Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Isa slipped on the bloody street again and cursed quietly under his breath. The cobblestone that made up the road didn’t soak in blood, so instead it sat in puddles in the street, pooling under bodies and in cracks.

The wind whipped past his hair as he sprinted toward the Castle, his footsteps the only noise in the usually bustling marketplace. Those who had survived the slaughter had fled to other Towers or deep into the Lower Ring, hiding from the black beasts that still roamed the Tower.

But Isa couldn’t do that. His parents were in the Castle. Lea was in the Castle.

And Marluxia was in the Castle.

Isa turned the corner, racing up another pair of stairs, swiping his Keyblade through a black beast as it attempted to try and stop him. He was close now.

Up here, there was more noise, to Isa’s relief. Crumbling bricks from where the fight had involved magic, wind that was no longer blocked by buildings, and sounds of pain.

Sounds of pain were good. It meant the person in pain was alive.

Arriving in the courtyard, Isa focused on not looking at the bodies dotting the ground. Not wanting to see anyone he recognized.

“ISA!”

He spun at the sound of his name, heart leaping in his chest, scanning the walls for the shouter. He knew that voice.

“Lea?!” He yelled back, looking for his friend.

The sound of footsteps dragged his attention to the corner of the courtyard where Lea was scrambling out of a hole in the wall. Isa shot forward, wrapping his friend in a hug, trying to be mindful of the clear injuries on his friend. Blood was leaking from a wound on Lea’s head, and he had an arm wrapped around his side, but still reached out and returned the hug. They were both shaking.

“They took Ienzo,” Lea told him after a second, ending the hug. Isa blinked, confusion shooting through him. Why would they take an eight-year-old apprentice?

“Why?” He asked, letting Cura flow out from his hands and into the most life-threatening of Lea’s injuries.

“They want Even for some reason,” Lea said. “The ones who attacked us spoke of wanting to use Ienzo to control his brother.” Isa gritted his teeth, anger flowing through him. So, it seemed that Marluxia hadn’t stopped his experiments after his banishment.

“It’s not your fault,” he told Lea, already knowing what would be flowing through his head. “You’ve been learning the Keyblade for four months. You couldn’t be expected to hold your own against them with your lack of practical training with it.”

Lea shook his head. “It was Dilan. I should have done better.” Later, Isa decided. Once they found his parents and brought order back, they could send out people to find Ienzo and Even if they had already been taken out of Scala Ad Caelum and Isa would be able to reassure his friend.

“Where’s Marluxia?” He asked, allowing his brain to shift back in battle-mode.

“The throne room, your highness.” Both he and Lea spun around, Keyblades at the ready when the voice rang through the courtyard. But it was only Aeleus, sword held in his grip and blood splattering his front. There was something dark and brooding in his eyes and Isa winced, knowing the reason why. Once upon a time, Dilan and Aeleus had been the closest of friends.

“Aeleus!” Isa said, sending his Keyblade away. “I’m glad-”

“No time, my prince,” Aeleus interrupted. “Your parents were in there too and Marluxia isn’t working alone.” Isa froze, implications and scenarios passing through his head at breakneck speed, before nodding and turning to run into the Castle. “I will stay here, keep the beasts out,” Aeleus told them, brandishing his sword.

“Be careful,” Isa heard Lea tell him, before footsteps were heard following him down the bloodstained corridors. There was too much blood, too many bodies. Isa couldn’t help but curse his family’s penchant for, and belief in, peace. This wouldn’t have happened if they had an army. Or at least, had more people trained in combat.

Skidding to a halt in front of the doors to the throne room, he turned back and looked at Lea. “Are you sure you want to follow me?” He asked him quietly. “We don’t know what is waiting in there.” His friend’s face hardened.

“I’d follow you anywhere,” he replied. “Got it memorized?” Isa allowed himself a quiet laugh, reaching out and grabbing his friend’s shoulder, bringing their foreheads together to touch. “We’ll be okay,” he heard Lea say, all fifteen-year-old bluster and bravery. Something that felt desperately needed and sorely out of place. “I promise.” Isa stepped back, nodded once and kicked the doors open.

“So, the prince returns.” Isa snarled at the voice, glaring at the person behind it.

Marluxia hadn’t changed much in the four years since he had been banished. He was older now, sure. Twenty instead of the sixteen he had been, but other than that, nothing much. His pink hair was longer, and his outfit had changed, but his bright yellow eyes still flashed with the malice that had taken the whole court aback once his experiments had been discovered. “Coming for your parents, little prince?” Isa gritted his teeth, trying not to think of sun-washed mornings and star-filled nights, where ‘little prince’ was an affectionate nickname tossed between the three of them. “You’re too late, I’m afraid.”

And it was clear Isa was, with the two blood-soaked bodies lying at Marluxia’s feet, one with the same blue hair that Isa had. Isa choked, staring at the bodies of his parents. He felt Lea come up to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder to tug him backwards, so Lea could stand in front of him.

“Still chasing after the prince, Lea?” Marluxia asked rhetorically, stepping down the dais, over Isa’s parents’ bodies, to come closer to them. “It’s both endearing and pathetic.” Marluxia’s scythe scraped the ground as he dragged it behind him. It was stained red.

“The only one pathetic here is you,” Lea snapped back, checking over his shoulder at Isa, before looking back at the pinkette. “You’re, what? The only person in centuries who has done something bad enough to warrant their Heart being bound and Keyblade being stripped of them?” Marluxia’s gaze darkened at this reminder, his hand tightening on his scythe, before his gaze relaxed again.

“I personally find it a compliment,” he shot back, lifting his scythe. “They were so scared of me, they couldn’t just exile me, no. They had to take away my birthright too.”

Lea scoffed. “’Birthright?’ Did you kill those people because of your ‘birthright’ as well?” Marluxia’s eyes flicked up from his scythe to him, gazing at him through hooded eyes.

“Perhaps.”

Clearly deciding that the talking was done, Marluxia shot forward swinging his scythe. Only muscle memory from the four months Isa had spent training had saved him, he and Lea diving out of the way, covering their eyes as dust and grit flew up from where the scythe had carved into the ground. Forcefully shoving away the image of his parents’ bodies, he looked at Lea, seeing the same resolve in his eyes. Isa had a moment to thank Kingdom Hearts that he and Lea had spent enough time training together, even before the Keyblades, that they could read each other without talking.

The two split off from each other, moving to take Marluxia from opposite sides. The former Keyblade wielder twisted to keep his eyes on Isa while he swung his scythe backwards, barely missing Lea.

“What do you want with Even and Ienzo?” Isa asked as he moved, having one of his strikes blocked with the hilt of Marluxia’s scythe.

“With Ienzo, nothing,” the man replied, ducking under Lea’s swing. “Even has valuable knowledge, the Magic, and the smarts to do what we want done. But we all know Even’s too loyal to even think about joining our cause. So, we needed… alternate solutions.”

“Cause?” Lea asked, standing from where he had been hit down.

Marluxia raised an eyebrow at them during a quick break before Isa was bearing down on him again. “What? You thought I was working alone?”

“I know Elrena and Dilan were exiled with you, for taking part in your experiments,” Isa mentioned as he managed to strike Marluxia across the head, causing the corrupted Keyblader to glare at him.

“And they both have done magnificent jobs, but please don’t call them by their old names.” The man wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, smearing the blood that trickled from his split lip. “They are Larxene and Xaldin now.” Both teenagers froze for a second, before Isa growled again. While Elrena choosing to take a Title wouldn’t have been a bad thing years ago, she had been stripped of that right. And Dilan had never had it in the first place.

“So not only are you a traitor and a terrible person, but you’ve also decided to spit on our traditions too?” Marluxia ducked under another of Lea’s attacks, managing to catch him on the back as he passed. Lea stumbled, his face screwing up in pain and Isa’s heart dropped for a second before Lea managed to jump out of the way of the second swing. Isa slammed his Keyblade into Marluxia’s scythe to grab his attention.

“Why not? We get Titles when we are introduced to society, to show we are higher than them. Larxene and Xaldin are now elevated like anyone who chooses to join us will be.” Marluxia shoved Isa back several feet, still much stronger.

“The Titles aren’t for status,” Lea hissed out as he cast Cura on himself. “They’re part of ancient magic and tradition.”

Marluxia gave him an unimpressed look, turning to look at him. “What would you know about it?” Isa snarled at the slight against his friend, forcing Marluxia to spin back around quickly to block his stroke. Marluxia laughed.

“Four years I’ve been gone, and nothing’s changed a bit.” Isa sneered at this. Do you even care? A part of him wondered. Care about what your actions did to the others? To him? Marluxia carved another piece of the floor out as Lea and Isa scattered, Lea rolling to a stop ten feet from Isa. A contemplative look crossed Marluxia’s face. “I wonder though…”

“Wonder what?” Isa asked sharply, locking his blade with Marluxia’s, trying to find a weakness in his defense.

Marluxia’s smile turned deadly. “Call it… an experiment.” With that, he shoved Isa back, much harder than he had been and spun around. With almost inhuman speed he shot toward Lea, who was still recovering from his last hit and spun his scythe, twisting the handle so the blade sliced cleanly through Lea’s chest.

“LEA!!” Isa screamed as his friend crumpled to the ground, red blooming across his chest. Abandoning the fight with Marluxia, he let his Keyblade vanish as he ran over, catching his friend as he fell. No, no, no, no.

Lea choked, blood bubbling in his mouth as his hand hovered over his chest, shock in his eyes. Isa reached out, pressing a hand against the wound. Lea looked up at him, confusion and surprise in his gaze. Perhaps he hadn’t completely realized what had just happened. Isa hadn’t. Everything was cold now and his hands were shaking much more than they had.

“Cura,” he whispered out through numb lips. “Cura.” He felt the energy leaving him, the sensation of magic going from his Heart to Lea’s body. But nothing happened. Nothing changed. The blood still poured past his fingers, staining the white floors under them red. “Cura,” Isa choked out again. Why hadn’t they learned more advanced healing spells? Lea blinked up at him, a strange look overtaking his face. He reached a shaking hand up to press against Isa’s cheek before tapping Isa’s temple in a familiar motion. No, no, no, no. The light died from Lea’s eyes and his hand dropped limply to the ground.

Rushing filled Isa’s ears as he stared down at his friend’s corpse. His friends… corpse.  Lea was dead. It didn’t compute. But he could feel the deadweight in his arms and couldn’t see anything in his eyes.

Footsteps clicked across the floor behind him, accompanied by the sound of a blade dragging across the ground. Right Marluxia, his brain thought faintly. He’s going to kill me too. But why did it matter? Lea was dead.

“Such a shame,” Marluxia crooned from behind him, but his words sounded strained and choppy. Just realizing you murdered one of the only people who believed you? Part of Isa’s brain spat out silently. There were only two of them and now one of them is gone. So could the other. The black beasts had decimated the Upper Ring first.

Shaking at that thought, that Marluxia would so carelessly almost (or not almost) murder the person that had clearly meant the most to him, Isa carefully set Lea’s body down, brushing a tad bit of his red hair out of his eyes. Later, the more conscious part of his brain whispered. We’ll fix this later.

He stood on shaking legs, summoning his Keyblade, feeling Moon’s Champion settle into his hand. It felt incomplete without Flame Liberator to back it up.

Turning on his heel, he clashed the blade into Marluxia’s scythe.

“You…” he hissed out, allowing the first tear to fall. “will pay for that.”

Chapter Text

Sora wasn’t expecting much trouble at port. Every few ports or so, someone thought they were pirates or something like that, but Radiant Garden had always been open to them. He could tell the rest of the crew wasn’t expecting trouble either, with the way Terra was leaning casually against the railing near the wheel and the fact that Vanitas was up in the crow’s nest, instead of down on the deck.

“You’re thinking again,” Kairi mentioned from where she was sitting in nest to him, reclining against the mast.

“Just about the port,” he responded, looking out to where he could see the smudge of land that would become Radiant Garden.

“I hope you’re not planning to make any mischief,” she said back, not opening her eyes.

“Ouch Kairi, right in the heart!” He jokingly complained, scooting over to sit next to her so he could jostle her side.

“I’m just saying, you have a penchant for getting into trouble,” she ribbed back, moving to elbow him like he had done to her.

“Well, I won’t, I promise.”

Kairi nodded. “Good.” She then turned, tipping her head up to shout to the elevated wheel and the people on it. “Don’t worry Aqua! I got him to promise he’ll behave!”

Aqua, the captain of their ship, laughed from her place at the helm. “Oh good! I’m glad.”

Terra chuckled. “I don’t know. His promises don’t usually stay unbroken.” Sora gasped dramatically and moved to look up as well, looking at the older man with betrayal.

“How dare you! That was one time and I have never done it again!”

“One time, huh?” Terra shot back. “That’s not how Vanitas tells it.”

“Vanitas is a liar!” Sora yelled.

“Ouch.” Came the deadpan voice from the crow’s nest, where Vanitas was leaning over the railing, staring down at them. Sora knew this was a good day for him, so he felt comfortable teasing him.

Sora shrugged as an answer, unrepentant.

“Children,” Vanitas muttered, shaking his head in disappointment.

“What?” Sora asked, sounding very off put. Kairi screwed up her nose at the twenty-year-old from her spot next to him, clearly offended.

“And we’re stopping it there,” Ventus interjected, standing up from lying eagle spread on the main deck, which was a normal position for him, and stretching. Sora leaned back against the mast, nudging Kairi again, causing the girl to elbow him much harder than before. He wheezed. Kairi sat back, leaning against her best friend, smug as a cat.

“Ouch Kairi,” he griped good-naturedly. “That hurt.”

“Your pride or your side?” She shot back instantly.

“Ven!” Aqua called. “How far from Radiant Gardens do you think we are?” The young woman could now clearly see the swath of land and was diligently steering their boat towards it, keeping an eye out for other ships.

“About an hour or two,” he responded, walking forward to stand at the front of the ship.

“If us children are allowed to know,” Sora started, sarcasm in his voice, “Why are we suddenly heading for Radiant Garden? We have enough supplies for a couple of months, at least, and nothing to trade or deliver. What’s with the detour?”

Terra and Aqua proceeded to do the thing where they communicated through glances. From the corner of his eye, Sora could see Ven turning backwards ever to slightly, as if trying to listen in on the conversation. Above them, he saw Vanitas lean forward over the railing, eyes fixed on Aqua and Terra. But clearly not part of the conversation. That brought up more confusion in him. Even if they chose to keep things from the kids, Terra and Aqua usually informed Vanitas about the big decisions. Such as suddenly choosing to go back to port.

“Leon contacted us,” Aqua eventually said, her and Terra reaching some form of agreement. “He said he needed to talk to us. Wouldn’t say why.” That, at least, probably wasn’t a lie. Leon had a way to get into contact with them no matter where they were, and he was a trusted confidant.

“Urgently?” Sora asked unnecessarily. Aqua nodded. Looking backwards, he saw Kairi raise a single eyebrow at Ven, getting a similar look back. Sora felt the same. Why so secret?

Terra nodded. “From what we could tell,” he answered Sora’s earlier question. Kairi turned to Sora, but he shrugged. He couldn’t tell what it could be either.

The next two hours passed in blissful quiet. Kairi spent most of it braiding little braids into Sora’s hair as he watched the sky, making up stories for her based on the clouds. Another favorite pastime of theirs. Terra had walked closer to Aqua, and they had engaged in a quiet, but quick conversation, being careful not to let their voices carry. Vanitas had disappeared back into the crow’s nest and Ven settled down fully in the front to watch them come into port and Sora was very tempted to join him.

All of them liked watching. Radiant Garden was beautiful. With small buildings crammed together, giving it a homely feeling, and fountains and statues in the squares, it was no wonder it was such a popular port. Stores stocked everything a person could ever want, and the streets were surprisingly clean of criminals and trash. Almost all of this could be credited to Leon, or so the stories say. The three “kids” of the ship liked to sit in the crow’s nest when they were in port and the adults were gone, and debate whether or not the stories were fact or fiction. Sora had almost gotten Yuffie to tell them the one time she had entered the ship, but she had caught herself quick enough. All of them bet that if they got off the ship unsupervised, they could find out the truth, but that was never going to happen.

With a wave to the small ship patrolling the port (that knew them well), Aqua successfully docked The Wayfinder with minimal trouble. Vanitas had reappeared, climbing down from the crow’s nest, sticking close to his little brother as if he was going to jump off the railing, but none of them minded. Vanitas always got a little twitchy when it came to docking or leaving most ports, due to something that had happened to them before either had joined Aqua’s crew.

Ven had confided in Kairi and Sora that he didn’t remember whatever happened but didn’t resent his brother. Ven knew something had happened to them and if allowing his brother to hover over him when they were docking or leaving made him feel better, he was more than happy to let it happen.

“Stay here, okay?” Aqua said as she grabbed the blue coat that hung on the railing near the helm. “Vanitas, I’m counting on you to control the gremlins.” Vanitas nodded and Sora and Kairi scoffed at the title. Terra gave a backwards wave as he and Aqua left, off to meet with Leon and see whatever he wanted. With a jerk of his head, Ven and Kairi followed him up the ladder to the crow’s nest. Vanitas watched them carefully from the helm, as if debating whether or not he should do something. Sora couldn’t blame him. Secret meetings between the kids usually ended with something broken or twelve planned pranks, usually against the adults.

“Do you think we could make it?” Sora asked without preamble, knowing that the other two would be aware of what he meant.

“Possibly,” Ventus said, tipping his head. “Vanitas does have his eye on us but there are three of us and one of him.”

“We also know our way around the whole Radiant Garden,” Kairi added. Sora nodded in agreement. He and Kairi more than Ven.

“Yes, but we don’t know where Aqua and Terra are going,” Ventus countered, a frown on his face. “They could be going to Leon’s house. Or they could be going somewhere else. From what I could tell, he didn’t tell them that much either.”

“What could be so important?” Sora asked, mostly rhetorically, as options popped up in his head. Enemies, news from the Capital, a third option Sora couldn’t think about. “What could drag us from the sea?”

Both Ventus and Kairi shrugged, not knowing anything more than he did.

“We could just wait,” Kairi put out, rolling her eyes at their faces. “Look, they can’t be gone forever, and they have to come back here. We could just ambush them as they return, demanding to know what. I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t tell us.”

“Unless it’s important or scary enough that they don’t want to tell us,” Ventus said. “It was obviously something if Leon wouldn’t put it in the note he sent them, asking them to return. Why not just tell them why?”

“Illegal?” Sora offered. “Fear of the bird getting intercepted?”

“By whom though?” Neither he nor Kairi had an answer for that. In the years all of them had known Leon, he’d never hidden his motives or actions. He was as open with them as they were with him. His sisters, Yuffie and Aerith, could barely hold a secret to save their lives, so they never got the feeling they were in danger when they headed to Leon’s house to do business or get caught up with friends.

“So, I suppose the consensus is waiting,” Kairi stated, standing to look over the port.

“That’s good.” All three of them jumped at Vanitas’s comment, Ventus letting out a shriek at his older brother’s voice. They all looked down and saw Vanitas hanging leisurely from the rope ladder that connected the crow’s nest to the deck. “I’m glad you didn’t decide to do something stupid, like trying to sneak off the ship.”

“You don’t know what we were thinking of doing!” Ventus snapped back, trying to calm his breathing. Vanitas raised an eyebrow at him, before turning to look at Kairi and Sora.

“You aren’t nearly as quiet or subtle as you think you are.”

Kairi huffed in exasperation while Sora rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish smile taking over his face. Ven grumbled, crossing his arms pointedly.

“We won’t go anywhere,” Sora said to Vanitas. “Promise.” Vanitas raised an eyebrow at that but shrugged and climbed back down, leaving the three of them alone. Ven muttered something under his breath about nosy older brothers but climbed down after him, heading to the downstairs area.

“What do you really think it is?” Kairi asked him, not looking at him. Instead, she gazed out over Radiant Gardens. Sora raised an eyebrow at her. “I can tell you’re thinking about it.”

Sora smiled. He could always rely on Kairi to know him, sometimes better than he knew himself. “This reminds me… of the time Aqua and Terra left and came back with Vanitas and Ven. They wouldn’t tell us then either.”

“Perhaps because we were ten?” Kairi said back, but Sora could see what he had said had left an impression on her. Sora had to concede that point to her but at the same time…

“Still, it’s too like it to be coincidence.” Kairi shook her head at him, turning back around.

“You don’t know that,” she said. “There could be dozens of other reasons. More sensible reasons, not that we’re getting a new crewmate.”

“Aqua and Terra are very specific of who they let on the crew,” Sora agreed. In their whole lives, Sora and Kairi, later Vanitas and Ventus, had been the only ones to join the crew. Perhaps it was because Aqua and Terra were picky? Or did they want a family dynamic like they had and not just letting any person onto the ship kept that?

“Okay fine. Let’s say you’re right,” Kairi hypothesized, sitting next to him. “Why this person?”

Sora grimaced. “Maybe they needed help? It is a theme for people allowed into the crew.” Kairi nodded, probably thinking of themselves and Vanitas and Ven. He and Kairi had been orphans and living on the street and Vanitas and Ven both had healing scars, as well as Ven’s amnesia.

“Help meaning…?”

“I don’t know?” Sora said. “We just needed a place to live, and Vanitas never said why they needed help and Ven didn’t remember so I don’t know.”

“We could just ask them.” This time Kairi and Sora were the ones to shriek as Ven reappeared, popping his head up from where he was climbing up awkwardly. At their screeches, he blinked in shock, needing to scramble to keep his hold on the rope. Vanitas proceeded to burst out laughing from the helm.

“Ven! Don’t do that!” Sora yelled, clutching his chest and drawing in heaving breaths. Kairi, realizing what had just happened, slumped into Sora’s side, placing her forehead on his shoulder. Sora shot a dirty look towards Vanitas, who was leaning on the wheel and attempting to control his laughter, but there was no malice in it. It was always good when they managed to get a laugh out of Vanitas.

Ven shrugged, unrepentant. He climbed the rest of the way, dropping the chess set that he had been carrying onto the floor of the crow’s nest. “The person that Terra and Aqua are getting? You could just ask them why they’re here.”

“But that would be rude,” Kairi interjected, already setting up the board.

Ven threw his hands in the air. “I can’t win,” he muttered and settled on the other side of the board, opposite from Sora. This had become a familiar past time to the three teenagers while in port, switching between who would face off with who. They had learned chess from Vanitas who had bought a set on a whim the first month he had been on the ship, only to shove it into a corner and never use it. When the three of them had turned twelve and stopped being entertained by make-believe, except by using the clouds, Vanitas had finally shown them how to play but never played a game with them. Aqua and Terra could play as well but it didn’t interest them too much.

