Archive of Our Own

            “No, but see, the brand was just above her left tit. So Kairi accidently asked to see her cleavage!” Lea snickered.

            Sora’s face was turning bright red, but contrary to Lea’s expectations, Riku just shook his head and sighed. “You may or may not be surprised to hear that it wouldn’t be the first time.”

            “Yeah, not that surprising,” Lea agreed. “Girl’s deep in denial. I haven’t even mentioned the cat woman yet.”

            They were currently in the cockpit of the gummi ship. As the de facto “leader” of the mission, Lea had offered to pilot the ship, but that was quickly discovered to be a bad idea. He had the unfortunate habit of waving his hands around while he talked, which resulted in him letting go of the controls. It had only happened the once, but once was too many for Riku’s comfort.

            Sora had also tried to volunteer when it became apparent that Lea couldn’t talk and drive at the same time, but the other two had vetoed the idea immediately, since Roxas had the unfortunate tendency to take control whenever he wanted to add to the discussion, regardless of what Sora was doing at the time. Roxas, of course, had no idea how to pilot a gummi ship, so Riku had wound up piloting. Lea and Sora sat in the two seats behind him.

            “You guys are taking this pretty well, though,” Lea continued. “You’re not worried?”

            “Why would we be worried?” Riku asked. “Kairi made her choices, and she chose us. Even if I don’t… understand why she–” he muttered, trailing off as Sora reached forwards and wrapped an arm around his neck.

            “SHHHHHH. None of that. Because you’re our best friend, Riku! That’s ‘why’!” Sora said, tousling Riku’s hair with the other hand.

            Riku grunted and tried to break the hold. “Okay! Please don’t distract the driver!” he said, narrowly avoiding an asteroid.

            Lea chuckled. “Adorable. How do you get anything done without her?”

            Both Sora and Riku turned to give him dirty looks, Riku’s only lasting a second before his eyes were back on the “road”.

            They were en route to Radiant Garden, to see Even. Apparently, Riku had told him to expect Lea, reasoning that Even wouldn’t take kindly to Vexen’s murderer showing up at his doorstep unannounced. Lea did see the logic in that; they couldn’t exactly ask Even to make bodies for Roxas, Xion, and Naminé if the man had a heart attack upon seeing Lea.

            Well, it’d be funny, but c’mon.

            Sora let go of Riku and sat back down in his seat. His head shook slightly, and Roxas asked, “So, what’s Radiant Garden like, Axel? It’s your home world, right?”

            Lea shrugged. “Well, growing up it was real beautiful, right, but then the whole Fall thing happened, and it was Hollow Bastion for ten years, and I haven’t been there since. Riku would know better than me, right, Riku?”

            Roxas’s eyes narrowed. “Wow, Axel. That was almost an answer. You’re slipping.”

            Lea gave his most disarming grin. “What are you talking about, Rox? You asked, I answered.”

            Roxas was incredibly used to said grin, and it changed nothing. “No, I asked, and you avoided answering. You also lied; you recompleted in Radiant Garden, so you have been there since the Fall. Do you want to talk about it?”

            Lea’s grin froze. “Talk about what?” he said, grin still plastered on his face. It no longer reached his eyes, and you wouldn’t have to know him well to tell it was fake.

            Roxas took a deep breath in. “Let me make some guesses. You didn’t think much of it growing up, but after you became a Nobody, thinking of Radiant Garden brought back your happiest memories. But, the longer things went on, and the further away from you Saïx got, the more painful those memories became. Plus, the very last memories you had of it involved becoming a Nobody, and that can’t have been pleasant. And even now, after the Fall, it’s very much not the place you remember. You don’t even really think of it as “home” anymore, not after everything that happened.” He leaned back and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not really thrilled that you have to go back, are you?”

            Lea stared at him, dumbfounded. Riku didn’t look away from the way ahead, but let out a low whistle and chuckled under his breath.

            “What?” Roxas asked, innocently. “I don’t do so bad when people actually tell me things, huh?”

            “I… yeah,” Lea admitted. “It’s not my favourite place. It’s not home. Not anymore.”

            Roxas leaned over and hugged him. “But you’re going back for us? That means a lot. Thanks, Axel.”

            Lea grinned. It was genuine this time. “Hey, anything for you guys.”

            “Hey, Lea?” Xion asked, taking control to speak up.

            “Yeah, Xi?”

            “What world is home now, for you?” she asked, frowning.

            Lea smiled at her, knowing the answer. “Right now? Home’s not a world. It’s you two.”

            “D’awwww” Riku cooed from the cockpit. Lea kicked his chair.

            Xion’s ecstatic smile made it worth it, though.

            Not wanting Even to freak out didn’t extend to a dramatic entrance, it seemed.

            “Hey assholes! I’m baaaaack!” Lea shouted, kicking open the door to Even’s lab. Even knowing he was going to show up eventually, Even still fumbled and dropped the sheaf of papers he was holding. Ienzo, also in the room, kept a hold of the glassware in his hands without so much as flinching.

            “Yes, you are,” Ienzo said.

            Lea pouted. “No ‘welcome back?’ Rude.”

            “I’m not dignifying that with a response,” Ienzo muttered. “And where are you going? He’s here to talk to you.” This was directed at Even, who was slowly inching his way towards the room’s other door.

            Even froze, and looked only marginally less terrified as Sora and Riku filed in behind Lea. “Oh. You brought them,” he sneered.

            Lea grinned. “I thought it’d make you feel better. I can’t murder you in front of Sora, now can I?” He tousled Sora’s hair.

            “You–but–he–you–” Even sputtered. Ienzo rolled his eyes and stepped forwards.

            “Ienzo,” he said to Sora by way of introduction. “I don’t believe you ever met me as Zexion.”

            “Nice to meet you!” Sora grinned. “Riku, did I meet him before?” he whispered in his boyfriend’s ear. He still couldn’t remember anything of his time in Castle Oblivion.

            “No, Sora, he was part of the group I fought,” Riku explained.

            “Oh, okay.” Sora frowned. “Wait… did you…?”

