Chapter 6 – Shaded Truths
Sora and Kairi's group had finally arrived at Disney Castle, thanks to Merlin's magic. After they'd contacted Tron to ask for Ven to come, Merlin had located their ship and sent it here. Riku thought everyone looked a bit frazzled by the bumpy journey, but none the worse for wear.
It felt like ages since he'd last seen his friends. In reality, it had only been a month or so, but with as little time as they'd all been spending together lately, it seemed like a lot longer.
"Kairi! Sora!" He didn't bother hiding the excitement in his voice as he raced towards them. His days of pretending he was too cool to care were long over now. Their faces likewise lit up when they saw him.
"Riku!" they both cried, tackling him with a hug as soon as they'd landed in the hangar and disembarked from the Gummi Ship. All the machines in the place whirred and clicked away around them, cogs and wheels finally slowing down now that the ship had landed. But Riku paid the hustle and bustle no attention. His friends were back and they were safe, and that was all that mattered.
He didn't want to think about the danger facing them, about the risk saving Roxas and Naminé would bring. Because if he did, the memories of Kairi's limp body and Sora's Heartless, which were always lurking on the edges of his mind, would return full force to haunt him.
That won't happen. Not ever again. I won't let it.
"Kairi!" Lea scooped her up into a hug as soon as Riku had managed to pry Sora and Kairi off of him. Happy as he was to see them, that level of physical affection was still a little much.
Kairi giggled and flicked Lea's forehead. "Miss me?"
He launched into a full debriefing about what had happened in the last several weeks as he practically dragged her down to Ansem the Wise's lab. Riku followed a little ways behind with Sora beside him, and Aqua went with Donald and Goofy to meet Mickey.
"How'd things go?" Sora asked him, falling into one of their usual conversations with ease.
"Pretty good, actually. We went to this place called Atlantis where we found someone to translate Even's research. Well, I guess he's Vexen right now, because Xehanort has him." At this Sora sighed, and Riku agreed with the sentiment before continuing. "Anyway, after that, we came back here, and Ansem the Wise figured out a way to create Roxas and Naminé's bodies. He'll explain it to you when we see him."
At this news, Sora's face lit up. "Hear that Kairi?" he called. "Roxas and Naminé can be saved!"
She smiled briefly at him. "Yeah, it's great news!" Then she turned her attention back to Lea, enraptured by whatever story he was telling her about Atlantis. A strange look flickered in Sora's eyes, but he quickly hid it behind his usual grin.
Something had happened, but Riku knew better than to ask about it directly.
"How about you guys?" he said instead. "Any leads on Terra?" They hadn't saved him, obviously, otherwise he'd be here, and Aqua wouldn't have looked so forlorn; but maybe they'd found something that might help.
Sora's face fell. "Oh, that. Ummm, we found Terra all right. And his mind and body are back together again…"
"They are? Isn't that good news?" Sora's words and his tone were saying two different things.
"Yeah, but Xehanort still has him." Sora sighed, his head drooping. "Riku, I don't know what we should do. If we fight Xehanort to free him, we need all the help we can get. I don't think Xehanort has all his Seekers yet, but we're still outnumbered. And if we have help…"
"There's a good chance we'll make the χ-blade." Riku sighed. Sora was right; there was no clear-cut way to save Terra.
"Maybe… maybe there's another way. One that doesn't involve fighting," Sora said. They were descending a narrow flight of stairs now, and Riku had to turn around to look at him. He couldn't believe his ears. Sora, suggesting they consider options that didn't involve fighting?
"Are you kidding? You know Xehanort won't let him go without a fight."
Sora put his hands up. "Just trying to think of all the options, geez."
"Fair enough." Riku thought of Terra, of the man who had chosen him to wield the Keyblade, who had inspired him to travel the stars. His hero, his idol – now in Xehanort's clutches, just like Riku had once been in Ansem's. Riku had followed right in his footsteps, and he hadn't even realized it.
But that also meant that if Riku could escape, then Terra could, too.
"Believe me, Sora. I wish there was a way to save him without a fight," Riku said. But there would be a fight no matter what – either Terra would have to wage his own personal war against Xehanort from inside his heart, or the Guardians of Light would have to come and rescue him.
