The next world was another strange one, one where he saw some kind of older versions of Mickey and his friends. It was a bit weird, but it was still nothing he couldn't handle. Even when his vision became distorted and blurry, he relied on the rest of his senses to help carry him through it all.

After sealing the keyhole in that world, he went on to the next, which happened to be another version of Mickey from the past. This time there was a world of music involved, but Riku kept on marching on, knowing the sooner these worlds were saved, the sooner he could reunite with Sora again.

Eventually, as he proceeded, he came to a volcanic area… and in that place, he found that same silver haired man from before. His vision was blurred and hazy, but he could still see those golden amber eyes staring down at him.

"You waiting for me?"

"Yes. The boy chosen by the Keyblade-Riku."

The comment caught Riku off guard. "What?"

"It was yours first, wasn't it? But you succumbed to the darkness you could not control, and your prize… the Keyblade… passed onto Sora instead. Your mistakes always end up being other people's problems."

The man was trying to get under Riku's skin, trying to push him to be agitated.

But, he wasn't going to be fooled. "Maybe so. But I'm here to change all of that."

"Once again you performed predictably, although on a grander scale than I imagined. Even with your disability, you still prove to be powerful."

Riku rolled his eyes. "If you're feeling so chatty, let's skip to where you reveal what this is all about."

The man looked at him, his expression neutral and unmoving. "I don't know how you did it, but you really have found a way to trap darkness inside your heart. And a boy who's immune to darkness is of no use to us."

"Well, there's some good news," Riku spat.

Behind the man, the volcano was getting more active with spurts of lava bursting out behind him.

"Your abyss awaits…"

The man disappeared after that once another explosion of lava came. A large creature emerged from the volcano, its glowing eyes locking onto Riku right away. He did his best to fight and defeat the monster, despite the issues with his vision. He made it back to the past version of Mickey, and set everything right in that sleeping world.

That was it. He had done it and helped seal all seven keyholes to the sleeping worlds.

He left that sleeping world, thinking he would finally return, but instead he ended up somewhere new. It was a familiar looking place…

…A gray floating castle in a dark city.

"Why am I here?" he asked himself. "I unlocked all seven Keyholes, so I should be back in the world I came from."

Deciding to look for clues, Riku started talking around. As he entered the building, his vision started to become more clear.

Sora was somewhere near.

He headed in the direction that led his vision to becoming clearer, eventually coming up to Sora… though how he saw him made his heart skip a beat.

Sora was floating, completely asleep as darkness swirled around him.

"Sora!"

As he neared the strange darkness bubble that trapped his friend, he could see images within, all of people walking away. It didn't take much to figure out that a nightmare was keeping him locked in this state.

"Sora!" Riku shouted, grabbing Sora's wrist. "Don't! You've gotta wake up! Sora!"

No matter how hard Riku tried to pull Sora away, he wouldn't budge.

As he kept trying, a dark presence formed behind him.

Turning around, he saw a dark figure wearing an Organization cloak with strange purple and pink accents on the edges of the fabric.

The most unsettling thing was the red glowing eyes that showed under the hood of the cloak.

"Are you what's trapping him in that nightmare?" Riku scowled as he summoned his keyblade. He breathed out steadily, readied himself for what was to come next. "'Cause if you are... I'm what nightmares fear!

After the long battle, Riku turned around, thankful that Sora hadn't been taken from his spot. He approached Sora, still floating in that dark bubble, trying to think how he could free his friend.

"Sora, don't chase the dreams. They'll lead you nowhere, just to an abyss you'll never be able to wake up from."

Suddenly, Sora's image shifted and faded away, as well as the building around Riku.

His vision grew hazy, but he could still see enough to tell he was someplace different. It lasted for a few seconds before it began to fluctuate, trying to shift between two different places.

"What? What's going on in Sora's world? Why won't he open his eyes?

Is he still in the nightmare?"

"That is right."

Riku glared, looking all around him. "Ansem!"

"Sora can no longer wake up. No matter how many nightmares you consume, you cannot wake someone who has fallen into the chasm of dreams."

"What?"

