Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 19

They emerged onto a barren world, maybe nothing more than a small moon, and Riku landed, waiting for Sora to move off before he did, his Glider becoming his Keyblade again. The ship was sitting and waiting right where he left it. He opened it and stepped in, Sora following him. They dismissed their armour and Sora looked around curiously. "Cid and Chip 'n' Dale built the ship for me, for long range travel. It's a lot roomier than the normal Gummi ships. We've got proper bunks, bathroom, small eating area, everything we could need."

Sora nodded, relaxing a bit at his words, and Riku wondered if Sora had been doubting his memories of being in a ship because of the differences or something. Sora reached out for the picture Riku kept on the console, picking it up, a small smile of his face. "She grew her hair," he commented.

"Yeah, it suits her long," he agreed, taking in the image of Kairi with her hair falling loose down her back, grinning at the camera with Naminé beside her, smiling as well.

He stood at Sora's back, cheering happily on the inside when Sora leant back against him. He wrapped his arm around his waist loosely and just enjoyed being close. He knew Sora may never feel ready for a relationship or even if he did, might not want one with them, but he didn't care, he would enjoy and cherish every touch he was allowed. They had always been very physical, whether fighting, playing, or just spending time together, and he was glad that Sora was accepting that contact more and more eagerly.

"Want to fly?" he asked, and Sora twisted to look up at him. "What? You're a great pilot from everything I've heard and it's been a long time since you've had the chance to fly one of these."

"I…" Sora looked at the pilots chair and then the controls. Then he shook his head. "You know where we are going." He stepped away and took one of the secondary chairs.

Riku nodded and took the pilots chair. He powered the ship up, glad that being one of Cid's it didn't run on 'happy faces'. Between Sora's guilt and his own general emotions…well. They lifted off smoothly and he set a course for the Land of Departure. The trip would be quicker than his journey to find Sora since they knew exactly where they were going and wouldn't be making stops along the way, still it would take a few days. The Lanes were clearer than they used to be, but there were still Heartless out there which meant being careful. Thankfully, the new ship had automated defences that could be set, he'd needed those when alone since he had to sleep at some point.

Of course, the flew right into a large group of Heartless within minutes and he powered up the weapons, glancing at Sora. "You got this?" he asked, and Sora hesitated but then accepted weapons control. Riku grinned as fire lanced out from the ship, taking out three in one hit. He spun the ship as Sora fired again and again and soon they were all gone. "Great shooting," he grinned at Sora who grinned back. He set the autopilot and stood up, offering Sora a hand which he took, letting Riku pull him up, taking him on a tour of the ship.

"It's a lot bigger than the ones I remember, wish we'd had proper beds," he sat on one of the bunks.

"Yeah, I don't know how you slept on those benches," Riku shook his head, sitting on his own.

"Too tired most of the time to care," Sora shrugged. "How long is the trip?"

"Four days as long as we don't have to deal with too many Heartless attacks."

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Terra stood, waiting for the ship to land. He was alone, Ven and Aqua waiting inside, not wanting to crowd Sora. The ship landed, powering down, and then the hatch opened. Riku emerged and nodded to him, calling back into the ship softly, hand out. Terra watched as another hand emerged, not quite looking right, half covered by a long black sleeve, not tight like the Organisation cloaks but draped, and then Sora emerged, it was a cape like coat or something, the hood up and covering his face. Under the cape, he was wearing some kind of tight fitting outfit in dark blue, with boots in a matching shade. There were unfamiliar symbols in silver on the cape, decoration or language?

They walked together, Sora clutching Riku's hand, and he expected to see white knuckles, except…his hand was…covered in metal? Right…implants. If that was his hand then what else was there, was that why he was hiding his face? He knew Riku had sent Kairi a picture but he hadn't seen it, he wanted his reaction when he saw Sora to be his first one, to prove to Sora that it was alright.

"Welcome back Riku," he greeted his fellow Master before focusing on Sora. "Hello Sora," he held his hand out, waiting patiently for Sora to make the next move. He couldn't see Sora's face but he could feel his gaze.

Slowly, Sora let go of Riku's hand, extending his metal covered one to Terra. Their hands met and Terra gripped his firmly but gently, finding his hand was still considerably smaller than his own. He hadn't seen much of Sora before, but he thought he had grown some since the Graveyard, though he was still shorter than Riku. The metal was cool but not cold and it didn't completely cover the limb, it was like a thick lattice covering his skin.