Riku paused, trying to follow his heart, trying to be hopeful. "But you know what Sora? Maybe there is. Maybe he'll do what I did, and break free on his own."
"Yeah." Sora grinned, a reaction that made Riku raise his eyebrow. "You should have seen him when he recombined with his armor," Sora clarified. "It was like Donald said. I wouldn't want to be Xehanort right now."
Riku continued his descent down the stairs, Sora following close behind him. Before long, they had reached the dimly lit walls of the lab. Ansem the Wise was there, along with Chip and Dale. He filled Sora and Kairi in on the remaining details and explained their roles in saving Roxas and Naminé. They readily agreed to what he suggested, eager to help however they could.
"So, when's all this gonna take place?" Sora asked.
"Soon. The data realm is ready, but we need to run some tests on you and Kairi first. And there is also the matter of Xehanort. We must be prepared for an attack from his Seekers of Darkness."
"An attack?!" Kairi asked, her brow furrowing. "How come?"
"Roxas," Riku and Sora said in unison. Comprehension spread across Kairi's face as she realized what they meant.
Lea crossed his arms, a scowl on his face. "We won't let them have him."
"Or Naminé," Kairi said. "Can you imagine what her powers could do if she fell into their hands?"
Yes, yes I can, Kairi. Riku looked at Sora. Did he still have no memory of what had happened in Castle Oblivion the first time?
"Precisely," Ansem the Wise said. "That is why we must be ready. Mickey is evacuating his citizens, and we have sent for Ventus to come here. We will need his help. After that, the process can begin."
Ansem really was trying to make up for what he'd done. Evacuating an entire world and creating a whole new one just to save Roxas and Naminé was proof enough.
"Ansem, thank you." Sora turned to him and bowed his head. "Without your help, we never would have gotten this far."
Ansem was taken aback. He paused to collect his emotions before he spoke again. "It is the least I can do, after the trouble I have caused you all." His eyes lingered on Lea as he continued. "In my arrogance and bigotry, I ignored the truth that was before my very eyes. This is my way of atoning for that."
Lea's expression softened. Riku hadn't missed how he'd tensed up every time they were around Ansem, and it didn't take much to figure out why. Ansem had once pushed Riku to ignore the unease he felt in their dealings with Nobodies. Anything to wake Sora up, even if it meant ignoring the humanity of the people Ansem insisted didn't have hearts, when every piece of evidence screamed otherwise.
Well, those days were behind them. It was time to make things right.
"That's it, Kairi! You're getting the hang of it."
The spark of electricity crackled through the air as Kairi's Thundaga spell connected with the dummies Aqua had summoned. She had all the –ra tier spells mastered, and Aqua had moved on to teaching her –ga magic. They'd grabbed a few spare minutes after lunch to practice, but Aqua would be needed to help Mickey with something again soon.
Kairi smiled and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "All thanks to you."
Aqua returned the smile, her cheeks flushed pink. She was a good teacher, patient and clear in her explanations. Very different from Merlin, who preferred to be cryptic and throw Kairi into strange situations. He was still a good teacher, just in his own, uh, unique way. As Aqua was the best mage in their current group, Kairi knew she was in good hands as her student now.
"Are there any spells after the –ga ones?" she asked, letting her Keyblade disappear and bending down to tie her shoes.
"Well, there are the –za spells, but it'll take a while to work our way up to those." Aqua put her hands on Kairi's shoulder. "We'll get there, don't worry. In the meantime," she said, summoning her Keyblade, "watch this." Three powerful surges of ice magic hit the remaining dummy and froze it solid.
Kairi stared at the dummy, mouth agape. "Woah, that was awesome!" she finally said when her brain was working again. "What's that one called?"
"That," Aqua said, brushing a few flecks of snow off her shirt, "was Triple Blizzaga. Doesn't take as much buildup as a –za spell, and very useful in a pinch. We'll work on the Triple spells after you've mastered the –ga ones."
Kairi grinned. "I'm looking forward to it."
She was heading back to her room when she bumped into Riku. He had a distracted look on his face, and the white t-shirt under his jacket was slightly wrinkled.
