Chapter 5 – Dreams

Disney Castle was vibrant and full of life, a stark contrast to the places Lea had spent his time as a Nobody. The white turrets were capped with blue rooftops and orange flags, and the green hedges in the castle's courtyard were carefully trimmed. The Hall of the Cornerstone shone with a bright light, and the Gummi Ship hangar was filled with the whir of cogs and machines. He had the urge to explore every nook and cranny of the place, but there were other, more pressing matters at hand.

After greeting Minnie, Mickey led them through a maze of low-ceiling rooms and corridors to a research lab deep underground. The room was dimly lit with only the soft blue and green of computer monitors providing much in the way of light. Two tanks filled with a mysterious fluid were hooked up to a giant machine, and a row of operating tables was lined up before them. Lea couldn't help but shudder. The place was like some mad scientist's layer, and it brought back unpleasant memories of when he and Isa—

"Mickey, I see you have returned." Ansem the Wise turned around from his position at the screen. Mickey and Riku greeted him, but Lea kept his mouth shut. He knew the man had been rescued along with Aqua, but it still came as a shock to see him again. Lea's jaw clenched as thoughts of Ansem the Wise's role in forcing Roxas to return to Sora surfaced, but he pushed them down. They were all on the same team now. Dwelling on the past wouldn't help.

"We have the research," Riku said. He set the thick volumes he carried on the table next to Ansem with a loud thunk, and Mickey and Lea placed theirs nearby.

"Excellent work. As you can see," Ansem continued, gesturing at the setup around them, "we are in the final stages of preparation. This will be a great help."

"What else do you still need?" Mickey asked.

"Well, the biggest obstacle is finding a way to create empty bodies. All of the replicas so far have developed their own hearts, and for obvious reasons that is not what Roxas and Naminé need. They simply lack physical shells, as they already have hearts of their own."

Tch. So the old geezer finally admitted it. Better late than never, Lea supposed.

"And you think Even's research holds the key?" Riku asked.

Ansem sighed. There were circles under his eyes, and the lines in his face seemed to have deepened even further since Lea had last seen him. "It's the best lead we have, in any case."

"And if you do find what you need in Even's research? Then what?" Lea asked, placing a hand on one of the operating tables and accidentally sending it clattering across the room. Ansem looked at him for a long moment, an inscrutable expression on his face as Lea hauled it back to its proper place.

"We will need Sora, Kairi, and Ventus for the final stage of the process. Their genetic material will provide the templates for Roxas and Naminé's bodies, and the last of the data I hid inside of Sora. Any word on where they are?"

"Tron's been in touch," Riku said. He glanced at the tanks for a moment, then looked at Ansem again. "Ven's still training with Merlin, but we could ask him to come here."

Ansem waved his hand. "Do not trouble the boy. We will summon him when the research is ready. Until then, let him prepare for the upcoming battle."

Well, that was that. Either the research they'd fought so hard to get would help, or it wouldn't. All they could do was wait, and Lea hated waiting.

As the days went by, he explored the castle and sparred with Riku. There wasn't much else to do, really. Lea was no scientist, so it wasn't like he could help decipher Even's research. And the blood pumping in his veins, the secret code embedded inside of him that made Lea Lea, wasn't what Roxas needed to become whole.

So many skills, and yet no need for them. Being useless sucked. He took his frustration out on Riku when they fought, on those obnoxiously perfect shrubs when no one was looking, on the pristine white walls when he threw his Keyblade at them. Riku was forgiving; the shrubs and walls, not so much. At least Mickey was happy. Lea wondered when the last time he'd gotten to spend this much time with his wife was. The life of a Keyblade wielder didn't exactly account for commitments like marriage or family.

When Lea had the whole place just about memorized, Ansem finally called them back down to his creepy lair.

"Well?" Lea asked, his tone just a tad more forceful than he'd intended. The muscles under his skin were pulled taut and his stomach churned. They were close, so close to saving Roxas, and yet—

Ansem smiled. An actual smile that showed his teeth and made the skin near his eyes crinkle. Huh. So he was capable of genuine emotion.

"Send word to Ventus. We will be needing him for the fighting that will no doubt erupt."

Lea's heart pounded. Had he really heard him right?

"You found a way to make the bodies?" Riku asked.

"Indeed. The key is not to clone the originals directly; that will clone the entire person, heart, body, and soul. We would end up with another Riku Replica on our hands."

