Sassy's Note: Anyone else think this has been a bit too disturbing? Yeah, let's try and lighten the mood a bit. Say hello to Kioshi!

The World's Heart

When Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy quietly walked out of Yen Sid's room four sets of eyes looked at them expectantly. Riku just heaved a sigh and kept his eyes trained on the floor. So Sora was the Prince of Destiny. That didn't mean anything to him. It wasn't the answer to how to get Sora back, and it didn't stop this from happening to him in the first place. At least now he knew that Sora wasn't dead and this whole thing was reversible. They just now had to find out what exactly had happened.

Yen Sid hadn't been able to tell them anything else. That old creep was just about as clueless as they were. So now it was up to them to investigate further.

"Before anything else is said, let's get the fuck out of here, yo," said Reno, almost angrily gnawing on an unlit cigarette.

Cloud smirked. "Still got the creeps, Reno?"

"Fuck you, Strife."

King Mickey shook his head, a small smile on his face, but led the way out. The redhead was right behind him. Leon and Rude snickered under their breaths at him. Riku grinned a bit as well; he was glad the others were trying to keep the mood light. He was starting to feel… hopeless about all of this. He didn't know where they were going to go from here.

When they finally exited the tower through the huge doors, it was Leon who stopped them and implored them to tell the others what had happened. King Mickey obliged the scarred man, and for a few minutes, he recounted what they had learned. Not nearly enough, thought Riku with another sigh.

"So what do we do now?" asked Rude. "We need more information. There's got to be something… Rufus' sources may know something."

"Good idea," said Mickey. "And we have full access to all of Ansem the Wise's notes on the worlds and his research."

"So our best bet is to head back to Radiant Garden?" inquired Leon.

"Yup."

Riku nodded, and pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. "Before we go, I'm going to call Ileana," he said, wincing a bit. She'd be disappointed, but he promised he's keep her updated. Kairi patted his shoulder. Mickey smiled at him and wandered away toward the gummi ship where Cid was waiting for them, and the others followed.

With a sigh, Riku flipped his phone open and started dialing the number he knew all too well.

---

When Riku climbed in the ship a few minutes later, he was rather surprised to find Kairi in tears of laughter. He raised an eyebrow at her. Giggling merrily, she pointed at Reno, who was sitting with his back to everyone else, puffing away on one of his cancer sticks. The redhead was rigid and had a scowl painted across his face.

"What did I miss?" asked the silver-haired teen.

"Strife and Leonhart are fuckin' bastards," said Reno. "Giving a guy grief just because he doesn't like the feel of a creepy ass place like this…"

"How did you become a Turk if you can stand a place like this?" asked Cloud. The blond looked more amused than Riku had ever seen him. Cloud Strife smiling… imagine that.

"I'm damn good at my job," said Reno defensively. "You stay alive on the field by following your gut instinct, and right now mine's tellin' me to get the hell out of here."

"Hate to say it, but I agree with Lanky here," said Cid from the pilot's seat. "This place ain't right. Direct course for Radiant Garden it is."

"It's a sad day when Highwind is the only one with any sense around here," Reno muttered.

Kairi giggled a bit more before turning her attention to Riku. "Did you talk to Ileana?"

"Oh, yeah. She's… okay. She wants us to let her know if something comes up."

"I wish she had come with us," said the girl sadly. "It's hard to think of her there alone just waiting for news about her own son."

Riku didn't say anything. That was hard to think about.

At the control panel, Cid punched away at the buttons that would take them back to Radiant Garden. Everyone else found a seat and buckled in. The ride wouldn't take very long, and Riku was kind of eager to see the rest of the gang.

"Don't lose sight of your goal."

Riku just blinked when he heard the voice. Then, after a moment, he asked it in a whisper, "What is my goal?"

No one heard him, and the voice didn't answer.

---

They touched down in Radiant Garden less than an hour later, and each of them went their separate ways. Rude and Reno immediately went to report to Rufus Shinra. Leon hurried off to the scene of the Restoration to check the progress. Cloud strolled away to Aerith's house to let her know they had returned. Cid kicked everyone else off the ship and flew away toward his garage.

