with him in their spars in the last year – but Roxas had access to all of the same power Sora had.

So he didn't push it, for once. He took a few shallow breaths, keeping his eyes carefully trained on Roxas – and his hand empty of Slender Thorn. He kept his face neutral as Roxas glared at him. There was a shimmer of a Keyblade – but only of Kingdom Key and Riku blinked at it a moment before staring at Roxas. Before him wasn't an angry Organization member. It was an angry teenage boy. Roxas's attention turned to the Keyblade as well and he scowled – and it changed to Bonds of Flames as Roxas's hand moved in a blur to exchange keychains.

The second appeared a moment later, Fenrir in his grip. Riku eyed him more warily now. This was different. It wasn't the Roxas he had fought – but neither was it the Roxas who had been in Twilight Town. He hadn't really had a long conversation with Roxas – ever. But this was different. Roxas's blue eyes were angry. Not the confused anger of Twilight Town, or the empty, echoing anger of the Organization. This was... this was Sora's Roxas, and Riku felt a sudden flame of envy as he realized Sora and Roxas knew each other better than he ever could.

It faded quickly when he realized Roxas really had been jealous – and maybe living in the same body didn't give them instant understanding of each other. Sora could still be angry at Roxas, and vice versa. It was this knowledge that kept him still; his hands open in a placating gesture as he watched Roxas. Part of him yearned for a spar – but not like this. Not using all their power. They would damage each other too much – and the things around them.

Finally, when Slender Thorn failed to show, Roxas let the two Keyblades drop. Riku quirked an eyebrow, feeling it was safe to ask a question. "Kingdom Key?"

"I was sparring earlier with Cloud." Roxas shrugged, keeping a careful eye on him even as he settled down on a golden pipe. Riku moved to join him. "I forgot to change it back."

"Did you beat him?" He was curious to know, if only because Kingdom Key was less powerful than the others. Roxas gifted him with a superior sneer and Riku smirked. "I'll take that as an 'easily'."

"Everyone always seems surprised when I call Thundaga down on them. Lightning startles everyone, but despite being Sora's Nobody... Heh. Even Cloud jumped back and took me seriously after that." Roxas leaned back, smirking and sounding cheered. He guessed Roxas hadn't liked being underestimated. And that he had been absolutely thrilled to rub it in the faces of those doubters how weak he was not.

"They only know Sora well. They're still wary of me once in awhile, and... Well, sometimes I think they see Kairi as their Princess." He narrowed his eyes as he spoke. Kairi was a Princess of Heart – but she was not Radiant Garden's princess anymore. She was theirs. His and Sora's, Roxas and Naminé's – not Aerith's or Leon's.

Roxas seemed to share the sentiment. He scoffed and said, "Kairi could never stay and play princess for them."

He shifted a look at the Nobody, and then asked before he could overanalyze it, "Do you have many conversations with Kairi?"

Roxas looked at him, startled by the apparent change of topic. "Not really – once in awhile Sora and Kairi ask if we – Naminé and I – want to talk to each other and sometimes after that I talk to Kairi. Mostly I just..."

"See her through Sora," Riku finished, and Roxas nodded shortly, apparently done with the conversation for now. Riku shrugged and leaned against the wall. He was perfectly fine with a little silence.

He had actually been getting restless. They had been in Radiant Garden too long. He had sought out Roxas a few more times, and even sparred with him, though both were cautious about how far they treaded in their conversations. Riku knew he had been given a verbal flaying for provoking Roxas – and Roxas had probably been given the same. Or in his case, a mental one. It was interesting to try and talk to Roxas – he was defensive on the oddest things. He and Sora's knowledge of each other – he had thought by now Roxas would be content with his new existence, but he always seemed uncomfortable at the topic and it was added to a growing list of things to avoid if he wanted Roxas to not hit him with Thundaga,

But he was glad to be going away. Gummi space was a welcome sight. So was having both his friends within arms length at all times. They were all sleeping in the same room again, instead of in different ones. Though that hadn't always kept one or the other from creeping into his room at night. They knew he would always welcome their presence. But it was better in the gummi ship. Cramped as it was, at least if he woke up he didn't have to make sure his nightmares had only been dreams – both of his friends were always there. And he could wake Sora from his nightmares, or Kairi from hers.

The first night, he was surprised when both of them immediately curled up closer to him. Kairi usually kept polite distance and stayed on her own bed – not that the difference could be told unless someone looked at the three separate frames – and Sora didn't always want to be touched at all. In the latter case, Riku just waited for him to sleep, and held him anyway. He needed it, with his nightmares.