She'd hardly gotten to see him since she'd arrived, let alone talk to him. She and Sora had both been put through a series of physical tests, and Ansem the Wise planned on using the results for the data realm. Between that and her training with Aqua, she'd had little free time.
"Riku!"
"Hey, Kairi. What's up?"
Kairi fiddled with her necklace. Should she tell Riku about Sora's behavior on the Gummi Ship? They hadn't talked, not alone, anyway, since then. He had been more cheerful since coming here though. Whether that was because he was feeling better or because he was hiding how he really felt, she wasn't sure. But maybe he'd talk to Riku about it.
"Have you seen Sora around?" she finally asked.
"I was just looking for him, actually. There's something I wanted to ask him about."
Well, that explained the distracted look.
"If you find him," Kairi said, "can you… can you make sure he's doing okay?"
Riku frowned. "What do you mean?"
Kairi sighed and explained, giving him an overview about what had happened on their mission. Riku listened intently, and Kairi asked him what he thought.
"Well, he blames himself for Terra's rescue going south, like you said. But I think he's also scared he might hurt you."
"Hurt me? I know Sora would never hurt me." Kairi was taken aback. Could that be the reason behind his odd behavior?
"No, he wouldn't," Riku replied. "But his Heartless form might. You were smart to avoid letting that happen."
"Well, that wouldn't really be him anymore, would it? Surely he knows I wouldn't blame him for that."
Riku gave her a knowing look. "You wouldn't blame him, but he'd blame himself."
Kairi sighed. Riku was right. She gave him a quick hug and thanked him for his help.
"Talk to him about controlling his darkness too, will you?" she asked. "That's one area where I really can't help him."
"Sure thing."
Kairi sighed again as she watched Riku's retreating figure. Riku was Sora's best friend. They'd known each other since before Kairi had even entered the picture. Of course he would share more with him.
But still, a small part of her wondered if Sora would ever be as open with her as he was with Riku. She knew part of it was shyness due to his feelings for her, but he put up a brave front around her sometimes that he didn't ever put up for Riku. Like he had to be strong for her in a way he didn't feel like he had to be for Riku.
More than that, though, she wanted to make sure he was okay. They were finally together again. Everything had been going so well until the Keyblade Graveyard. She felt more distant from him now than when she'd written to him every night in her diary. She knew what she'd be writing in it now, if it weren't still carefully tucked inside one of his pockets.
Sora, I can be strong for you when you're weak. And you can be strong for me when I'm weak. And for those times when we're both weak, we can lean on each other. Together we'll be strong enough to make it through, I know we will.
But you have to trust me. You have to let me in.
Why are you shutting me out?
"Hey, why the long face?"
Kairi whirled around. Lea was slouching against the white wall nearby, one foot propped up against it.
"It's nothing."
He arched an eyebrow. "Trouble with your man?"
"N-no!" Kairi's face betrayed her, her cheeks flushing in spite of herself.
"Uh-huh. Look, we don't have to talk about it. Not really my business, you know?"
Kairi relaxed. "Thank you." She fell into an easy stride beside him, just like all those times they'd taken walks together on Radiant Garden.
Huh, those shrubs look weird. Like someone ripped out random chunks of the leaves. The shrubs in question, pride of Disney Castle, were as green and fluffy as ever, just a little, uh, misshapen. Kairi wondered what had happened.
"Is everything okay?" she asked Lea. "You were pretty tense around Ansem the Wise. I know it can't be easy for you, after what he did to Roxas," she added.
"Tch. I'm an open book to you now, aren't I?"
Kairi's mouth twitched. "Spending months around someone tends to do that."
"Guess so."
"And those tanks, in Ansem's lab. You kept looking at them."
Lea stopped. "Noticed that too, did you?" She nodded, and he pursed his lips, waging an internal argument with himself. "I think you missed your calling, Kairi. Sure it's not too late to become a detective?"
"Guess I need a day job eventually, huh?"
"Yeah. You don't want to be a homeless bum like me."
It struck Kairi that she still knew very little about Lea's past, other than his friendship with Isa. Did he have any family? She had no idea. She'd never asked.
"Remember when I told you about Isa?" Lea said. Kairi gave her full attention to him. She could tell he was about to say something important.