Riku, feeling a bit nervous, tapped King Mickey on the shoulder. The mouse didn't turn to him, but it seemed he understood, because he said, "Donald, Goofy, you two go ahead to Ansem's study. Talk to Tron and see if he can pull up anything."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Donald saluted him; Goofy waved cheerfully at them; and they headed down the path as well.

"Hey, Kairi?" Riku asked. She looked at him. "Why don't you go see Aerith as well? I've… got something I need to discuss with the King." She lifted a red eyebrow. "Only for a minute! I'll be right there."

"Fine," she said with slight huff. She threw her long over her shoulder and stalked away down the path after Cloud.

Riku winced. "She's going to be asking about that later," he mused. Mickey grinned wryly.

"You should probably tell her."

"About the voice?"

"Yes. I think she has the right to know. Now, what did you need to say? I assume it's about the voice?"

"Oh, yeah. In the ship… it told me not to lose sight of my 'goal'."

"That's all?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Mickey looked thoughtful.

"What could your goal possibly be?"

"To get Sora back, I suppose."

"It doesn't sound likely that you'd lose sight of that."

Riku blinked. "No, of course not."

"Then it must be speaking of another goal you have. A personal one, maybe?"

"What?"

King Mickey just smiled a bit. "The voice is in your head. Maybe it can see your thoughts and emotions."

"That's… a scary thought."

Mickey nodded. "It is."

When he provided no more than that, Riku asked, "So, what do you think it means?"

"I'm not sure, Riku. But, you know, I did realize something while we were talking with Yen Sid."

"What is it?"

"Sora sailed around the worlds looking for you and a way to get you back. Now, it's your turn to do the same for him."

Riku just stared at the mouse king. He had been suspecting that, and he understood perfectly. The others could help. The others could aid him. They could accompany and give him all the support he needed, but in the end, it was he who had to sort this out. He'd felt it from the moment he'd had to use his Keyblade to open the ruins. He knew it every time he heard the voice in his head. He and Sora were partners, and it was his job to get his partner back.

"Are you prepared to do that?" asked Mickey with a smile.

Riku smiled too. "Yes I am."

---

"Kairi!" Riku called as he jogged down the street toward Aerith's house. He wondered if he might catch them before they got there, and sure enough, he spotted Cloud's hair about a block from Aerith's. Kairi was walking beside him, arms crossed. Even from a distance she looked rigid.

When she heard her name, she stopped but didn't turn around. Cloud did though, looking a bit puzzled at the pair of them. He looked at Riku, then at Kairi. Whatever he saw on her face must have been all the answer he needed for he nodded and continued walking, a bit faster than before.

"Hey, Kai," said Riku, panting a bit from his run as he slowed beside her.

"Hey," she said crisply, eying him. Yep, she was ticked.

"Sorry about that," he said rather lamely.

"Whatever."

"Kai, listen… there's something I haven't told you because I didn't want to upset Ileana any more than she already was, and I don't want the others to know yet either, but… I think you should know."

Her gaze softened. "What is it?"

"I've... been hearing a voice in my head." He bit his lip and waited for her to reply.

After a moment, she finally did. "… Excuse me?"

Riku ran a hand distractedly through his hair. "I'm not insane!" he said quickly. "King Mickey knows about it, and he wants me to listen to it."

"… You've been hearing a voice in your head?" There was a bit of disbelief in her voice.

"Yeah."

"I really shouldn't be surprised… but that's just a little bit disturbing to think about." She tilted her head slightly to the side and examined his face. "Why does the King want you to listen to it?"

"I started hearing it just before Sora went missing. It's sporadic and doesn't make much sense, but the King seems to think it's important, so…" He trailed off. He really was surprised at how well she was taking it. Though, she had accepted the fact that Sora was now an undead mummy, so why should accepting that Riku was schizo be that hard?

"He thinks they're connected?" she provided.

"I know they're connected," he said. "It kept saying stuff about a prince. It was talking about Sora."

She took a moment to digest that, then hung her head with a pained sigh. "This entire situation… is just… awful."

Crap, he hadn't meant to upset her… He hastily pulled her into a hug. "It'll be okay, though, Kai. You'll see. That creepy fucker said it was reversible." He felt her hit his chest with a mortified exclamation of "Riku!" He smirked. "And King Mickey knows we can do it, too."