Instead he enjoyed the night, with them both close by, and slept with an arm around Sora and his other being used as a pillow by Kairi. He woke up with his arm nearly numb, but all three had slept through the night without even a single dream. He smirked and brushed a kiss to Sora's forehead, watching the boy stir sleepily. Then he slipped his arm gently from beneath Kairi and soon both were waking up. Sora was faster to wake, but the more reluctant of the two to actually move away.

Kairi stood first, stretching out and collecting clothes from the floor lazily. "Are we going to Atlantica?"

"Atlantica. Or the Pride Lands. Either could have new paths," Sora explained, finally turning in the bed. Riku sat up a second later, giving Sora a thoughtful look.

"Gummi space has been clear lately. We should all get dressed and prepared," Riku stated, and saw both of them give him confused looks. He smirked and met Sora's eyes. "Time for us to see Final Form."

In the end, it was very simple. And it didn't quite act as Riku thought it would. They stood in the cockpit only because it had the most space, Sora took a breath – and then there was a flash of light. Energy drained from him – but not in the alarming amount he had suspected. And when the light faded and he saw Sora's shocked expression, he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. But his attention was caught by Sora's new outfit. He took a step forward, grinning a bit as he realized Sora was floating a couple of inches off the floor.

"Wow, Sora. You look great!" Riku glanced at her – and suddenly he knew why Sora looked so shocked. He glanced down at his own clothes and it was confirmed. Sora had the strength – but some of the effects had spread. Their clothes had turned silver as well.

"Kairi," He called, and saw her eyes light on him – and then on his attire. And down to hers.

"What...?" She asked, as bewildered as he was. He looked at Sora, who just shook his head. Oathkeeper and Ultima floated around him. He narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering why it was Oathkeeper and not one of the others.

Sora shrugged. "I don't know. This hasn't happened before. Then again..."

Sora trailed off and stared at them. Impatiently, Riku asked, "What? Sora, this is kind of weird."

"Goofy and Donald weren't another Keyblade Wielder. They were still powerful – but they didn't have Keyblades." Sora looked pensive as he talked, and the Keyblades slowed in their whirling as if in response to their emotions.

"But... I can't call Radiant Spirit like you two can call yours," Kairi pointed out. Reminded of this, Riku called her Keyblade and handed it to her before calling Slender Thorn. The Keyblade almost seemed alive in his hand for once and he glanced at Kairi, seeing that her eyes were on her own blade in surprise.

He swung Slender Thorn, and though much of his energy was gone... they could fight like this. Not for long, but if it was needed, they weren't going to be out of commission. He could even feel Sora and Kairi behind him. Not just their physical presence, but also the edge of their thoughts – enough to know where they would move an instant before they did it. It would be great to use in battle. "We can fight like this."

"What?" Sora seemed startled. "But... aren't you tired?"

"Yes... I am," Kairi answered first, "But... I'm not exhausted. Maybe... Maybe Final Form needs less of our energy than... normal people."

To Riku, that was just fine. He could see the other two frowning, but he was glad. Final Form kept Anti Form away, and this meant Sora could transform into Final Form more often without having to worry about it. So they used up energy a little faster – it was worth it.

"I guess this is a good thing," Sora said doubtfully. "I just can't believe we would be this lucky. There has to be a downside."

"We'll test it then," Riku said confidently. "Next small battle we get into we'll test it. You'll see, this will work out fine."

Riku didn't need to see Sora's face to know that he still doubted – the Keyblades moved back and forth uncertainly instead and Riku raised an eyebrow. "Do they always mimic you like that?"

"Huh? Oh... I don't know. I was always in battle before. They just kinda did what I wanted – more than I knew they could, sometimes." Sora shrugged, dismissing the Keyblade's bond with him out of hand. Riku frowned, but let it go. He could pursue the topic later, when Sora wasn't worried about all of them turning silver. Riku thought digging into the Keyblade's behavior was just as important, but he couldn't do a thing about that now. He glanced at the bracelet on his wrist – and stared, once again stunned.

It had faded – there was still an outline of it on his skin, and the gem still gleamed – but it was embedded in his wrist. And it was split in two, a black line running down the middle, with two sets of varying colors. One he knew was Sora's, instinctively – and then the faded colors, the ones harder to make out, those had to be Kairi's. "I found one effect."

He raised his wrist toward them, and Kairi and Sora forgot about other possible side effects as their eyes snapped to where his bracelet had been. Riku stared at Sora's wrist as the boy raised it. It was the same. With a shrug and a grin, Sora said, "I just hope it's not permanent. People would give us a few odd looks if we had jewels stuck in our skin and the tattoo of a bracelet."

"Because that the important thing," Riku replied dryly. "Other people noticing. Not the fact it happened in the first place."