"Hello," Sora finally spoke. His voice was different, more mature, but also accented slightly differently.

"It's very good to see you again," Terra offered, and Sora tilted his head slightly from the movement of the hood.

"Is it?"

"Sora," Riku murmured, hand moving to his shoulder, gripping gently.

"I know we didn't have time to get to know each other before, but I would like to know you know," Terra told him.

"Why?" Sora sounded genuinely confused, and Terra felt a stab of pain, not for himself but Sora. All the stories he'd heard, Sora had always been so eager for new friends, and yet now he seemed wary, almost scared.

"Why wouldn't I? For a decade you kept Ven safe, even if you weren't conscious of what you had done. You helped save Aqua from the Darkness and you helped free me. I never could have taken my body back alone."

Sora shook his head, shifting back, but Riku didn't let him retreat.

"Riku's explained some of what happened to you and none of it was your doing Sora. You had no choice, no way to resist. I gave into the Darkness, you didn't."

"Let him see, Sora," Riku murmured, reaching for his hood, and Terra saw Sora tense, but he didn't stop Riku from gently pushing the cloth back, revealing Sora's face.

The first thing he noticed was familiar spikey brown hair and blue eyes, the face thinner and older than before….and then he saw the metal over one eye, his eyes moving over to see the large section around his throat. Sora was holding himself almost rigid as he watched him. "Does it hurt?" he asked, worried, and blue eyes widened, but then Sora shook his head slightly. "Good," that was a relief. The idea of Sora being in pain for the rest of his life was not one he liked at all.

"It is?" he asked softly, and Terra grimaced, yeah, he knew that feeling.

"It is," he stated firmly. "You don't deserve to be in pain, Sora." He reached out, making sure Sora saw his hand coming, letting it rest on his shoulder, feeling him tense but he didn't move away or attack. He smiled at the younger man. "Kairi unpacked some of your things and put them in Riku's room, she figured you'd want to share. The rest of your things are in storage whenever you want to go through it."

"My things?" Sora asked in confusion.

"We packed your stuff up when your Mom wanted to store it, figured it was safer here," Riku spoke up.

Sora seemed shocked that they had kept his belongings. Even when they'd thought he was dead, Riku and Kairi had wanted his things as a reminder of him. "Oh," he murmured.

"Ready to go in?" Riku asked him.

Sora looked at the castle, hesitating, but then he took a breath and nodded. His fingers twitched, and Riku took his hand again, squeezing it. Terra hid a smile at the sight, glad Sora was letting Riku so close.

They walked together towards the castle, Terra opening the doors. Ven and Aqua were waiting in the main hall, Ventus sitting on the stairs up to the three thrones that these days went unused. They both looked over but remained where they were as they reached the top of the stairs. He could feel the tension radiating off of Sora and glanced back to find him staring at them both with wide eyes.

"Sora?" Ventus called.

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Ventus fought to remain where he was on the stairs as he heard the doors open. Sora was finally here! He was nervous about seeing him again. If he could, he'd go back and slap his younger self for not giving Sora more than a brief hand clasp after they'd gotten rid of Vanitas in that very room. Sora had done so much for him and they'd barely gotten to talk, events rushing away from them.

Terra was the first up the stairs and then Riku, his hand clasped in another. Ventus blinked as he saw the shorter male with him…he was dressed nothing like he'd ever seen. He could feel Sora's tension, could see his eyes were too wide as he stared at them and felt horrible.

"Sora?" he called, standing gradually, and Sora focused on him. Ven smiled at him and walked slowly towards them. As he got closer he could pick out more detail…like the metal imbedded in his skin, he felt sick, how could anyone do that to someone? He could see the fear in Sora's eyes, the urge to bolt, and he held his hand out to him. "Hey," he smiled at him again.

Sora stared at his hand and then at his face before taking a small step away from Riku, reaching out his own hand. Ven saw the metal encasing it but ignored it to take his hand, much like he had that day. "Hi Ventus," Sora finally spoke. He seemed to relax a little and Ven figured the fact he hadn't even glanced twice at any of the metal was part of the reason why.