Sora scrutinized the white pieces in front of him, fingers tapping on his knee. While Kairi often thoroughly trumped both him and Ven, the two boys were evenly matched, their personal scores against each other mostly even. He pushed a pawn forward.

During the game, the three exchanged meaningless chatter, mostly trying to keep their thoughts away from Aqua and Terra. Ventus won the first match but lost to Kairi who proceeded to destroy Sora in one of the quickest games yet. They were setting up a fourth game when Ventus suddenly sat up, looking out to port.

“You were right Sora,” he said, standing to get a better view. Exchanging confused looks, Kairi and Sora stood as well, trying to see what Ventus saw.

There, heading down the dock towards the ship, was Aqua and Terra. They looked fine, not overly concerned or even injured. So, they could rule out emergency as a reason for why they were back at the mainland. And walking behind them was…

“Who it that?” Sora asked to the air, looking at the silver-haired teenager who followed the Captain and first mate.

Chapter Text

His hands twitched at his sides, the left one opening and closing, while the right twisted on the strap of his bag. This could have been the worst mistake he’d ever made. Well actually…

Riku knew that there were at least 12 different ways this could go wrong. He could have been mistaken for trusting Leon, to trust these other strangers. He could be walking to his death. But at the same time his brain raged at him that he had gone too far to die now. Not when he finally had a concrete-ish path for going forward and getting home. It was better at least than some of his other plans.

“Aqua, Terra, I’m glad you got my message,” Leon told the two strangers as he greeted them. Riku was hiding behind the door, watching through the keyhole.

“Leon,” the blue-haired woman said. “It’s good to see you but why call us now?” Leon sighed.

“It’s another one of those circumstances.” This seemed to ring with the two adults as they both straightened.

“What happened?” The male asked.

“There’s another kid,” Leon sounded tired and hopeful. “He’s running from something.”

Riku closed his eyes against the memories, stretching desperately for the good ones that kept him alive and sane. Never mind that most of those good ones had now been tainted.

“And you think he’ll be good fit?” That was the woman.

“Maybe, maybe not, but he needs this. So do you.” There was silence for a second. Then…

“What’s he like?”

Now, following Aqua and Terra, he kept all his fear and uncertainty tamped firmly under the mask he had worn for years. He had heard Leon and the two of them mention others, so he at least wouldn’t be alone with just the two of them. But at the same time, that could also spell more doom for Riku, if they all had bad intentions. Riku would like to think he didn’t care, he had been through worse after all, but he was still scared. He didn’t know what the situation he was getting himself into was like. He stamped on those thoughts, locking them deep in his heart. Now wasn’t the time or the place. He resisted the urge to grasp his necklace from where it was hidden below his shirt.

“We’re here.” He lifted his head at Aqua’s voice, who was gesturing to the ship in front of them. It was medium sized, painted in colors of orange, blue, and green, and lettered on the side with white paint was the title of The Wayfinder. It was a beautiful ship but the thing that really drew his eye was the three human shaped shadows in the crow’s nest. He blinked. While expecting it, he still had to swallow. He hadn’t been around anyone, other than Leon and that was only in the past month, that didn’t want to kill and/or hurt him in a while. He also hadn’t been around people in a while.

Liar, his mind hissed. Forgetting them won’t change what you did.

“You’re back sooner than I thought you would be.” Riku snapped his head to the voice, cringing backwards ever so slightly from the young man coming down the gangplank. His green eyes swept over Riku, and Riku got the feeling that he had just been tested.

“The conversation didn’t take as long as we thought it would,” Terra replied before turning to Riku. “This is Vanitas, a member of our crew. Vanitas, this is Riku. He’ll be with us for the foreseeable future.” Vanitas narrowed his eyes at Riku before relaxing slightly.

“More strays Terra?” He asked in a voice that could be mistaken for teasing, but there was something else in it that stopped it from hitting full “bantering” territory. Aqua made a noise in the back of her throat that could have been a laugh or a reprimand.

“You were a stray too,” she admonished, the tiniest smile curving up her lip. “Anyway, how were the kids?”

“Fine, but they did in the beginning consider following you. They’ve spent most of their time playing chess in the crow’s nest.” He gazed over their shoulders for a second, as if looking for something. “Any supplies to bring aboard?” Aqua shook her head.

“Nope, and could you grab the kids?” Aqua asked. “We want to do introductions.” Vanitas nodded, turning and re-entering the ship, sending once last indecipherable look to Riku. Terra followed him, as did Aqua, so Riku hurried up the plank as well, his impeccable balance keeping his upright even as the plank rocked sharply to the left side. It wasn’t a fissure, just bad placement.

From here he could see that the ship, while on the smaller side, had a clear, open deck. There was a helm and stairs down to an underdeck area. He swallowed again, clutching the drawstrings of the bag he wore on his back. If push came to shove, he could hopefully still swim. He had taught Riku as well as he could.

“I knew it! I was right!” The shout came from above them and Riku craned his head up along with Terra as a boy in his mid-teens came scrambling down the ladder. He had brown puffed up hair and blue eyes that burned with light. He had a black and white shirt on, a short overcoat, and red shorts. “I knew you were going to get a new crewmember!” Following him down was a girl in a light pink dress with black pants and a boy wearing a black and white spilt shirt and grey pants.

“Yes, yes, you guessed it,” Aqua said, laughing. “Riku, this is Sora, Kairi, and Ventus. They are the other three members of our crew. Kids, this is Riku. He’s our new crew member.”

Riku was suddenly feeling very judged, at least from the girl, Kairi, was it? The three kids looked at him, perhaps searching for something, while he stood there, shifting slightly from foot to foot. But then the first boy broke out into a smile, stretching a hand out for a handshake.

“Hi, I’m Sora!” Riku blinked, before mentally shrugging and took his hand in the handshake.

“Riku,” he responded to keep up the conversation.

“Are you joining our crew permanently or just for a time?” Kairi, asked as their handshake dropped. Almost immediately she was elbowed by Ventus. “What? It’s a question!” She hissed at him. Riku’s mind blanked for a second. Looks aside, she sounded a lot like-

“What happened to the question being rude?” Ventus hissed back.

“Foreseeable future?” Riku offered hesitantly, accidentally dragging their attentions back to him. He needed to say something though, if only to stop his thoughts. He hoped that his nonpermanent plan wasn’t what made him an enemy. Kairi hummed but seemed to accept it, not quite smiling at him but not glaring.

“Cool. Call me Ven,” Ventus said, reaching out his own hand to shake. “Call me Jos-” Riku shook it, shivering slightly at the spark. His eyebrows twitched slightly. What-?

“Okay, kids, now that introductions are done, we should be getting out of port,” Terra interrupted them, gazing at the setting sun. Riku assumed it was harder to leave once dark. The kids nodded, scattering instantly. Riku couldn’t help the double take at the quickness. Here he was thinking that it was only them who was that quick. “Riku, just watch best you can.” He nodded. He could do that. Terra looked at him strangely.

Or was it not strangely? Had he really spent so much time out of civilization that he couldn’t recognize facial expressions anymore? He forced his attention back to the ship. Freakout later. They had their own language, the six of them.

Sora and Kairi had quickly made their way to different sides of the ship, checking ropes that tied to the sails while Vanitas climbed to the crow’s nest to climb out to the main mast. Ventus disappeared but returned quickly, accompanied by the feeling of no longer being tethered to the bottom of the ocean. Terra and Aqua made their way up to the helm. Riku swallowed again. This was happening.

“Hey Riku! Ever seen the open sea at sunset?” Sora yelled to him as the boat started coasting out of port.

“No?” Riku replied, confused at the specific question.

“Well, come here then!” Riku wandered over, meeting Sora and Kairi at the front.

“What am I looking for?” He asked, as the boat slowly turned around the last bend and… oh. That’s what.

It looked like they were sailing on a sea made of diamonds, each individual piece glinting in the light to its full potential, every color of the rainbow coming from each inch of exposed water. The sun hadn’t touched the horizon yet, so it was a glowing orb in the sky, red and pink colors weaving around it while the edges distorted from the heat.

“…oh,” he said quietly, finding himself entranced. Even back home, the mountains surrounding them had made it impossible to watch the sun set over the ocean they lived on, making the disappearance of the sun, and technical sunset, an hour early. And in the desert, there was no ocean to watch.

“Cool right?” Sora asked quietly. “I’ll never get tired of it.”

“Or sunrises,” Kairi stated, leaning on Sora.

“Or anything related to living on a boat,” Sora finished. “It’s great.” Riku would suspend his disbelief for right now because the sunset was too pretty to interrupt. None of the three of them said a word as the sun continued to descend, painting the sky red, pink, and then finally purple darkening into blue. One after another, the stars peeked out, shining down to look at the World and its peoples. Riku couldn’t help the sinking feeling then. He still recognized none of the constellations. Were you expecting different?

“Bedtime!” Came the shout from Aqua, who is carefully maneuvering the ship along the coast, looking for a place to drop anchor for the night. Why they didn’t just wait until morning to leave, Riku couldn’t guess.

“C’mon Riku!” Sora exclaimed, sounding very awake. “I’ll show you where to sleep.” Sora grabbed his wrist, clearly only meaning to lightly drag him down to underdeck. He didn’t mean anything by it but the second his hand fully encircled Riku’s wrist everything blanked out. All Riku could hear were sharp words ringing in his ears, pain lancing down his arms, hopelessness and helplessness pulling at his mind. The growls that infested the walls, the liars and manipulators. The Shadows and Beasts, shifting ground, shackles around his wrists. Screaming in pain, begging for help. Death and sickness reeked through the air. Their screams echoed in his ears as he tried to reach them. Tried to protect them, heedless of the things that held him back. The air stank and burned with its unnatural heat. The burning in his right palm was the thing that woke him.

He yanked his arm backwards, staggering back into the railing he had just been leaning on, and forced his right hand into a fist in order to stifle the urge. The instinct.

His breath cut and caught, lips suddenly dry as the ground changed. Sora wasn’t there and instead it was, and his palm didn’t stop burning even in its confined state. But it vanished and Sora was there, and Riku abruptly realized what he had just done.

Sora stumbled backwards as well, shock glancing through his eyes while Kairi gasped, hands twitching as if she wanted to do something, eyes narrowing in confusion and suspicion. Riku hated that his mind could pick up that, but not tell if someone was glaring at him or looking at him.

For a second none of them said anything, Riku breathing heavily and trying desperately to block out memories, while Sora was clearly trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

“Please,” Riku started, licking his dry lips, trying to wet them again, trying to remind himself that he wasn’t in a desert. He winced at the crack in his voice. “Please don’t grab my wrist.” For a second, he thought at least Kairi was going to push but Sora nodded, albeit shakily, but firmly.

“Okay,” he said quietly. “You can just follow me then.” Riku wasn’t a fool. He could feel everyone else’s gazes on them but when he tipped his head up to follow Sora, all of them seemed to be busy with other things. Kairi followed him, hands clasped together in a way that could speak of anxiety, but they weren’t shaking enough for that. Stupid survival brain, he hissed to himself. Tell me something useful. Riku could also hear Ven following them.

Below deck was a hallway that went toward the back of the ship, following the stairs path and a split hallway that turned left and right and wrapped around the stairs, transforming into two different hallways. Turning to the left, Sora headed down it, stopping at the second door.

“This one,” he said, pointing to the one they passed, “is mine and Kairi’s. Ven and Vanitas’s is across from you and Terra’s and Aqua’s is farther in. This is yours.” Riku, still slightly off balance from the flashback and the almost reveal, simply nodded mutely, reaching out a hand to turn the knob.

“If you need anything, we’re here.” Riku nodded absently again at Kairi’s words, eye twitching slightly at the hardness of her words, before slipping inside and closing the door. He exhaled with a deep breath, sliding down the door to sit on the ground and bury his head in his hands. He couldn’t do this. There was a reason that after…what happened, he stayed away from others. Too raw, too hurting to do anything. You did this to yourself, abandoning them like that. But this… this was his best chance at getting home. He had to take it. He would just avoid the others as best he could. Especially Kairi.

With a long sigh, he forced himself up, tossing his bag on the bed as he did. Noticing the window, he immediately grabbed the chair from the desk and dragged it over to under it, clambering up onto it with gracefulness that he was sure he didn’t ever used to have, standing in order to be eye level with the porthole. It was above water and had hinges, meaning it could open. He held onto the small sill to make sure he didn’t fall.

Finding the latch, he flicked it up and pushed the porthole open, relaxing instantly as the smell of the sea and the feel of the spray hit him. He wasn’t in a desert. He couldn’t feel it this way up on the deck, but now, with the porthole three feet from the water line, it was everything. It was freedom. And it was different.

Riku sighed again, shoving back homesickness, helplessness, and grief. “Hang on sisters. Just a little longer. I swear I’m coming home.”

~

Far, far away, locked behind a ring of impenetrable mountains and layers of protective spells, a little girl in a white dress stood on the top of the structure. As high as she could possibly go. And just like every night for almost three years, she stood and looked. Looked for signs that her brother had finally escaped and was going to return to them.

She had held onto her memories of him tightly, wrapping them in emotion and will, locking them in, burning them into her mind. She would not forget her brother. Not if she had anything to say about it.

But, like before, like every night before now, there was nothing. As the sun set and the stars rose, there was no sign, no flash in the sky, no sigil announcing him home. The girl knew that in the beginning, she hadn’t been the only one watching, but as time wheeled on and chances of survival grew less and less, most people had chosen to instead attempt to move on, to remember her brother, to mourn him, but allowing him to become a treasured memory, something to fade with time along with the pain of losing him.

Their memories weren’t like hers. She kept hers, not letting them fade. She would never let them fade. She would light his way back, even if it was with only her thoughts and memories.

And as she turned to leave after she was called home by her sister, who was sounding very tired and harried, she could have sworn she felt the wind brush past her, ruffling her hair, with words that sounded like her brother promising to return. She wondered if it was another hallucination of hers.

She shook her head. Hallucination or not, she reached back to the wind, trying to convey the same message.

I’ll wait for you. No matter how long it takes. I swear it.

Chapter Text

“What do you think about Riku?” Kairi asked quietly as she embroidered, the thread moving back and forth the only sound in the cabin. Sora paused from where he had been putting his book away, another one of the fairytales he liked so much about The Keyblade Wielders, almost asleep, before slumping back down to stare at her. His eyes glittered in the candle-light and Kairi firmly shoved that part of her brain in a box before mentally dropping that box off a cliff. Now was not the time.

“What do you mean?” Sora countered, furrowing his brow.

“I don’t know, first impressions?” She started to pack away her kit, knowing that if they didn’t go to sleep soon, Sora was going to hurt himself tonight or tomorrow falling into something due to tiredness.

“First impressions?” Sora mused, rolling back over to stare at the ceiling. Kairi shoved the wicker basket containing her work back under her bed. Most were only half finished, thus not fit to be seen. Especially by Sora.

“He’s nice,” Sora eventually said, not looking at her. “He’s hurt but all of us were. I can’t tell if… if we’re going to be able to help him, but I suppose it’s too soon.” Kairi nodded at this. She could see, like the rest of the crew, that Riku was a lot like her and Sora and Ven and Van. They all needed the ship, the home it gave, and the support and love Aqua and Terra gave without question. But she also had to admit that Sora was right. They didn’t know if this was the help Riku needed and if he didn’t want help, then there was nothing they could do.

And they didn’t know that much about him. She knew that it was completely fine that he didn’t want to share every part of his life with them when he’s only been here for a couple hours, but part of her still wanted to know. The part of her that narrowed her eyes and watched Riku carefully, like he was some danger. That part of her, no matter how small, didn’t go away without time, and it had taken Vanitas and Ven a couple months to diminish it to the point where she didn’t look that them with suspicion.

“We’ll just have to be there for him,” she proclaimed, mostly for Sora’s benefit. His bleeding heart would get him into trouble one day, the cynical part of her brain hissed. “You and me and Ven. He’ll be another member of our group.” Sora chuckled quietly, evidently thinking of the different times they had spent the day raising hell for Vanitas, Aqua, and Terra, usually through pranks.

Now, they weren’t blind nor stupid. They only had set pranks on the days when it was clear that it would be a lowkey day. A day that was nothing but them and the ocean or when they were in a port they trusted. And they also tended to do it when it seemed like one of the adults was stuck in their head. They didn’t miss that Aqua and Terra had their own trauma, and with Vanitas it was painfully clear. So, whenever it seemed like one of the adults was going to need distracting, they spent the day playing pranks around the boat. But only when they thought it would help. If it was going to hurt one of the adults, they wouldn’t. This was a thin line they often had to walk with Vanitas, but with Ven’s help and their own experiences from the past five years, they usually didn’t make it worse. And when they did, they stopped immediately.

“OH!” Sora suddenly yelped, sounding very happy. He sat up quickly, spinning to face her. At the look of confusion that she was sure was painted across her face, he smiled again, getting more worked up. “We outnumber them now! Us teens versus them.” Kairi couldn’t help the smile that darted across her face at this. It would make both Sora and Ven very happy.

“While that idea is wonderful and spells disaster for the adults,” she started, laughing herself when Sora broke down into giggles, “it is possible that Riku is over eighteen and thus, on their team.” Sora sat back down on this, the expression on his face spelling out that he hadn’t thought of that. “But hey, he could also be on our side. We should just ask him tomorrow.” Sora nodded seriously, like he had just been asked to guard the King at the Capital.

“That will be the first thing I ask,” he promised.

“…After ‘hello, good morning, and how are you feeling’, right?” She checked. Sora froze before nodding sheepishly.

“Of course.” She smirked before falling backwards onto her bed. She debated continuing the conversation but eventually decided it was too late.

“Good night, Sora,” she whispered out.

Sora chuckled ever so quietly and Kairi had to rekick the box off the cliff after it came crawling back. “Good night, Kairi.” The sound of him blowing out the candle filled the room with the faint scent of wax and the room was plunged into darkness. She sighed contentedly, rolling over to face the opposite wall, where drawings all the way back from when she and Sora were still getting used to the ship still hung on the wall, crayon scribbles covering them. Yes, they had been ten when they drew them, but neither of them had any experience with drawing before then. Drawing had been a nice way to forget or block out what had happened before.

She couldn’t help the little feelings that built up in her. She didn’t know anything about Riku, except for the fact that he was traumatized. And she knew, and the whole crew knew, that traumatized people sometimes did things in fear or anger. She just hoped if something like that happened, none of them would get caught in the crossfire.

~

The next morning dawned bright, hot, and welcome, sending beams of light into her and Sora’s cabin. She groaned, tempted to bury her head under the covers and attempt to sleep more but a few seconds in and she realized that her plan wouldn’t work. She huffed in irritation, shoving her covers off, and sitting with a slight shake of her head, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

Looking over, she could see Sora still asleep, sprawled over his bed but still somehow managing to keep a hold of his blanket. She debated throwing her pillow at him to wake him but decided against it. She would just let the sun wake him.

Readying for the day, she attempted to stay as quiet as possible but inevitably something fell, she was in a small washroom after all. She ended up bumping into the shampoo bottle as she attached the key shaped hairclips into her hair, sending it toppling off the sink before she could catch it. As she left, she could hear the sounds of Sora slowly awakening as well.

The deck was empty, as Ven, Sora, Terra, and Aqua were still asleep. Vanitas was awake, as he always was, sitting up in the crow’s nest, looking out. Aqua had clearly found a nice cove for them to stay in for the night because there were arching walls of stone around them with a channel to the ocean.

What was surprising however, was Riku, already awake, leaning on the railing like the three of them had done the previous night. He didn’t look tired per say, but Kairi could guess he probably didn’t have the best sleep last night.

“Rough night?” She asked him as she approached, careful to allow her footsteps to make noise before she spoke. Both she and Sora had learned their lesson against sneaking up on Vanitas and Terra, so she decided to use the same protocol here, not know Riku’s limits or trauma.

He turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye as she leaned on the railing next to him. The front of the ship was pointed out to the sea, and Kairi could see that the sun was already pretty high in the sky. It was probably the walls surrounding them that stopped the sun from waking them up at dawn.

“Not particularly,” he responded, sounding marvelously awake. She caught a glimpse of a necklace before it was tucked back under his shirt. “I’m just… not used to being on a boat, I suppose.” She nodded. The same problem had plagued her and Sora for the first couple weeks of living on The Wayfinder.

“It gets better,” she offered. “Don’t worry.” She decided to try and be civil. Perhaps she would find out more information this way.

“I won’t,” and with this he smiled softly at her, still looking toward the sun. She blinked. He seemed… more at ease, was all that she could think. “I think I like sunrises better,” he continued, jostling her from her thoughts. “They’re prettier. In the sun aspect at least. Sunrises unfortunately don’t make the water shimmer.”

She smiled at him, a memory rippling through her head. Sora and Kairi arguing about the best time of day. Kairi enjoyed sunsets while Sora preferred high noon. Good to know that the wrongful opinion that midday was better than sunset wouldn’t outnumber her. They were all perfectly balanced. The hopeful part of her chirped that this was a sign. Ven’s apparent preferred time of day was night because he could sleep undisturbed, though that was mostly a joke thrown back and forth between her and Sora. Wait… Riku’s words fully registered.

“Wait, you’ve been up since dawn?” She exclaimed in shock. Even when they were on the water and there was nothing to block the sun, she and Sora didn’t get up for at least an hour or two after dawn. She frowned at the sun again. Due to the position of it, dawn had to have been at least an hour or two ago.

“Not dawn, exactly,” he replied. “When I woke up, the sun was already awake, but not fully risen from the sea yet.” She nodded but was still a little flabbergasted.

“I thought only Vanitas was crazy enough to get up with the sun.”

“I heard that!” Came the shout from above. She smiled teasingly up. Vanitas was both more prickly and less reserved in the early morning, when no one else was awake.

“You were supposed to!” She shot back. Riku made a huffing sound that was similar to a laugh, so she counted that as a win.

“I didn’t choose it,” he said, looking to her finally. “It was expectation for a while, so I haven’t been able to shake the habit quite yet.”