Sora rolled his eyes – and then there was a flash of light as Sora landed and their outfits faded back to their normal colors. The bracelet flared, the colors melding back into one jewel, only Sora's emotions as it had been before. And it was no longer an outline on his wrist, but a thick silver bracelet. "There. See, it's fine?"

He blinked and looked up into Sora's raised eye. "You turned back on purpose?"

"Reverted back to normal, yup. That's enough for now – I don't want to stay in Final too long either. It drains energy much more quickly than the others – though mostly just at the beginning." Sora settled a bit warily into the pilot's chair. His eyes flickered to the screen. "Hey! We're almost at Atlantica."

Riku stared at the bracelet on his wrist for a moment longer before shrugging and sliding into the seat to Sora's left. Kairi smiled at them both, her hand still on Radiant Spirit. He could still feel it as a distant connection, becoming weaker all the time. He had definite theories on why Radiant Spirit existed now, but he wasn't going to reveal them yet. Kairi would figure it out on her own.

There had been no Nobody this time – but there had been a merman who had sought too much power. Oddly, he had wanted the heart of one of Ariel's older sisters. Originally at least. He wanted to impress her, and became obsessed with the power, with dark magic – and the Heartless that responded to a heart slowly turning dark. What he hadn't realized is the closer to pure dark he became, the closer to becoming a Heartless he was. That was why the Heartless obeyed his call. He was close to them.

He had dealt the final blow to the man as Sora kept the Heartless from his back and Kairi sped about the edges of the battle, keeping escaping Heartless away from the people. It worked well, the three swimming around. And in the merman's cave was a crown, stolen from Atina.

It was as he held it and Sora swam close that it began to glow. The crown floated from his grasp and he saw Sora's eyes widen. He wondered what he saw – all he ever saw when Sora did it was it floating, glowing, and the sound of a click. But now a crown formed at his feet, a black outline with a silver shine to it. Suddenly there were rolling black clouds around him, against a night sky. The crown, glowing silver, gave off the most light.

He took a stroke back, and braced himself against the wind rushing around him. How there was wind under water he didn't know, but he took the Keyblade out and it led him to point upward. The light was more almost dark, like it got sometimes when he and Sora were especially working close together and both Keyblades trapped enemies in bright light and a darker light – if it could be called light. It didn't smell like darkness – it just wasn't quite pure light. It was more like bits of light and darkness swirling together.

The Keyhole that appeared however was as bright as any could be. A rush of power buzzed through his veins and his eyes focused intently on the glowing shape. Slender Thorn shot out its mix of light and dark and the Keyhole closed with a familiar click. He blinked, a little dazed as the light faded. So startled from the experience, he even forgot to keep himself up and drifted toward the sea floor, crown floating down faster. He saw Kairi catch it, her eyes looking at it strangely. For a moment of fierce jealousy he wondered if she had wanted one. If she had wanted to be a Princess. But then she turned and gave it to Atina who had swum up while he was opening a new path.

He was startled when another body slid up against his from the side and a tail nudged against him with each stroke. For some reason he almost found himself flushing as his head jerked over to see Sora's soft, tender smile. "It's cool, isn't it?"

"It's... new. Definitely a good kind of new," Riku said, still feeling a rush of power in his veins. He let Sora set them down gently, and licked his lips as Sora settled down next to him, their tails overlapping. He wasn't as tired as he should have been after that battle. Finally he had been able to open a new path. And not by destroying his whole world either. Smirking, he ran his fingers slowly, deliberately, down Sora's spine and was rewarded with widened eyes and the smile fading to surprise.

"I'm guessing you liked it then," Sora said after a moment, and Riku smirked as Sora turned, shifting to face him more completely. No one would notice them for a few minutes at least. He ran his hands through spiky locks and wasn't surprised when Sora skipped the slow caresses for an impatient kiss. Despite the fact he had started it, he teasingly slowed down the kiss, brushing languid caressed down his arms and back with his hands.

Sora made an impatient noise in the back of his throat and Riku grinned, glad to have the other one being impatient this time. Thanks to the fact they had been in the gummi ship and neither really wanted to disturb Kairi too much they had done almost nothing. Riku had been frustrated – but finding Sora was just as frustrated and with his recent triumph he felt like teasing the smaller boy. It didn't happen too often that either of them did this, forcing the pace down – and usually it was Sora, who was more likely to kiss and then back off suddenly and disappear. Riku wasn't that troublesome.

He laughed as Sora tried to press closer, breaking off the kiss. Sora's eyes were narrowed, and his lips hovering at the edge of a pout, something more rarely seen now. Without warning, Riku twisted their tails together, and flipped onto the other boy, his hands going on either side of Sora's head – more to keep him from floating off than anything else. "Is there something you want, Sora?"