            “No, Riku didn’t kill me,” Ienzo clarified. “That would be the Riku Replica. On the orders of a certain pyromaniac,” he added, glaring at Lea, who grinned sheepishly.

            “I was only following orders?” he offered.

            Riku snorted. “Should I be having second thoughts about trusting you?”

            “Hey!”

            “Why are you here?!” Even finally broke in.

            Lea flashed his best grin, which did nothing to endear him to either scientist. “Well, you see, I have some friends in a bit of a conundrum. Y’all remember Roxas, right?”

            “Number XIII, knew nothing, no memories, a complete blank slate?” Even asked. “I was sent to train him once. That was it. Is he not dead as well? He was Sora’s Nobody, and here Sora is.”

            Sora tugged on Riku’s jacket sleeve. “Did I meet this guy?” he asked. “The way he talks sounds familiar. And I’ve got this weird urge to punch him in the face.”

            “Yes, we met, Sora,” Even sneered. “And then someone killed me.”

            Lea shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s not like you died.”

            “What about Roxas?” Ienzo interrupted.

            “Well, he’s not as dead as he seems. Say hi, Roxas!”

            From Even and Ienzo’s perspective, Sora looked over at Lea and rolled his eyes. “What if I say no, Axel? What happens then?” He looked back over at Even and Ienzo. “Vexen. Zexion. Hello, I’m not dead. Ish.”

            “I’m sorry?” Even said. Lea, Sora, Riku, and Roxas filled them in on Roxas’s situation as best they could.

            “Bizarre,” Ienzo said, leaning in close to study Sora’s face. Roxas, unamused, placed his palm against Ienzo’s face and pushed him away.

            “Oh, it gets better,” Lea said. “Now, I’m not going to be surprised if you don’t, but do you remember our fourteenth member? Her name is Xion.”

            The second her name left his lips, Ienzo and Even’s faces both screwed up in pain, the familiar sight of memories coming back.

            “…You mean Replica no.i?” Even asked, rubbing his head. “Our backup plan in case Roxas couldn’t cut it and our plan with Sora failed?”

            Ienzo blinked. “Yes… What happened to it? And why couldn’t I remember that we made it until now?”

            “No, I mean Xion,” Lea corrected. “That’s her name. Congratulations, Even, it’s a girl. You’re a father.”

            Both Even and Sora made expressions of disgust. “Lea, don’t be gross,” Xion said, placing her hands on her hips.

            “I am not a parent,” Even agreed.

            “Damn straight,” Ienzo muttered. Even looked over at him, hurt.

            Xion’s story was even harder for the two of them to follow, but between the five of them, they managed to convince the two.

            “The point is,” Riku concluded, “Both Roxas and Xion have hearts of their own. However, they don’t have bodies of their own, and neither does Naminé. We’re here talking to you, because you’re the person who made the bodies for Xion and for my Replica. Could you do it again?”

            Even scoffed. “What, as a ‘favour’ to you? Might I remind you that one of you killed me?”

            Lea took a step forward and seized Even’s lab coat by the lapel. “Might I remind you that somebody once kidnapped two fifteen-year-olds, shoved them in a room with a bunch of Heartless, and waited to see what would happen?” he asked, tone so quiet the others almost couldn’t hear it. “The way I see it, Even, we’re even. Are we clear?”

            Even looked on the verge of panic. “C-crystal,” he managed. Behind them, Sora was furiously scribbling his notebook, but both of them ignored it.

            Lea released his coat. “Wonderful!” he said, in an obviously-faked happy tone. “So let’s get on that, yeah?”

            Even backed away and sank into a chair. “I need you to listen to me. Meaning, actually listen to the words I’m saying. Can you do that?” Despite his terror he hadn’t lost the sneering tone.

            Lea crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Go on.”

            “I would do this for you, but I can’t. Not because I don’t want to, but because I lack a specific set of data for the process.”

            Lea blinked. “Data? What data?”

            Even leaned back in the chair, back in the position of knowledge and power that he reveled in. “I can create an empty body with no problems, but to put a heart into one? I would need to specifically tailor the body to fit the person it’s intended for. The last time, I used Sora’s memories of Riku for the replica of him, and Sora’s memories of Kairi for no. – er, for Xion.”

            “Which you don’t have access to anymore,” Lea realized.

            “Well, he can listen! Will wonders never cease,” Even said. “In theory it might be possible to put a heart into an empty body without that sort of base, but I would imagine it would be extremely painful for the intended, and would take great strength of will to work. And, since one of the people you intend to, ah, ‘rehome’ is Naminé, well…”

            “She’s not like she used to be,” Lea interrupted.

            “Well good for her. I still doubt you’d want to use that method. But without the data needed to shape the body, I can’t help you,” Even finished.

            “Sora, no,” Riku said, apparently apropos of nothing.

            “I didn’t say anything!” he protested.

            “No, but I know exactly what you’re thinking. You’re not sacrificing your memories to make bodies for them.”

            “I wasn’t going to suggest He totally was,” Roxas confirmed. “I have no idea what you just said but you’re wrong!” Sora challenged.

            “Sora,” Riku said. “You aren’t giving up your memories to give Roxas, Xion, and Naminé bodies. How would that even work for Roxas and Naminé, anyway?”

            “It’s a moot point,” Lea cut in. “Naminé doesn’t have her memory powers anymore, and good riddance. There’s no way to steal your memories again in the first place.”

            The room fell silent, as they contemplated their next move. Eventually, someone spoke up.

            “Hey fellas? If it’s data you need, I think I might have a solution!”

            Even gripped Ienzo’s arm. “Ienzo did that cricket just talk?”

            Jiminy Cricket hopped out from his traditional place in Sora’s hood. “Oh, hey, Jiminy!” Sora said. “I keep forgetting you’re in there!”

            Lea met Riku’s eye and mouthed the words “what the fuck”. Riku shrugged.

            “Well, it’s nice to meet you all!” Jiminy said, after Sora had done introductions. “Now, this is going to sound a bit strange, but I know of a place where the data you need for Roxas, Naminé, and Xion might be found!”

            “Where?” Lea asked.