“Well since nothing happens at dawn and no one fun gets up at dawn-” More incoherent grumbling came from the crow’s nest and she felt joy through her. It was clearly a good day. “you’ll shake that habit soon I hope.” She leaned forward, as if telling a secret and Riku indulged her, leaning forward slightly as well. “We tried to help Vanitas the same way but instead he bought an alarm clock and gets really upset if we steal it.” Riku did snicker then, and Kairi felt her heart warm a little. She was glad she had managed to control her suspicion this morning. She never would have had this otherwise,

“Hide the clock under his bed, but don’t tell him,” Riku said, looking back to the sun and smirking. “Thus, when he goes to turn it off, he can’t find it and it’ll just keep going until he finally wakes up enough to figure it out.”

Kairi burst out laughing, imagining a tired, grumpy Vanitas trying and failing to find his alarm clock as it rang at him. Riku started laughing quietly as well, spurred on by her and both of them tried to conveniently forget that Vanitas was above them and listening to everything they said. Here’s to hoping he didn’t finally convince Aqua to let him put a lock on his and Ventus’s room. One might think that Ventus would be woken by the alarm clock as well, but he slept like the dead. Nothing could wake him up if he didn’t want to be up, short of the boat capsizing.

“That’s a great idea,” she giggled out, placing a hand over her mouth to smother the last of her laughter. If there were ways to get into her heart, pranking was definitely one of them. “Where’d you hear it? Or did you come up with it?”

“My sister used to do it all the time to me and her Betrothed. Sometimes she’d get Naminé in on it too and-” he abruptly cut himself off there and his eyes darkened, his head dropping down to stare at his hands, which curled shakingly around the railing. Kairi felt the shift in mood like it was a wind current, drenching the fun, laidback atmosphere that had existed a second ago. She swallowed, wondering if she should say something or place a hand on his shoulder or anything to comfort him. What would Sora do? Vanitas had gone quiet as well.

“Sorry,” he said after a second. “I ruined the mood.”

She shook her head rapidly. “No, no. It’s okay, it’s totally okay.” She was about to say something else, but Sora finally emerged, rubbing his eyes against the sun, which had risen a little farther during their conversation. Sora, being Sora, picked up on the tense air immediately.

“Something wrong?” He asked, eyes flicking between the three of them. As welcoming as Sora was, Kairi knew that if Riku had done something to her or Vanitas that joyful attitude would be gone instantly. It was one of the things she liked about him. He didn’t let people hurt them. It hadn’t been an option when they were younger.

Kairi shook her head, banishing the last of her thoughts, before walking over to drag Sora to the railing. “Nope, we were just discussing the sunset and sunrise. Riku likes sunrise the best.” She saw Riku’s eyes furrow ever so slightly, trying to figure out why that was such a big deal and then widen when Sora gasped dramatically, apparently very offended, before spinning to look at Riku.

“Sunrise? Really?” He asked dramatically. “It’s so cold and then suddenly warm and you miss it half the time. How can it be your favorite? Blue skies are so much better!” Kairi couldn’t hold back the snort at that and Riku cracked another small grin at Sora’s dramatics, the tension lessening substantially. Vanitas didn’t correct Kairi’s version of events, which she was grateful for.

“Blue skies!” Kairi scoffed playfully, pulling Sora’s attention to her and allowing Riku a few extra moments to relax. “You see the same this every single day. Sunsets are at least different each day.”

“But sunsets last what? Thirty minutes?” Sora shot back. “With blue skies, you get a good couple hours to enjoy them.”

“I can’t tell if we’re up late or if you’re up early,” Aqua’s voice came from behind them. As the three of them turned around, they could see Aqua and Terra walking up the stairs.

“You’re up late,” Kairi said, pointing to the sun. “I think we all are.”

“All of us except Vanitas,” Sora snickered.

“And I am proud of that fact,” Vanitas replied, climbing back down from the crow’s nest. “And, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to try and wake my little brother.” He disappeared back down into the ship and Terra turned to Riku.

“Good morning, Riku,” he greeted. “Sleep well?”

“Mostly,” Riku replied.

“Oh, yeah!” Sora suddenly interrupted, getting the look on his face of remembering something. Kairi covered her smile with her hand, knowing what Sora was about to ask. “Riku, how old are you?”

Riku blinked at him in confusion. “Sixteen?” He hesitantly said, looking back and forth between her and Sora, trying to discover what he was missing.

“Yes! I knew it!” With that, Sora spun to face Terra and Aqua. “We outnumber you guys now!” He crowed. While Terra got the face of someone who just realized they were in trouble, Aqua laughed quietly.

“Outnumber…?” Riku asked.

Sora looked back at him. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain it to you!” Kairi couldn’t help her laugh at Terra’s face and that spurred Sora into laughter as well.

I might not trust you Riku, she thought, watching the older boy lean against the railing, as his eyes watched the interactions between them. But that could always change.

Chapter Text

They set out within the hour, Aqua guiding the ship as she always did, Terra at her side as he always was, keeping an eye out on all of the rest of them who were on the deck. Apparently, he had taken Sora’s joke that they outnumbered them as a threat. Which, well it was, but not today. Vanitas had reappeared, dragging a very put out Ven up to the deck, before disappearing into the crow’s nest. Sora and Kairi had a good laugh at Ven’s expense. He had, maturely, responded by sticking his tongue out and refusing to look at them.

It was only after they’d been sailing for a while did Riku approach Sora, who was sitting on one of the crates, drawing careful lines on a piece of paper. He had gotten better at drawing over the years. While it wasn’t a hobby he worked exclusively on, it was needed. Especially because of his dreams. The picture was coming together, but slowly, not that Sora minded it. There wasn’t that much else to do on the ship on days like this.

“So…where are we going?” Riku asked him, standing next to him, leaning on the railing. Sora internally frowned at the hesitance in his voice. Riku shouldn’t be scared to talk to them.

“I believe we’re on our way to Traverse Town,” Sora replied, not looking up from his drawing. This line wasn’t straight, and it was driving Sora mad. Also, hopefully Riku felt more at ease if he didn’t feel on the spot. “We have a shipment to pick up.”

“Leon mentioned you transported goods.” Sora shrugged a shoulder. It varied.

“Goods, people.” He looked up only to see Riku looking at his art instead of him, an unreadable look in his eyes. “We’re a ship for hire and while we don’t ask too many questions, if the person clearly has bad intentions, we don’t work for them.”

“Who decides if they’re good or bad?” Sora blinked, but continued on with his drawing, undeterred. It would make sense that Riku would want to know this stuff if he was going to be sailing with them.

“Well first of all, we don’t tend to work for people outside of the ones we already are working for, such as Leon and Scrooge. If we work for anyone else, it isn’t normal, and they would have to be recommended by Leon or Scrooge.” Part of him laughed as he thought about Riku’s possible reaction to seeing Scrooge. The duck had certainly surprised him and Kairi. He wondered if it would manage to break Riku’s careful mask.

“After that, Terra and Aqua meet with the people to get first impressions and they’re good at it. Good intuition, I guess,” Sora recounted, adding another line to his drawing of the birds they saw that morning. The shading was always the most difficult part, so he was leaving that for last. “If they feel on the fence about a person, they’ll ask us, and we’ll decide as a group.”

When Riku didn’t answer, he twisted to look back at him, only to frown when he saw the cloudiness in his eyes. “Riku?” He tried again. What had happened? Was it something he said? He reached out slowly and tapped Riku’s arm, flinching when Riku violently started, looking around in shock as if forgetting where he was. Yes, breaking him out of the flashback forcefully probably wasn’t the best thing to do, but Sora didn’t know what else to do. He hadn’t learned yet how to deal with Riku’s trauma like he had Vanitas’s, Kairi’s, and Terra’s. He hoped he wasn’t making it worse.

Sora frowned internally as he went over the signs again. Riku had gotten that same look in his eyes for a half second after Sora had grabbed his wrist the night before. Then he had yanked his hand away and grew guarded. Not wanting to provoke Riku like he had accidentally done the night before, Sora didn’t make any moves towards him after that first poke, instead slowly placing his pencil on the crate beneath him.

“Riku? Are you okay?” He asked carefully, trying to keep his voice level. The older boy blinked again, before his eyes settled on Sora, breathing in a way that was tightly controlled but hiding heavy breaths.

“Yeah,” he stuttered out, flexing his right hand before curling it into a fist. “Yeah, I’m okay.” Sora nodded, picking up his pencil again. He wanted to ask more but knew he shouldn’t. He doubted Riku would want him to focus on what just happened.

“Well, thanks for telling me,” Riku said, before turning and leaving. Sora could tell he was trying to flee the situation they had gotten into.

He sighed.

Riku… reminded him of himself. Of himself before being found by Leon. Not perfectly, but close enough that it was enough to give him pause. Alone and abandoned, wondering if there was a safe space out there for himself and Kairi but at the same time not daring to believe it to be true. Running away from every opportunity of safety, too scared that he would get betrayed and hurt again, not willing to put Kairi through that again. Not willing to be betrayed again. Not after her.

Leon had found them one day, after dark, alone in an alley. He had offered them shelter and Sora had run off, dragging Kairi behind him. It was only a week later when Sora happened to pass the same alley after dark again and saw Leon check the alley before he passed by that got Sora to pause. Even with different people offering to help before, if he denied them, they left, not willing to put the effort into two street rats who shied away from friendly faces and unthreatening hands.

Taking a gamble, he left Kairi in another corner of the city they had found to be mediocrely safe and headed back to the alley, hiding behind some boxes and peeking out, watching the street and the corner that Leon had come around before. And, like the night before, he saw Leon pass the alley, stop, and look in. Leon had seen him and asked him how he was, as if they were old friends, instead of a man and a street rate who had never spoken before. Sora hadn’t responded and Leon had left but had promised to leave some food for them because, in his words, “even if they didn’t want his help, didn’t mean he couldn’t offer it.”

The next night, Sora had found a bag of fresh fruit hidden behind the boxes that he had been sitting nearby.

That started a game of cat and mouse, so to speak, between Sora and Leon. Leon would leave food and water, sometimes clothes, in the alley, and while Sora would take it, he would never speak to him or even let Leon see him take the supplies. Kairi knew that Sora had to have been in contact with someone. Even if Sora had attempted to keep it a secret from her, there was no explanation for the fresh food, clean water, and new clothes. Like him, Kairi had been cautious, perhaps even more than him. It had always been a trait of Kairi’s. He enjoyed it sometimes, as it had saved them more than once, but it also meant Kairi struggled to make friends like he did. And he knew that bothered Kairi, her lack of social skills.

It was only once Kairi got deathly ill with fever that winter did he approach Leon for medicine. He took care of both of them and months later, after Kairi had recovered, Sora and Kairi had been met with two people that Leon had contacted about two people for their crew.

Even after they had joined the boat it had taken them weeks to fully adjust. Aqua and Terra, while well meaning, had been slightly overbearing as all four of them tried to adjust to the new normal on the boat. Kairi and Sora hadn’t had a positive adult figure in years before Leon and Aqua and Terra had been 18 themselves, alone except for each other. But slowly, through much, much trial and error, they grew comfortable with each other. They grew to be a family. Then, a couple years later, Vanitas and Ven joined them, and the cycle started all over again.

Now, Sora hoped they could help Riku as well.

“Thinking?” Ven asked from next to him, and Sora jumped, dropping his pencil to the floor.

“Ven?!” He hissed out, whirling around to stare at the other fifteen-year-old. Said fifteen-year-old blinked back at him, mystified at his sudden hostility.

“Yes?” He said, slowly reaching down to pick up Sora’s pencil. He twirled it between his fingers, ending in holding it the strange way he did, in a fist with the lead pointing downward. “Did I scare you?” Sora didn’t reply verbally, instead nodded. “Oh. Sorry.” He handed the pencil back. “What were you thinking about?”

“Riku,” Sora answered honestly, folding and unfolding the corner of his drawing as he fidgeted. He made sure the creases wouldn’t interfere with the drawing itself.

“Riku huh?”

“Yep, what do you think of him?” Ven didn’t answer him for a second and Sora looked up from his drawing to stare at Ven who wasn’t watching Riku but instead Vanitas. Or at least, the part of Vanitas they could see from their place down on the deck, which was usually just his shadow or a single body part.

“He reminds me of my brother,” Ventus eventually said, looking back to Sora. “He reminds me of Vanitas the first few weeks after I woke up. I know something happened, and I know it affected Vanitas a lot, but I didn’t know what and he wouldn’t tell me. He was shouldering… something and wouldn’t allow anyone to know or help. Not even Leon.” Ventus settled down on the crate across from Sora, staring at his hands in his lap. “He reminds me of that.”

 Riku reminded them of a lot of people, apparently.

“But Vanitas got better,” Sora couldn’t help but interject. “He had us. So hopefully, we can help Riku.”

Ventus made a face. “No one ‘completely gets better’ from something that Vanitas or, probably, Riku went through. They can get help and slowly find a new normal and they ‘get better’ slowly but never back to what they were. And that’s okay. That’s what we did for Vanitas and if Riku wants it, we’ll help him too.”

Sora twitched his eyes. Yeah, he probably could have phrased that better. It was a trait of his.

Sora nodded quietly, looking out toward the sea. The bright blue sky always made him feel better.

“We do our best, don’t we?” Sora asked rhetorically.

“Yeah we do.” Ven smiled at him, before reaching out and patting his shoulder. “Be yourself,” he advised Sora. “It helped when you and Kairi made friends with me.” Sora couldn’t help the laugh that slipped out of his mouth at that, remembering the absolute carnage the three of them got up to once they had Ven’s friendship. Which didn’t take that long.

“Now, c’mon.” Ven’s hand turned from simply sitting on his shoulder to grasping his upper arm, pulling him to his feet. “You’re clearly thinking way too hard about this. Come make up stories using the clouds with Kairi and me.” Sora stumbled but chuckled quietly, gently folding up his drawing to place it in his pocket. He’d finish later.

He allowed Ven to drag him to the front of the ship, seeing Riku out of the corner of his eye sitting on the stairs that led to the wheel and looking out to sea, before vanishing behind the mast as the two of them passed it. Kairi was already lying down on the deck, arms and legs spread like a starfish. The two of them settled down near her, their heads all close to each other. In the sky, white, puffy clouds drifted across the blue background, the perfect type for them to try and find shapes in them.

“Who wants to go first?” Ven asked, folding one of his legs under the other and Sora relaxed back, placing his hands under his head to cushion it slightly.

“I will,” Kairi volunteered. “And Sora, if you find a way to tell another story related to the Keyblade Wielders, I will hit you.” Sora couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in his at that, especially as Ven voiced his agreement.

Against his will, his eyes drifted for just a second over to Riku, whose profile was outlined by the sun illuminating him. He hoped that one day, Riku would feel just as comfortable with them, to joke and laugh and live with them.

~

“You really need to start telling me things, Isa.” A red-haired man paced back and forth in a bedroom, smoke curling around his fingers and the firelight reflecting off purple marks under his eyes. The words they were throwing back and forth at each other were, unfortunately, very familiar, especially in the past year.

“I do tell you things, Lea,” the blue haired man responded, not looking up from the paper he was reading. “I tell you what you need to know.”

Lea growled, hands curling into fists before relaxing the smoke abruptly disappearing. He turned on his heel and stalked out onto the balcony connected to their room, looking up at the key shaped constellation.

“You don’t need to know everything I Know,” Isa called after him, unperturbed by his husband’s silence. Lea often sulked in silence while trying to convince himself not to explode at whoever he was angry at.

“I don’t want to know everything you Know!” Lea spun back around, throwing his hands up in exasperation and watching his husband through the doorway. “But you have to stop just dropping pieces of information on me that I have no context for.”

They were speaking about the fact that Isa had asked how long Lea thought it would take before Roxas and Xion mastered the next level of healing magic. He didn’t often ask about Lea’s students, which was one red flag. Also, Roxas and Xion had only completed the current level that day.

“I don’t mean to tell you those things,” Isa grumbled out, barely able to be heard by his partner.

“That doesn’t make it better!” Lea walked back inside, throwing himself down onto the reclining chair in the corner. “You admitting that you would keep more from me if you had a choice is not making me less mad at you.”

Isa scoffed. “You don’t want to Know like I do.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lea snapped. “Since you don’t tell me what it’s like!” Isa was the one to growl this time, dropping his eyes back down to the report in front of him and ignoring the Strings and wires that wrapped around his fingers and Lea’s neck and heart. It didn’t matter. He had tried to change things once, tried to show another the Strings. It hadn’t worked.

And for all his power, he couldn’t Know what was important, something that never ceased to cause him grief. He didn’t Know where Riku was, didn’t Know where Marluxia was, or even Know where the Bearers were.

Sometimes that was worse than Knowing what was going to come.

Chapter Text

It was a couple days, a little over a week, before Riku spotted land again. The days at sea had been spent either slowly getting to know the different members of the crew or learning how to properly help out on the ship. It had taken him a few days to fully get used to the feeling of the ocean rocking beneath him, or the wetness in the air, so different from the desert he had lived in. But he had lived through it, just like he had lived through everything else. Nothing would stop him now.

He… didn’t mind getting to know the other members of the crew. Sure, he wasn’t planning to stay once he figured a way home and he had long learned his lesson on trusting unknowns, but if this was to be his life for right now, he should try and enjoy it. Didn’t he know that he shouldn’t get attached to other people now?

Sora, Kairi, and Ven were manageable when they were calm (or calmer) and when they weren’t, it was time to make a tactical retreat back to the stairs or to his room. They reminded him far too much of Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme for his barely stable mind to handle. On the good days. His brain also wouldn’t stop drawing comparisons between Ven and Roxas. Even with the last time Riku saw Roxas being three years ago, their similarities were close enough that it was eerie.

Terra and Aqua were harder to get along with, just because of the fact that they were older than him and authority figures. He hadn’t had the best luck with them the past couple of years. They had loved them and left them to die and then they did die and then they died.

Out of all of them, Vanitas was the easiest to spend time around. He was quiet, not trying to start unnecessary conversations, and he was aware of every movement in a way that the others weren’t. It reminded him of Axel, the few times he had seen the man, a knowledgeable gaze hidden, in Vanitas’s case, under a façade of relaxation. Axel had instead hidden his gaze behind side remarks and allowing himself to look less imposing then Saïx. Or Joshua, a mask of unfeeling apathy unless around Neku. Ven and Neku were similar. An anchor for the drifting, hurting people.

While it wasn’t often, he had spent a couple of hours up in the crow’s nest with Vanitas, usually sitting with his back again the mast, legs hanging through the gaps in the railing. Sometimes he found himself leaning backwards, and allowing his mind to drift back to the walls he would perch on in the desert, either on the lookout or to sleep, if they were sure that the wall wouldn’t move and crush them in the night. It was those times where he would have to snap his eyes open and look down, remind himself that he wasn’t back there. It was always after those that he went back down, back into the cool shade and the roughness of the stairs, different enough that it wouldn’t cause him to think.

His hands tightened around the railing he was leaning on as his mind drifted, against his will, back to home the maze. Back to the good days, if such days could be called good. He snarled in his head, locking those memories even deeper in his head, scrambling in his memory for anything else. His mind instead grasped onto the white Towers. Back to Naminé, Noi, and Roxas. To the Towers and the joy and peace of his youth, even in the midst of all his turmoil. Loss after loss, abrupt turns in life, none of it had dampened his spirits. Until that night. That night. That night and the following nights and the painful nights and the joyful nights-

He growled, low and quiet, and let go of the railing with his left hand to grip his lower right arm, poking himself with his nails on purpose. Anything to snap himself out of his thoughts. They didn’t matter now. Dwelling on them would do nothing but torture him. He would know. But he couldn’t help the worry, not completely. He simply hoped Noi wasn’t struggling too much with taking care of Naminé. It should have been his job. If Roxas really wanted to get back into Noi’s good graces, he would take care of them. For more Naminé’s sake than Noi’s. It wasn’t Roxas’s fault either.

“Look Riku!” Sora shouted down from the crow’s nest, a strange place for him to be but Riku hadn’t truly been paying attention to the world around him for the past hour, leaning over the railing to look at the other teenager while pointing out to the horizon line. “That’s Traverse Town!” Riku’s eyes followed his hand.

Right now, it looked more like a small, patch/blob of black/brown against the horizon, but he’d take Sora’s word for it.

“Cool!” He shouted back. He learned that Sora liked it when people responded to what he said. Sora sent back a thumbs up, so Riku assumed he had answered correctly.

“We’re about two or three hours out,” Terra informed him from the helm, causing Riku to turn and face him. The older man was steering right now, as Aqua was asleep. Due to the fact they were in the middle of the ocean, they couldn’t just stop and drop anchor as they had that first night so Aqua and Terra had been taking shifts. Riku got the feeling this was normal.

“What are we picking up?” Riku asked, leaning back on the railing, and tipping his head up to keep Terra in his sights, feigning at being nonchalant.

“Supplies,” Terra responded. “It’s just a paid delivery to Atlantica. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Riku mulled over the location name in his head. He hadn’t learned about the outside world before and they didn’t exactly have maps in the desert. “Atlantica… That’s the town on the coast by the cliffs, right? Across the ocean from the Capital?” But if he had to have picked up one thing from having to survive in a shifting environment for three years, he was glad it was the ability to listen. Even if it was without permission.

Terra nodded; a careful smile set on his face. The wind sometimes blew his shorter hair into his face, causing him to have to push it to the side. One thing Riku didn’t miss from having shorter hair. Then again, long hair hadn’t really been his choice.

“It’ll be nice to see Ariel again,” Kairi mentioned from the box she was sitting on. Her eyes didn’t lift from the embroidery and her hands didn’t stop, but it was evident now that she had been listening to them the whole time. She reminded Riku of Naminé and Shiki in that way. Riku shifted to be looking at her instead and tilted his head questioningly. “She’s the governor’s daughter.” Kairi answered his unspoken question, still not looking at him. Yep, definitely like Naminé.

“She’s funny,” Sora said, revealing he had climbed down from the crow’s nest. Not that Riku had been surprised. He stopped being able to be surprised years ago. “And she had a great voice.”

“What?” Asked Riku blankly. From his place still in the crow’s nest, Vanitas facepalmed, leaning over the railing as if tired.

Ven snickered from his seat on the railing next to Terra, on the opposite side of the ship as Riku. He twisted his body to look at them better. “She and Sora put on quite the performance a year or so ago.”

“Look we both needed it, okay?” Sora huffed out, suddenly sounding very defensive. He crossed his arms and pouted, looking to Kairi as if she was going to help him. But Riku had been here long enough to know how that would work. And, true to his suspicions, he could already hear Kairi’s giggles as she finally looked up from her work. Sora would gain no help from her.

“You sing?” Riku asked, still trying to wrap his head around the implications of what they were say.