"You really think we can do it." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I really do."

She chuckled and pulled away from him. Almost shyly, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and glanced skyward. "It's almost sunset," she said. "Come on." She seized his hand. "We need to hurry so we can get to the study before it gets too late."

"Woah!" She had pulled him with a strength he certainly hadn't known she possessed and now they were running down the street together, both grinning. Riku had the feeling things were about to get a lot better.

---

They burst through Aerith's front door a few minutes later. Cloud was sitting idly on the couch, and he eyed them as they walked in. Kairi was giggling, and Riku was trying to control his grin. He was suddenly in a very good mood, despite the hell and back he had been through in the past few days.

Cloud titled his head back on the couch with a discontented groan. "I'm glad I'm not a teenager anymore."

Riku was mildly offended by this, but he knew the blond was only picking, so he smirked. "Why? Because your teenage years sucked?"

"No. Because apparently all teenagers are hopelessly bipolar."

"Yeah, that's good. Now you're just constantly depressed and angsty instead of cheerful sometimes too."

Cloud actually glared at him for that one.

They were spared any harsh words, though, by Yuffie who materialized in the room a second later. She was closely followed by Aerith, who looked concernedly at the look on Cloud's face. The blond just huffed and leaned back on the couch again.

"We need to get going to the study if we want to drop by Tifa's bar later," said Aerith, smiling when she saw Riku and Kairi. Riku nodded, smirked at Cloud one more time, and exited the house once more.

It wasn't that he wanted to make an enemy of Cloud. That certainly wasn't it. The blond had done more than his fair share of work. He always ran to someone's side if they needed help. He was a friend of Sora's. Recently however… something had changed. Cloud had become more quiet and reserved. He spoke up less than he ever had, which was saying something. Or, actually, not saying anything at all. Most of the time the blond looked like he was just on autopilot for everything.

Riku knew it was unfair, but he just couldn't help it: he blamed Leon.

"Hey, Riku," Kairi said suddenly, and Riku snapped out of his daze, "Who's that?" He looked the way she was looking.

Running down the street at full speed toward them was a man in dark clothes. Riku just blinked; he couldn't really make him out at this distance. "I… have no idea."

"Hmm?" Yuffie poked her head around too look too. "Oh, that's Demyx!"

"Oh dear, we haven't told him yet, have we?" Aerith asked, biting her lip. Cloud shook his head as he walked outside too.

"Hey!" Demyx called as he slowed down in front of them. He panted a bit and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. Riku didn't know how he had managed to miss that particular hair style even at a distance.

"Hullo, Demyx!" Yuffie chirped cheerfully at him. He smiled.

"Yuffie sweetheart." He let her tug at his hair adoringly for a moment. "Hey guys, I just saw Leon, and he was headed toward the study." Demyx's face grew worried. "He wouldn't say anything, but… what's happened?"

Riku felt his good mood spiraling down instantly. Demyx had always gotten on well with Sora – after he returned with his heart – and the former Nobody seemed to have a soft spot for the boy. All eyes fell on him, and he took a deep breath.

"It's complicated, and you need know that-"

"Demyx!" came a sudden call from the direction he had come from.

"Crap," Demyx muttered, turning around, "I forgot to tell him…"

Down the street walked a man with long silver hair a few shades darker than Riku's. It was pulled into a high ponytail, and even then hung down to the small of his back. His eyes were deep golden, and his skin was rather pale. His pointed Elvin ears were adorned with five metal studs on each to match his eyebrow ring and nose stud. He was dressed casually: jeans, a red shirt, and bare feet.

"Hey, Kioshi!" Yuffie grinned at him. The newcomer grinned too.

"You ran off so fast, Dem, I thought something was on fire," he said. He noticed Kairi and Riku. "Hey, when did you guys get here?"

"Kio!" Demyx said, waving his arms around. "Something really is wrong!" Kioshi blinked. Then his forehead creased, and he too looked to Riku.

Riku took a deep breath and said, "A few days ago… Sora went missing."

To be continued…

Sassy: Side-plot, ftw!! You all have officially been knocked upside the head with it! I'll let you all ponder for yourselves on that one, but I'd like to hear what you think.

Leave a review or Sora will stay an undead mummy forever.