            “The full story is a little long, but to make it short, a while ago I found something odd in the journal from Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s first adventure.”

            “The one that had ‘Thank Naminé’ written in it?” Sora asked.

            “That’s the one! I brought it to His Majesty’s attention, and we were able to make a digital version of the journal in Disney Castle’s computer system. And then we encountered all kinds of bugs.” Jiminy continued to tell the story of the digital world that now existed in Disney Castle. When he had finished, the rest were dumbfounded.

            “There’s… another me?” Sora asked. “In a digital world?”

            “Why didn’t Mickey mention this?” Riku agreed.

            “Gosh, I guess it just didn’t seem all that important at the time,” Jiminy said. “But, I know for a fact there’s data on Roxas, Naminé, and Xion in that world.”

            “What do you think?” Lea asked Even. “Could it work?”

            Even straightened his shoulders. “I’d have to know a lot more, but I would say the possibility is… worth exploring.” He stood up. “In case it can, I’ll see about gathering the other supplies to make bodies. You have some form of transportation, I assume?”

            “One or two,” Lea said, grinning.

            Even shook his head. “Whatever. Your assistance, Ienzo?”

            Ienzo didn’t move. Even sighed, and gritted his teeth. “Please?”

            “Was that really so hard?” Ienzo challenged, walking over to the door in the back. Grumbling, Even followed him out.

            Immediately Sora wrapped his arms around Lea. “Um?” Lea asked.

            “I never really thought about it,” Roxas said. “How you became a Nobody, I mean.”

            “It sounds like it was horrible,” Xion added. “I’m so sorry, Lea.”

            “Oh, uh… Guys, it was over a decade ago, I’m fine.” Lea said, smiling, but still uncomfortable.

            “Don’t care,” said Sora. “Hugs.”

            “Wait, is… is this from Roxas and Xion, or…?”

            “All three of us!” Sora declared, smiling.

            “Okay. Let me go now,” Lea said, smiling and actually feeling it this time.

            “mmmmno,” Sora said.

            Lea laughed. “Fine, weirdos.” Tentatively, he wrapped an arm around them, too.

            Even and Ienzo returned with three large crates, which were thankfully on wheels. Even so, it was a long trek pushing them out to the landing pad they’d used, and onto their gummi ship. After Cid extracted a promise from Sora to come back to visit, and this time bring both of his partners, the party set a course for Disney Town.

            Even had never travelled in a gummi ship before, and was not overly enthused. His bellyaching ceased when Lea pointed out it was this, or Dark Corridors without protective garments. He refrained from mentioning the existence of Light Corridors; hey, would you have wanted to push three heavy boxes between worlds?

            Riku brought them down into Disney Castle’s gummi ship hangar with little difficulty. Sora had thought to radio ahead, and Donald and Goofy were waiting for them on the pad.

            “Missed us too much, huh?” Donald teased, as Sora ran down the ramp to give him a hug.

            “Of course! You guys’re my friends!” Sora replied, sounding hurt. He waited long enough for Donald to start to wonder if he had actually hurt Sora’s feelings, before breaking into a wide grin. “Gotcha.”

            Goofy laughed. “He did getcha, Don.”

            “Phooey,” Donald muttered, but wore a small smile of his own. “We missed ya, too.”

            “Really? I hear you’ve got a whole other me stashed around here,” Sora teased.

            Donald waved a hand (wing?) dismissively. “He’s a different person than you. He’s still Sora, but not like you’re Sora.”

            “Is he Sora like I’m Sora?” Roxas interjected.

            “Naw, Roxas, you’re not Sora at all, you’re you!” Goofy said. Roxas smiled.

            “While I’m sure this is all very amusing,” Even said, walking over to them, “Are we not here with a job to do?” He looked a tad green; travel by gummi ship evidently didn’t agree with him.

            “Yeah, yeah, give them a second, they haven’t seen each other in a couple of hours,” Lea drawled, coming up behind them. Riku brought up the rear. “So what’s this data-world the cricket was talking about?”

            “Follow us,” Goofy said. He and Donald led the way to what was formerly Mickey’s study, but was now the room that housed the Datascape. Mickey, Chip, and Dale were all waiting for them, and on the screen was…

            “Wow,” Sora gasped. “Riku, they really do look like us!”

            It wasn’t the flesh-and-blood Sora. Rather, it was a Sora that still looked fourteen, on the screen. Standing next to him in what looked like the exact same room, was a still-fifteen Riku, dressed in an Organization coat but missing the blindfold the original Riku had worn during the time he had worn the coat.

            “Hey, they look just like us! Or, us a couple of years ago, I guess,” the original Sora said. Both the original and the data-Sora had identical expressions of wonderment on their faces.

            “Wonderful. Idiot Keyblader in surround sound,” Even grumbled.

            “Hey!” both Soras said, insulted.

            The data-Riku smiled. “Hello, Riku,” he said.

            The original Riku smiled back. “Hello, Riku,” he said. “Nice hair.”

            Data-Riku chuckled. “Sora just won’t let me cut it. I keep telling you it’d look fine,” he added, looking at his companion.

            “Ehh,” Data-Sora said, shrugging.

            Lea stepped forwards. “Do you guys understand what we need from you? Did it get explained?” he asked.

            Data-Riku nodded. “You need data on Roxas, Naminé, and this Xion girl in order to make new bodies for them. The real them, I should say.”

            Lea waved a hand. “Hey, you’re no less real. Just, real in a different way. Do you have what we need?”

            Data-Riku tilted his head, looking at something the people outside the computer couldn’t see. “I’m… not sure.”

            “Not sure?” Mickey asked. “You’re the embodiment of the journal, Riku. If anyone would know, it’d be you!”

            Data-Riku shrugged. “Mickey, that doesn’t mean I know everything that’s in here. I didn’t know about the message Naminé left behind, right? If we have the data you need… I don’t know what to look for to find it.”

            “Maybe I can help?” Data-Sora and Data-Riku looked over as someone else walked into the frame.

            The data version of Naminé looked out and smiled. “Hello, Sora, Riku, Axel.”

