I'msosorry. Keep in mind, I'm still sick and hopped up on so much medication. If this chapter seems all over the place, I'm so so so so sorry.

"Sora!" DiZ cried as Sora glided to him. "My boy! It's only you." DiZ firmly grasped him by the biceps as the boy grinned up at him. "I feared a Dusk might have cracked my code. Give me a moment to restore the grid and we can catch up."

Sora nodded vehemently, allowing DiZ to turn back to the computer he was working at (reminding Sora of the one Cid used). Sora was glad to see DiZ again. It had been too long. Okay, maybe only a few weeks, but to Sora it felt like years. DiZ was the only father figure he knew, the man that raised him from day one. He was patient and kind and good. He pushed Sora to do better when he needed it most and Sora wished he had stuck with him and Aqua when they finally arrived in the Realm of Light.

Sora understood DiZ's want for revenge ran deep. He wished he could do something about it. He begged DiZ to forgo his anger and frustration. Now that Sora understood better what had become of DiZ's old apprentices, he could see why he was angry. They had done something unforgivable. They had created monsters whose numbers only grew and consumed worlds. But Sora knew revenge was not the way to go. That led down the path of darkness, as seen in DiZ's own heart. The boy could see how it touched his heart, but was barred from entering. Accepted, but not welcome.

"You've been here?" Sora asked. "Why here?"

"It's a great place to tread between the light and dark," was the only explanation he offered. Light traveled from tubes that ran behind the computer up to the ceiling and past the door they entered through. He turned back to Sora who was just happy to see DiZ was doing okay. "Now, my boy, you must tell me what you've been up to. But only after you introduce me to your friend."

Sora pulled Kairi forward. "I found Kairi!" he told DiZ. "And Riku," he added a little less enthusiastically. "Kairi, this is DiZ. Aqua and I told you about him, right?"

"Ah," DiZ chuckled. "Princess Kairi," he bowed his head. Kairi backed up, clearly not sure how to take the formality. "I'd recognize that light anywhere. I had hoped you would have survived the fall of our world. Who would have imagined you would wash up on Destiny Island?"

"Er, Kairi's just fine," she insisted. "It's nice to meet you, DiZ. We've heard you know a lot about the Organization. Maybe you can help us out?"

"That has always been my intention, my dear." DiZ said. "I have planted my own devices throughout the worlds to monitor the Organization and… Ansem." He chuckled. "When I had a sufficient amount of data I was planning on sending it to Master Aqua."

Kairi laughed. "She's not very tech-savvy, sir."

"I knew she would meet the right people and it seems that she has." DiZ was clearly very confident in his plans. Sora wished their team were as confident as this man. "She had told many stories of how she made friends throughout the worlds. She would find someone who knew what to do with it. And, of course, she already has."

DiZ had no seats to offer them, as he would never have expected company. So, they stood until their legs grew tired. Sora was comfortable on the floor. He'd slept on harder surfaces. Sora spared no time in telling DiZ everything that happened since he and the man had left. He told him how his first mission to another world was with Aqua and Kairi, where they found Ven. His first fights with the Organization. About Ven waking up upon contact with Sora and how their hearts were connected. (At that, DiZ marveled, "Sora, you are so very remarkable," as if Sora's willingness to accept another into his heart at birth was the pinnacle of his mysteries—then Sora remembered that DiZ studied the heart extensively and this was a mystery that DiZ probably was more interested in solving than the others.) His disappointment at how little he could help with their society. Aqua's plans and Ven's trials. He left the part out about how Axel approached Ven, knew him, even though he so wanted to tell him. He would have, too, had Kairi not been present. DiZ would know what to do.

DiZ wouldn't tell them what he was up to, even when Sora asked. He vaguely motioned around the lab, saying he spent most of his time setting this up and checking to see what the Organization were up to. He wasn't happy with the amount of information he had, so Kairi offered to let him in on what they knew, hoping to maybe help. He accepted, letting Kairi talk about the Organization. She had names and ranks, an expressed worry they might be searching for a Thirteenth member soon, elements and strengths, and favored worlds for each member. She knew that she didn't have much, but she knew their end goal: Kingdom Hearts. For the Organization, it was a means to obtain their hearts. For Ansem, it was a door to eternal darkness. She wasn't sure how it would connect. Kairi explained how Aqua told her that Master Xehanort was looking to obtain Kingdom Hearts to start a new Keyblade War.