Unexpectedly, Sora grinned. "A lot. But most of it I can't have in these bodies."

Riku briefly froze at the implication and cursed the fact they were in the bodies of mermen. Technically, they could try and make it work, but he didn't relish trying anything below the waist when they didn't really have legs. And if they tried to go back to the gummi ship, someone would certainly catch them. "Damn it, Sora."

Sora did look chagrined, as if he realized how frustrated he had just made them both. His eyes flicked away from him and Riku saw a light of decision there. "Come on. Kairi can handle this by herself. She'll know where we've gone."

"But – she's by herself. If Heartless attack - " Riku started to protest. He did want to go, and Sora was already slipping away from his grasp, but Kairi could get into trouble.

"She'll be fine. We destroyed what was mainly calling them, and whatever's left she can handle on her own, you know that. Besides, with two of us in the gummi ship, she's less likely to be attacked." Sora was actually being reasonable, and Riku wondered how he could suddenly come up with all this. But Sora did come up with observations at the strangest times. Riku did know all this – but he still liked to be there when Kairi was.

The gray tail was rapidly disappearing away from him, low to the sea floor, and he followed after half reluctantly – but spurred on when Sora called out, "I'll repeat what I did on my birthday for you."

He smirked and suddenly swam faster, pinning Sora to the wall while the boy was surprised. He pressed his lips to Sora's hard and then pulled away fast, dashing away "No, you won't. It's my turn."

He heard Sora laugh and their tails brushed as Sora caught up, swimming under him so he could look him in the eyes. Riku raised an eyebrow, and Sora responded simply, "I have no problems with that."

"I can't imagine you would," Riku purred, and was rewarded with Sora flushing, and speeding up to go ahead of him.

"You know I had to cover for you two. Sora, your shirt's untucked. Riku, yours is on backwards. Can't you two even put your clothes back on right? And I really hope you have more of an excuse for not saying farewells to everyone than just some time to... Ah..." Kairi lost a little steam at the end as Riku raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't even get up to try and fix his shirt. He didn't care right now. He was surprised they had managed to get their clothes back on at all. Only the fact they knew Kairi would be back eventually made them take short – and unfortunately separate – showers and put clothes back on.

Sora hadn't even bothered with his normal clothes, instead just tossing on a gray t-shirt and shorts. Riku had left his vest off, and he smirked and carefully tried not to flush as Kairi eyed the discarded clothes. "Time to what? Get each other off?"

"Riku!" Both Kairi and Sora glared at him, though Sora's was toned down, and there wasn't that much effort in it. He doubted Sora would be able to be very angry with him for a while. Though, he guessed Sora could say the same thing about him.

He waved off their protest. "Sorry, sorry. And we had other reasons. We wanted to see what paths had opened up. And two did."

They had checked – very briefly, more of Sora glancing at the screen and mentioning it. Riku applauded his great memory considering he had been more focused on Sora's neck at the moment. Remembering that, he casually glanced at Sora's neck and smirked and that mark there. His eyes switched to Kairi's and he saw her gaze had followed his and she rolled her eyes. "Sora, do you know what he did?"

"Huh?" As Kairi made hand motions to Sora's neck, Riku laid a finger there and tapped it. Sora relaxed and Riku tilted his head, surprised. "Oh, I saw that in the bathroom. Why?"

Riku glared at him, and Kairi giggled. "Don't worry, he did the same thing when we dated – and then later showed me why he didn't take it very seriously."

"Why's that?" he asked, keeping an eye on Sora's growing smile.

"Cure," Kairi said dryly, and walked outside. He could still hear her giggling in the hallway, but it faded as she walked to the cockpit. Riku turned his aqua eyes onto his grinning boyfriend.

"You'd better not," He threatened. Sora waved him off.

"I won't use Curaga like that. Not until it's needed. Frustrated Kairi though when I didn't want it to be seen sometimes." He was still grinning and there was barely suppressed laughter dancing in his eyes.

Riku shook his head, blowing strands of his long bangs out of his eyes. "I need a hair cut."

"Maybe just your bangs. Your hair looks good long." As if to prove it, Sora ran a hand through it and Riku relaxed enough to lean into the touch. That apparently encouraged his boyfriend enough to continue doing it, and rub his fingers gently into his scalp. Riku decided he would later curse Sora for making him melt into a limp pile of limbs, but his hands felt too good right now and he hoped falling asleep while Sora did this wasn't going to offend him.

Because he was going to do it anyway. He just didn't want to be woken up by yelling later.

End Chapter Sixteen.

And the next two worlds will take up much chapter space on their own. The next one is a repeat from KH1, the one after that, one of the older animated Disney films. I'm looking forward to both. And after that... Well, we'll be edging into end of the story territory... or, sort of.