            “It’s Lea,” Lea said. “Hi.”

            “Oh, there ya are, Naminé!” Mickey said. “Do you know where we can find the data we need to give the other you, Roxas, and Xion bodies again?”

            Naminé’s smile grew wider. “I’m glad. You’ve come to end their hurting. Yes, I know where the data is. Let me show you.” She reached out and took Data-Riku’s hand.

            There was a flash, and a window popped open on the screen. A stream of code scrolled up it, almost too fast for the eye to follow. Even ran over to watch it. “Slow down, slow down, I can’t possibly read that quickly!” he ordered.

            The code slowed to a crawl. Even scanned it, frowning.

            “Well?” Sora prompted.

            “Give me half an hour. Programming, I’m afraid, is not my forte.”

            “So we didn’t end up going to Halloween Town after all,” Lea noted. “Any particular reason why?”

            Sora shrugged. “I talked it over with the guys and we figured that bringing in Dr. Finkelstein would be more trouble than it’s worth. He only managed to make people twice, neither of which in a way that isn’t gross, and only Sally had a heart. He claims he made it, but…”

            “She probably grew it herself, like Roxas and Xion!” Goofy finished.

            “Right! So that, and we would have had to let him in on the ‘there’s multiple worlds’ secret, so there really wasn’t any reason to go to him over Even,” Sora concluded.

            “Makes sense,” Lea said, nodding. It had been almost an hour, and Even was still looking over the code and grumbling to himself.

            “How’s it going?” Riku called over to him.

            Even started, and shook his head. “I have absolutely no idea what I’m looking at.”

            “Huh?”

            “It’s definitely code that describes something, and I will take the data constructs’ word that it’s what I need, but I have zero idea of how to integrate it with my body design.” Even sighed. “It would take… at best I’d say a year of research, with assistance, to figure out how to make it work. And I’m aware you’d prefer a quicker solution,” he barked as Lea started to walk towards him, a dark look on his face, “but it can’t be done.”

            Lea grimaced, and Sora looked downtrodden, but Riku had a curious expression on his face. “What if… the research had already been done?” he asked.

            Even blinked. “Who could possibly have done this research? They’d need to have had almost a year’s worth of experience studying my bodies, as well as much better knowledge of computers in general and this particular datascape in… particular. Who could possibly have that?”

            “Ansem the Wise.”

            “Excuse me?”

            “Yeah, gonna need some clarification on that one, Riku,” Lea said.

            Riku sighed, and explained the skills that Ansem had demonstrated when he had worked with him as DiZ. “He made a datascape, and had access to the records from your Replica project,” he told Even. “And… I met a digital version of him in Sora’s heart, that he left behind when Naminé was putting Sora back together. He said that the real DiZ had hidden his research in Sora’s heart, as… a way of making right the wrongs he did to Naminé, and Xion, and Roxas. Maybe… maybe that’s what you need.”

            Even raised an eyebrow. “Fascinating. Truly. And how, pray tell, do I get access to this research? Ansem the Wise is still amnesiac.”

            “Oh, wouldn’t that be easy, though?” Data-Sora said. “You’d just need to open up Sora’s… what was the word again, Riku?”

            “His… source code?” Data-Riku answered.

            “Yeah, that!” Data-Sora grinned. “Open up his source code and pull out the bits that don’t belong!”

            “Um, Sora, I hate to burst your bubble, but people that aren’t made of data don’t have source code,” Mickey said. “Well, not the kind you mean, anyway.”

            “But what if I was made of data?” Sora asked.

            Riku and Data-Riku shared the same frown. “I’m pretty sure you weren’t, last time I checked,” Riku said.

            “Gawrsh, but we were made of data at one point,” Goofy said, pondering.

            “That’s right!” Donald said. “Space Paranoids!”

            “What’s Space Paranoids?” Lea asked, at the same time that Even was saying, “Ansem’s computer system?”

            “It’s a world made of data, like the datascape here!” Sora said, getting excited. “There’s a device in Radiant Garden that can turn me into data!”

            “Wait, slow down,” Riku said. “Are we sure this is safe?”

            “Yeah, of course it is!” Sora said. “There’s only one person in that world, and Tron’s our friend!”

            “Tron?” Riku asked. “Why does that name sound…?”

            Mickey cleared his throat. “Space Paranoids is a copy of a different digital world. You’ve been there, Riku; It’s a copy of The Grid.”

            Riku’s eyes widened. “Oh, right. Are you really sure it’s safe?” he asked Sora.           

            Sora rolled his eyes. “Completely.”

            Data-Sora laughed. “Aw, they do that, too!” he said.

            “Do what?” Data-Riku asked.

            “Their Riku is just as overprotective as mine,” Data-Sora said, grinning, and taking Data-Riku’s hand. Data-Riku blushed.

            Lea laughed. “Hah. Guess some things are just fate, huh?”

            Even, however, was still frowning. “So it’s a round-trip back to Radiant Garden, then? And even if we do have this research, I have no guarantee I can work with it alone.”

            “Welllll,” Lea drawled, “It’s not as long as a trip as you think. Do you mind, your Majesty?”

            Mickey shook his head. “Of course not. Go right ahead!”

            Lea summoned his Keyblade, ignoring Even’s instinctive flinch, and summoned a Light Corridor. “What?” Even asked.

            Lea shrugged. “Light Corridor. Like a Dark Corridor but no Darkness leeching at your heart. Also, so far we’ve only been able to make them work world-to-world; no short hops.”

            “Why didn’t we use that to get here?” Even demanded.

            Lea glanced at him. “Did you want to push those boxes? I didn’t.”

            Even grumbled to himself, but didn’t argue. Lea strode through the aperture, eventually popping out back in Even’s laboratory.

            This time, Ienzo did drop what he was holding. “How… but… you…?” he managed.

            “Slick, right? Benefits of Keyslinging,” Lea said. “We need your help. Even doesn’t know how to work a computer and Sora needs to be digitized or something? We need to use Ansem the Wise’s computer.”

            Ienzo stared at him. He looked at the Light Corridor. “That’s safe to walk through?” he asked.

            “Yep.”