Sora was quick to interrupt before she mentioned anything about how Xehanort possessed Terra. He promised Aqua DiZ wouldn't find out they had separate end goals. Aqua needed to help Terra before DiZ got to him and Sora said he'd help her. Aqua was fine telling the others. She understood they fought the good fight. DiZ was only looking for a means to an end.

"These past few days were driving me crazy because all I could do was walk around Traverse Town. I couldn't even train. They won't let me! Because they don't want to show what kind of power I have out in the open in case the Organization are watching Traverse Town." Sora huffed. "I was kind of going a bit insane just fighting lesser monsters. I'm going to get rusty."

"If you need a place to train without being seen, come to me." DiZ offered.

"This place isn't big enough, DiZ." Sora replied flatly. "You know how… destructive I can get."

"No, no. Not here, per say." DiZ chuckled. "I've created this virtual world and have been working on a program to—" Sora must have been giving him the most confused look as all of this went right over his head, DiZ stopped. "Never mind. Next time you come here, I'll show you. I have a few bugs to work out. My test subjects haven't quite made it back yet."

"How did you do all of this?" Sora asked. He turned to Kairi. "How long have we been here?"

"About a month and a half."

"Yeah, that. You did all of this in just that much time?" Sora couldn't believe how fast this was all done. It felt like things were done way too slowly in Traverse Town and DiZ had this place up and running in such a short amount of time.

"You have never seen me in my element before, Sora." DiZ told him. "I am a scientist above all. I create and invent. It was impossible to do that in the Realm of Darkness."

"Sir," Kairi started hesitantly. "Why don't you come with us? We're all working towards the same goal. Cid could really use your expertise and we could certainly use your knowledge."

"Ah," DiZ looked rubbed his chin. "My dear, it's not that simple. My way of doing things is… The truth is, we have the same goal but for different reasons. Yours is pure and kind. You want to save this universe. Mine is simply revenge. Nothing else quite matters. If some toes need to be tread on to get what I want, then so be it."

Sora saw Kairi open her mouth and knew what she would say. He was quick to stop her. "Aqua and I have already tried to talk him out of it." Sora shook his head. "Everything you can think to say, we've probably said it. There's nothing we can do to stop him."

"Indeed," DiZ agreed.

"Despite that, DiZ is family," Sora told her. "He'd still do everything he could to help us and we know he wouldn't betray us. We don't have to agree with him, but we're still there for each other."

"Could not have said it better myself, Sora." DiZ chuckled. "You've become quite wise with your short time in the light."

"There's a lot to learn," Sora said, standing up. Their time was growing short. They needed to head back to Traverse Town soon, especially since there wasn't much they could do here. "I want to see all I can. I want to make more connections and do everything I can to help. I want to make sure the light continues to shine brightly in the hearts of everyone I know. And finally, Kairi and Aqua are giving me the chance to do that." Sora offered a hand to help her up. She grabbed his arm to pull herself to her feet, brushing herself off. "It seems this world is relatively safe, for now. Right?"

Kairi nodded. "Right. You know, besides the mansion swarming with Nobodies."

"But they're looking for DiZ." Sora turned to him. "They won't find you, right?"

"Of course not." DiZ barked a laugh. "I will keep an eye on this world and let you know of any changes." He pulled a piece from the computer and handed it over to Kairi. "This drive has a copy of my program on it. If this Cid is as genius as you say he is, he will know what to do with it."

"Thank you, DiZ." Kairi bowed her head, putting the device into her pouch. "He'll figure it out. We really appreciate your help."

It was hard to say goodbye to DiZ a second time, but Sora knew they would meet again. He still didn't understand what he was doing here or what his plans were, but he hoped DiZ would stay safe. The man showed them out, quickly masking his lab as soon as they were out the door. Kairi turned back to the mansion, an expression of uncertainty on her face. Sora knew DiZ didn't make a great first impression with her. He wasn't sure how to defend him. DiZ was… well, DiZ.