He stepped closer and hugged him, feeling Sora tense, so he stayed still, happy when Sora slowly lifted his own arms. "I missed you," he whispered. He'd been in Sora's heart for a decade, watching his adventures like in a dream. Of the three of them, he knew him best, or had. This wasn't the Sora who had woken him and grinned as he introduced himself, but he was still Sora.

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Aqua smiled softly as Sora hesitantly returned Ventus' hug. It was hard to see that bright, energetic boy in the quiet, withdrawn, young man and knowing why he had changed… she looked up as Terra moved to stand beside her, his hand resting gently on her shoulder and she leant into his support. It was so strange to see the boy who had stood up to Xehanort acting so…skittish as Ventus coaxed him further into the room, Riku at his back the whole time. Would he ever recover from the last few years? Blue eyes met hers and she smiled at him, getting a small smile in return, it was a start.

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Sora followed Riku into his room, seeing the large bed, items he recognised from when they were kids, other unfamiliar things…and some of his own. He walked over to the bed, staring in shocked amazement at the stuffed bear he'd had since he was born, the poor thing was worn and patched but still there. He glanced at Riku who reddened slightly, making him realise it was not something Kairi had put there. The very toy Riku had once teased him over and yet apparently he'd been using for comfort.

"You can have your own room if you want," Riku spoke up. "But…I'd like it if you stayed."

Sora studied the bed. He could not put the Regeneration machine on it but there was room for another table beside the bed where it could sit. "Okay," he agreed, and Riku grinned.

He wasn't sure he could take being totally alone in the Castle yet anyway. He hadn't been anywhere so big yet so empty since…he couldn't remember...no….there was something…Castle Oblivion? He didn't remember that, not really, he remembered seeing it from the path but that was about it, and yet somehow he knew it had been big and empty…cold.

"Hey, you okay?" Riku's voice drew him out of his thoughts and he nodded. Riku studied him before relaxing, Sora's bag and necessary equipment appearing in his hands. It didn't take long to unpack his bodysuits and few personal belongings or set up the machine, which thankfully had its own internal power supply since he didn't think the castle had power outlets.

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Terra watched as Sora leant against Riku, the older males fingers running through his hair as they lounged in a patch of sunlight, Riku's eyes on Sora who had his own shut. After three days with them, Sora had become more relaxed around them, which was good, but he still kept some distance. He even did it with Ven, despite that first hug, but thankfully Ventus was accepting the boundaries with a lot more patience then he used to have.

The only one Sora fully relaxed with was Riku. Riku had admitted to having seen Sora naked, seen all of the damage and changes, that Sora had even threatened him when first reunited, testing him, even testing himself. That and Riku being his Dream Eater had built trust between them. Terra hoped that Sora would let them build towards that kind of trust too, though perhaps without needing to see everything.

Blue eyes fluttered open and he met the lazy stare, smiling slightly as he nodded to Sora before moving to the practice rings. He felt Sora watching him the whole time he trained but it didn't feel like he was wary, more curious. They'd all heard about the failed attempts at reteaching Sora magic, maybe they could begin working with him physically though. If he began to use one set of old skills, perhaps it would help the others strengthen and return.

Decision made, Terra went to where they kept the practice weapons, choosing one he believed would suit Sora before walking over to them, holding it out to him. Sora stared at him with wide eyes and then looked at the weapon.

"Terra?" Riku asked.

"You both learnt sword fighting growing up, before Sora received the Keyblade, and then he learnt magic. If we repeat that, it may help him relearn the lost skills," he explained.

"You really think it'll work?" Sora asked.

"Well it can't hurt," he shrugged slightly.

"He's right," Riku agreed.

"Okay," Sora stood up and accepted the wooden sword, following Terra onto the sand of the practice area.

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Sora gripped the blade, getting comfortable with it. He hadn't been in a physical fight since the Graveyard, as a drone he hadn't needed too. Starfleet used phasers, not swords, not that he'd actually used one. He thought he was trusted enough now to be issued one if needed, but the Hirogen attack had happened too fast.

"We'll take it slow," Terra told him, and Sora nodded. Terra stepped in and swung slowly, giving him plenty of time to raise his own sword and block.

Terra obviously hadn't put much strength behind the blow but as Sora continued to block every one he attempted, he began increasing both speed and power gradually. Sora went to automatically twist out of the way of one only to find it didn't work, hitting the sand as he was sent off balance.