            “Then I’m getting an explanation from someone who paid attention,” he declared, and walked through the Corridor to Disney Castle.

            “Rude,” Lea muttered, but followed him back anyway.

            “You’re all insane, I hope you realize that,” Ienzo said. He had been filled in on the events so far, and their current plan.

            Sora grinned. “It’s worked for us so far!”

            “How wonderful,” Ienzo deadpanned. “Yes, the data we’ve been presented with is accurate. It should be able to make a body.”

            “Just one?” Lea asked, frowning.

            Ienzo shrugged. “Presumably Xion’s, since I’m fairly certain the code indicates black hair. Roxas and Naminé’s are also on file, I’m sure.”

            Data-Naminé blinked. “That’s… all the data I had. I don’t know where…”

            “Gawrsh. Wouldn’t the data for a body for Naminé be in you, uh, Naminé?” Goofy asked.

            “I… oh. I guess that makes sense,” she said.

            “That’s another problem, then,” Data-Riku said. “We can’t extract that data. It’d be the functional equivalent for us of, I don’t know, stabbing ourselves with a Keyblade?”

            Both Rikus gave both Soras the same look. They both had the decency to turn red.

            “If this Tron could get the research data out of Sora,” Lea said, “Could he also pick the body data out of Naminé?”

            “Maybe?” Data-Riku said. “But if he’s in a whole other datascape, then…”

            “You’d need a way… to connect the two…” Ienzo muttered. Slowly, he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small, black, rectangular brick. “Even, hold this,” he said, dropping it in Even’s hands.

            “What is it?” Even asked, but Ienzo was walking back through the Light Corridor. “Lea, close this behind me,” he said. “I need to make a call. If you don’t hear from me in five minutes, open the way again.”

            “Uh, sure?” Lea asked. The Light Corridor closed the second Ienzo stepped back onto Radiant Garden. There was silence for a second, then the brick in Even’s hand started to buzz. “How is that? Can you hear me?”

            He nearly dropped it. “Ienzo? What is this?” Even demanded.

            “It’s something I’ve been working on. A way to communicate between worlds.” Ienzo’s voice issued out of the brick. “More powerful than the radios your ships have been using, and secure enough that we might be able to connect two computers.”

            “You want to link the Datascape and Space Paranoids?” Mickey asked.

            “Sort of. Not fuse them, but allow them to communicate. That way, this Tron can perform his functions without our data construct friends having to leave their own world. It’s the only thing I can think of.”

            Lea grinned. “Looks like things are coming together nicely.”

            With Ienzo’s devices set up (he referred to them as “answerables”, although Lea was almost positive a catchier name could be found), Sora followed him over to Radiant Garden, and down to the computer lab. Lea refused to follow, not wanting to be in that room again if he could help it, which earned him another round of hugs from Sora and his passengers. Ienzo rolled his eyes a bit at the computer’s new password, but the digitizing laser worked just as it had before, and Sora found himself in the familiar white and blue suit and suspiciously hockey-looking helmet.

            “Sora? Is that you?” said a familiar voice.

            Sora broke into a wide grin. “Hiya, Tron! It’s been a while, huh?”

            “Yes. It’s been approximately fifty cycles since I saw you last.”

            Sora’s grin faltered. “Uh… how long is that, exactly?”

            Tron tilted his head. “I believe in your terms it would be… around fifty years?”

            Sora’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, jeez, Tron, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know, I would have come to visit sooner–”

            He was cut off by the smile that spread across the program’s face. “Sora, please, it’s all right. I’m used to Users working on a slower timescale. And I haven’t exactly been alone; your friends on the Restoration Committee have been working with me.” He walked over and, still somewhat awkwardly due to lack of practice, wrapped Sora in a hug. Sora eagerly hugged him back.

            “Now, what did you need my help with?” Tron asked. “I’ve noticed the addition to the grid and I wasn’t sure if I should explore it or not. But since you’re here, I’m guessing it’s a Keyblade ‘thing’?”

            “Sort of,” Sora said. “It’s a looong story.”

            With Tron briefed and understanding what he had to do, he and Sora trepidatiously made their way across the link and into the Datascape. They emerged into the same study Sora and Ienzo had just left, where Data-Sora, Data-Riku, and Data-Naminé were waiting for them.

            “Hi, Sora!” said Data-Sora.

            “Hi, Sora!” said Sora. Both wore the same grin. “This is Tron!”

            “Hello,” Tron said. “This is an impressive system.”

            Data-Riku smiled. “Thanks, we built it ourselves. With a bit of help.” He gestured towards the computer on the desk, in the same place it was in the real world. On the screen was the same room in Disney Castle, with the non-digital people looking in.

            “Hello, Donald, Goofy,” Tron called. “It’s good to see you.”

            “Good to see ya too, Tron!” Goofy said.

            “Do you think you can do it?” Donald asked. “Can you get the data out of Sora?”

            “I believe it’s possible,” Tron said. “But I’ll need permissions from the system’s administrator before I begin.”

            “…um?” Data-Sora asked.

            “Do you… not have a system administrator?” Tron asked, puzzled.

            “…no?”

            Tron blinked. “It appears the rules aren’t quite the same in our worlds. If that’s the case, I suppose I can just do what I need to do. Are you ready, Sora?”

            Sora squared his shoulders. “Ready when you are, Tron!”

            Tron nodded. “Commencing scan.” He placed a hand on the top of Sora’s head, and a yellow light flowed out of it and slowly moved down Sora’s body.

            “Heh. It tickles,” Sora said.

            “You okay, Sora?” Riku asked.

            “Perfectly fine, Riku,” Sora said, grinning.

            “I think I’ve found it,” Tron said suddenly. “A cluster of data, hidden within Sora.”

            “Can you extract it?” Even asked.

            “I should be able to. Although,” Tron said, confused. “It seems like there’s another Program in there with it.”

            “That might be the data Ansem,” Riku said. “Can you extract him, too?”

            “Theoretically,” Tron replied. “I’ll try.”

            There was a burst of light, and when it faded, an older man was standing before them, clutching a message in a bottle in his hands.

