Disclaimer: I don't own them. If I did, I'd have enough money to buy myself a personal ensemble. You know, the kind that follows you around and sings when stuff happens to you.

Warnings: spoilers for the game, the usual...and uhm, boring-ish-ness? This chapter is mainly for explanation purposes (hence the title "Reflections"). Lots of talk, not-so-lots of action. shrugs sorry, it needs to be done. The story would be kinda confusing and frustrating otherwise.

Thank you, all who reviewed! Especially Just-a-Nightmare, You're an awesome beta! I live off of your feedback. :)

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Chapter 1: Reflections part 2

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I've been looking for you all this time.

You were here all along…

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Riku had most of the answers.

He knew exactly what he had done, he knew exactly where Kairi was, and he knew exactly what was going on. However, just because he had most of the answers, doesn't mean he had all of them. A few still unanswered questions gnawed at his heartstrings. Most of which surrounded two people.

Sora and Kairi. Both of whom Riku held dear to his heart. Riku could remember his days on Destiny Islands. Those were the blissful and ignorant days, the happier days when all that mattered was Sora finishing his dinner so that he and Riku could play sooner. Sora had always and perhaps will always be Riku's rock, someone Riku could depend on to never change. Riku could always count on Sora to be just that: Sora. Sora and his vibrant, expressive eyes that, although predictable, never ceased to warm Riku's heart. However, there was so much more to the universe than the one world they had been born on. Riku was eternally grateful for Kairi's soft presence; her sudden arrival on the island made him think and question the truth of the knowledge he had.

What those two had been to Riku was clear. What Riku is to them proved to be a slightly different story, especially Sora's. The brunette obviously cared for everyone, but who was the one most special to him? Who was his light?

Sora never answered Riku's question, so Riku never fully knew what lay in the depths of brunette's heart. He was not going to assume anything. Assuming was what ultimately usurped Maleficent and Riku was not going to make that mistake.

Even so, Riku had the sinking feeling that Sora would choose Kairi.

"Boy?" a low, raspy voice interrupted Riku's thoughts. Riku shifted his eyes sideways to look at the speaker.

The voice belonged to a man. His face was half hidden in the shadows under a hooded cloak, as was the rest of his body, but his features were distinct. Sharp cheekbones accentuated slanted yellow eyes, two thin mustache clung to the skin above his mouth, twisted by the snarl he held at the tip of his tongue. His nose was small but sharp, contrasting the strong and large chin that jutted out prominently from the rest of his facial features. He had a bulky upper body that took up way too much room for his own good.

"Yes, Shan Yu?" Riku asked without moving to turn his head fully towards the Hun.

The Hun fixed a steady stare at Riku and answered in a hushed growl, "We're waiting."

The teen didn't answer immediately and continued to keep steady eye contact with the Hun, letting the silence hang.

Shan Yu was challenging Riku's authority. No one dared to break the silence, each person fully aware of the silent battle between the two. The tension in the room grew thicker by the second. The closest anyone has ever gotten to actually beating Riku was Sora, and even the brunette was far from Riku's level.

Riku had never lost to anyone before and he certainly wasn't going to start now.

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Sora's body crumpled and fell forward. Riku caught his friend's slack form. He bent down slightly, placing his arm behind Sora's knees and picked the boy up with very little effort. Riku adjusted his arm around Sora's shoulders and tilted the smaller boy's form so that his head automatically lolled onto Riku's shoulder. Sora's breath fell lightly onto the older teen's neck. Clutching his best friend's body closer to his own, Riku began to leave the entrance.

A shout halted his movement.

"Hey, You!" Donald, having broken the wall of heartless that surrounded him, was charging towards Riku, staff raised in offense.

One of the anti-Sora materialized before Donald and forced him to halt.

"My name is Riku." he sneered at the duck, "I thought you'd know that by now."

With one final strike of his shield, Goofy finally managed to break the wall of heartless that had surrounded him and ran up to stand next to Donald. The knight raised his shield, ready to attack. "Where are you taking Sora?" Goofy asked.

"I have no intention of hurting him, if that's what you're asking", Riku replied, turning his head to the side to glance at the duo. He turned his head back and made to continue on his way.

"We can't take your word for it." Donald retorted. He gripped his staff fiercely, eyes fixed on the heartless that looked so much like the Keyblade master.

Riku spun around to glare the two companions. "I don't have to prove anything to you." Riku spat. There was only one person who Riku wanted and needed approval from. He didn't care about the opinion of anyone else.

Donald didn't like the answer. He stepped forward and said in a strong voice, "Then we're coming with you!"

"Sora is our friend." Goofy added, "We'd never leave him behind."