Riku frowned. Considering how things had gone the last time they'd bumped into his replica, it wasn't surprising. What was it like, to have an evil clone of yourself running around that you had never agreed to create? Even's appearance alongside him had led them to believe he'd had a hand in bringing the Riku Replica back, or making a new body for his heart. The last Riku had seen of his replica, he had disappeared into the darkness, but if anyone could find him, it was Xehanort. And if anyone else could make a body for him, it was Even.

Lea wondered if Even had gone along willingly, or if he'd been coerced. He'd been in an unstable condition the last time he'd seen him, so Lea was leaning towards the latter, but who could really say.

"No, I had it wrong all along." Ansem continued, interrupting Lea's thoughts. "We must create new bodies directly from Roxas and Namine's hearts."

Mickey scratched his cheek. "I'm guessin' we still need Sora and Kairi though, right?"

"That is correct. We will create a realm of data and send them inside. Much like my digital Twilight Town, as you remember, Riku. If they remove Roxas and Namine's hearts while they are inside, we can program the data to create bodies to host them. It is simply a matter of bringing Roxas and Naminé into the real world afterwards. The objects from the data realm took on physical form when they were brought to this one."

"Like Olette's pouch, and Roxas's stone," Riku said.

"Exactly."

Lea crossed his arms. "Sounds risky to me. In case you forgot, old man, yours truly broke into that digital Twilight Town of yours with ease. And what happens if it doesn't work? What happens to Roxas and Naminé then?"

"That is why we need Ventus. Everyone who can help fight must. And as for Roxas and Naminé's safety," at this Ansem paused and closed his eyes, "it is a risk we must take. It is likely that if the data does not create bodies for them, their hearts will simply return to Sora and Kairi."

"Likely, huh."

Ansem's eyes flew open. "What would you suggest, young man? Creating replicas of Roxas and Naminé, only to steal the new life we've created to give to them? Do you think they would want that, considering the circumstances around their own existences?"

"No, but—"

Ansem's expression softened. "We will take the utmost precautions. I owe that at least to them."

It was better than nothing. The process would be risky no matter what, but at least he meant well.

"And what about that girl Sora saw?" Lea said.

Ansem gave him a curious look. "There is another that needs rescuing?"

"Sora thinks so." And a nagging thought at the back of his mind told him he thought so, too.

"Well, if that is true, then we should be able to rescue her along with Roxas and Naminé."

"Have you made the new data realm yet?" Mickey asked.

Ansem gestured to the computer. Numbers and dots and letters flashed by, the code for the creation of a new world. "Chip and Dale are making it now based off the digital form of Jiminy's journal. It should be finished by tomorrow."

Tomorrow. Roxas's rescue could happen that soon. Well, if Sora and Kairi made it back by then. He could only hope nothing had happened to them on their mission to find Terra.

"You okay, Donald? You've been flying for hours." Aqua knelt next to him, putting an arm on his shoulder. He paused to wipe his bleary eyes before putting his hands back on the controls.

"Yeah. We'll get to Radiant Garden soon."

Normally, he and Sora would take turns, but Sora and Kairi hadn't emerged from below deck yet. They were fast asleep, as a quick check on them an hour before had revealed. They had been sprawled out on Sora's bed, Kairi propped up against the pillow with Sora's head on her lap. Aqua smiled. Even in sleep, they'd been looking out for each other. She'd paused to drape a spare blanket over Kairi's shoulders.

They were so young. Too young for the tasks they'd been burdened with. In sleep they looked so peaceful, but it was only an illusion. When they awoke, Aqua knew the worry lines would return to Kairi's face and the dark circles under Sora's eyes would reappear.

Physically, Aqua knew she was several years older than them, but she felt ancient in comparison. The carefree days of adolescence had ended long ago for her, if they had ever existed. She'd always pushed herself to be better, stronger, always looking to the future; and in doing so, she hadn't appreciated the present for all it had to offer. She'd forced herself to grow up too quickly, and she didn't want them to make the same mistake.

"How about you, Aqua?" Goofy asked, breaking her out of her reverie. "Hangin' in there?"

"Yeah." Her failure to save Terra for the second, no, third time was weighing her down, but no need to burden them with that.

"Aqua, you don't have to pretend with us. I can understand puttin' on a brave front in fronta Sora and Kairi, but you can let your guard down when it's just the three of us."