“Mhm,” Terra said, smiling down at the younger boy. “Last year, he and Ariel put on a performance for us and Ariel’s family. I think it went well.” Riku blinked again as Sora blushed furiously. Well, that was something.

~

As the ship grew closer to Traverse Town, Riku was finally able to pick out individual buildings and structures, now that they no longer blended into the background.

Traverse Town, at its core, didn’t seem that much different from Radiant Garden. From what he could see, the buildings and roadways were of similar design. According to Sora and Ven, there was a council put in place to run the town, but they didn’t do nearly as much as Leon did for Radiant Garden, causing the town to be dirtier and danker than Radiant Garden but Riku couldn’t blame them for that. Leon had really set an impossible standard with what he had transformed Radiant Garden into, if Kairi and Sora were to be believed.

As The Wayfinder sailed into port, Riku found himself dragged to the side of the ship by Sora as the boy chattered excitedly, pointing out different landmarks or buildings to be aware of. Kairi had put away her work and leaned on the other side of the railing, accidentally or purposefully boxing him in slightly. If not for the way he could still escape by backing up, he would be panicking more. Beat used to jab those next to him in the side while Shiki would lean an arm around someone. Closeness never bothered him before.

“There’s Scrooge!” Ven announced from the crow’s nest, pointing towards the dock they were sailing to. Riku looked out and saw… a duck. A duck in a top hat and spats. He blinked, narrowing his eyes at the duck, before mentally shrugging. He’d, unfortunately, seen weirder. And worse.

“Scrooge is the provider of a lot of the supplies we ship back and forth across the ocean,” Sora said, waving to the duck, who waved back. “Aqua and Terra started out as just working for him but even though they’ve branched out, Scrooge is still one of their main providers.” Riku hummed in acknowledgement, gazing out on the dock as they came parallel.

The docking itself was a smooth process. Riku could see out the corner of his eye Vanitas hovering by Ven’s side. He couldn’t figure out what that was about.

“Aye, I was wondering when yous young’uns were coming back,” Scrooge said as he walked up the gangplank to greet Terra. Riku couldn’t help but wonder if the exposed wood hurt his feet, which weren’t covered by that much. “It’s been a couple weeks.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Terra replied sheepishly. “We just had a delivery that took longer than we thought it would and then we had to pick up a new crewmember.”

“New crewmember, aye?” Scrooge turned, now looking directly at Riku, who found himself pausing and straightening slightly. How was a duck more intimidating than one of the beasts Riku had faced down time and time again?

“Yep,” Sora chirped, leaning on Riku’s shoulder. Riku wondered if trying to extract himself would provide a better or worse impression on Scrooge. “His name’s Riku!”

“Well, it’s wonderful to meet ya, laddie!” Scrooge said, tipping his hat slightly, before turning back to Terra. “I assume you’re here for the Atlantica delivery?” Terra nodded and Scrooge waved his hand. “Well, follow me then. It’s just down the dock.” Terra and Vanitas followed him, with Vanitas giving a look at the four teenagers as he passed.

“Don’t do anything,” he said. Riku turned to Sora, seeing Kairi’s mouth curl up into a smirk at Vanitas’s words.

“You all did something once?” One thing he had learned from Vanitas was that any of his admonishments or warnings to the three kids usually had a good reason behind them from past experiences. Ven immediately started laughing, not stopping when Kairi turned and hit him in the shoulder. Sora rubbed the back of his head.

“It was an accident?” He tried, his face only growing redder the longer Ven’s laughter went on.

“What type of accident?” Riku asked warily. Sora chuckled, turning to Kairi for help but she instead “innocently” averted her eyes, stopping in her attempts to quiet Ven.

“He-He fell off the dock!” Ven said, stifling his giggles long enough to get the sentence out. Riku immediately stiffened in worry, but Sora patted his arm gently.

“It’s okay, I could swim but…”

“He was showing Ven the dock,” Kairi said, taking over the story. “Back when Ven and Vanitas had just joined. But he wasn’t watching where he was going and well… splash.”

“I was ten, okay!” Sora exclaimed, blush not fading from his face.

“So was I and I had the sense not to go stand on a box precariously placed on the corner of the dock,” Ven snickered, finally controlling his laughter. Riku couldn’t help the snicker that escaped him once he imagined the scenario. Little, ten-year-old Sora, standing with full confidence on a box, probably dramatically gesturing, only for the box under him to tip and dump him into the ocean.

Sora turned betrayal filled eyes to Riku. “Riku!” He exclaimed, feigning anger. “How dare you laugh at ten-year-old me’s predicaments!” This, of course, only made Riku laugh harder, which in turn spurred on Kairi and Ven.

And this was the scene Terra and Vanitas returned to. A pouting Sora standing surrounded by the other three, laughing at varying levels of intensity. Terra raised an eyebrow.

“Did something happen that we should be worried about?” He asked while placing his crate of supplies down. Vanitas immediately checked all the rigging he could see.

“No, nothing happened,” Sora grumbled out, looking as if he might kick his foot back and forth. “Vanitas’s warning to us just made Ven share the story of when I fell of the docks and well…” He gestured to the three teenagers surrounding him, who were quieting. “This is what I get for having friends such as them.”

Riku’s laughter, while dying, abruptly cut off. Had he heard Sora right? They were… friends? But Sora had only known him for a week! And Riku could be lying to him. For Stars sake, he was lying to him. And friends never turn out well. Look what happened last time! Look at what Riku did to-

Something poked him in the side. “Riku?” Sora asked, tipping his head to the side as he stared at him. “You okay?”

Riku suddenly realized that everyone on the deck was staring at him. He froze even more, instincts from the past three years starting to build. Don’t look at me, his mind hissed. Being noticed means being dead. His right palm was burning.

“Yes, I’m fine,” he responded to Sora, doing his best to look him in the eyes, even with all his instinct screeching at him to look away. He curled his hand into a fist, attempting again to stifle the urge and instinct. He didn’t know why it had gotten this bad. It had never been like this there.

“You sure?” Sora tipped his head, eyes flashing curiously.

“I’m fine,” he responded, harsher, hoping that Sora would drop it. And to his relief, he did, retracting his hand back to his side, expression melting into something more…puppyish. Riku sighed inwardly. Why did Sora and Kairi both have to remind him of Naminé so much? “Sorry,” he said, not looking Sora in the eyes. “I didn’t mean to…” He wasn’t good at this apologizing thing.

“No, no, it’s okay,” Sora said, sounding more upbeat now. “I shouldn’t have pushed.” Sora looked away.

Now the six people on deck were left with in an awkward sort of silence, none of the others wanting to talk due to what had just happened and embarrass Riku and Sora more, and the aforementioned two didn’t want to say anything else, for fear of putting their feet deeper in their mouths. It looked like they were just going to stand around for who known how long if not for a very fortunate interruption.

“Are we in Traverse Town already?” Aqua asked, stretching as she appeared from below deck.

“Y-Yes, we are,” Terra responded. And that was the spark that allowed everyone to move. Vanitas and Ven scrambled to pick up the crates and take them below while Sora and Kairi moved to start taking them out of port.

Riku swallowed. He wanted to help but at the same time…

He turned on his heel and walked quickly to the stairs, passing Aqua with a quick greeting before disappearing.

He couldn’t deal with this.

Chapter Text

Kairi frowned at Riku’s retreating back and couldn’t help but feel like she did something wrong. Even though she knew it wasn’t her fault. This time round. Every time it looked like Riku was finally opening up and relaxing around them, something happened and every single wall he had went straight back up. She couldn’t blame him, it took her and Sora months to trust Aqua and Terra completely, and Vanitas even longer, but it was still disheartening to see.

He could be a liar, her mind told her. He could be trying to get us to drop our guard. You could be preparing to hurt us.

Sora nudged her. “Worried about Riku?” He asked gently, voice low, Kairi able to pick up on the double meaning in his words. Sora was always able to pick up on her emotions, even the quietest ones. She nodded slowly, trying to push the cynical part of her back to the edge of her mind.

“Every time we do something right, we do something wrong,” she muttered sadly, the empathetic part of her wilting at seeing Riku’s continued attempts to push them away.

Sora slung an arm around her shoulders. “We can’t push him too hard. He’ll come around on his own,” he said optimistically. She shrugged him off, wrapping both arms around herself in a hug. She just wanted to help him. And make sure of his intentions.

“You sure?” She asked. Sora leaned back and placed his hands behind his head, flashing her a smile that set her heart racing.

“Yep!” He chirped out. “Everything will work out.”

“Sora, Kairi,” Terra said, startling them out of their conversation. Kairi hadn’t noticed him returning from the ship. Terra always had something extra to say to Scrooge when they were there. Perhaps it was from their long history. “Let’s leave Traverse Town behind us.” They both nodded and split off, going about tasks as normal.

But Kairi could already feel the gap that Riku had left behind. Even in that week that he had been there, he had become an integral part of her life. Of hers and Sora’s and Ven’s and everyone on the ship. She was still cautious of him and was still pleased that Riku had implied that he would only be on the ship for a while but even the cold, cynical part of her couldn’t deny that a different part of her didn’t want him to leave.

Once the ship was sailing smoothly, she steeled herself. With a quick glance to make sure Sora wasn’t paying attention, she slipped below deck. Sora’s procedure of having whoever it was come to them first was nice and worked most of the time, but now, in Kairi’s opinion, was not one of those times.

She hesitated in front of Riku’s door. It’s okay, Kairi, she told herself. The worst thing that can happen is he tells you to get out. And you have a good reason. You should check in with him. Both to make sure he’s okay and to make sure he isn’t planning anything. She took a deep breath then knocked on the door.

“What?” Came from inside.

“It’s-It’s Kairi,” she said, all previous plans of what to say flying from her head in an instant. Riku sounded… wrecked might be a good word for it. Even from outside the door she could hear the roughness in his voice. What had happened? He hadn’t sounded like this ten minutes ago. “Can I come in?”

A pause from inside. Then, “No.”

She blinked, thrown off again. Not to sound entitled but everyone on the ship was usually open about people coming in and out of their cabins. The only person who was sometimes against it was Vanitas and that was usually on the days where he was struggling pretty badly from nightmares or flashbacks.

“Okay…” she said slowly, trying to create a new plan from the dredges of her old one. “Are you okay?” She immediately mentally slapped herself. Of course, Riku wasn’t okay. She sighed. Maybe Sora was right, and she should have just left Riku alone.

“I’m fine,” said Riku from inside. She winced before picturing Sora’s face when Riku had said it the second time to him on the deck. Summoning the courage she could never have when talking to Sora, she responded.

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe it,” Riku snapped back, sounding annoyed.

“No,” she said, placing her hand on the doorknob. “I don’t believe you and I would like to help you.” There was a sound of a quick intake of breath. After a few seconds, she asked again. “Riku?” There was no answer.

Throwing all caution to the wind, she turned the doorknob and stepped inside the room, thankful that Riku either hadn’t locked it this time round or hadn’t realized it could lock.

Riku himself was curled up on the floor, hands twisted in his silver locks of hair, eyes squeezed tightly shut. He was pressed against the wall, right under the porthole.

“Riku!” Kairi exclaimed, hurrying over to kneel down in front of him. He didn’t react to her suddenly in his room, despite his denial of her a minute ago. He either didn’t hear her or didn’t care. Her hands wavered in the air, wanting to reach out and hug him as she did when any other member of the crew had a problem, but at the same time knowing that it probably wouldn’t help right now. “Riku,” she said again, trying instead to get through to him through words. “Can you hear me?”

But the older boy gave no response to her words, simply tugged on his hair more, eyes glassy and far-away. She bit her lip, almost enough to cause her to wince. He was having a panic attack, that much was clear.

She cursed herself again. Not only was she not the best at talking down panic attacks, but she had also clearly caused this one to happen. Damnit Kairi, she thought. You can’t just do one thing right?

Reaching out again, she gently grasped Riku’s hands, flinching just as much as Riku did at the contact, and tried to untangle his hands from his hair. It was easier than she expected it to be as it turned out Riku’s hair was, in fact, just as silky as it looked. Focus, Kairi! Once she got a hold of his hands in hers, she rubbed her thumbs on his palms, trying to get him to focus on that instead of whatever was panicking him.

“Riku, Riku,” she said softly. “I need you to focus on me right now. Listen to my voice, you’re not wherever your head says you are.” She tried to switch between rubbing his palms and the backs of his hands in even intervals, hoping to drag his attention back to her. “You’re on The Wayfinder, remember? It’s midafternoon. Sora and Ventus and Vanitas are above us. Aqua will be getting a book out soon. Terra’s guiding the boat. You just met Scrooge. You’re not wherever you think you are.”

She settled down into a more comfortable sitting spot, so she was fully facing him, trying to look into his eyes. His breaths had slowed, not as panicked, so Kairi took that as a good sign. If push came to shove, she could always hurry and go get Terra or Sora, but she didn’t want to have to.

“Riku?” She asked again, trying to catch his eye as they faded from the glassy look and into more focus.

He blinked in shock as his eyes settled on hers. “Shiki?” He asked, voice rough. “How are you here?”

She froze. “Um…” What was she supposed to say to that?

“Riku,” she repeated quietly, instead of saying anything else she wanted to say, trying not to startle him. “It’s Kairi. From The Wayfinder? You’ve known me for a little over a week.”

“Kairi?” He blinked, shaking his head slightly as his eyes finished focusing.

Once his now aware eyes settled on her, or more specifically her hands holding his, he froze up and yanked his hands out of her grip, curling them into his chest, right hand forming a fist and the left one covering it. She yelped in surprise a little, pulling her hands close to herself on instinct.

“Kairi?” He asked again, sounding much more awake. “What are you doing in here?!”

“We were talking,” she quickly explained. “Through the door. And then you stopped talking, so I came in to see what was wrong and…”

Riku growled slightly and Kairi curled back ever so slightly. She couldn’t tell if Riku was mad at her for coming in or mad at himself for some bizarre reason.

“I’m sorry for coming in,” she said. “But you were having a panic attack and-”

“It’s fine,” Riku said, cutting her off.

“You sure?” She asked.

“I’m sure,” he responded, still sounding angry and tight.

“Okay.” The two of them lapsed into an uneasy silence, Kairi not knowing whether or not Riku wanted her out. She had a thousand questions for him, but she restrained herself. She highly doubted Riku would want her prying into his life after he had a panic attack due to her questions.

“What were you even doing down here?” Riku eventually asked, releasing his death grip he had on his hands to instead place them in his lap. His shoulder’s hunched in and his long hair cascaded down, partially hiding his face.

“I came to check on you,” Kairi said, suddenly self-conscious. Would it have been better if she hadn’t? “You seemed upset when you left, so I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

He looked up at that, eyes finally looking into hers on his own will, something like…surprise(?) in his eyes. “You… came to check on me?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah…” Kairi said slowly. Why was this such a shock to him?

“Why?” He asked, looking at her as if he was trying to stare into her brain.

“Why did I come check on you?” She clarified. At his nod, she frowned. “Because you mean a lot to Sora. I was worried when you suddenly walked off, especially after what happened. You’re his… friend.”

“You shouldn’t call me that,” he snapped out, suddenly very defensive. She recoiled back, sucking in a breath. Why couldn’t she call him Sora’s friend? That’s what he was to him. And to her.

“Why not?” She asked back, mind whirling at many miles per hour. “That’s what you are to Sora. And to me.” You seem… genuine enough, the colder part of her brain admitted. People couldn’t really fake a panic attack.

“You don’t know a thing about me,” he hissed out. She paused. Was that his reasoning? Because that was…wrong.

“You don’t know a thing about Sora or me,” she commented, trying to think through his reasoning. It just… didn’t make sense. Riku paused for a second.

“What?” He exclaimed, sounding shocked.

“I meant what I said. Sure, we only know your name and age, but isn’t that all what you know about us too?” He frowned at her. “Is this why you’ve been so edgy from us?”

He simply looked at her, mystified.

“Riku,” she said, firmer. “We, by all accounts, haven’t shared that much with you either. Why should you have to share your story with us?” He didn’t answer, instead dropped his gaze to look at the floor. “Riku…” she groaned out. “Is this why you’ve been so jumpy?”

“…yes,” he finally responded. “And no.” He flicked his eyes back up to her. “I could be lying to you.”

Kairi shrugged. “So could we.”

Deciding she had rocked Riku’s worldview enough for one day, she stood up, brushing non-existent dirt from her skirt. “I hope you feel better,” She told him. “And Sora, Ventus, and I will always be there for you, if you want to talk. You don’t have to.” She paused, then groaned. “Great! Now I sound like Sora!” She pointed down at Riku. “You can’t tell him. He wouldn’t leave me alone.”

Riku finally smiled at that, something small but there, a quiet chuckle making its way through the cabin. “I won’t tell him,” he said. “I promise.”

She nodded firmly. “Good.” Turning on her heel, she walked to the door, realizing that she had never closed it. Whoops, she thought. “See you later tonight!” She called as she closed the door behind her.

~

A teenaged girl hurried through the halls of the home that wasn’t hers. Not truly anyway. It was the home of her Betrothed and if everything had gone normally, she would have moved in when she turned eighteen. But then…

She shook her head. There was no point in allowing herself to get sucked into her memories.

Pushing open the door in front of her, she sighed in disappointment as she saw the empty bedroom. Really Naminé? She thought. You keep getting in trouble like this and we’re going to have to confine you to the house. A twelve-year-old shouldn’t be wandering around at night.

“She’s gone?” A male voice asked from behind her, and she sighed as she turned to face her Betrothed.

“Yep,” she stated shortly. “I’ll go find her.” The teenaged male in front of her raised an eyebrow at her, no doubt clearly seeing the bags under her eyes.

“You sure, Xi?” He asked. “I can have my parents go find her. You really should get more sleep.” She was already shaking her head before he finished his sentence.

“She’s my little sister. I’m supposed to be looking after her.” She tried to brush past him, but he reached out and caught her arm as she passed.

“You don’t have to be worrying about her all the time,” he told her gently. “You’re only fifteen and there are people to look after her.”

“No Roxas,” she cut him off. “I’m all the family she has left. I have to be there for her.”

“On top of schooling and Keyblade training?” Roxas shook his head. “You’re going to burn yourself out, Xion.”

Xion frowned, gently extracting her arm and instead grasping his hand. “I’ll be okay,” she said, trying to believe the words. “I promise.”

Roxas gave her a look. “I’m coming with you then.” Xion nodded. Roxas was even more stubborn than she was, so arguing with him would only delay them finding Naminé. Again.

“You two are perfect for each other,” Riku had laughed out, watching the two little nine-year-olds get into an hour-long staring contest.

She flinched.

Heading out into the darkening streets of the First Tower, Xion’s eyes couldn’t help but flick up to the sky, where she knew Naminé would be watching. How does Naminé keep up hope? She wondered, as she and Roxas hurried up to the lookout in the Middle Layer. After all this time?

Mentally thanking the Stars that Naminé never chose anywhere new to sneak out to, Xion and Roxas rounded the corner to the lookout, only to come to a halting stop.

Thankfully, Naminé was, in fact, at the lookout. What they hadn’t been expecting was her being asleep against the Second King’s chest.

“Axel!” Roxas exclaimed in surprise as he noticed his mentor supporting his Betrothed’s little sister.

“Shh,” the Keyblade Master said. “She just fell asleep.”

“What are you doing here?” Roxas asked but lowered his voice obediently as he and Xion walked forward. Well, Roxas walked forward and Xion trailed after him, still wanting to collect her sister but also very put off by the Second King’s appearance.

“I noticed her from the window,” the Second King said as he watched them approach. “She is very noticeable in the dark. I assume you’re here to find her.” Xion nodded, finally daring to get close and take Naminé from the Keyblade Master. While Naminé was twelve and Xion was fifteen, the younger girl was small enough that Xion could still carry her easily. Especially with Xion’s new training.

“Thanks for looking out for her, Axel,” Roxas said to the Second King.

“Of course,” he responded. “But the three of you should run off now. Go sleep. I’ll see the two of you tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Roxas smiled. Xion nodded her head in agreement, still not completely looking the Keyblade Master in the face.

As soon as they were around the corner, Xion finally allowed herself to breathe. “He scares me,” she hissed out, curling her arms tighter around Naminé. Roxas gave her a look.

“I know I’ve asked this before,” he started. “But why? There is literally nothing threatening about Axel.” Xion shook her head. Roxas would never understand. But she did. And she knew her brother did too, before he vanished. She wasn’t embarrassed to admit for a while after his disappearance, she thought the Second King had something to do with it.

“Let’s just go home,” she said quietly, tugging Naminé even closer to her. The little girl’s head fit perfectly in the crevice between her shoulder and neck, and she curled up in Xion’s grip, little puffs of breath reminding Xion that Naminé was still alive. She lost one sibling already. She wasn’t going to lose another.

Chapter Text

Sora woke with his heart racing, hands clenched in his bed sheets. The sounds of his dream still echoed in his head, even though the memory of the dream was fading quickly. One weapon clashing against another, grunts of exertion, there were footsteps coming up behind the kids that were fighting but neither of them acknowledged them, the girl with silver hair twisting her blade to almost stab the boy across from her. Another with reddish-brown hair sat on the windowsill, spinning an eyeliner brush between his hands, watching them. Over all of this, something else flickered in his head, an image he couldn’t grasp.

Sitting up quickly, he grasped at his journal, which had been sat at his bedside the night prior for this exact reason, and flipped to an empty page, allowing his hand to skate willy-nilly over it as his addled brain tried to put into thoughts whatever was left of the dream.

Kairi opened a single eye, gazing at him with understanding. She had grown used, in the past months, to his dreams and the subsequent writing/drawing that usually came from bad nights. Which was most nights.

Under his frantic hand, a broken picture of a circle, with some design on it, came into being. There were smaller circles on it and a blobby shape that he thought was supposed to resemble a human being, but he wasn’t sure. He was never sure with his dreams.

Finishing off his drawing by adding, for some reason, a key off in the corner, he dropped his pencil and relaxed.

“You okay?” Kairi finally asked, also sitting up, staring at the abandoned drawing, which she could only half see.

“Yes,” Sora replied softly, closing the journal and all the drawings it held. Many of them were the same, a circle with designs on it, but others instead depicted a key in great detail, while others still showed places. Impossible structures built on the water, a great castle in the middle of nowhere, and an empty pure white city.

“Nightmare?” Kairi inquired, looking out the window. Dawn, as she suspected.