Goofy made eye contact with Riku and held his gaze. Riku glared at the knight, but the knight's gaze never wavered.

After intense moments of silence, Riku relented. "Fine." he muttered. He didn't want more company, but he was pretty sure Sora would not approve if the mage and the knight were hurt. Riku nonchalantly sighed, dismissing the anti-Soras blocking the two companions and calmly walked out of the main entrance with Sora's two party members trailing closely behind. Not a single word was spoken among the three throughout the entire trek. With every passing moment, Donald became more and more agitated. It wouldn't be long before the duck would burst into a fit of rage. Riku didn't care one way or the other, Goofy was fearful but ready, and Sora was completely oblivious to the entire predicament.

A few of the doors they passed held noisy occupants. Goofy thought he heard a beastly roar from behind one of them but he kept his thoughts to himself. The three walked for what seemed like hours around the twisting corridors of the castle. Riku continued to pad down the corridors while he held Sora's body securely against his own.

Eventually, the silver-haired teen came to a stop in front of two large, oak doors. Riku walked towards the two doors with steady steps. Before Riku had reached the frame, the doors slid open on their own accord to reveal a lavish red room. The room was lit with small, crystal glass lanterns in an odd shape like that of an egg on top of a lotus flower. The walls were painted a light shade of sky blue with white embroidery on the lower half. In the dim light, the ceiling and the floor were hidden in the shadows. Only one piece of furniture adorned the room. At the center an enormous, four-poster bed, stood half hidden within the drapes that flowed from the high ceiling.

Riku entered the room and carefully laid Sora's unresisting body onto the bed. He slowly slipped his arms from around Sora and sat down on the silken sheets, making a slight dip in the mattress. Sora's head fell to the side, away from Riku.

Donald and Goofy made to enter the room but Riku held up a hand to stop their approach. The teen moved his hand to cover Sora's. He did not speak, he just watched as the brunette slept peacefully. After a few moments, Riku slipped his fingers away from Sora's hand. He slid from the bed, confidently walked towards the large doors, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaned his back on the doorframe.

Never acknowledging the presence of the other two, Riku gazed into the room. He wasn't planning to make the first move.

"So what are you planning to do now?" Donald asked, too agitated to wait any longer. When Riku continued to gaze at Sora's sleeping form without giving any indication that he had heard the question, the duck frowned but continued, "I'm Donald Duck, high magician of King Mickey's court. I'm under orders from to the King to follow the Keyblade."

"And I'm Goofy!" the knight added, "I'm under the same borders."

"Orders!" Donald corrected in a huff.

Riku's eyes followed the conversation between the two. He couldn't see how these two could have survived this long. One was a lit fuse while the other was a complete idiot and neither were very strong. One possibility entered his mind; Sora must have done most of the work. He turned around and peered into the room again with a sigh. In a low voice, he said, "As long as you don't get in my way."

Donald felt as confused as Goofy looked. The mage asked, "What are you talking about?"

"So..." a new voice interrupted, " You've managed to obtain the Keyblade." Three heads turned towards the source of the voice.

Maleficent.

She stood tall in her flowing, midnight black robes as she languidly watched the sleeping form of Sora within the room. Riku cursed at his inattention; he had not felt her silent approach.

Goofy didn't quite believe what he had just heard. "Huh?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

Donald managed to come up with a slightly better question, "Keyblade?"

"What do you plan to do with the boy?" she asked, completely ignoring Donald and Goofy as she slid her eyes from the door to land a fixed stare on Riku.

"That's none of your concern." came the curt reply.

"What do you mean, 'obtained the Keyblade'?" Donald tried again, "The Keyblade is Sora's and Sora's alone!"

Maleficent raised her staff from the ground slightly and tapped the ground once and silently cast a spell. She muttered in contempt, "Fools." As she held her head high in arrogance, Maleficent drifted past the frozen Donald and Goofy, moving closer to Riku. She lowered her voice even though only Riku could hear her, "That child is useless now." the black witch urged, glancing at the mage and frowned when she saw the frozen duck's glare oddly fixed on her, "He will be nothing but extra baggage."

"I'll do what I want with him." Riku's voice was colder than ice. Maleficent could see his closed fist shaking.

"He is in your way," Maleficent almost asked. The confidence in her voice wavered.

"He is mine, Maleficent," Riku hissed, "Do not touch what is mine."

Riku's rigid stance, his clear anger, made Maleficent reevaluate her beliefs about the boy. Perhaps she had initially misread him. Maleficent always prided herself in her inherent ability for quick thinking. It didn't disappoint her. A stray thought floated into her mind.