            “Ansem?” Riku asked.

            The data-Ansem blinked. “Riku? Where am I..?”

            “You’re in a world called the Datascape!” Sora volunteered. “It’s a digital world, like your computer program in Radiant Garden!”

            “Sora?” Data-Ansem asked, blinking in confusion. “There are… two of you?”

            Data-Sora looked incredibly confused, but Data-Riku had taken a subtle step between Data-Ansem and Data-Naminé.

            “Yep. This me is made of data,” Sora explained. Carefully, they explained what was going on.

            “So you require my research, then, Even?” Data-Ansem asked.

            Even gritted his teeth. “Yes, ‘Lord’ Ansem. Honestly you’re not even the real one,” he muttered under his breath.

            Data-Ansem nodded, and handed the bottled message over to Data-Riku. “This is what you require. And if the real me is unable to do so, please convey my deepest regrets and apologies to Roxas, to Xion, and especially to Naminé.”

            “No, thanks,” Roxas muttered.

            Ienzo, who had rejoined the group while Sora was being scanned, started pouring through the new data. “This is indeed what we require,” he said. “Now, we just need the specific data for Naminé and Roxas.”

            “Nice! Do you mind if I head back to the other Disney Castle?” Sora asked. “I don’t think you need me on this side anymore.”

            Data-Riku shook his head. “Go right ahead.”

            Sora headed back through the link, reappearing in Space Paranoids. He made his way to one of the terminals and remotely activated the laser, putting himself back in Radiant Garden.

            He was excited, and why shouldn’t he be? They were so close! Roxas and Xion were going to get their bodies back! Ventus was going to wake up!

            So… why was he worried?

            He didn’t have to ask himself that. He knew why.

            But this was the right thing to do. Roxas, Xion, and Ventus deserved to be their own people. Helping was what was right, helping was what he did, so that’s what he’d do, with a smile.

            Sora shook himself. Problems for later. The smile came naturally to his face, and had been away for such a short time that even Roxas hadn’t noticed anything was wrong.

            And that’s how it should be.

            When Sora had arrived back in the original study, the others were deep in discussion. “What’s up?” he asked.

            “While you were travelling, Tron scanned Naminé,” Riku explained. “She doesn’t have extra data, she is the data. So he essentially has to make a copy of her, and we’re a bit nervous about that.”

            “That does seem a bit scary,” Sora agreed. “What happens if we end up with another Naminé?”

            “I don’t believe that will happen,” Tron said. “But I understand the concern. It’s… quite existential.”

            “So what do we do?” Sora asked.

            “You let me go first.”

            Everyone’s attention was drawn to a figure in an Organization coat that appeared on the screen. Slowly, he lowered his hood.

            “Roxas?” Lea breathed.

            “Hello, Axel,” Data-Roxas said. “I hear you need my data.”

            “Oh, there you are, Roxas,” Data-Sora said. “I keep telling you you don’t need to hang out alone all the time. We’re all in here together!”

            Data-Roxas rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh. Hi, Naminé,” he said, expression softening a little bit.

            “Hi, Roxas,” she said, looking a little bit more comfortable for the first time since Data-Ansem had been removed from Sora.

            Roxas stepped forward towards the screen. “Now I know how Sora feels all the time,” he said, a little amused.

            Data-Roxas raised an eyebrow. “Roxas?”

            “Hello, Roxas,” said Roxas. “You’re looking good.”

            Data-Roxas snorted. “You’re looking like Sora.”

            “Yeah, well, we need your help to fix that,” Roxas said.

            Data-Roxas nodded. “Like I said, let me go first,” he said to Tron. “That way, if anything goes wrong, it doesn’t happen to Naminé.”

            “If you’re sure,” Tron said, and placed his hand on Data-Roxas’s head.

            “Wait!”

            Tron jerked his hand back as Data-Naminé rushed forwards, stopping just in front of Data-Roxas. “Just… just in case this goes wrong somehow…”

            “It’s not going to,” Data-Roxas said. “I promise.”

            “But in case it does,” Data-Naminé said, and grabbed Data-Roxas by the collar, yanking him towards her.

            Lea immediately turned away from the screen as their lips met; that was NOT something he wanted to see. Good for them, but they looked exactly like two of his friends, both of whom he knew had zero interest in each other that way. Beside him, Roxas was rapidly turning red, and Riku had started to cough.

            They broke apart, Data-Naminé slightly pink, Data-Roxas a bit stunned, but not unpleasantly. Roxas immediately seized both Lea and Riku by the shoulders. “This does not leave this room,” he hissed. Both of them nodded, just as eager to ignore it.  

            Tron did his best attempt at making a throat-clearing noise, and placed his hand on Data-Roxas. “Ready?”

            Data-Roxas breathed in and out. “Do it.”

            The light that pulsed over him was blue this time, but Data-Roxas held still. When it was finished, a blue orb glowed in Tron’s hand, and he passed it over to Data-Riku. The relevant information popped up on the screen in the study, Ienzo giving it a quick once-over.

            “It looks like it worked,” he said. “Naminé?”

            “O-okay,” she said, stepping up to Tron. “I’m ready.”

            Data-Roxas took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “You’ll be okay,” he said. She smiled at him, thankful, and Lea wondered if he should avert his eyes again.

            Tron placed his hand on Naminé’s head, and shortly had an additional blue orb that he passed on to Data-Riku. The data popped up on the screen and Ienzo nodded. “This will work. However,” he added to Lea, “it will still take some time.”

            Lea grinned. “Hey, as long as you’re working.”

            Even rolled his eyes. “Your Majesty, do you have a medical centre of some kind where we can work?”

            “Of course!” Mickey said. “Come with me!” He led Even and Ienzo out of the room.

            “If that is the extent of what you need me for, I should return to the grid,” Tron said. “However…” he looked embarrassed.

            “What is it, Tron?” Sora asked.

            “Would you… mind if I asked that we keep this connection open? Interacting with the Users in Radiant Garden is fine, but I do find myself becoming… lonely, every once in a while.”

            “I don’t see why not,” Data-Riku said. “If the King agrees to it.”