“No, not that bad,” Sora responded. “Just strange.” The true bad days were where he woke up choking on screams because he dreamed of monstrous black creatures with yellow eyes and the destruction they left behind. “Did I wake you?”

Kairi shook her head. “No, I was supposed to be up anyway.” Sora nodded, finally pushing the covers off his body and standing. The pounding of his heart had slowed by now, and instead he was left with the faintest traces of a dream fading away. For some reason, he always felt… sad as the dreams faded away. Like he was supposed to remember them, but couldn’t, and that was a bad thing.

A knock on the door brought his attention back to here and now, and with Kairi’s greeting, the door swung open, revealing Terra.

“Atlantica,” he said as explanation and raised an eyebrow at Kairi. “Still asleep?” He asked her. She shook her head.

“Nope, just a late start.” Terra nodded and stepped out, swinging the door shut behind him.

Kairi turned to him. “You going to be okay?” She asked, no doubt thinking of the few truly bad dreams that left him shaking and staying in his cabin for the whole day. He nodded.

“I promise,” he told her, trying to put confidence into his words. He picked up his journal from where it had been left on his covers and turned to his nightstand, opening the drawer. Pushing aside The Children of Daybreak Town, which he had been (re)reading the night prior, he placed his journal back down at the bottom of the drawer. Hidden from the rest of the world.

~

By the time Sora entered the deck and greeted the rest of the crew, his dream had fled from his mind and thoughts, leaving behind nothing.

His spirits continued to soar as he saw the telltale colorful, twisted towers that signaled the coast town of Atlantica.

Ventus was sitting on the ground against the mast, looking half-awake while Riku and Vanitas were up in the crow’s nest. Well, Riku was in the crow’s nest and Vanitas was halfway out on the main sail rigging, standing on top of wood and hanging onto one of ropes, keeping him tethered.

Sora winced. Either Vanitas had a truly bad nightmare for him to separate himself more than he usually did up in the crow’s nest, or Ventus had a nightmare.

One thing Sora had learned once Ven and Vanitas had opened up some about their life was that Ven remembered nothing of his first ten years of life. And while Vanitas did, he certainly wasn’t telling Ven, simply stating that it was better he didn’t remember. But the repressed memories Ven had to have sometimes bubbled up in nightmares that Ven didn’t remember once he woke but were scary and terrifying enough that Ven often woke some if not all of them with his screaming. Usually, he was screaming for Vanitas or for someone to hide or get out of the way.

Vanitas answered none of their questions about what the hell had happened to the brothers before they were found by Leon and what Ven screamed at night gave them no answers to what happened so the rest of the crew remained firmly in the dark. Sometimes at night, Sora laid awake and wondered how Vanitas could stand to be around the rest of them and act so normally, or his definition of normal, when something clearly horrible had happened to him and his brother, and he didn’t have the comfort of amnesia like Ven had. And while Vanitas was far from welcoming and warm like the rest of them, he still put up with their antics most of the time. He and Kairi had the longstanding theory that it was for Ven more than anything. It honestly seemed like Vanitas would do anything for Ven.

Due to the fact that Sora and Kairi hadn’t been woken up by screams, Sora assumed Vanitas was probably the one who had the nightmare. And even if Ven’s nightmares were scary, listening to him scream with no way to wake him, Vanitas’s were scarier, the one time Sora had witnessed one, because his were silent.

Vanitas had gone extremely rigid in his sleep and just shook, minute tremors warping up and down his body. His face screwed up and silent tears poured down his face as his hands clenched and unclenched. It had been one of the scariest things the younger Sora had seen and had cemented Aqua’s “no sneaking into Vanitas and Ven’s room” rule for the whole ship.

Hearing Kairi’s small noise from beside him, he pulled his thoughts back and he saw out of the corner of his eye Kairi staring up at Vanitas as well. She also knew what that must mean.

“Just ignore it,” Sora told her quietly. “You know how he gets when we try to bring it up.” Kairi turned to him and nodded shortly. He knew it bothered her to no end that she couldn’t help Vanitas like she could help the rest of the ship, but they had both given up, even Kairi. If Vanitas ever wanted their help, he would ask for it.

Kairi split off from him, heading to where Ven was relaxing and poking him until he showed signs that he was indeed awake and not sleeping again. Sora hurried to the front of the ship, looking out for any signs of Ariel. The older girl was often found in the ocean surrounding her home, always finding comfort in the water, and Sora had seen her a few times they had come into port, no matter how early it was.

“What are you looking for?” Riku asked from behind him, and Sora jumped three feet in the air, spitting out a noise of surprise and spinning around to face the older boy. Said boy looked at him with an expression of deep surprise, as if taken aback by his shock.

“Riku!” Sora shrieked, slapping a hand to his chest in a move that was touch dramatic, Sora would admit. “Don’t scare me like that!” He hadn’t realized Riku had climbed down from the crow’s nest.

Riku’s face split into a small smile that almost made Sora smile back, expect he was supposed to be mad at Riku. “Oh, did I scare you?” He asked in a teasing tone. Sora grumbled under his breath as his heart slowed from its frantic race and crossed his arms, looking away. Riku laughed slightly at his antics and Sora couldn’t help the smile that finally grew upon his own face at Riku’s laugh. The awkwardness that had come between them a week and a half ago at Traverse Town had caused Sora extreme alarm and he had deliberated late into that night about how to make it up to Riku.

But he apparently hadn’t needed to worry, because the next day Riku had acted like nothing had happened at all. No worries, Riku had told him when eventually Sora snapped and asked him why he wasn’t more upset. Riku had shot him a smile that was clearly plastic and brittle. Things like that just happen sometimes. His smiles and interactions had turned more real over the next two days and now, after so many days, it was like it had never happened at all.

And yes, Sora knew that was unhealthy and a coping mechanism that wasn’t sustainable, but he was just happy he hadn’t ruined his relationship with Riku. And while he was aware Kairi had snuck down into Riku’s cabin after the fight, there had been no change in the way Riku or Kairi interacted with each other, so he had been forced to admit defeat and hadn’t pestered Kairi on what had happened. Much.

“Sora!” A voice called from down below and Sora spun around with a big smile as Ariel poked her head out of the water, shoving her red hair out of the way, and waved to him, something Sora copied with much enthusiasm.

“Ariel!” He shouted, leaning over the railing as far as he could go without falling off the ship. “We’re back!”

“I can see that,” she giggled out, swimming as close as she dared to a moving ship. “Are you bringing the supplies?”

“Yep!” Kairi shouted from the other railing, leaning over to wave at Ariel as well. Ven stood next to her, looking slightly upset, but much more awake.

“Is this Ariel?” Riku asked Sora quietly from behind him. Sora nodded, turning to look at the newest crewmember.

“That’s right, you haven’t met her!” With that, he turned back to the sea. “Ariel! We have a new crewmember!” He shouted before grabbing Riku by the fabric of his jacket and dragging him forward slightly, something he regretted instantly as he knew how Riku would react but didn’t allow it to slow him down. “This is Riku!” He released him, keeping a close eye on the older boy but relaxing when there was no outside change except for Riku freezing up for a few seconds.

“Hi Riku!” Ariel shouted, waving at the silverette. Riku hesitantly waved back. Ariel waved once more to him before turning back to Sora. “I’ll see you in town,” she called before diving under the water and disappearing as fast as a fish.

“Should we be worried about her?” Riku asked quietly, clearly trying to find her in the water.

Sora shook his head. “She’ll be fine. She’s an accomplished enough swimmer that she wouldn’t get hit by a boat, much less one as big as ours. She knows these waters well.” Riku shot him a doubtful look but was obviously trying to believe him as he tore his gaze away from the water and instead to the dock of Atlantica, which was just coming into view.

The twisted and colorful towers of Atlantica dotted the cliffs surrounding the town, which was also designed with the same palette in mind. Sora loved how pretty Atlantica was, and he knew Kairi felt the same.

A few fishing boats, which were just getting their start out on the day, waved to them as they passed, and Sora waved back to as many as he could as Aqua guided them in. Vanitas hadn’t moved from his perch on the sail and Sora highly doubted he would for the rest of the day, so he and Kairi silently conversed about who would take his crates ashore.

When the ship docked and the gangplank placed between it and the dock, Sora smiled and hurried off board as the running form of Ariel circled the corner and headed for the ship, her hair still dripping water behind her.

She caught him in a big hug, hugging him tightly. It had been a few months since their later meeting and they both enjoyed each other’s company. Ariel, being the youngest of seven, had never a chance to act like an older sister before Sora had come with Terra and Aqua to deliver the supplies from Traverse Town and Sora had been too worried in the beginning to see Aqua as an older sister figure, due to the fact that she also controlled Sora’s food and water intake. The two of them had become fast friends and it was Ariel who had taught Sora to swim all those years ago, after she learned he was now living on a boat and didn’t know how to. And as the years passed and the months between their meetings were long, neither of them changed how they felt or interacted with the other.

“It’s great to see you Ariel,” Sora said, once the nineteen-year-old released him.

“It’s wonderful to see you as well,” Ariel responded, ruffling his hair. He huffed good naturedly at her and attempted to return his hairstyle back to its normal shape, which wasn’t much neater than it was after Ariel mussed it up.

“Yep, it’s-” Whatever Sora was about to say to her was derail when he noticed the flower in her hair. She had just gotten out of the water so the only way the flower would have been there was if she put it there herself and if she had been rushing to see Sora why would she put it there unless…

“Ariel!” Sora exclaimed. “Are you seeing someone?” His knowledge of Atlantica customs was small, mostly due to things Ariel said in passing, but he knew that if a woman or man had a flower in their hair, specifically if they placed it there deliberately, it meant that they were courting someone.

Ariel blushed, which answered Sora’s question for itself. “Maybe,” she said bashfully. Sora laughed slightly at her embarrassment.

“So, who’s the lucky guy or girl?” He asked, peering at her with playful eyes.

She sighed. “I should have known I couldn’t keep it from you. You were bound to notice.” She laughed before smiling back at him. “It’s Eric.” Sora couldn’t help the happy noise that he made or the small claps he made. In the past couple years, Ariel had been besotted with the slightly older boy, lamenting all her woes to Sora the few times he had been there, knowing that there wasn’t a chance for her affections to become known, due to the fact that Sora didn’t live there.

“You finally said something to him?” Sora asked with happiness. Even though Ariel had been enchanted with him, she had never managed to work up the courage to talk to him.

“Kinda?” Ariel said. “He was out on his family boat when it hit a rough patch and he fell overboard. I rescued him.”

“That’s great!” Sora laughed. “And he started talking to you?”

Ariel nodded. “Yep. We started spending more time together and one thing led to another and well…” She gestured to the flower in her hair. “Ta da!”

“Good,” Sora proclaimed firmly. “Good for you, good for him.” Ariel smiled again but stepped to the side in order to hug Kairi, who had also come out of the ship behind him.

“Hello Kairi,” Ariel said to the younger girl. While Kairi’s and Ariel’s relationship hadn’t been as deep as Sora’s and Ariel’s in the first couple years, the past couple visits it had become clear that the two of them had become closer, both of them disappearing for hours at a time for what Kairi called “girl talk.” Sora didn’t understand it and had no interest in finding out what they were talking about.

“Ariel, you’re seeing someone!” Kairi shrieked and as Ariel went on to the same explanation she had given Sora, the boy turned and headed back up the dock to help Terra, Aqua, and Riku move the supplies off the boat. He could see Ven up in the crow’s nest, talking with Vanitas across the gap between them. He hoped Ven could persuade Vanitas to come down at least for dinner to eat and drink.

Dragging one of the crates off the ship, he smiled when he noticed Ariel and Riku conversing with Kairi standing near them. He was glad Riku was getting to meet Ariel. Dropping off the crate and letting off a quick greeting to Ariel’s father, who was coming up the dock to pay for the shipment, he hurried back to where the teenagers were talking.

Riku turned to him as he appeared and smiled, a slightly teasing look in his eye. “So, what’s this I’m hearing about a show last year?” He asked Ariel oh-so-innocently. Sora jolted before glaring at Riku sulkily, feeling his cheeks heat up. Which, he didn’t know why they were. He wasn’t ashamed of performing with Ariel. It had been really fun actually but the idea of Riku asking about it…

He groaned as Ariel laughed again, clapping one of her hands to her mouth, as she looked at Sora with a particular look in her eyes that Sora couldn’t place.

“Oh, he told you about that?” She asked, giggling more at Sora’s look of betrayal.

“In passing,” Riku shrugged. “But clearly it was such as memorable occasion…?” Sora groaned again and buried his face in his hands, causing Riku, Kairi, and Ariel to laugh, which in turn caused Sora to, just by the fact that the others were happy, so he was happy.

“Why do you want to know?” Ariel asked, stifling her laughter.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Riku said, clearly knowing damn well why he wanted to ask. “Maybe I’d like to listen to your performance someday.”

“Rikuuuuuu…” Sora groaned, reburying his face in his hands. But he couldn’t keep up the embarrassed act when he heard Riku’s laugh. He laughed along with him.

Chapter Text

Ariel was like what Riku pictured Noi to act like when she was older and had more confidence. Endlessly caring for the younger kids, while having enough wit and humor to not grow bored.

Ariel had effectively taken him “under her wing (or flipper, as Sora liked to joke)” once it became clear The Wayfinder was going to spend a few days at the Atlantica port. And, of course, the first thing she asked him was if he could swim.

He told her that he could, which wasn’t even a lie. He just had to learn it in desperation with an okay instructor, despite the fact that they lived in a desert, Shiki, so his form wasn’t the greatest.

The first morning of their time in port had finally introduced Riku to the concept that Sora had mentioned all the way back during his first day on the ship. The concept of the younger kids teaming up to raise actual hell on the adults.

Riku had been woken, an hour before dawn, by a quiet but consistent knocking on his door. When he had finally answered it, he had been greeted by the absolutely terrifying grins on Kairi’s, Sora’s, and Ven’s faces. Riku blurrily realized that this was the most awake he had ever seen Ven be before noon.

Following this, Riku had been dragged silently all throughout the ship as the other teenagers prepared their different pranks on Aqua and Terra. When Riku inquired about Vanitas, they said they did usually prank him but only once he was fully awake and aware. They didn’t want to think of the consequences of startling a half-awake Vanitas.

Their pranking preparation session ended once Ariel gave Sora a net full of fake fish (why she had that, Riku didn’t know and was far too scared to ask), allowing Sora to set up the final prank, which wouldn’t go off until late at night. Apparently, days like these took plenty of planning and timing. Riku was glad he was sixteen and thus, on Sora’s and Kairi’s team. Because their pranks were terrifying.

In order to fully witness their first prank, the four teenagers scrambled up the rigging, settling down into the netting of ropes around the main mast and sail.

And Riku didn’t know how he did it, but somehow Sora had managed to rig the prank, so it didn’t go off when Vanitas entered the deck. Vanitas entered the deck, spotted the four teenager shaped shadows, lit by the dawn light and hiding on the mast, and promptly turned and took a seat up by the steering wheel, far out of the range of the first couple pranks. (But not the later ones)

However, the prank did go off when Terra walked out into the open light, leaving him drenched from a bucket of cold water attached to a tripwire. And hearing the four teenagers crack up at his great impression of a drenched cat, Terra simply hung his head and Riku could hear him mutter about it “being one of those days”.

And maybe it was the fact that Vanitas’s rarely heard laughter also pealed out across the dawn, that Terra was so chill with the fact that he was now wet and had to return to his cabin to change his outfit. And he had clearly warned Aqua, as she came edging out onto the deck much more cautiously, checking for tripwires and hidden buckets. But she should have known that Kairi and Sora wouldn’t be so amateur to do the same prank twice.

Which is why she instead got hit with a packet full of colored smoke provided by Ariel.

And this was just the beginning.

Over the course of the next couple hours, Terra got confetti exploded in his face no less than five times, Aqua found that they had coated the handle to the closet in glue, the fake foam spider scared the living daylights out of Terra, and Vanitas got confused when they kept putting an apple where it had already been taken. And of course, all of this was laid over with the sound of the kids’ laughter.

By noon time, all the kids’ stomachs hurt from laughter, and they had to strategically retreat into Sora and Kairi’s room to avoid the revenge seeking Aqua.

“That was great,” Ven forced out past his laughter. He was lying eagle spread on floor between the two beds, a stolen pillow clutched to his chest. Sora was sitting on his own bed, now missing a pillow, after he had thrown it at Ven, and it had been subsequently stolen. Kairi was on her own bed, sharing it with Riku, who was sitting at the foot of it, one leg slung over the back board.

“Agreed,” Kairi smiled.

“Definitely some of our best yet,” Sora mused. “Ariel got us a lot of materials we usually didn’t have.” Riku couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped past his lips at that.

“And here I was thinking she was supposed to be the good influence on Kairi and Ven,” he snickered. “You two truly need it too balance out the scales but perhaps Ariel was instead corrupted by Sora.”

“Hey!” The fifteen-year-old exclaimed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, Riku’s kinda right,” Kairi said. “You’re always the one with the bad ideas.”

“Hey!” Sora instead turned to Kairi. She laughed, covering her mouth with one of her hands. Ven opened his mouth, no doubt to add to the conversation, probably to the detriment of Sora, but he never got the chance to speak.

A great crash and clatter came from above them, followed by the sound of several rolling objects.

Sora nodded sagely. “Ah. That’ll be the barrels Kairi stacked up.”

That set them all off again.

~

Finally, as the sun sank down into the water, the last prank went off, causing Aqua and Vanitas to be pelted by the fake fish provided by Ariel. And to the joy of the adults, this ended the day of pranks that had haunted them so.

Hearing Vanitas’s grumbling words, Riku decided to make another skillful retreat, retreating to his room attempting to get a good night’s sleep.

But nightmares had other ideas.

“Silverette? Where’d you go?” Riku whipped his head around.

“Beat?” He questioned, trying to see anything beyond the gloom. The shadows and fog twisted around him, reforming around his hands instantaneously as he swiped them through it. “Beat, where are you?” The older boy didn’t respond and Riku felt his heart drop to his stomach. Silence wasn’t a good thing. It was how they lost Rhyme after all.

“Riku?”

“Shiki?” He ventured a few steps forward into the darkness. If his friends were there, he had to find them. He just had to be careful not to fall. Collapsing floors had been a problem in the past.

“Riku, you left.” That was Neku. But… he didn’t leave them. He didn’t leave Neku. If anything, Neku had left them. Left Shiki to worry incessantly about everyone else’s health instead of her own, left Beat to take up the role of leader, left Joshua to fall further and further into a spiral of passive suicidality and apathy.

No, that wasn’t nice of him. Neku hadn’t chose to leave, he had di-

“Riku!” Shiki’s voice sounded panicked.

“What happened? Where are you?” He called back. He had to find them, had to protect them. Like he hadn’t been able to. He had to-

Riku sat up with a gasp, pressing one hand to his mouth on instinct while the other one forced itself into a fist. He panted, fear shooting through him as the nightmare continued to bleed into the waking world.

He shoved the covers off, trying not to look at the walls because they kept flickering. Keeping his right hand clenched in a fist, he pushed his door open and stumbled out into the hallway, feeling his way blindly down the hallway. Beat walked beside him, his usual grin on his face that was reserved for nights huddled around campfires or-

Riku tripped his way onto the deck, snapping his head up to stare out at the stars. Of course, that didn’t make him feel better either, but it was better than the claustrophobia inducing hallways.

Forcing his shaking legs to move him a little further, he stumbled until he reached the railing before collapsing against it, pressing his forehead into the smooth railing. His knees gave out and he kneeled on the ground, wrapping both of his hands around the railing as another extra measure. He took in breaths, trying to hold them like Neku had taught him, trying to stave off the panic attack he knew was coming.

“Riku?” He snapped his head up at the voice, and turned as best he could, still kneeling on the deck, and saw Terra coming up from the staircase, a concerned look on his face. The light from the moon made his hair look white.

He wanted to say something, wanted to shove himself up and put back on the mask he had spent the last couple of months creating but he couldn’t. The dream was still wrapping around him, clinging to him like water, and the dream only served to highlight the already painful memories he tried to keep back.

“Hey Riku,” Terra says, taking steps forward when he seems to realize that Riku wasn’t going to respond. “It’s okay,” Terra told him softly and the more cynical part of Riku scoffed. It’s not okay. It’s never okay. “Everything’s fine.” But at the same time, the part of him that never truly grew up couldn’t help but relax, couldn’t help the way Terra’s words comforted him.

Turning his head back around to place his forehead back down on the railing, he wasn’t completely aware enough to not jump when Terra hesitantly placed his hand on Riku’s back. Terra’s hand retreated ever so slightly, but when Riku didn’t have an adverse effect to it, it settled more firmly against his back.

And Riku was grateful for it. The hand on his back served as another thing to anchor him. Another thing to focus on that wasn’t his, now no longer rising, panic.

“Nightmares?” Terra asked softly once Riku’s breathing had returned to a mostly normal pace. Riku debated saying nothing, but Terra had already helped him even when he didn’t have to.

“Yeah,” he replied just as quietly, voice rough. He looked up, staring at the lights that dotted Atlantica. Even as late as it was, there was going to be someone awake.

“Anything I can do?” Terra asked, finally removing his hand. Some part of Riku missed it. Riku shook his head.

“I'll live,” he said. “I’ve had worse ones before.” He could already imagine the face Terra had to be making at that, but the older man didn’t say anything.

“Okay,” Terra replied. Riku got the feeling that if they had spent more time together and gotten to know each other more, Terra would push more, but thankfully he didn’t, simply patted Riku on the shoulder. “You know, you’re not the only one on this boat to have dreams about those you couldn’t save.” Riku’s head shot up at this and he turned quickly, lifting his head to meet Terra’s gaze.

“How…?” He questioned and he didn’t even blame himself for his loss of words.

“The look in your eyes,” Terra admitted. “I’ve seen it both on Vanitas and in the mirror.”

“Oh,” Riku said softly, not expecting it to go that way.

“I’m always here, if you need to talk,” Terra offered before walking a few steps away, heading back to the stairs.

“Terra,” Riku called out and the first mate turned back to look at Riku. “…Thanks.” Terra dipped his head in a nod and gave Riku a gentle smile before leaving. Riku turned back to the view. He hadn’t been expecting that.

~

It didn’t truly surprise him that he didn’t manage to get back to sleep that night. He usually couldn’t after nightmares. What did surprise him however was a few hours later, as the sun was just starting to rise, Sora came out onto the deck, with dark circles under his eyes. Last night had just been a night more nightmares apparently. That had to be the only explanation. Sora was up earlier than Vanitas.