"What is he to you?" the silky assurance creeping back into her voice. Maleficent took in every movement that the boy made. For a split second, she noted a slight change of expression on his face. It was small, a delicate twitch of the eyebrow and a slight downward curve at the corner of his mouth, but she didn't miss it. Maleficent made a mental note to explore this newly discovered avenue of Riku's heart.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again," Riku growled as he spared a quick, sideways glance through the open door, "That's none of your concern." His voice was low and his face was back to the emotionless mask he always put on in front of Maleficent, warning her to back down.

Before she had time to pry further, she felt her spell fading. Their two guests would arouse from their frozen state soon.

Maleficent quickly glided back to the spot she had been before she cast the spell on her two guests. Riku continued to glare at her. Donald and Goofy roused from their frozen states, oblivious to the small conversation that had passed between the teen and the witch.

"What happened?" Donald asked as he looked around.

"What ever do you mean?" Maleficent asked. She didn't fool Donald.

"I felt magic around me stir." Donald quacked angrily, "Someone cast a spell just now." You cast that spell. What did you cast? The question didn't need to be asked; it hung thickly in the air.

"I assure you, no one cast any spell." Maleficent said in a steady voice, "If someone did, I would be aware of it. After all, this is my castle."

Having had enough, Donald lost his temper and raged, "I don't believe you. What just happened?" He flailed his arms around, jumping up and down on the floor. The duck continued to glare at Maleficent.

Apparently, the mage was somewhat smarter than he looked.

Riku glowered at Maleficent as she stared at him intently, silently communicating to him that their conversation was not over yet. Riku scowled, spun on his heel and silently stalked into the room where Sora slept, slamming the large doors behind him. The witch tightened her grasp on her staff in fury but refrained from taking any action. She could do nothing but wait and bide her time, but this new information might prove quite useful to her. When Maleficent had first approached Riku, she had made one miscalculation: she thought that Riku had wanted Kairi.

"What are you hiding?" Donald asked the witch suspiciously.

Maleficent turned her attention to the two figures Riku had left behind. She felt her staff hum with anger and the bile rising in her throat.

It must have been Merlin.

The wizard she hated above all and the only wizard that she truly feared; in the use of magic, he was the only being more powerful than she. Merlin must have given those two their weapons. Merlin's magical signature radiated off of the knight and mage. Maleficent's face twisted with disgust. Plans of how to rid herself of King Mickey's lackeys were already forming in her head. Donald tightened his grip on his staff with a spell on the tip of his tongue.

Maleficent knew how to pick her fights. She didn't have much time left so she couldn't waste her time with these two.

Without another word, Maleficent schooled her features together, turned the opposite direction, and swiftly retreated down the hall.

Donald moved to follow her, but Goofy stopped him.

"Sora's in there, Donald." Goofy said, pointing to the doors Riku had so forcefully closed, "We can't just leave him there alone." Goofy didn't need to say it; it was already implied. With Riku.

"Ahh, phooey," was all Donald could manage as he crossed his arms across his chest and tapped his foot in impatience. If there was one thing that really pushed Donald's patience, however thin it may be, it was getting left out of the loop. He glared at the withdrawing black figure of Maleficent's cape as it faded into the dark reaches of the wide castle hallway.

The two elite of King Mickey's court waited anxiously by the closed door, waiting for the two people beyond.

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Although he was confident in his own abilities, Shan Yu weighed his options. He had witnessed Riku's skill in a fight only once and the silver haired teen had won without breaking a sweat. Even though the fight had been intense, Shan Yu could tell Riku had been holding back. The teen's full potential had yet to be revealed. As much as Shan Yu hated to admit it, he was very likely to lose if he tried to engage Riku in battle.

Shan Yu lowered his gaze, silently admitting defeat. The Hun snarled one last time before turning to take his leave. With a wave of the hand Riku dismissed the rest of gathering around him. The rest of the group was more than ready to leave as quickly as possible.

In the company of silence, Riku's thoughts began to wander again.

Sora was going to come back to Hollow Bastion.

All Riku had to do was wait. It was just a matter of time.

Riku brought his right hand up to eye level and studying the black genie lamp he held loosely. Jafar may not be as useless as Riku first thought.

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tbc

Note: Yeah, a few suggestive comments came out of Riku's pretty little mouth. Yay for suggestive content:)
Also, about the Riku not losing to anyone part. I'm well aware that in the first game, you have a few opportunities to beat Riku. Personally, I never was able to beat him. (I beat Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie three-to-one hands down many times, but I was not able to beat Riku by his lonesome...mainly because of that aggravating drop-kick and because I kept FALLING OVER THE STUPID LEDGE.)

You know the drill. The button calls...