"Dreams hold our memories. Sleep holds our dreams. And darkness-it holds our sleep. Sora's heart belongs to the darkness now," Ansem explained.

Riku shook his head, refusing to let his doubt get the better of him. "Sora would never give in to the darkness!"

"But you feel it, don't you? This world, the nightmare, the abyss.

Why haven't you returned to the reality whence you came? You still retain what little vision you have when you know you should have no left at all."

Riku could feel that unease in him growing. "No. This is a…"

"Dream of a dream," Ansem answered for him. "A twofold nightmare. This whole journey, you have been inside Sora's dreams. And now darkness within darkness awaits you."

Looking down, Riku saw a pool of darkness had formed, pulling him down into it. He struggled, trying his hardest to move, but he only sank further into it. He didn't give up, he tried whatever he could, but in the end the darkness swallowed him, bringing him down into a dark abyss.

His vision was also plunged back to how it had been before this trial had started. He could see nothing… but he still had his other senses.

Even without seeing, he knew he was in darkness… and floating before him was none other than Ansem himself.

There, when it was just the two of them, Ansem explained what had happened. It had been so far away at the start of the journey that it didn't even occur in Riku's mind. When he had started the Mark of Mastery with Sora, he had sensed Ansem from the start. He knew deep down something was wrong, and as a result he dove himself into Sora's dreams to protect him.

He had become a Dream Eater himself to protect his dear friend.

And now he was going to keep using it so he could reach Sora and save him.

All he had to do next was take care of Ansem, then he could be on his way. He knew this was important however, even if he couldn't see Ansem's cruel and smug grin, he knew the man had been taunting him ever since that day back in Hollow Bastion.

It all stemmed back from this man. His darkness, the year of struggling to contain it, releasing it to defeat Roxas… and the price of the light destroying that form to restore him to normal.

All of it started because of Ansem.

Though, if Riku was honest, he knew the answer actually started with himself. If it weren't for his jealousy, and his ambition, he wouldn't have strayed into darkness.

But now he could settle his against Ansem once more, and prove he was stronger without only relying on the darkness. He would consume the darkness and return it to light.

When Ansem was defeated, Riku was brought back to the city. His vision came back in its hazy form, but it was enough to help him look around for any clues that could've been nearby.

Eventually he found himself at the edge of a large chasm. The city was behind him and out over the chasm was Xemnas's castle. Sora was over there somewhere, Riku could sense it. All he had to do now was make it over there and reach him.

He had a feeling he was in the waking world, but with Sora still asleep he retained his Dream Eater abilities, hazy vision included. But, it meant he could call upon his own Dream Eaters to help him reach his goal, which Komory Bat was more than willing to help out with.

"Right… enter the castle, find Sora's light. That'll lead me right to him. And I don't need my sight to know how bright Sora's own light is," Riku thought, chuckling softly to himself.

After a little bit of wandering, he found himself entering a white room with several large thrones. Sora was in one of these thrones, still locked in his deep sleep.

"Sora!"

Riku ran to him, but before he could reach him, that same young silver haired man showed up, blasting him back with a wave of darkness.

"Hands off my new vessel," the young man said.

"'Vessel?'" Riku questioned.

The man grinned, explaining his grand plan to find the perfect final vessel needed for his scheme. He had originally wanted Riku, but that fell through and Xehanort had to find someone else, and it had come down to Sora. It all came together now that this young man was Xehanort, or at least a very young version of the man.

Everything that happened next was far more than expected, but in the end, after the real Xehanort showing up and a battle against the younger Xehanort, their time in that space was up.

Sora had been saved in the nick of time by Axel, or Lea as Riku came to realize, and everyone could return back to Yen Sid's tower. The information that Xehanort had left, however, did give everyone to feel a bit of concern for the future.

But, that could wait, as right now Sora still needed to wake up.

He was going to have to make a dive into Sora's heart to wake him, to free him from whatever was keeping him locked in the dream.

Riku wasn't afraid though, he had come this far after all.

He would save Sora, no matter the cost.

Been a long time coming, but I am ready to try and tackle this story again :D