"Yeah. You guys were best friends, right?"
"Yup. But that wasn't all. I never told you how we became Nobodies, did I?"
"No, I don't think you did." Kairi knew it had happened somehow, but she'd never asked for the details. It didn't seem like the sort of thing she should just ask him about.
"We were a couple of sneaks. Always trying to get into places we weren't allowed. It's how I knew about all those secret areas around the castle."
Kairi nodded, encouraging him to continue.
"Well, one day, that came back to bite us." He laughed, but there was no mirth in his tone. "Guess we had it coming, after all the trouble we'd caused."
No amount of adolescent shenanigans earned getting turned into a Nobody, but Kairi held her tongue. She wanted to hear the rest.
"We snuck into the castle, and this time, we weren't thrown out. Ansem, well, Xehanort, needed something. We were orphans. He knew no one would miss us."
Lea's voice was strained, and an uneasy feeling settled over Kairi. She had a pretty good idea where this was going, and she wasn't sure she wanted to—
"We became his test subjects, his lab rats. He experimented on us, and, well… you get the picture. I don't need to spell it out for you, do I?"
He gave her a wry grin, but she wasn't smiling at all. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered. She'd had no idea. Vague memories of a time long ago, of white coats and mysterious chambers and tanks filled with fluid briefly flashed into her mind, and she pushed them back down and focused on Lea.
He patted her head. "It was a long time ago. I'm okay now, Kai."
"Doesn't make it any better," she said, in a sad echo of what he'd told her before when she'd opened up about her own past. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she tilted her head back to meet his gaze.
"No, but it wasn't all bad. I never would have met Roxas if I hadn't. Or you, for that matter."
"Well, I'd hardly call our first meeting ideal," Kairi said, allowing herself a small smile.
"Ouch, you just had to go and remind me, didn't you?" He ruffled her hair and smiled sadly.
"I wish I could have known you. Back then, I mean." Back before Xehanort had ruined his life. Back before all of this had started, when the worlds were at peace.
"Who knows? Maybe we bumped into each other. Before you, uh, left."
"Yeah, left." Kairi grinned and poked his arm. "It's funny how fate works sometimes, isn't it? We ended up on the same world again in the end. I'm glad, though. I'm glad we're friends now."
His eyes were soft when he finally answered. "Yeah, me too."
They continued their walk, laughing and chatting away about everything and nothing. Neither of them noticed Sora hidden behind one of the pillars. He'd gone looking for Kairi, only to see that she was in the middle of an important conversation with Lea that had… turned into hugging?
Sora tried to fight the green-eyed monster that reared its ugly head, but he couldn't help it. He trusted Kairi; he knew there was nothing going on between her and Lea. They were like brother and sister, and the kidnapping combined with the age difference between the two of them was more than enough to stop that kind of thing from happening, anyway.
But the fact that they'd spent more time together in the last several months than Sora had gotten to spend with Kairi in an entire year… And the ease with which she talked to Lea, the playful way she teased him…
That's how she always teases me.
Sora groaned and buried his face in his palm.
Sora, stop. Kairi's like that with all of her friends. It's one of the reasons you like her, idiot. Besides, this whole thing is your own fault for acting so weird. You shut her out when she was just trying to help.
I didn't have a choice! If she knew what I had really been thinking about, then—
Shut up. You're lucky she gives you the time of day.
If he hadn't been around since she was a kid, he was sure she would have gone for some other guy. Someone like Riku, maybe. Cool and calm and collected. Sora was a lazy bum, a goofball, choking on chicken bones and making messes and napping when work needed to be done and otherwise causing her trouble. She always used to tease him about it, and while he'd usually tried to laugh it off, it had gotten under his skin more than he'd cared to admit. It wasn't until his journey had begun that he'd realized that maybe her teasing was just a front to hide her own feelings.
And if there had been any doubt, everything since then – her lucky charm, which he took out to look at, her letter, her diary – all of her gifts to him, the little reminders of how she felt about him – reassured him. And of course most recently, their reunion.
Everything had been better than he'd imagined. The look on her face when she'd seen him standing in the doorway, the way she fit so perfectly in his arms, the delicious anticipation growing and growing until something inside of him had snapped when her thumb brushed against his lips, her reaction when she realized what was about to happen as he pulled her close… And then Donald had gone and ruined it.