“Good morning, Riku,” he slurred out, clearly still half asleep. Riku didn’t know if he envied Sora or not, for clearly being able to continue sleeping, even if having nightmares.

“Good morning, Sora,” he replied, and Sora walked towards him, placing a hand on the railing a few feet away from Riku and swinging himself onto it to sit on the edge. Riku couldn’t help the little jump his heart made in fear. He worried Sora would fall, especially with how tired he was. He apparently made a noise because Sora turned his head to look at him and saw the look on his face.

Sora smiled at him, a small smile that was meant to be reassuring, before twisting back around to stare out at Atlantica. Riku took an unsure step forward. Even though Sora had greeted him, he didn’t know if Sora wanted to be alone at the time. He seemed more… melancholy than Riku had ever seen him.

“You can sit,” Sora called back, without turning around. He instead shuffled a little on the railing, freeing up more space for Riku to sit. Mentally shrugging, Riku stepped forward and swung himself over the railing as well, settling down.

Atlantica was beautiful in the morning. The sun rose behind it, casting long yellow sunbeams down the roofs, lighting up the colorful wall while also keeping part of it in shadow. It reminded him of a painting.

“Atlantica reminds me of my hometown,” Sora said suddenly, not looking at Riku. He reached out with one hand towards Atlantica, moving it as if to try and grab onto to the view of the city.

“Radiant Garden?” Riku asked uncertainly. He supposed he really shouldn’t assume. Just because they had friends in Radiant Garden didn’t mean they were from there.

Sora shook his head. “No, I was born somewhere else.” His voice was low and quiet. “I think, at least. My earliest memories are of being on a boat, stuck in a storm, no one but Kairi and I on it.” Riku started at that, turning to stare at Sora, who was still stubbornly not looking away from Atlantica. “I have… glimpses in my head, of a beachside town, colorful buildings and friendly people but nothing concrete. I could be imagining it all.” He sighed, looking down to his lap and dropping his hand. “All my other memories are of Radiant Garden.”

“I’m… sorry?” Riku tried, not really knowing what to say in response to that. Sora shook his head.

“Don’t be,” he said. “It’s just what happened. I’ve long since accepted it. I honestly don’t know if Kairi remembers it or not. She could just have memories of Radiant Garden.”

“Why don’t you ask her?” Riku asked quietly. Sora sighed again.

“I guess, when I was younger, it never occurred to me to ask if she had the same memories as me. And, once we got on the ship, I realized I could try and find the town I came from, perhaps. There are only so many oceans and coasts. But when Kairi didn’t show the same drive to find all the towns of the coast, it started to occur to me that she might not remember. And now I don’t know how to tell her. We already had a hard childhood. I think she came to terms with the fact that she didn’t have parents. I don’t want to reopen that wound.”

Riku hummed in acknowledgement. Sora’s reasoning, as a young child then teenager, made some sense but why…?

“Why are you telling me this?” He asked Sora, trying to search Sora’s eyes for an answer. But the younger teen was still facing out to the town and Riku didn’t have the heart to try and move him.

“I don’t know,” the boy said. “Maybe I just want to tell someone and you’re the least likely to judge me. We’ve known each other for the least amount of time.”

And Riku… Riku didn’t know why he said what he said next. Maybe it was just because Sora had already shared something personal with him. Maybe it was because he just felt more comfortable around Sora but…

“I have two little sisters,” Riku whispered out and Sora finally turned at this, whipping his head around to stare at Riku. “I have two younger sisters and I don’t know where they are. Or… I don’t know where I am.”

“Riku…” Sora trailed off.

“I’m… I’m trying to get back to them. That’s why I joined your crew.” Riku didn’t look at Sora. “I thought, traveling around the ocean, I might find a landmark I’m familiar with. Anything to show me my way back to them.”

Riku jumped slightly as Sora’s hand rested on his arm. He turned and saw Sora’s blue eyes staring into his.

“I’ll help you,” Sora said. “I’ll help you find your way home. I promise.”

Riku sucked in a breath. “Are-Are you sure?” He asked. “I don’t know how far away I am but-” Sora shook his head.

“I don’t care, I’m helping.” Riku suddenly moved forward and pulled Sora into a hug. His brain was already yelling at him, asking him What in star’s names was he doing? But he couldn’t help it. Sora squeaked in surprise.

Three years. Three years of fighting to survive and he finally escaped and one of the first people he meets says he’ll help him, without even having a third of the story. Sue him for being happy.

Maybe Leon had been right when he said he would fit in.

~

Roxas’s Keyblade came clashing down on Xion’s, the ringing sound rippling through the empty training room. He and Xion were still waiting for Axel to come in for the day, so the two of them decided to practice. And he thought they were doing better, if he said so himself.

Xion twisted Oathkeeper, ducking under his second strike and sliding forward so that she had a shot on his unprotected back, but Roxas dropped to one knee, banishing Oblivion and rolling forward, out of her range. He could hear her huff of annoyance. I won’t make it that easy, his mind snarked at her good-naturedly.

Claps rang through the room and Xion banished her own Keyblade as Roxas stood, both of them turning to the door to see Axel leaning against the wall, smiling at them. The marks under his eyes glowed in the light.

“How long have you been watching?” Xion asked, raising an eyebrow before stopping and biting her lip. Roxas frowned. He never understood Xion’s unease of the Keyblade Master. Axel was just Axel, sarcastic and laid back, yes, but not scary. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t grown up with him.

“Long enough to see you’re both improving greatly,” Axel said, pushing himself off the wall to walk toward them.

“Close to you yet, Axel?” Roxas asked with a laugh.

“Nah,” the Keyblade Master answered, completely serious. “Maybe in a few more years. Now, try that spar again and Roxas, be a little more aware of the world around you. There could be more than one enemy one day.” Roxas nodded and he and Xion turned to face each other, both summoning their Keyblades and dropping to ready positions.

Their Keyblades clashed together again, sound ringing through empty air. And the Strings looked back, watching.

Chapter Text

Kairi was beginning to feel that she was missing something. After the day of pranks that had been their first day in the Atlantica port, she had barely seen head or tail of Sora and Riku, and that was extremely difficult due to being on a boat. She had checked with Vanitas. Neither of them had left, so they were just hiding somewhere. Without her.

So, she did what she had started to do whenever she had trouble with Sora and ran to find Ariel.

The older girl had been in the cove a mile or so off the docks, checking in on the coral reef that lived there.

Kairi knocked against the rocks lining the beach, despite the fact that it didn’t make that much noise. It was a joke between her and Ariel.

“Ariel, are you here?” She called out. The older girl’s head popped up from under the waves.

“Kairi?” She asked, swimming closer to the beach. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” Kairi said, taking a seat on the beach. The water washed over her feet, after she took off her shoes and left them on a drier part of the sand. It was clear enough that she could see the sand beneath the waves and she placed one of her hands in the water, letting the waves wash up to her wrist. Ariel pulled herself out of the water and settled down next to her, pulling her hair back into a ponytail to keep it out of her face and replaced Eric’s flower.

“About Sora?” Ariel sounded sympathetic but not surprised. Which made sense. Kairi had already had several conversations with the girl about Sora and her feelings for him.

“Yes and no,” Kairi sighed. “What could have caused him to start hiding in corners of the ship with Riku?”

Ariel started. “When you phrase it that way…”

“NO, no, no!” Kairi exclaimed. “I didn’t-I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t think they’re like that! They’re just friends, I think.”

“Kairi, take a deep breath,” Ariel told the younger girl, placing her hands on her shoulders. “I’m sure it’s nothing like that. I was just teasing. It might have been in bad taste.” Kairi nodded, taking the ordered deep breath.

Kairi’s relationship with Ariel had been cordial for most of her life. She never gravitated toward the older girl like Sora had. To be honest, she had never gravitated towards anyone outside the ship. She had her little family, forged through challenge and conversation, and she didn’t need anyone else.

She had Terra and Aqua as her older siblings/parents. Vanitas was the older brother/cousin, who was more fun than the parents were, and Ven was her brother, someone with whom she could share her laughter, time, and ideas with. Just like Sora.

Until she sat up one day at 14 and realized she had a crush on Sora.

She didn’t want to be a sister to him, she didn’t want to be a friend. She wanted to be Sora’s someone, his partner in whatever faced him. She wanted the two of them to be together forever.

This was when her relationship with Ariel truly started. She didn’t feel like she could talk to Aqua about it, not when they could be so easily overheard and when Aqua interacted with Sora every single day. So instead, she sought out Ariel on their next trip to Atlantica. Ariel was the only other older girl she really knew.

Ariel had been surprisingly kind to her when she admitted why exactly she wanted to talk to her. She had sat Kairi down and helped her talk through her feelings, figure out when they started and what they truly entailed.

And since then, Kairi had always tried to make an effort to find her when they were in port and talk to her. Whether it be about what they had seen while gone or, more commonly, about how her feelings for Sora were changing and developing.

In the beginning, she had hoped that her feelings would fade with time once it became clear that Sora didn’t see her that way at all. She hoped they would turn back into friendship and allow her to continue with her life without worrying that she was going to slip up and reveal something.

No such luck.

“I’m just confused,” she confessed to Ariel, hand tracing lines in the wet sand. The waves continued to create a white canvas for her to draw on. “They didn’t act like this at all in the couple weeks we’ve been at sea. If anything, Riku was actively pushing away Sora.” She frowned. “Well, he was pushing away everyone.”

Ariel nodded. “Well, it makes sense for you to be confused. This is a change in behavior for both of them.” She smiled slightly. “Why don’t you just ask him?”

Kairi sputtered protests.

“Hear me out,” the older girl requested. “You don’t know Riku that well, yes, but you do know Sora. It just might not have occurred to him to tell you whatever they were getting up to.”

Kairi couldn’t help the slight chuckle at that. It was very true that Sora had a… less than reliable memory, especially when concerning things that he had to tell people.

“But… what if they’re deliberately keeping it from me?” she asked, tugging her legs up to her chest to wrap her arms around them. She pressed her right cheek to her knee, looking away from Ariel to instead focus on the cave wall.

“What if they aren’t?” Ariel countered. “You never know until you ask.”

Kairi sighed. She could see Ariel’s point. She had a habit of looking on the pessimistic side of life, a habit that Ariel was trying to break her out of.

“I’m just worried.” The argument sounded weak even to her ears, but she couldn’t help it. It was the truth. She was worried that Sora had found a new friend in Riku and was going to leave her for him.

“You can’t stop worry, not completely and especially not for something that means so much to you,” Ariel told her softly, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. “You can only try to mitigate it.” Kairi lifted her head to look at Ariel. “By asking him. I’ll be here if you need a shoulder to cry on.”

Kairi smiled at this, sniffling slightly before standing up, brushing the sand off her dress and leggings. “Thanks Ariel,” she said, smiling. She walked a couple of feet up towards the entrance, grabbing her shoes as she went, hopping on one foot after another to place them back on.

“Of course.” With that, Kairi turned, hurrying out of the cove, running back to the ship.

“Vanitas!” She called as she crossed the gangplank, looking up at the crow’s nest to see the twenty-year-old. “Have you seen Riku or Sora?”

“Nope,” he called back. “They’re probably below.” She nodded in thanks and headed down the stairs, resolving to check her room first.

Of course, they weren’t there but that narrowed down the searching area. Checking all the crooks and crannies in the ship (and finding Ven curled up asleep under a crate, she would never understand how he could just sleep no matter what situation he was in) she was forced to admit they were probably in the one place she hadn’t been checking the past couple days. Riku’s room.

Walking over to knock on the door, she was vividly reminded of their interaction a few days ago. Was the way she had pressed Riku the reason they weren’t telling her anything?

She knocked then started cursing herself violently in her head. What was she thinking? What if she was wrong?

Sora opened the door. Question answered, the sarcastic part of her brain thought.

“Kairi?” He asked in confusion. “Why are you knocking on Riku’s door?”

“I want to know what has gotten the two of you so busy the past couple of days,” she said, trying to push whatever misplaced bravery she had.

“’Gotten us busy’?” Sore repeated, trying and failing for an innocent tone. “Kairi, I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’ve just been…”

She raised an eyebrow at him as he trailed off. “You’re a horrible liar, Sora,” she deadpanned.

“She’s right.” Came the voice of Riku from deeper in the room, unseen. “Just let her in Sora, we’ve hit a roadblock. Perhaps she can help.” Sora shrugged, pulling the door wider for Kairi to step through.

Riku was sitting on his bed, looking at the papers scattered around it. From what Kairi could see they were a mix of maps and star charts.

“Star charts?” She asked. Unlike her, Sora had never been really interested in the stars or their symbolisms and meanings. To her, they were wonderful things to study. While Sora entertained himself with the stories of the Keyblade Warriors form the past, she sought out the stars.

Riku sighed. “The truth is, Sora’s been helping me search for my home.”

Kairi blinked. While that was something Sora would definitely help with, he was that good of a person, that implied…

“You don’t know where it is?”

“Well, I know where it is, I simply don’t know where I am in regards to it.” Riku sighed again, dropping the paper he was holding and covering his eyes for a second. “A couple years ago, the ship I was on sank, scattering the crew, me included, across the seas. I had hoped that being on a ship would someone how help me end up near somewhere I knew but… that would take a long time. Sora offered to help me try and find it instead by referencing the constellation I knew with where they could be found on a land map, but we’ve had no luck so far.”

Kairi couldn’t help the sting in her heart when she heard this. Of course, Riku would have been quiet about his past if he had lost his home in a shipwreck. While she had never experienced that, having lived at Radiant Garden her whole life, she couldn’t imagine the pain that must be. And a couple days ago, the name he called her… “Shiki”, perhaps someone he knew. Perhaps someone he had lost in that shipwreck.

“Well, you should have told me,” she said, brushing away the slight hurt that was still in the back of her head. Why hadn’t they told her? Why had they left her to flounder in the dark, letting her mind create worst case scenarios? “Sora’s hopeless at constellations.”

Ignoring Sora’s squawk of offence and Riku’s small smile that curved past his lip, she walked forward taking a seat across from Riku on his bed, picking up one of the star charts.

“Do you have names for these constellations?” She asked, looking quickly over the land maps they had out. They had somehow managed to find enough that they seemed to have the whole world in paper. Kairi wondered where they got the maps from. Maybe from Aqua’s room?

“Yes, but I think the names we had for them would be different then what you have for them.” Riku sounded sheepish. “My home… hasn’t been in contact with the outside world in a while. We simply prefer to keep to ourselves.” Kairi nodded at this.

“Well, that makes it harder, but not impossible. What do you have so far?”

~

That night, she was certain she was going to be dreaming of stars and land masses due to how long she had spent with Riku and Sora going over them.

They had made some progress. There were indeed some star constellations that looked similar to the constellations Riku had known, but Kairi couldn’t help the confusion that swirled in her head, unvoiced. Those constellations were over an empty ocean, with no land mass to be seen for hundreds of miles. How could Riku have lived there?

Not for the first time, a thought passed through her brain. She had long accepted that Riku wasn't going to tell them everything. It was understandable but at the same time… Riku’s stories made no sense. While his ship could have sunk and left him on the mainland, why didn’t he try to find his home before now instead of several years later? And that didn’t explain his panic attacks or adverse nature to touch.

Riku wasn’t telling them the truth. But then… what was the truth?

And why did Riku feel like he had to hide it?

“Ready to sleep?” She asked Sora when she noticed the boy rubbing his eyes for the fifth time in as many minutes. He looked at her before nodding slowly, stifling a yawn. “Go get ready. I’ll organize these.” Riku had left a minute earlier to take their plates from dinner back to the kitchen.

“You sure?” Sora asked. “I can help.”

“Go sleep before you break something,” Kairi told him. “That’s how you can help.” Sora gave her a look but after another yawn threatened to overtake him, he nodded quietly.

“See you in the morning,” Sora said, and Kairi nodded. She had no doubt that Sora would be asleep by the time she entered their room. He already hadn’t slept well the night before and they had stayed up kind of late. He would be out the second his head hit the pillow.

Standing up so she could reach all the star charts, she started sorting them by region, making sure not to mix the star charts and the land maps.

“Where’s Sora go?” Riku asked, startling her and she turned to face him. She hadn’t heard him walk up to the door.

“To sleep,” she informed him, turning back to place one of her piles on Riku’s desk. “Where’d you get these maps anyway?”

“Sora got them,” Riku admitted and when she turned back around, she saw him reaching down to pick up another one of her stacks. He passed it to her. “I don’t know where he got them from.”

“Probably stole them from the storage room or from Aqua’s room,” she said, placing Riku’s stack next to the one she had already put down. “That’s the only places I can think of.”

“Are we going to get in trouble for that?” Riku asked and Kairi shook her head. Even if Sora had taken them from Aqua’s room, she wasn’t going to get mad at him. Riku hummed at her answer, sitting on the floor to quickly finish up what Kairi had started, and Kairi paused. She could ask him now.

“Riku,” she started before she could stop herself and once the sound of sorting paper paused, she forced the words out. “Was there… a reason why you didn’t tell me what you and Sora were doing?”

For a second, there was silence, bordering on awkward, before Riku spoke.

“Yes, there was,” he told her, and she sighed. At least she knew she wasn’t being paranoid by assuming but…

“What was it?” She asked, still looking at the wall and not at Riku.

“I thought you hated me,” Riku admitted and all of Kairi’s thoughts screeched to a halt. Wait, what?

“Wait really?” She exclaimed, spinning around to face him. Riku paused, still holding a map, before narrowing his eyes slightly. “Where’d you get that idea?” Her mind went over all the interactions they’d had in the past couple of weeks. Had she done something wrong?

“You do realize how you acted when I came on board, right?” And Kairi understood that. She sighed before sitting on the floor across from him.

“Riku, I don’t hate you and I didn’t hate you then either.” She placed her hands in her lap and stared at them. “I was just… cautious of you. I didn’t trust you, though I don’t really trust anyone.” She curled her hands into fists. She didn’t want to talk about this but… Riku had to understand. “When Sora and I were little, someone said they were going to help us. They lied.” She closed her eyes, trying not to think of that night. Tried not to think of the blood and the screams and how she thought she was never going to see Sora again. “Nothing came of it, not really, but… I don’t really blindly trust people anymore. In my head, until I can prove it, everyone has to have another motive, everyone’s capable of hurting Sora and I and I was worried you were going to.”

She opened her eyes only to jump slightly when she noticed that Riku was closer than he had been, paper left abandoned on the ground.

“I get it,” he said quietly. “The way that it’s hard to trust people, though not for the reasons you have. What made you change your mind about me, if you have?”

“Little things,” she told him, remembering Riku’s indulgent smile to Sora’s antics, the way he froze when they got to close, his laughter as prank after prank went off. “Small things that just… made you trustworthy. And your panic attack. You were just… genuine in that moment, as horrible as that sounds.” Riku nodded.

“True character comes out when the panic and fear set in,” he mused, and it almost sounded like he was quoting someone. She smiled.

“So… we’re good?” She asked uncertainly and he nodded.

“We’re good.” She smiled again at him before standing up, taking the last pile of papers from him and placing it on his desk.

Good, we’re good.

Chapter Text

It was nice, having Kairi in on their little side project. She was more skilled at the stars and their names and placements in the sky. Also, it made Sora feel better now that he didn’t have to make sure she didn’t see him sneaking around with Riku.

“I’m sorry we haven’t found that much, Riku,” he said, lying on the floor of Riku’s cabin. Kairi was sitting above him on Riku’s bed, cross-referencing several star charts. The older boy laughed from his place at his desk. Sora was concerned that it sounded slightly self-deprecating.

“It’s okay, I didn’t expect to find anything.” The floor rocked beneath them as another wave pounded on The Wayfinder’s side. They had left Atlantica the night before and had unfortunately run immediately into a bad storm. It wasn’t anything terrible, Sora wasn’t worried about anything capsizing, but it wasn’t the most pleasant. Aqua was out on the deck, guiding the ship as best as she could, while everyone else, minus Terra, had retreated to under the deck with anything that could have been thrown overboard.

“Don’t say that!” He said, sitting up to stare at Riku. Riku couldn’t give up, he couldn’t. “We haven’t been able to check Aqua’s more detailed, personal maps. We might find something on those!” Riku smiled at him.

“Plus, don’t disregard this work yet either,” Kairi said. “We’ve found at least some viable options.” There was something in her eyes that Sora couldn’t place as she flicked them up to stare at Riku for a second before dropping them back down to stare at the charts.

Water pounded against the window in the top corner. Both waves and rain both.

“Thanks,” said Riku suddenly, quietly, looking anywhere but the two teenagers. “For doing this.”

Sora smiled softly and could see Kairi smiling as well. “Of course, we helped,” he replied. “You’re our friend.” Riku smiled back.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Kairi started, looking back up at them. “What was your home like?” Sora whipped his head around to give Kairi a look, but she ignored him. Riku sucked in a short, stuttered breath.

“W-what do you mean?” He asked.

“Like anything,” Kairi said, still looking unnervingly long in Riku’s eyes. “The people, the place, anything.”

“Kairi!” Sora finally snapped out and watched Kairi’s eyes flick to him instead. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“White.” Both of them turn to look at Riku when he answers. His gaze had dropped to his right hand, which was laid on his desk, and his hand curled into a fist. “It was white.”

“White?” Kairi repeated.

Riku nodded. “The buildings, that is. Everything was white and when it was sunny outside you couldn’t look at some buildings for long or it would hurt your eyes.” He looked up at Kairi. “Was that what you wanted to know?” She swallowed, looking slightly sheepish.

“Yes, thank you.” She looked back down at the chart.

“Radiant Garden’s buildings were all colors,” Sora said, both in an effort to break the stifling and uncomfortable silence that had descended on the cabin and to try and calm Riku down. “A lot of people liked the different colors so there was often a lot of cleaning of walls and the like once the pollen season in Spring was done.”

“Why after Spring?” Riku asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

“Not after Spring,” Sora corrected, internally sighing in relief after Riku asked his question. This was safe to talk about. “Just after all the pollen from the flowers stopped circling the air and sticking on surfaces. It always gave buildings a yellow or brown sheen, if you will.”

“Food was always hard to find during that time,” Kairi mentioned quietly, hands fisting around the paper in her hands and making it crinkly. “Everything was covered in the stuff the second you left it out. Nothing good to be found unless you didn’t mind the taste of pollen.” Sora couldn’t help the disgust that flitted across his face. He hated the ashy, burnt taste that came from food coated in pollen. It always spoiled any joy at finding food to eat. And it always gave him itchy eyes and a runny nose.