            “He will,” Donald said. “We don’t want you guys getting lonely when we can’t be here, either!”

            “If you don’t mind, Tron, I believe I will accompany you,” said Data-Ansem. “I… don’t feel that my presence here is… desired.” He looked over at Data-Naminé, who barely concealed a flinch as both Data-Riku and Data-Roxas stepped in between them. “It is for the better, I believe, if I reside with you.”

            Tron blinked. “Master Ansem, I would of course be perfectly willing to have you,” he started, but Data-Ansem shook his head.

            “I am not your User, Tron, merely a Program like you made to resemble him.”

            Tron nodded. “I will try to keep your chosen designation in mind.” He said his goodbyes to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and the two programs walked back towards the link to Space Paranoids.

            Sora breathed a long sigh. “It’s been a weird day.”

            “That it has,” Riku agreed, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Sora nuzzled into his touch.

            “Gross,” Data-Roxas taunted.

            “Let them live, Roxas,” Data-Riku said.

            “Yeah, if you don’t like it we’ll start doing it, too,” Data-Sora said. “So there.”

            Data-Roxas looked like he was going to object, but silenced himself when Data-Naminé reached out and took his hand.

            Lea bit back the impulse to say “Gross.” He was the adult in the room, dammit, he’d better act like it. He was unaware that both Donald and Goofy were significantly older than him. “I should… go scare Even a little,” he said, feeling awkward, and left to find them.

            “Hey, Riku?” said Data-Riku.

            “What is it?”

            “There’s something Sora and I have been trying to figure out for a while now, but we’ve never been able to make any headway on it. Could we ask you?”

            Riku frowned, confused. “Sure? What do you want to know?”

            “Riku, who’s Kairi?”

            Lea stood on a balcony looking out over Disney Castle’s courtyard. The topiaries were a little much, he thought, but it wasn’t his castle. Even and Ienzo were hard at work, Ienzo studying Ansem the Wise’s research while Even prepared the bodies for data implantation.

            There wasn’t really anything he could do, and it was eating at him. At least things were progressing, but the active part he’d had was over. It was on Even and Ienzo now, which was not comforting; despite working with them for ten years, he had almost no trust in them.

            The difference was that Axel had never given a shit. Lea couldn’t afford not to.

            Riku walked out and leaned on the balcony next to him, close enough that Lea could tell he was willing to talk, but far enough away that Lea could ignore him if he chose to.

            Hell. Any port in a storm.

            “Was this what it was like for you, waiting for Sora to wake up?” he asked.

            Riku shook his head. “I never wound up sitting on my hands like this. DiZ kept sending me out on missions. Mostly to spy on the Organization. I didn’t have time to sit and worry.”

            Lea huffed. “Yeah. S’not like anything’s wrong, either, it’s just… waiting. What am I even here for at this point?”

            Riku turned to look at him. “You’re the one with the drive. These are your best friends we’re fighting for here. None of us are as closely connected, though you’d never guess it from Sora. You’re the one who lit the fire under Even and Ienzo.”

            Lea snorted. “Oh, I’m here because I’m ‘the heart’? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

            Riku flushed. “That’s not a bad thing, look at Sora.”

            Lea laughed. “Nah, it’s all good. I get it. Thanks, o venerable Keyblade Master. Passing on your wisdom.”

            Riku reddened further. “Stop.”

            “Sure, sure,” Lea said, smirking.

            “Actually,” Riku said, returning to his normal colour, “if you want something to do, could you try to teach me how to make a Light Corridor?”

            Lea jerked up, confused. “Wait… me, teach you?”

            “Why not?” Riku asked. “Don’t let the Master title confuse you, I’m no more an expert than you are.”

            Lea was about to object, then he remembered something Merlin had said once. “Even Masters will always have more to learn.” Surprise, surprise, he was right. “All right, mister Master,” he said, smiling slowly. “Let’s get down to business.”

            Xion slipped down the hallway and up to the slightly open door. Sora had given her permission to do what she was about to do, though Roxas had been a little doubtful. But she wanted to do it.

            Besides, it would take her mind off of what she had just seen through Roxas’s eyes.

            She shook the image out of her mind and slowly opened the door.

            Even looked up, startled, then annoyed. “What do you want, Sora?” he asked, exasperated.

            “I’m not Sora,” Xion said.

            Even rolled his eyes. “Well excuse me, Roxas. It’s almost like you’re–”

            “I’m not Roxas either,” Xion said. This, she wouldn’t miss when she had a body again.

            Even stiffened. “Oh, you’re… Xion.”

            “Yes.”

            “…Well, what do you want?” Even asked.

            That was a damn good question. What did she want? Validation? Or maybe a reason to be angry? Even, as Vexen, had created her. But she wasn’t what he had intended her to be; for the better, obviously, he had intended she be a controllable replacement Sora, but there was still this weird sense that she wanted him to be… okay with what she’d become instead. Like she was seeking approval from this person she barely knew.

            “I… I’m curious about the process. I’d like to watch,” she managed. “If… if that’s okay. I promise I won’t be in the way.”

            Even frowned at her. “…I suppose an observer would not hurt. Don’t touch anything.” His expression was unreadable.

            Xion walked over to a chair against the wall. Even and Ienzo had been set up in an empty Disney Castle medical ward, so the room was both large and empty aside from them.

            “…You managed to grow a heart of your own, hmm?” Even said eventually, startling her.

            “Yes,” Xion said, ready to be defensive if she had to. “What about it?”

            Even hadn’t looked up from the body he was working on. “…It’s not something that I predicted when I created you.”

            “Somehow I didn’t think it was,” Xion said, letting a hint of bitterness colour her words.

            Even’s face twitched. “…Vexen would never have thought in these terms, but… I’m glad you became more than what you were intended to be. I’ve learned some valuable lessons from losing my heart. Science without a conscience can’t help people. If I hadn’t had my head stuck so far up my own rear twelve years ago… Well, we can’t change the past. Only try to make the future better.”

            Xion was silent. She still wasn’t sure what she had been hoping for when she came here, but this… this was something.