"Sora!" Riku called in alarm.

"Are you hurt?" Terra asked, quickly lowering his own weapon and moving to check him over.

"I am alright," Sora answered, accepting the offered hand up. "I forgot to take my limitations into account," he admitted.

"Limitations?" Terra frowned.

"Scar tissue and metal does not move the same way. I…I don't think I'll ever be able to do a lot of the acrobatic moves I used to."

"So we'll need to work on adapting your style to take those changes into account," Terra nodded. "Again?"

"Again," Sora agreed.

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"What's going on here?"

"I'm working," Seven didn't even look up from her scans as Chakotay entered the room.

"You were ordered to shut down Astrometrics an hour ago. We can't afford the power. Seven, it's inefficient."

"Efficiency is relative, Commander. If I shut down Astrometrics, I won't be able to scan for new fuel sources," she pointed out, work that would be faster with two and…especially with Sora. She found it strangely unsettling to be unable to call on his aid in such endevaours. In a way, they were a tiny collective of two among the larger group that was the ships crew. No one else truly understood them and yet…he had left. No, he had not left permanently, he would return.

"I appreciate your efforts, but we'll have to use conventional scanners until," a beep from the console interrupted him and she looked up, feeling vindicated.

"Conventional scanners would not have found this."

"What?" he moved closer to see.

"Highly concentrated deuterium."

"Where?"

"Computer, display source," she ordered and the image appeared. "A planetoid point four light-years from our present position. There are dense pockets of deuterium just beneath the surface."

"Maybe so, but that's a Demon class planet," he grimaced and she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Demon class?"

"That's what Starfleet calls it. Also known as Class Y. It's got a toxic atmosphere filled with thermionic radiation. Surface temperatures are in excess of five hundred Kelvins. Just entering a standard orbit would be suicide," he explained.

"Our situation is desperate," she reminded him coolly.

"True."

"When faced with desperate circumstances, we must adapt."

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Riku watched Sora and Ventus working together, seeing how differently Sora moved now than when they'd been teens. He was definitely stronger and even faster, but he had lost much of his agility. They were working on adapting his fighting style to accommodate that and Riku thought he was learning quickly. He thought Sora was also becoming more comfortable around them because of the time spent training which was even better.

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Sora snapped out of his Regeneration, blinking up at the ceiling before sitting up and removing the neural transceiver, then reaching for Riku. He was grimacing in his sleep, breathing heavily…a nightmare? Sora flicked the nearby lamp on, glad he didn't need magic to turn it on or off.

"Riku," he called, not sure if it was safe to touch him or if Riku would lash out automatically. "Riku wake up!" he called more loudly as Riku began mumbling in his sleep. He was obviously in distress so he had to wake him up.

Sora took the risk and touched his shoulder, when he didn't react, he shook Riku slightly. "Riku!" he called, seeing his eyes moving wildly behind closed lids. Why wouldn't he wake up? This time he touched his face, hoping the skin to skin contact would work better and…he felt something…very carefully he lifted one eyelid to reveal Riku's eye was red like they had been in his Nightmare…was he fighting something now?

Sora shifted so he was sitting with his back to the bedhead, pulling Riku's twitching form up into his arms, letting his ear rest over his heart. "Wake up Riku," he rubbed at a bare arm, not hard enough to hurt but with some force. Nothing was working so he tried something different, he leant over Riku and kissed him, closing his eyes, trying to reach out with his Heart.

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Riku was shocked when his attacker screeched and then he closed his eyes, smiling softly, red eyes turning pink in reaction. "Sora." He could feel Sora.

He reached back and then he felt lips on his, kissing back, before he was even truly aware that he was awake. He opened his eyes to find Sora leaning over him, kissing him with his closed even as he held Riku to his chest. Riku lifted a hand, burying it in wild spikes as they kissed. He felt Sora tense as he realised Riku was awake, but he didn't pull away until they needed to breath. Sora opened his eyes, staring at him, concerned, but then Sora smiled in relief.

"You wouldn't wake up," Sora whispered.

Riku frowned, reluctantly sitting up to face him, reaching for his hand, and happily Sora reached back. "I'm sorry, it was a Spellican. Sorry if I scared you," he told him, watching Sora frown.