Her shoulders relaxed. She hadn't even released they'd been tensed up. "Thank you," she said softly.

They were silent for a moment, the only sound the usual whir of the ship. Then Goofy spoke up again.

"Aqua, what do you wanna do when all this is over?"

He spoke with such confidence, in whens and not ifs. But why not indulge him? It was better than staring at the mirror and talking to herself about her insecurities.

"You mean my dreams for the future?" She laughed. "It's been so long, I don't know that I—"

"Surely you can think of something," Donald said.

Aqua pulled her Wayfinder out and turned it this way and that. The bright lighting of the ship reflected off it, sending flickering shards of blue across the walls.

"I always wanted to be a teacher, like Eraqus was. He passed on his knowledge to us, and I wanted to do the same. I wanted to become a Keyblade Master and have apprentices of my own, so that together we could protect the worlds from harm."

"Well, arentcha doin' just that? I mean, Kairi's your student now," Goofy pointed out.

Aqua allowed herself to smile. "That's true." The girl she'd passed the Keyblade on to all those years ago was in her charge now. It was funny how fate worked sometimes.

"Anything else?" Donald asked.

She swallowed. "I want to go home. I want to watch the stars with Terra and Ven." How she'd taken their last night together for granted. What she wouldn't give to revisit it, no, to make it happen again, the three of them safe and together like they should be.

"And after that?" Goofy asked.

They were treading on sacred ground, buried deep out of the fear that her carefully guarded hopes would be crushed to smithereens.

"I… I want to open a Keyblade Academy. I know it sounds silly, but—"

"I don't think it's silly at all," Goofy said. His face was the most serious she'd ever seen it. It was oddly comforting, hearing her dreams weren't as ridiculous as they seemed in her head.

"Yeah, you'd be a great teacher." Donald gave her a thumbs up before returning to driving.

But there was something else, another dream that she didn't dare share with anyone. She'd pushed it aside for years and years, always putting her duty first, telling herself that this dream could come later, or that she didn't have time for it, or any number of excuses not to act on it. How she regretted her foolishness now. An aching feeling deep inside of her heart reminded her of the truth. She could've had what she'd wanted, if only she'd had the courage to speak up. If only she hadn't always put her duty before her own heart.

Well, it didn't matter. Nothing could come of it, anyway, not until—

"How about you, Goofy?" she asked, to get her mind off her thoughts. "What's your dream?"

Goofy rubbed his chin, his eyes gazing out the window. "Gawrsh, I'd really just like to see my son Max again. It's been ages since I've seen him."

Aqua processed this information as best she could. She'd had no idea Goofy had a son. That meant that at some point he'd probably been married. But if he didn't mention his wife, then she must be—

"He left home a few years ago, after my wife passed away," Goofy clarified. "Wanted to see the worlds for himself. I'd hoped that maybe we might run into each other after I started travelin' more often, but it hasn't happened yet."

"I'm sorry, I had no idea—"

Goofy gave her a lopsided grin. "It's okay. He'll come home when he's ready."

Aqua cleared her throat. "Donald? How about you?"

Donald tapped his fingers on the controls. "Gee, I'd like to take Daisy on a date someplace special. Just hop on the Gummi Ship and show her a good time." He sighed. "Our dates are always getting interrupted or postponed by the darned Heartless and Nobodies. We can't ever get a moment to ourselves."

Maintaining a relationship did seem hard under their current circumstances. Aqua was about to say as much when Donald's surprised shout interrupted her. The ship began to shake, the three of them bouncing in their seats with their heads rattling until Aqua was sure hers was about to fall off.

"D-D-Donald? W-what's ha-ha-ppen-ing?!"

Kairi awoke to the ship rocking to and fro. Her back was stiff, and there was something heavy—

Oh. She was still on Sora's bed, and he was asleep on her lap. She watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, taking comfort in the familiar sight.

I must've fallen asleep, too. She hadn't meant to, but she'd been so tired, heavy eyelids drooping lower and lower till she'd let them close completely. Her hand was still resting on his head, too. She ran her fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp. Her fingers trailed to his face, then traced the outline of his cheek. It was thinner, more angular now. He'd had chubby cheeks as a kid, but the older he got, the sharper his features became, yet another bittersweet reminder that they were both growing up, and fast.