Sora frowned at the memory. Thanks a lot, Donald. It wasn't like his friend had tried to kill the moment, but it had happened all the same.
He'd thought about kissing her afterwards, when they were alone in her room together, but the timing just hadn't seemed right. And a dozen other times since then, but something had always held him back – other people being there, the mood being slightly off, the list went on and on.
And now he couldn't. Shouldn't. It was for the best. No, really. He knew that, and yet what he was keeping from her was killing him inside. He wanted to tell her everything, to apologize and beg her forgiveness and gather her in his arms and—and kiss her. But he couldn't. So instead he had to watch as she opened up to Lea. All because—
He banged his fist against the nearest surface, the only way he could vent his frustration.
"Ouch, that hurt!" He winced and shook his fingers. Oh. It was the Gummi Ship. Somehow, he'd ended up in the hangar, his feet taking him here while his mind was elsewhere. Maybe he could just hop inside and fly away. Go to another world for a bit, get his mind off his worries. Go on some grand adventure and meet new people.
He climbed in and ran a hand over the controls. No. He couldn't leave. Roxas needed him here. Roxas and that other girl. He ran bruised fingers through his hair and sighed.
You were right. It'll never be over, will it, Kairi?
"Thought I'd find you here." Riku climbed inside the Gummi Ship and took a seat next to Sora. "Here, grabbed you one of these."
He tossed Sora his favorite kind of candy, chocolate with caramel, peanuts, and marshmallow filling. He eyed the scrapes on Sora's hand and raised an eyebrow. Sora simply thanked him and tucked the chocolate into his pocket.
Riku thought this kind of candy was way too sweet, but Sora loved it. He'd always had a sweet tooth. It was weird that he wasn't eating it.
"Look," Riku said, taking out an orange from his pocket and unpeeling it, "I'm not here to dole out relationship advice, but I know a cry for help when I see one. It's pretty bad when your girlfriend comes to me for advice because you won't talk to her about what's on your mind. Sora, a girl usually confides in her boyfriend, not in her boyfriend's best friend. This is how stupid drama starts, and I want no part of it."
Sora crossed his arms, a pout already forming on his face. "What did she say?"
"She's worried about you. She said you've been acting weird since you guys came back from the Keyblade Graveyard."
Riku popped a piece of orange into his mouth and carefully studied his friend for a reaction. Sora was silent for a moment, then finally sighed and raked the scraped hand through his hair and winced.
"Oh, that. I was trying not to stress her out—"
"That's BS and we both know it. If anything, you've made her more stressed."
Sora frowned. "She has a lot on her plate right now, I don't want to burden her with—"
Riku rolled his eyes and ate another piece of the orange. "And you don't? She's right, it's like you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. The worst part about it is, you don't have to. We're both here for you. And we're not the only ones. You've got so many friends now that I've lost track of them all."
That got a weak chuckle out of Sora. Finally. Riku was transitioning into asking him about more sensitive topics when Aqua raced down the steps of the hangar to them.
"Sora, Riku! There you are." She stopped, panting for breath, her face dripping with sweat. "Sora, Ansem the Wise wants you and Kairi to go to the data realm now. Mickey thinks an attack on the castle is imminent, and he wants you to rescue Roxas and Naminé before that happens. He and Donald and Goofy are finishing evacuating his subjects now, but Riku, you're needed for guard duty."
Well, so much for that. Sora and Riku both sprung to their feet and followed after Aqua.
I tried, Kairi, but it'll have to wait till later. I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise.
A/N: The part about Lea and Isa being experimented on hasn't been confirmed in canon, as far as I know. But other people have pointed out that it's suspicious that Lea woke up in Dream Drop Distance with a black coat on, as it meant he was wearing it when he lost his heart. Almost as if someone might have been testing the effectiveness of the black coats against the Heartless, hmmm... Anyway, we don't have confirmation either way, but I decided to go with this explanation as to how Lea and Isa became Nobodies, especially in light of the scene in Birth By Sleep's credits where Dilan I think it was caught them sneaking around the castle.
As always, thanks for reading!