“Wouldn’t stores just sell food from inside a building if this time was that bad?” Riku asked and Sora couldn’t stop the look of confusion he gave Riku before pausing. Oh, they had never told Riku where they were living before The Wayfinder.

Kairi scoffed. “If you could afford food, yes they did.”

“Kairi,” Sora hissed at her. But the damage was done.

“Afford?” Riku mused, looking at Sora with questions in his eyes. Sora couldn’t meet his gaze. He wasn’t ashamed of the way he and Kairi lived for a couple years. It was just the way the cards had been dealt with their crash landing on Radiant Garden’s shoreline, but he didn’t like thinking about it all the same. The despair, hunger, and pain that came from those years. After that first botched attempt for help, he and Kairi had fully relied on themselves. Which of course, wasn’t the greatest life available.

“Kairi and I… couldn’t always afford to buy food from the stores when we were younger,” Sora said, carefully dancing around the truth. He wasn’t telling a whole lie, anyway!

Several emotions flashed across Riku’s face before settling on careful indifference. Sora was happy. He and Kairi didn’t need pity or anything like that. They were fine now and hadn’t lived that life in seven years. “I’m sorry for you,” Riku said. Sora nodded once, finally looking back up at him. As much as an acknowledgement as Sora would give it.

“We don’t really have problems like that at my home,” Riku offered suddenly. Sora jumped, not expecting Riku to talk about this when he had, just minutes earlier, been upset to talk about his home. He could see Kairi also looking at Riku in surprise. The older boy looked slightly awkward, like he had wanted to keep talking with them, but hadn’t meant to bring up that specific topic. “The monarchy has several systems set up so no one goes hungry.”

“Monarchy?” Sora asked, “Like the Capital?”

Riku nodded. “The Two Kings. They run Sc-my home.” Sora was going to ignore the little slip up of Riku’s.

“That’s good,” Kairi said. Riku nodded. Sora opened his mouth to say something else, if only to keep the conversation going but was interrupted by Kairi letting out a shriek.

“Riku! Riku, I found it!” She leapt off the bed, scrambling down to the floor to slam a star chart on the floor between them. Riku moved from his desk to kneel on the floor across from them, staring at the map in shock and wonderment. “There!” Kairi exclaimed, jabbing at a constellation on the map so hard Sora was worried that she was going to rip it. “That’s the constellation you remember, right?”

She was pointing at a collection of stars that resembled a circle, a line protruding from the circle, and sharp edges ending the line. Riku nodded quickly. “The Spectral Keyblade,” he whispered out.

Sora suddenly got a sharp, piercing pain in his head. It felt like… he should remember that word. Keyblade. What was that? And why did it matter?

“Well, it wasn’t an actual constellation on the chart,” Kairi explained. “Instead, it is actually split up into three other constellations in our modern charts, but according to yours…”

“It’s our most treasured constellation,” Riku murmured, reaching out to touch the star chart. “It’s directly above our civilization. It’s the reason we settled there.”

Kairi nodded. “Yes, but unfortunately, the map isn’t complete really. I have to mix and match maps to try and well… I have a basic idea of where it is? But it looks to be above the water from this one, so let try and find another…” She trailed off, but Riku was already shaking his head.

“No, my home is on the water.” He explained, apparently oblivious to the very shocked looks Sora and Kairi shot each other. His home… was on the water? How was that possible?

“’On the water?’ As in, floating?” Sora asked. Riku nodded excitedly.

“Back from when the world was empty,” he said, a tone in his voice that felt slightly off from other words Riku would say. But those words…

“Do you have any other maps? About them?” Riku asked and Kairi shook her head once. She pulled out the map she had and showed it to them. It wasn’t perfect, mostly because it was old. There were tears along the edges and discoloration in the map itself. It was also really difficult to read the words. Sora huffed in frustration. They only had so many maps of one place, because the world was so big but… He could have sworn he had seen a map like that before. Just in better shape.

“Oh, my books!” Sora chirped out and both Kairi and Riku looked at him. “My books sometimes have maps in them. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a map like that in them. Perhaps that can help?” The other two exchanged a glance before Riku shrugged once in acceptance.

“Would it be accurate?” Kairi asked dubiously and Sora nodded once.

“Worth a shot,” Riku said, unusual excitement in his eyes. “May as well try.” Sora couldn’t help the happiness that swept through him when he saw the joy in Riku’s eyes. I’m glad I managed to help you.

“Follow me Riku,” Sora said, standing and nearly falling back over when The Wayfinder was buffeted with another wave.

“I’ll stay here and try to plot a course for Aqua and Terra to take once we get out of this storm,” Kairi promised and Riku spun to stare at her, something unspoken passing between them before Riku nodded.

“Thanks,” he whispered. “But you really don’t have to.”

Kairi shook her head. “I want to.”

Riku and Sora left the cabin, hurrying as quickly as they could into Sora’s, staggering and holding onto walls the whole time. Sora had to admit this was one of the worst storms he had seen.

Opening the door to their cabin, Sora winced when he spotted several things on the floor, having been knocked off by the waves. The good thing was though that none of them had broken.

“Here,” he said to Riku, leading the way over to the bookshelf that was attached to the wall. Pulling out the stack of ten books, he settled on the ground, gave half to Riku, and was about to start scanning through it, when the sound of a bell cut him off.

He frowned. That wasn’t possible…

“What’s happening?” Riku asked, also hearing the bell and no doubt seeing Sora’s expression.

“That was the bell that told us that another ship had been spotted,” Sora said, listening as it continued to ring. “The longer the bell, the closer the ship is. But, in this bad of storm? There really shouldn’t be anyone else out here.”

“We’re out here, aren’t we?” Riku reasoned. “Perhaps they also got caught up in the storm. Sora nodded slowly, understanding Riku’s logic but at the same time…

Why would they be out there?

Trying to focus back on the book in his hand, which happened to be one of his collections of fairytales, he scanned the table of contents for any sign of a story that would have maps in it. He was certain he had seen a couple of them in this book specifically.

Closing the book but swearing to return to it if he didn’t find anything in the other books, he pulled his second book, one of the encyclopedias that Kairi enjoyed, and flipped through it, feeling that he had a lesser chance of finding something in this book than he had with the book of fairytales.

Another book from his pile was also an encyclopedia, this one specifically on flowers and fruit, so Sora didn’t even bother opening it. The fourth book was one of myths and legends, so Sora couldn’t help the excitement that went through him. It would make the most sense if the maps were in this book. The first words of the book said that all these legends had happened in their actual world. So, the maps would be of their world.

Snow White; the Immortal Keyblade Wielders; the Sun, Stars, and Moon; the Tale of the Lamp; The Legend of the Wayfinders; Stories of Lions; The Beginnings and Endings.

Another wave sent several of the things on Sora’s desk rolling off and Sora stood, walking over to pick them up. Grasping hold of the necklace, bits of paper, and his pencil, it suddenly hit him like a stroke of lightning where he had seen the map before.

In the Daybreak Town book.

Dropping the stuff back on the desk, he hurried over to his bedside table, pulling open and dragging out the books inside it. He took a seat on his bed and dropped the pile in his lap. Shoving aside the sketchbook, his hands briefly paused over his journal before also placing it to the side, opening The Children of Daybreak Town.

He started flicking through it, skimming the pages as quickly as he could, his favorite chapters or phrases jumping out at him. But nothing was a map.

But there, at the back of the book, he found it. It was folded up carefully, wedged between the back of the book and the back cover where he had left it last time he had pulled it out. He wanted to hit himself for forgetting. Gently pulling it out, he closed the book and balanced it on top of the other two, before unfolding the map. He would have to thank Leon next time he saw him. The older man had been the one to give him the book.

But as he unfolded the last crease, making a noise to draw Riku over, a sudden, violent impact from the starboard side of the ship, sent him leaning forward sharply. Next to him, his pile of books tipped and slid, falling off his bed and onto the floor, hitting the ground at weird angles and landing on their backs with random pages open.

He blinked blurrily, reaching out one hand to grab the end of his bed and steady himself, even though he had been sitting. That wasn’t a wave, he thought. Was that a cannonball?

“Sora?” Riku asked, and Sora looked up in confusion at the strange note in his voice, only to freeze when he saw that Riku had kneeled down, one hand also out for balance, and was staring at his journal. Which had also fallen off his bed and landed open, exposing his drawings for the world to see.

“I promise there’s an explanation.” Sora was already rushing to explain. He knew rationally that there was nothing wrong with having a journal you draw in but that was his journal with all his dreams in it and he couldn’t help the slight panic that went through him. Would Riku think him strange for drawing his dreams? Or for even having such bad dreams in the first place? “I’m not crazy, I just have weird dreams sometimes and-”

“Why are you dreaming of your Station of Awakening?” Riku asked, still looking at the book in shock, before slowly raising his eyes to meet Sora’s.

“My-My what?” Sora stuttered out. Riku blinked back at him before his face became the picture of regret and shock as he seemed to fully realize what he had just said.

But before he could say anything, shouting, loud and panicked, came from above and Sora remembered the impact that must have been a cannonball.

“We’re under attack! Pirates!”

~

Saïx blinked in surprise, eyes raising up to the sun. Had it really just…?

Was it really starting? Finally?

Chapter Text

Riku had first dreamed of his Station of Awakening two months after he had been kidnapped, cold and alone, curled into a crevice of the maze. It had been before he met them.

Before her death, his mother had told him about this. About a sign that you were about to be chosen. That you were a Chosen. But that was reserved for Bloodlines and Chosen, right? So, why was Sora dreaming of his Station of Awakening?

Unless… Was Sora a Bloodline? Staring into Sora’s shocked eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“We’re under attack! Pirates!” As soon as the two of them heard Terra’s shout, whatever they had been about to say to each other vanished like morning mist. They could hash out their differences later and Riku could get an answer from Sora. Was it possible he didn’t know he was a Bloodline? But wouldn’t have his parents wanted to hold on to that connection. It was the only thing tethering them to their people. Then the rational part of Riku’s mind caught up. Sora wouldn’t have been living on the streets and now on a ship with other people if he had parents.

Another impact slammed into the starboard side, sending them both careening towards the wall. This impact came with the sound of snapping wood that echoed around the cabin. Right, later.

Dropping the book on the desk as he passed, Riku and Sora raced as fast as they could down the hallway, arms out to brace themselves when the waves and cannonballs hit. Sora was panting behind him and Riku knew it was more out of fear than anything. In a storm like this, it could be very easy for things to go horribly.

“Wait Riku, stop.” Sora reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket before he could go running up the stairs onto the deck. The doors that separated the stairs from the deck had been closed when the storm hit and as such, Riku couldn’t get a glimpse of what was happening.

Turning back to Sora, he watched as Sora pressed his hand against the wall, pulling open a secret door with a click, revealing five sharp swords.

“Do you know how to use one?” Sora asked, grabbing one that had a plain, black hilt and offering it to Riku. Riku nodded. It’s not the same, but close enough.

Kairi came running down the hallway, snatching the sword with a fruit engraved on the hilt from Sora, who had already held it out and had clearly been expecting her. Sora himself had one that had a crown engraved on it. Coincidence. That’s all it could be. Riku’s necklace burned from under his shirt. Sora twisted his sword in his grip.

“Where are Ven and Vanitas?” Riku asked, twirling the blade once around, avoiding the hilt and giving himself a second to acclimate to the different dimensions and weight. This isn’t the same, I’m not back. Everything’s fine.

“Vanitas is probably waking Ven if he somehow managed to sleep through this,” Kairi said, yanking a sheath from the closet and wrapping it around her waist. “As much as Vanitas probably wants to run here, it’s worse to leave Ven asleep. He’s defenseless.”

Sora brushed past the both of them, taking the stairs two at a time and kicking up the doors with more force than probably necessary, using them as an opportunity to scare the pirates or at least surprise them. The wind blew his hair back as it hit him. Riku and Kairi raced after him, the sounds of their footsteps barely heard over the wind and rain, which was much clearer and louder up there.

The deck was a mess. There were three cannonball impacts that Riku could see, one on the main mast, taking away a huge chunk of it, and two in the deck itself, creating potholes they would have to avoid. Pirates, all in the typical “pirate outfits” swarmed both the ship and the one connected to it, their shapes being hard to pick out against the stormy grey backdrop of the sky. Wind and rain whipped around them in a whirlpool pattern, immediately stealing all their voices. Lightning flashed from on high, illuminating the sails and the metal nailed into the railing. Riku couldn’t see Aqua or Terra, but he could see the harpoons and lines that kept the two ships connected so he mentally prepared to race over and destroy them. Better to stop more pirates from coming on board. Unfortunately, one of the numerous downsides of being in a thunderstorm was that the opening of the doors didn’t scare nearly enough pirates.

The four closest to them turned at more of the sight of the doors opening than the sound of them and Sora and Kairi moved, each slashing at the closest to them and Riku shot forward between them, swiping his sword down at one, forcing him to block and grabbing the handle of another’s sword, twisting it and managing to throw it out of his grip. It hit the deck with a barely heard clatter. He then kicked the pirate in the stomach, sending him staggering backwards with a wheeze.

The woman Kairi was fighting fell backward with a shallow wound across her chest, blood already staining the woman’s shirt from where she had failed to block and Kairi took the opportunity to force her back further, attacking now to the woman’s left, which had been more damaged by Kairi’s strike. Riku forced his sword to the right, breaking the lock that his and the pirate’s sword had gotten caught in and instead darting around to shove the swordless pirate, who had been coming back into the fray, into the other, both of them falling and hitting the ground in a mess of limbs. Riku couldn’t see Sora from this angle and before he could turn to look, another pirate was bearing down on him, her face twisted into a snarl of hatred.

Ducking under her blade, Riku kicked out at her shin, years of experience of fighting dirty coming to his mind in an instant, disrupting her balance. He could almost see the person who taught him too, out of the corner of his eye, standing off to the side. Smacking her head with the flat side of his blade as he passed her, he set his eyes back on his original target.

Crossing the deck, he kicked a pirate in the knee who had attempted to stop him, using one of the potholes as an assistance, tripping the pirate into it. Circling around the first harpoon he came across to put his back to the part of the ship with the least pirates, he finally managed to snatch a glimpse of Aqua and Terra.

The two of them were up by the wheel, back-to-back, fending off three pirates a piece. Terra’s sword, which Riku had seen before, had orange highlights, clearly painted on lancing up the sides of it and Aqua’s hilt was a brilliant blue that shone even in the dim lighting of the storm. They were the brightest things on them. They were winning, but barely.

Wishing that he had Kairi’s foresight and had grabbed a sheath, he switched his sword into his left hand and grabbed the harpoon with the other. He wasn’t as skilled fighting with his left hand, it being his non-dominant hand, but he could use it in a pinch. Yanking the harpoon out of the wood, wincing at the way his muscles twinged at the movement, he sliced the cord connecting it to the other ship with his sword and in one fluid movement, flipped it so he could throw it before turning and hurling it towards one of the pirates fighting Aqua, spearing them cleanly through the chest. Aqua blinked in surprise and the pirates fighting her and Terra turned slightly to stare at Riku. But this distraction proved to be a mistake as Aqua and Terra used this as an opportunity to cut down two more of them.

Choosing not to switch his sword back to his dominant hand, he ran over to the second harpoon, throwing up his sword to catch the blade of a pirate, who leaned down on their lock hard, trying to force Riku’s sword from his hand. The blades skittered against each other, causing a screeching sound that could almost remind him of his old weapon. His arm shook under the weight, and he gritted his teeth. He always had hated having to fight with his other hand, but the beasts hadn’t cared.

Riskily, Riku crouched down and let go of his sword at the same time, letting it drop straight into his right hand and twisted it, using both the shock of his move and his sudden strength to shove the pirate backwards and over the edge of The Wayfinder.

Shooting a glance over his shoulder, he couldn’t help the sigh of relief when he saw that Vanitas and Ven had joined the fight, Vanitas dual wielding a pair of swords while Ven held his in a strange, backwards grip. Ven and Sora had teamed up to take down a trio of pirates while Vanitas raced up to the front of the ship, slicing through two of the pirates as they landed on the ship from the ropes, sending their bodies down into the water below.

Focusing back on the harpoon in front of him, Riku yanked it from the deck, hissing in pain at the force it took and threw it overboard. Sora suddenly flashed by on his left side and Riku nearly swiped at him, but the younger boy simply moved past him, using his sword to slice through the third cord keeping the ships tethered. At this point, Riku could feel the difference, the way the two ships were starting to lean away from each other now that it had lost three of the lines.

A thud from behind signaled the arrival of Terra, who had leaped over the railing near the wheel and landed on the deck. Flicking the rain from his blade, he shot forward and stabbed the pirate that was attacking Vanitas, leaving her to stagger backwards, clutching her side.

The pirate Riku was fighting with suddenly broke off and backed up. Frowning in confusion, Riku moved to follow only to realize all the remaining pirates, all four of them, had backed off and instead were circled around the final two lines connecting the ships together. And in-between those two lines, a beam of wood had been placed and walking across it, with the air of someone one who thought himself above the rest of them, was a man in a red coat and hat, which was somehow staying on in the rain and wind.

“Hook!” Aqua spat from above them, wrapping one of her hands around the rope hanging from one of the sails and using it to steady herself as she leaped up onto the railing Terra had jumped over, balancing perfectly in a way Riku doubted any of them but Aqua could. “What are you doing here? We’ve beaten you before and we can do it again.” The rain pounded on the deck and Riku shoved his wet hair out of his face, feeling it tangle under his fingers.

“I’m afraid not, Captain Aqua,” the so-called Hook sneered, voice somehow being heard clearly even past the wind. “This newest fight of ours will be our last. For you.”

“And why is that?” Terra asked, glaring at the man as Hook jumped from the plank, landing with a thud on the deck. Vanitas didn’t take his eyes off of him from his place by the wheel and Riku could see Sora, Kairi, and Ven standing together, armed and prepared to start fighting again.

“You see, I’ve recently made a new deal with an interesting partner,” Hook said, spreading his hands out to encompass the ship and Riku suddenly understood why he was called Hook. “He gave me some new weapons to put to good use.”

“You? Making a deal with someone and they aren’t dead?” Aqua said sarcastically, scoffing and leaning forward slightly, grip on the rope steady despite the water coating it. “Best check to make sure the moon isn’t falling.”

“I know, I know, it’s very strange,” Hook mused, placing his hook hand beneath his chin as if pondering something. “But my new friend is very powerful. Why wouldn’t I side with him?” Terra shifted near Riku and Riku found himself unconsciously mimicking him, also preparing for a fight. “Shall we see what my new friend’s weapons can do?”

As the four pirates, and the three new ones that had snuck on board during Hook’s speech, rushed forward, Riku and Terra moved as one to meet them, managing to stop three of them. Two of them split off to fight the younger kids while the remaining two more headed for the wheel. Hook himself turned around and climbed back on the plank, walking back to his own ship.

Riku frowned as he traded blows with the two pirates in front of him. What had Hook been talking about, “new weapons”?

But that question was quickly answered when Kairi shrieked, grabbing both Terra’s and Riku’s attention, causing them both to turn. Kairi had been knocked to the ground by something that looked like a mass of living shadow. Sora yelled and charged forward but his blade swiped harmlessly through the shadow creature and caused him to trip and stumble to the ground.

Riku froze, shock, denial, and fear racing through him. No… No, that’s not possible. It’s not. Where the hells did Hook get these things? Why are they obeying him?

Riku was suddenly yanked out of his thoughts once the flat end of a sword smacked him in the temple and sent him to the ground. The dust made him cough and he snapped his head up as he glared at the beast creating the wind. Both Neku and Beat fell back from where they had been distracting it, looking back to Riku in concern. The shadow of the pirate fell over him and he tried to grab his sword from where it had been knocked out of his hand to defend himself, but Terra got there first.

A blade protruded from the pirate’s chest above him, and Terra yanked the blade out, shoving the pirate falling backwards, away from Riku. But as the pirates were quickly being eliminated, more of the shadow beings were growing up from the ground, attacking Aqua, Vanitas, Terra, and the younger kids.

No, that’s not possible! Riku’s thoughts spun in circles and the ground beneath him switched back and forth from wet wood to dry dusty ground. His right palm was burning so hot it hurt. No, it’s not possible.

“Riku!” Terra yelled and Riku blinked up at him, shaking his wet hair from his eyes. He could see Beat, Joshua, and Shiki Ven, Sora, and Kairi pressed together, now desperately dodging and weaving around the shadows that were trying to bisect them, their swords having been abandoned after their uselessness was revealed. Aqua and Vanitas were jumping from deck to hanging spot to deck, also attempting to simply stay out of the shadow’s reach. Neku Terra had positioned himself in front of Riku, trying to keep their attention on him and not Riku, who now realized he had probably frozen. “Riku, what’s going on?” For a second, Riku thought Terra was asking about something else and could only stare at him in shock before he realized Terra was probably asking why he was frozen.

But Riku couldn’t say anything because he was about to watch them all die. Nothing could stop the shadow beasts; his three years in the maze had proven that. Nothing except…

Is it worth it? Is it worth sharing his biggest and best kept secret to save their lives? This could get him killed or worse and it could get them killed or worse. And they could be unbelievably mad at him for keeping this a secret.

And they weren’t the others. He didn’t know if he could do this again.

But Riku couldn’t help but think that he wanted them around to be mad at him. Wanted Sora and Kairi to stay, Terra and Aqua to be there, Vanitas, Ven. And Riku was already trying to go home. He swore to himself that he would stop running the second he stepped onto The Wayfinder. It was time to prove it. For Shiki and Beat and Joshua and the others he couldn’t prove it to. That he had been too scared to prove it to. That he had been too weak to prove it to.

They were heading to his home anyway, if they still bothered to help him after this. They would have found out. He would have told them. He wanted to tell them.

Sucking in a deep breath, praying to all the stars that he wouldn’t regret this, he finally allowed the clawing in his chest to wane and the burning in his palm to grow. To transform as it had been begging to.

And Way To The Dawn flashed to life in his hand.

Chapter Text

The ship had been attacked twelve times in the seven years Kairi had been on it. Three of those times had been from Captain Hook, two from Captain Barbosa, and the others from random, unnamed pirates. They had been in the open ocean mostly, twice while barely out of port. They had used cannons, swords, harpoons, animals. She had seen it all.

But she had never seen something like this.