            “Would you mind… talking me through what you’re doing?” she asked.

            “Would I… oh, ah, I suppose I wouldn’t,” Even said. He motioned her over and Xion walked over to the table, taking up a position on the other side. “Now, right now, I’m…”

            “Riku? If ya have a second, there’s someone here who’d like to meet you!”

            Riku looked up at Mickey, confused. “Who wants to meet me?”

            He was taking a break from training with Lea, watching him try to teach Sora. Progress was slow, and it was amusing.

            “Someone very special to me,” Mickey said, smiling.

            Confused, but curious, Riku clambered to his feet, and followed Mickey into a room a ways down from his study, where the Datascape’s computer was.

            Inside the room was another mouse, in a pink, red, and salmon ballgown. She wore a gold tiara with the same three-circles-indicating-mouse-ears emblem that Mickey used.

            “Minnie, this is Riku,” Mickey said in introduction. “Riku, this is my wife, Queen Minnie.”

            “A pleasure to finally meet you, Riku,” said Minnie.

            “Oh, uh, I’m pleased to meet you as well, your Majesty,” Riku stuttered, entirely terrified that he didn’t know the proper etiquette for meeting royalty. The fact that he had been friends with a king, her husband no less, for a couple of years now, didn’t cross his mind.

            To his surprise, Minnie giggled. “Please, Riku, just call me Minnie. Walk with me?”

            “Uh, yeah, of course,” Riku agreed. As she led the way out of the room, he shot a panicked look at Mickey, who laughed silently and waved, smiling at him.

            “I’ve heard a lot about you, from Mickey and Sora both,” Minnie said, setting a leisurely pace Riku could easily keep up with. “Good things, of course.”

            Riku looked away from her. “Yeah, they have a tendency to… exaggerate,” he said, quietly.

            “Oh?” Minnie asked.

            Riku flinched. “If they told you good things, I don’t think they told you everything,” he explained, reluctantly.

            “And why is that?” she asked, innocently.

            “I…” Riku stopped, suddenly. “It’s…”

            Minnie reached out a hand and placed it on his. “I am sorry,” she said. “When I say Mickey’s told me about you, I do mean everything. I believe you’ve more than made up for what you did wrong.” She smiled. “Which is why I say, good things. I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

            “I… thank you,” Riku said. He wasn’t blushing, right? That wasn’t what he was feeling. His face definitely wasn’t red. He wasn’t embarrassed because he was just complimented by a queen. Nope.

            He could see Sora’s grinning face in his mind’s eye, and rolled his eyes. “Come on, Riku, you gotta stop beating yourself up!” Jerk. It was worse when he was right.

            Minnie elected not to notice his reaction. “If it would make you feel more comfortable, please, tell me about yourself in your own words. We have plenty of time.”

            Riku took a deep breath, and started to talk as they started walking again, around the balcony surrounding the courtyard. To his surprise, something about Minnie’s presence and active engagement with the story made him tell things like they were; instead of self-aggrandisement, which he would never have engaged in to begin with, or self-deprecation, the pit of which he had only recently started climbing out of, he was… honest. Fair to himself for the first time in a long time.

            And Minnie smiled, and nodded along, and betrayed nothing that would make Riku think she was disapproving or ashamed. The very things that had made him both hold back details, and claim responsibility for things that weren’t technically his fault.

            She reminded him a lot of Sora’s mother. It was… comforting.

            “Riku,” she said when he had finished, “am I right in assuming you haven’t had people to confide in like this before?”

            He shrugged. “I have Sora and Kairi.”

            “They’re still young, and so are you.”

            “Sora’s mother is always willing to listen.”

            Minnie nodded. “And what about your parents? You’ve never mentioned them.”

            Riku didn’t stiffen, didn’t freeze. “I never met them. Or, if I did, I was too young to remember,” he said, neutrally. “My uncle… it hurts him, so much, to talk about them. As I kid I didn’t get it. But now, after Sora and Kairi… I get it. I understand. It would hurt me, too.” He turned and leaned against the railing.

            Minnie stepped up and placed a hand on his arm. “It’s never too late to make a new connection,” she said. It wasn’t an order, it wasn’t a request, it was the very definition of a suggestion.

            Riku smiled, softly. “…We’ll see.”

            She smiled back, much more broadly. “If you’d like, you can come back and tell me about it.”

            He looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

            She nodded. “If you need one, you have a home here, Riku.”

            “Thank you,” he said, and turned to look out at Sora and Lea. By this point both were gesticulating wildly, accomplishing nothing. “But I don’t think I want to give up yet, on the one I already have.”

            It took Even and Ienzo an entire week. Teaching Riku, and later Sora, to make Light Corridors was probably the only thing keeping Lea sane. But by the end, Even brought them into his workroom to show three featureless bodies lying on gurneys.

            “Not to sound ungrateful, but that’s it?” Lea asked.

            Even glared at him. He looked exhausted. “Their features will come in when their hearts are placed in their bodies. Until then, I’ve marked them so you can tell them apart.” Each body had a different capital letter written across the chest in black marker, an “R”, an “N”, and an “X”. “Don’t mix them up. We did make spares in care something goes wrong but I think we’d all prefer not to use them. They haven’t been implanted with data, anyway, we’d have to do that all over again.”

            Lea turned to Even, who flinched, but Lea grabbed him by the forearm. “Even? Thank you,” he said, completely sincerely.

            For once, Even was at a complete loss for words. “I… I… I’ll have to go with you to oversee the implantation process. Though I assume it’s Keyblade-related I still wish to be on hand should something go wrong. And frankly I don’t know if you can be trusted with the setup,” he muttered.

            “Fair,” Lea said, grinning.

            They loaded the bodies onto their gummi ship, opened a portal back to Radiant Garden for Ienzo, and bid goodbye to Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the residents of the Datascape. Riku set course for the Destiny Islands, Sora wouldn’t stop smiling no matter who was controlling his body, and Even hunted in his pockets for the anti-nausea medication he’d received from Disney Castle’s medical staff.

            Lea, for his part, and although he didn’t show it, was beside himself with joy.

            His friends were coming back.