They went back to the lot with the Struggle Matches to watch the final round between Setzer and Seifer. Sora was interested in seeing who would win, but be mostly wanted to distract himself from the nagging feeling that Kairi wasn't very fond of DiZ. He knew DiZ was right there, toeing that line to the darkness. But DiZ hated what it did to his apprentices. He'd seen first hand what happened to someone too close to the darkness.

When the celebrations for the winner began, Sora and Kairi took their leave. Seifer fought a good fight and Sora was glad he won. Setzer rubbed him the wrong way for some reason. At they reached the train station to activate their armor, Sora snickered.

"Maybe next time theirs a competition, you and Riku should enter." He told Kairi. "Seems like fun."

"You don't want to?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, I do, but it wouldn't exactly be a fair fight with me, would it?" Sora laughed. "It looks like something you guys might enjoy. It'd be cool to see who'd win."

"Oh, so you'd think it'd be fair if we fought in it?" Kairi put her hands on her hip, offended. "Like we're on level with the common folk and don't fight monsters every day of our lives?"

"Uh…" he quickly summoned his glider, jumping on. "Race you home!"

"That's what I thought." She huffed, following him.

The ride home was better than the ride their. They couldn't communicate, but they still found a way to have fun. They raced through debris and asteroids, competing for who would shoot down the most Heartless and Nobody ships, using other worlds' gravity to slingshot through space. By the time they landed in Traverse Town, they were exhausted. They dropped into a grass patch under a lamppost in the first district to catch their breath, arguing about who won the most competitions.

When they finally calmed down (each convinced they won), Kairi turned onto her stomach, propping herself on her elbows to look at him. She was thoughtful and Sora waited for her to speak. He knew it was going to be about what happened in Twilight Town.

"DiZ doesn't know about Terra, does he?" Kairi asked. Sora shook his head. She chewed her lip, as she looked off, clearly uncertain about what the next step to take was. "We'll have to try and take care of it first, then."

"That was our plan." Sora confessed. "DiZ can worry about the others. We just had to take care of Xehanort."

"Well, we have to worry about them, too." Kairi smiled. "They're kind of messing up the multiverse."

"Then we'll do all the work." Sora sat up to face her. "And I can start helping now, right?"

"Right," Kairi nodded. She pulled out the device from her pocket to look at it. "I hope this really helps."

Sora opened his mouth to respond, even if he had no idea what could be in that little device, when he heard Riku calling out to them. "Oi! You two!" They turned to him as he descended the steps in front of the shop. He stopped, looking down on them. Kairi turned up to him with a wicked smirk and Sora gave him a friendly wave. Riku only looked from one to the other as he crossed his arms. "Kairi, are you teaching him to be like you?"

"That sounds like an insult." She mocked pain in her face. "You wound me, my dear friend."

"We don't need another lazy bum in this operation." Riku snorted. "Sora, don't pick up on her habits, got it?"

Sora nodded, desperate for Riku's approval. "Gotcha."

"So," Riku dropped into the grass with them. "Anything in Twilight Town?"

Kairi held up a thumb drive. "Hopefully. No monsters, but from the sounds of it, a killer new program for Cid to play with."

"Well, there were monsters. But only in one area." Sora corrected. "They probably won't spread out into the town. They're looking for DiZ and he's gonna keep an eye on them for us."

"That guy that raised you?" Riku's eyebrow rose apprehensively—at least, Sora thought it did. Sora could barely see the boy's face with how much silver hair consumed it. "He was in Twilight Town?"

Sora nodded. "I guess he's gonna do his thing there. But I know where he is now and he said I could visit." He was more than excited by the idea. He couldn't wait to see DiZ again and go back to practicing. He needed to let go of this build up before it exploded. Hopefully, DiZ would be finished with the thing he was talking about before Sora went back.

"I guess it's good there wasn't anything there." Riku leaned against the lamppost, watching people eating at the café. "Because we're going to Wonderland in a few hours. Yuffie said it's overrun with Heartless. The Keyhole needs to be reinforced."

"Aw, man," Kairi whined. "Ven's in the next Flick Rush match. I promised I'd watch him."

"You can," Riku snorted. "I was talking to Sora." Wait, what? He and Riku? Were going on a mission? Together? Sora twisted onto his knees to face the boy. He heard correctly, right? "Sora, Goofy, and I are going to head to Wonderland while you goof off."

AH! Yes, another Riku chapter next time! And some exciting things are coming up.