"Spellican…from the dream Traverse Town?" he asked, and Riku nodded.

"Yeah, another one of those." He hadn't come across one since then…then again he hadn't dreamed much since becoming Sora's Dream Eater. Was it just another way his powers had grown and changed?

"But you're okay?" Sora was looking him over intently, and Riku remembered that Sora's eye could see more than normal human vision.

"I'm fine," he promised. "I had the best wake up call," he grinned. "I felt you Sora, you reached out with your Heart and I felt you in the Dream."

"You did?" Sora asked, and Riku nodded.

It was the first time he'd managed anything like that and it had been…to save him. He hated it but maybe…real danger was what it would take? Or at least Sora believing someone or himself was in danger to help wake his powers. After all…he'd gained the Keyblade in a life and death situation the first time. That was definitely a last resort.

"I interrupted your Regeneration cycle, didn't I?" he asked in concern.

"It's okay, as long as I get enough it doesn't matter if it is interrupted," Sora leant back against the headboard and Riku moved next to him. "I'm sorry I kissed you."

"Why?" He asked in confusion.

"Because it isn't fair when we aren't, well…"

"Sora you can kiss me whenever you want," Riku told him, giving carte blanche permission.

"What?" Sora looked at him, puzzled.

"It's a way for you to express your emotions Sora, even when you can't speak them." He reached out and ruffled his hair. "Not only romantic love can be expressed in a kiss. I know you're not sure, but I know you love me in that manner at least, we're best friends, right?"

"Right," Sora agreed, leaning his head on his shoulder.

Riku had felt a lot more than friendship when Sora had reached for him, but he wouldn't say anything. Sora had to realise it for himself when he was ready and able to deal with those emotions consciously.

"Riku?" Sora murmured after a while.

"Yeah?" He reached to the table and picked up the receiver, holding it up and Sora lay down, turning his head to allow it to be placed.

"Maybe…Kairi could come tomorrow?" he whispered before his eyes slid shut, and Riku smiled.

He pressed a kiss to Sora's cheek. "Sleep well," he murmured, knowing Sora would be able to hear him. He lay down as well, wrapping an arm around Sora's waist before closing his own eyes, hoping he wasn't heading into another fight, but then he felt….he smiled and Dove.

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"The good news is Nozawa and Seven of Nine have both been treated and released from Sickbay, and the planetary gases have been expelled from the transporter room," Commander Chakotay informed the Captain.

"And the bad news?" She asked wearily.

"The transporters are offline. It'll take days before they're back again."

"Great. We use valuable energy on a course change and all we get for our trouble is another downed system. Can we send a probe to collect the deuterium?"

"It would incinerate within seconds of entering the upper atmosphere," Tuvok answered.

"Then I don't see any other options. Tom, put us back on our original course, one quarter impulse."

"Captain, maybe I can help," Harry spoke up.

"Harry, the bicycle thing was just a joke," Tom grinned at him.

"I've been thinking. With Tuvok's shield modifications and a few tweaks to an environmental suit, I could take a shuttle to the surface and mine the deuterium from there," he offered, he was about eighty percent sure it would work, even if he didn't survive once back on the ship.

"Need I remind you, Ensign, that there is no environment less hospitable to humanoid life than a Class Y."

"Actually, Tuvok, no, you needn't remind me. What's the alternative? Resume course? Creep along at quarter impulse hoping we find fuel before we end up dead in the water? We've got deuterium within arm's reach. We can't let the opportunity slip away without at least trying," Harry argued. They'd never make it to another source and they all knew it, his idea was their only chance, no matter how much the idea of going down there terrified him. Even a full Borg drone would probably die in that atmosphere and they could survive vacuum.

"He's got a point," the Commander admitted.

"You wouldn't be able to communicate with us if you got in trouble, and until we get transporters back we couldn't beam you out," the Captain pointed out.

"Even with modifications, it wouldn't be long before your suit began to corrode. Exposure to that atmosphere could kill you within minutes," Tuvok added, and Harry nodded.

"I know the risks." He was just glad Sora wasn't there to volunteer to go with him.

"Even if I agreed, I'd never let you go alone," the Captain told him firmly.

"Of course not. That's why I'm volunteering my good buddy Tom here to go with me."

"I had that coming huh?" Tom muttered and Harry smirked at him.

TBC…