That wasn't the only thing about him that was different now. His shoulders were broader, and the muscles in his arms and chest were more pronounced. He'd gotten taller, which meant he'd also finally grown into his feet. Just as her body had changed, his had, too. But in all the places she'd gotten softer and curvier, his body had become strong and solid. They complemented each other perfectly. Nature was finally catching up to what they'd both known all along.

He stirred, bleary eyes blinking awake as he yawned.

"Morning, lazy bum," she whispered. A sleepy smile illuminated his features. He looked so different now than he usually did, more like the carefree Sora she used to know and less like the Sora who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Morning, Kairi." His voice was lower than normal, and this observation set butterflies loose in her stomach. He sat up and stretched, his shirt pulling up to reveal his stomach. She tried not to look, but it was hard not to when he was right there in front of her.

He's hardly a lazy bum anymore. Not with those muscles.

She avoided his eyes, her cheeks burning. The ship hit a particularly rough patch, and he fell forward and wound up on top of her. His face turned bright red, and he apologized profusely as he tried to prop himself up.

But she didn't want him to. The way his body was pressed against hers felt good, and her fingers instinctively curled around his jacket in an attempt to get him to stay. He froze, his gaze traveling from her hand to her eyes. Her chest heaved as she tried to calm the pounding in her heart. She brought a hand to his cheek, and he swallowed, his breath quickening. But he stayed still, not acting, not reciprocating, not responding.

Before, Kairi had a feeling she knew how this would go, without Donald or their other friends around to interrupt. But now, Sora's body was tense, unmoving, even while the look in his eyes gave him away.

He was holding himself back. There was no other explanation, none that made sense, anyway.

But more importantly, why? And did it have anything to do with his strange behavior earlier?

He tried to shift his weight to get into a better position when another bump made him fall on top of her again. She let out a loud oomph. Their eyes met, and just like that, the tension was broken. They burst out laughing.

"Guess we should make sure everything's okay upstairs," he said. Kairi sighed and extracted herself from their tangle of limbs as Sora sat up and straightened his clothes. She put her shoes back on and tossed his to him. He took one look at her face and smiled sadly.

"Kairi, when all of this is over—"

"But don't you get it, Sora? It'll never be over."

Not while there was still darkness lurking in people's hearts. Not while they both still had Keyblades.

Kairi was young, decisions like jobs and serious relationships supposed to be years in her future. But the Keyblade had changed all that. It had made all of those choices for her already. In the back of her mind, that knowledge always lurked there. When their adventure had first begun, it hadn't seemed to matter. But now, knowing what they shared, knowing that maybe, in the future, they might want something different from this life of endless fighting…

He hung his head and sighed. "I know."

There was a weariness to his tone that wasn't usually there, that was so unlike his normal self that Kairi was convinced last night's behavior hadn't been a fluke after all.

"Sora, about last night—"

He smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, that. Don't worry, I'm fine."

She didn't believe him. He hadn't been fine. He'd sought her comfort even while he wouldn't tell her what was on his mind. And now he was shutting her out again.

She sighed. "I wish you would tell me what's bothering you."

Before he could say anything, the ship pitched to the side again. They had no choice but to stagger to the ladder. His head popped up above deck first, and he offered his hand to her. Just like that, as if nothing was wrong with him. The mask was back on. He pulled her up right in time for the ship to send them tumbling into a pile in the corner.

He sat up and rubbed his head. "Geez, Donald, what's going on?"

"It's not me!" Donald shook the controls to demonstrate. "Something took control of the ship!"

Kairi decided she was best off not fighting gravity and latched onto Aqua's chair instead. Goofy peered out the window, trying to make out where they were headed.

"Gawrsh, that looks an awful lot like home, Donald, dontcha think?"

Donald's eyes went wide. "Wak! It is!"

"Think the king might be bringing us here?"

"Maybe. I wonder if he and Riku and Lea have found Even yet."

Aqua looked at the rapidly approaching world. As they entered its atmosphere, the vague outlines of Disney Castle came into view, white turrets with blue rooftops and orange flags perched on top.

"Hold tight, everyone!" Donald called, and with that, they descended. Kairi hoped that Riku and Lea and Mickey had been more successful in their endeavors.

Well, they were about to find out, from the looks of it.

A/N: I'd like to give a quick shoutout to derekscorner and their awesome theory over on tumblr about how the data realm might come into play for KH3. It was the inspiration behind Ansem the Wise's explanation for how he thinks Naminé and Roxas can get bodies of their own in this chapter.

As always, thank you for reading!