The shadow creature swiped at her again, causing her to duck away and nearly run into Sora, only managing to barely stop herself. Their swords had been useless against them, sliding through them like smoke. While Sora and Ven had dropped theirs to the ground in order to allow for more mobility, Kairi had sheathed hers, not wanting to be caught off guard by something she could actually hurt with her blade. If there were any of those left.

Dropping to a crouch to dodge another beast before doing a roll forward, she snapped her head up, eyes scanning the ship, looking for her family. She could see Vanitas and Aqua up by the wheel, attempting to stay out of the shadow creature’s reach just like they were. Terra was standing in the center of the deck, still trying to slash through the shadow creatures while also staying out of their grip. Kairi frowned in confusion before having to back up quickly as another one of the beasts attacked. Or perhaps it was the same one. It was impossible to tell which was which because they all looked the same. Once she was relatively safe again, she looked back to Terra. Why was Terra still attempting to attack the creatures? She was about to call out to him when he shifted slightly to duck away from another one of the creatures and Kairi’s heart sunk when she realized why Terra was drawing their attention.

Riku was on the ground, hands braced against the deck, half pushed up to a sitting position, legs splayed out behind him. It looked like he had been hit to the ground and was in the middle of sitting up. His sword was a few feet away from him, like it had been thrown out of his grip. There was a little blood on his face and more staining his shirt and pants, but it didn’t look like it belonged to him, so it didn’t scare her. What did scare Kairi though was the empty look in his eyes. He looked like he had when he had his panic attack but worse. He clearly wasn’t seeing anything around him, which left him vulnerable and open. Kairi hissed in displeasure and slight fear at the bad situation, forcing herself to back up several paces despite not wanting to leave Riku and Terra in the bad situation they were in, still staying ahead of the creatures. What could have triggered Riku?

Was it the fight? She wondered, feeling the wind briefly cut out from her right side as Sora moved past her, his own face a picture of unease and worry. But Riku had been fighting fine earlier, a minute ago it looked like he was in his element. She had been planning to ask him where he had learned to fight after they managed to drive the pirates off, again, but now she didn’t know if she would get that chance. She bit her lip slightly in worry as she looked back again at the older boy on the ground. She opened her mouth while turning to Sora, about to make Riku’s situation known. They had to protect him. She didn’t want him to die.

Force suddenly slammed into her back, cutting off all the words she had been about to say by punching the air out of her lungs, and she felt two hands with claws dig into her shoulder, causing explosions of pain, before dragging down her back in two lines. She shrieked in pain and her legs buckled, sending her crashing to the ground. She threw out her hands, which did little to stop her fall, but made she sure didn’t hit her head on the ground. She could hear the shouts of the others and she writhed, using her hands and legs to move herself, managing to flip over so she was laying on her back, ignoring how much it hurt the wounds. She reached out with her hands trying to grab the creature that had been on her back, or at least shove it away, but it passed through her hands just like it had her sword and left another slash down her left arm. More pain sparked there, and she felt her body freeze up slightly. She shouted in pain and tried to cover her face and throat with her arms. But she knew it would do nothing.

I don’t want to die here, her mind sobbed as another strike split her right arm. She could feel the blood run down her arms. Not like this. Squeezing her eyes shut, she sucked in her breath and tried not to think about what was about to happen. The shouting from around her rose in volume and she could hear Sora screaming most prominently. She didn’t want Sora to watch her die either.

Except, nothing did happen. No claws bit into her throat, none of them snuffed out the life in her heart. Instead, there was the sound of what Kairi could only describe as a blade being dragged really quickly down steel and a gust of wind that blew down her face. She didn’t dare open her eyes until…

“RIKU?!” Came Sora’s shout and she finally opened her eyes.

Riku was standing above her, his sword twisted in a way that would have sent a brush of air down at her had that been possible. Something that looked like a white heart lifted up into the sky, brushing past him and disappearing into the clouds. She blinked at him, still panting and fixed with fear. But her eyes wandered, and she frowned at the blade in his hand. That wasn’t the sword Sora had given him.

The blade was red and looked like it had been designed off the webbing found on aquatic creatures’ feet. The hilt was one white feathered wing and one blue scaly wing, and it had a wing protruding from one side of the end of the blade. And there was a little eye where the hilt met the blade.

She blinked up in shock at Riku. What-What just happened? Where had Riku been keeping that?

She wasn’t the only one. Both Ven and Sora had frozen, staring in shock at Riku, and Kairi realized they must have seen whatever just happened. Terra was standing on the deck, eyes wide and Vanitas was staring in shock while Aqua had confusion in her eyes. The shadow creatures surrounding them suddenly shrunk back away from all of them for a second, their gold eyes somehow giving the impression that they were staring at the blade in Riku’s hand. He looked down at her. Lightning flashed in the sky again and for a second, Riku was illuminated, light bouncing off his hair and blade and leaving the rest of him in shadow.

“You okay, Kairi?” He asked gently as the lightning faded, eyes focusing on her arms. She nodded shakily, mostly on instinct, still not fully processing what was happening. She was alive. She was going to say something, if her tongue managed to unwind from its shock, but Riku shook his head softly at her. “Hold that thought,” he said, before leaping over her to follow the shadow creatures. Sora came stumbling over to her, shaken by both her near death and the waves still pounding the ship, she would bet. He dropped to his knees beside her and helped her sit up, being careful not to touch her wounds, but still wrapping her in a half hug. She could feel the blood running down her back and arms and it stung and burned and hurt but she couldn’t look away from Riku and she knew she wasn’t the only one. Her head leaned against his chest and all her limbs were still trembling, short, broken gasps of air ripping their way free of her throat. But her eyes were steady, and they watched Riku in a fascinated sort of shock.

The sixteen-year-old shot forward, twisting the mysterious blade until it stabbed one of the creatures in the head. But instead of passing through it like their weapons had, it connected, and light spread breathtakingly quick through the creature, causing it to seemingly explode, and Kairi assumed it would cause a wind gust, and a small white heart rose from flaking away creature disappearing into the stormy sky, vanishing into the grey.

Turning on his heel, Riku stabbed the sword through another shadow, causing the same reaction to happen and flung his other hand out, causing a gust of something blue and cold shooting from his palm and surrounding a shadow, closing in on it and causing it to shudder and shake, allowing Riku to move forward and swipe the blade cleanly through it. He turned as he did this, catching another shadow in the same blow. They both exploded.

The shadows that had been up by the wheel abandoned their fight and ran straight past Terra, Kairi, and Sora to try and charge Riku, making several of them flinch as the beasts passed them, but it was hopeless, as Riku quickly dispatched those as well. Another wave rocked the ship and Riku stumbled, the first mistake he had made, and the last remaining shadow took advantage of this, warping forward to slash at his wrist. It made contact and Kairi sucked in a breath at the red that bloomed there, but Riku was hardly bothered, destroying the creature in the next second.

For a second it was quiet, except for the howling winds of the storm. Riku stood where he had slashed the last creature, weapon still held out as if to fight another one and in the light of the storm, Kairi could see his panting chest heaving, the only part of him moving.

“Riku?” Sora asked quietly, shakily, and the sixteen-year-old finally moved, turning his head to stare at them. Kairi could see what was in his eyes, making her shiver slightly not from the rain. Apology.

“WHAT?” Captain Hook screeched from his own ship, staring at Riku and dragging all their attention back to the pirate ship still attached to theirs. “How is this possible?! He said they would be unstoppable!!” He looked like he was tempted to march back to their ship to try and drag answers from them, but he unfortunately had more sense than that.

“Who gave you the creatures?” Riku asked instead, his voice low and serious. Kairi shivered again at the empty note in his voice, not a hint of the boy that had talked with them maybe fifteen minutes prior.

“It’s impossible!” Ranted Captain Hook, ignoring Riku’s question. “He had power and he promised me some. He wouldn’t have lied. Oooh if he lied, I’ll-”

“Hook, who gave you the creatures?” Riku questioned again, cutting off Hook and taking a step forward. And that seemed to finally snap Captain Hook out of his anger as he turned and fixed Riku with a look that Kairi had never seen on Captain Hook before. Even when they had beaten him in the past.

Fear. The type of fear that made you freeze, even if you knew you should be doing anything else. The type that made the most capable people reduce themselves to shells of themselves. Captain Hook was afraid.

“He is powerful enough for me not to tell you his name,” the pirate said solemnly, a sudden change from his ranting and raving. “I wouldn’t want to needlessly risk my own life like that. But perhaps you’ll meet him soon. You’ve just gotten his attention I’d bet.”

Kairi didn’t know why it felt like ice water had just been dumped on her.

With that, Captain Hook suddenly drew his sword and slashed through the final two ropes that kept the two ships together and within a few seconds with the help of the wind and water, his ship had disappeared into gloom of the storm.

Kairi watched Riku take a deep breath, able to see his shoulders rise and fall from her spot leaning against Sora, and the blade in his hand vanished in a glow of light. His eyes flashed with it and Kairi could see that the empty look in his eyes hadn’t faded. He turned back to them, and Kairi could see him purposefully avoiding everyone’s gaze but hers as he headed toward her.

“I’m sorry you got hurt, Kairi,” he told her, kneeling down in front of her. He refused to look at Sora and Kairi could feel her best friend’s arms tighten ever so slightly around her. “I should have been better, been quicker.” Kairi shook her head, despite the shock and fear, about to reprimand him for thinking like that but he simply smiled blankly at her and continued talking. “I can help with your injuries, if you’d like?” She closed her mouth. Fine, they could talk later then. But Riku wasn’t escaping the conversation. Even though she had said a couple of days ago that they didn’t need to know his past, this might contradict that. She nodded and he reached out, taking her hand in his. It was warm.

“Cura,” Riku breathed out and Kairi shivered as the feeling of something, like water or compressed air, rushed up her hand he was holding, into her arm, then her other arm, then her whole body. And she watched in amazement as the slash in her arms faded until it had several layers of scabbing over it, and she could feel the pain in her back lesson substantially. The blood stopped staining her.

“Riku…” Aqua started from her place by the wheel, making both Kairi and Sora jump as they both remembered that there were other people on the ship, and Riku turned his head to look at her.

“Storm,” he reminded her instead, voice level and empty, and his words were only backed up by another crashing wave and the howl of wind. Just because Captain Hook was gone didn’t mean their troubles were over.

Aqua glanced over to Terra and they communicated silently for a second. Vanitas was still staring at Riku in shock and, from Kairi could see, a little suspicion. She couldn’t see Sora and Ven from where she was still sitting, but she could guess their reactions. Sora’s arms were still tight around hers.

Aqua looked back at them. “Once we get out of the storm,” she said, and Riku nodded. Kairi could hear the hidden words. Once we’re out of the storm, you tell us the truth. Or perhaps, an explanation. They could be different.

“Here Kairi,” Sora started, and he moved his hands to be under her arms, helping her to stand on shaky legs. She stumbled, not just from the waves, and clung to him. Even though Riku had saved her, it hadn’t changed the fact that she had nearly died. Something that hadn’t happened before. Everything was shaking.

“I’m okay,” she stuttered out. “I’m fine.” Sora looked like he didn’t believe her. She wouldn’t believe her either. Not with the way her voice was sounding.

Riku brushed past the two of them and Ven and descended back into the ship, and she wasn’t the only one to turn their head to watch him go. Kairi assumed he was returning to his room, but he could also be looking for a place to hide. Kairi wanted to reach out and grab him, pull him back and refuse to let him close himself off again. This didn’t change who he was and she knew what would be going through his head. She had seen a fraction of it when helping him with his panic attack. But at the same time, the part of her heart that had been wary of him, that had been jealous of him, hissed out against him. Look at how much he had been keeping secret, it said. There’s a good chance he still hadn’t told you the whole story. She couldn’t find it in her to argue with her thoughts.

“Kairi?” Sora asked, and she flicked her eyes up to gaze into his, dragging herself out of her thoughts and noting his worry.

“I’m okay,” she said again, trying to sound reassuring while pushing off of him to stand on her own. “I’ll be okay.” But her knees knocked together, and it wasn’t a second later Sora was supporting her again. She let her head drop until it was resting on his shoulder. Her breaths were still shallow and shaky.

“Do you want to return to the room or stay here?” Sora questioned quietly, voice almost as broken as hers was. Usually, it wouldn’t be good for their health to stay out on deck during a storm, but she guessed if she asked, Aqua and Terra would make an exception. She could also feel the way their gazes lingered on her. They had also almost lost her today.

“Out here,” she whispered back, allowing Sora to lead her to the mast and settle her down against the base of it, perfectly in a place so she could see Aqua guiding the ship and Terra standing next to her. Vanitas was still looking where Riku had vanished into, hands twisted into the rigging. She could almost picture the white knuckles that no doubt covered his hands.

Sora sat down next to her and pressed her shoulder against hers in a nonverbal way of comfort. She pushed back and their hands twined together without thinking. Ven sat down on the other side of her. She could feel that he was shaking just as much as she was, so she nudged his leg with his foot until he shifted it so their legs could be touching comfortably. I’m here.

And against her wishes, she could feel her eyes drifting back to the swinging doors that Riku had disappeared down. He had said, in as little words as he had, that he would give them an explanation when they got out of the storm.

But would they like it?

~

Naminé dropped the pencil she was holding in shock and watched as it bounced off the table, rolled a couple inches until it reached the edge, and hit the floor. But she didn’t care.

She had just drawn her brother. It had to be him, it just had to be.

He stood protectively, hair blown back by the wind, over a person laying on the ground. Surrounding him were others, their faces drawn distorted and blurry. Only he was clear. It looked like they were on the deck of a ship.

She wondered if her drawing was right. Was this what he looked like now? So different from what she remembered. But also, her drawing had to be at least a little wrong.

Riku didn’t have a Keyblade, right?

Chapter Text

Why are you dreaming of your Station of Awakening?

Riku’s words from just an hour earlier continued to circle in Sora’s head, no matter how many times he tried to shut them out. They continued to bounce around his mind, repeating over and over again. It would be annoying if not for the worry and confusion that came from them. They had been said so… assuredly, like Riku knew what it was he was talking about. Then he had looked like he had regretted what he said, like he wanted to take it back. What could he have slipped? What was the importance of the words? He didn’t know.

He leaned on Kairi’s shoulder, head resting on top of hers, careful not to strain where she had gotten slashed, watching the stairs that went into the lower deck. His hands intertwined with hers, not squeezing but just holding. Reminding the other that they were there and okay. He couldn’t help the shiver that went through him as he remembered the blood that coated Kairi’s back, that still clung to her clothes. Rain could only wash away so much and while she wasn’t actively bleeding anymore, the blood was still there. Still a reminder.

“Kairi!” He screamed as the beast tackled her, carving lines into her. He moved forward wanting to grab her or the beast, to get them apart, to save her. But the two he was fighting drove him back, as if they knew what he was attempting to do and wanted to stop him. They swiped at him, claws flashing in the light, and it was only his instincts as human that kept him dodging.

But Kairi was screaming, and he could see the blood and could see her fighting but doing nothing and the beast’s claws were rising and-

He didn’t want Kairi to die.

He shot forward again, trying to reach her, but another one of the beasts dug its claws into his arm and dragged him back and he couldn’t do anything. He moved forward, but the beast got in the way and his palm was warm and he was slipping on the wet deck and lightning was flashing and-

And then Riku had been there, somehow able to fight the creatures. Somehow able to heal her wounds, make her stop bleeding.

“Sora?” Kairi murmured from next to him and he snapped himself out of his thoughts, looking down at her quickly. Was something wrong? Was she in pain?

“What’s wrong?” He asked, probably quicker than he should have and Kairi blinked at him, slowly and in slight confusion.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she told him, her hand tightening around his. “You were shaking.”

“Oh,” he said blankly, curling his other hand into a fist and trying to focus, trying to calm himself. “I’m fine.” She gave him a look. “I promise. I’m just… thinking.”

Why are you dreaming of your Station of Awakening?

“About Riku,” Kairi deduced, not phrasing it as a question. He nodded slowly, eyes drifting back to the stairs.

Terra had disappeared into them a minute ago to grab Riku and Sora hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of the doors since then. Ven was sitting on the floor near Sora, leaning backwards on his hands. His eyes looked tired, but for once he wasn’t falling asleep. Instead, he looked alert

After about an hour of sailing, Aqua had successfully managed to guide them out of the storm and into calmer waters. Which meant Riku had to tell them the truth now. But Sora wondered about the truth. Would he like it? Would any of them? Would Riku even tell the truth?

Why are you dreaming of your Station of Awakening?

What did that even mean? What was a “Station of Awakening?” What was important about it? Was this connected to Riku and the magic he seemed to have? The blade?

Was it connected to him? He didn’t know if he wanted it to be.

For a second, Sora’s gaze was pulled away from the doors and instead to where Vanitas had shifted positions yet again. Currently, he was perched like a bird on the railing next to the wheel, staring intently at the doors just like Sora had been. Out of all of them, Sora could tell Vanitas was the one most visibly upset by what had occurred. He had been shifting positions the whole hour, unable to sit still. Sora half expected him to disappear up into the crow’s nest, but he hadn’t done that, instead staying close to Aqua and Terra. Sora could tell that he just wanted to keep an eye on them, among other things, and he couldn’t do that accurately from the crow’s next. Sora knew that it came from a place of love and protectiveness, but he couldn’t help but hope that Vanitas wouldn’t scare Riku away. Riku was a person that didn’t get scared easily from what Sora had seen, but he was in a vulnerable position, Sora could tell. Sora hoped Vanitas wouldn’t make it worse.

Movement came from the steps and Sora’s gaze snapped to it, heart starting to race again. Terra walked out, followed a second or two later by Riku. The older boy looked… uncomfortable to say the least. His hands were twitching like he wanted something to hold, his shoulders were hunched slightly, and he refused to meet any of their gazes.

Terra walked back over to where Aqua was sitting against the steps that led up to the wheel and settled down next to her, expression unreadable. Sora couldn’t tell if they had perhaps talked before the two of them had come onto deck. Riku backed up until he was against the railing, leaning on it. A familiar position but nothing about this was familiar.

And for a second, no one spoke. The silence was a drawn out and tense as a line of rigging.

Why are you dreaming of your Station of Awakening?

And then…

“You’re a Keyblade Wielder, aren’t you,” Aqua said to Riku, raising her head from where it had been looking at her hands clasped in her lap, breaking the silence. “I thought you all died out in the war.”

I’m sorry, Sora thought, all thoughts screeching to a halt in his head. WHAT?

 He could hear Kairi’s intake of breath next to him, arms and legs twitching in surprise, and could see Ven suddenly sit up in shock, eyes wide and awake. And yeah, Sora could relate.

Because… what?

The Keyblade Wielders, or Warriors, depending on which story you were listening to, was a story that had been around as long as civilization had, according to every historical tome. An empire of people with legendary power, magic spells, and blades that could open any lock, break any barrier.

The story told of the civilization of the Keyblade Wielders, how their empire stretched from every sea to every shore. How, at the height of their power, they were even able to control the stars. Oh, the things the Keyblade Wielders could do. Tame beasts, change the landscape, bring the seasons and weather early. The basis of every fantasy novel ever sold.

But it also spoke of their downfall. Their torrential downfall. Of different noble houses wanting to gain more power than they had. Of a bloody civil war that commenced, tearing the world to pieces, uncaring of the people who got caught in the middle. Some stories, the more fantastical ones, even said they actually tore the world to pieces. That the reason their world was a bunch of islands around a smaller continent was because the Keyblade War had literally torn the world to shreds. That each island had been a stronghold of a noble family and the continent, the seat of the Emperor. That the Emperor had split the world into pieces to protect their power.

Or the fighting had torn the world apart, that the ability to shift the landscape had been used in battle, destabilizing the world enough that it split into pieces.

Or that a third party had broken the world, in an effort to stop the fighting.

Each story was different because they had no way to tell the truth. The Keyblade Wielders had all been wiped out during the war, hundreds of years ago, destroying themselves over power and who would hold it. All that remained of them were the stories and the few ruins that dotted the continent.

They were all gone, everyone knew that.

And now, Riku was apparently a Keyblade Wielder?!

“What?” Sora yelped out, once his mind had stopped breaking, switching his gaze over to Aqua to stare at her.

“That’s not possible,” Kairi muttered, voice faint and eyes wide. “The Keyblader Wielders are dead.” Ven simply stared. Much like Kairi, he had also been subjected to Sora’s love for the ancient warriors. He knew their story as much as Kairi and Sora knew it. All three of them knew that they were dead.

“Riku?” Aqua asked again, keeping her eyes on the boy in front of her. Sora looked back to Riku, waiting for him to tell Aqua that she had it wrong, that he was just different, not part of an extinct civilization! But Riku had snapped his head up, eyes wide, and was also staring at Aqua in shock, just probably for different reasons.

“How did you…?” He asked her, voice shaking, trailing off, and that was all the confirmation they needed.

“HUH?!” Sora exclaimed, jumping to his feet. He stumbled slightly when he landed but brushed it off, his gaze landing on the older boy. “Riku, what are you talking about? The Keyblade Wielders are gone! They’re all dead!” Riku closed his eyes slowly before opening them again, staring directly into Sora’s eyes. Sora saw apology in them but also… determination.

“We’re not,” he said, gently and Sora sat back down through the sheer shock of it, his legs refusing to support him. His back banged up against the mast, but he didn’t feel it. His mind was still racing at a million miles an hour. Kairi’s hand slipped back into his. “But how did you know?” Riku asked Aqua, turning back to her, confusion and wariness in his eyes.

She smiled softly at this, her own eyes flicking down to her hands that were clasped in front of her. Terra, while clearly also shocked, hadn’t moved, allowing her to remain leaning ever so slightly on him. “Someone I knew once, a mentor, described them to me,” she revealed, hands tightening together. “He used to joke that he was so old he had been there when the Keyblade Wielders were. He had a book that contained all sorts of history on them. I used to read it when I had free time. Including Keyblades.” Keyblades, Sora thought, his mind conjuring up a picture of the blade Riku had wielded. He knew the basic idea of them from the books he had read. He could see the resemblance. Still… What?

“Huh,” Riku hummed, relaxing slightly against the railing, arms loosening. “He could have been a Bloodline.”

“Okay stop.” And Sora thanked every deity out there that Terra had chosen to step in. He placed one hand over Aqua’s, something unreadable passing between them, before he turned back to Riku. “Riku, I think you need to explain it to us. Fully.” Riku dropped his head, hiding his expression and ran one of his hands down the opposite arm.

“It’s not a pleasant story,” he muttered, looking back up at them. “And it’s a bit unbelievable.” Terra said nothing, simply gestured for Riku to continue. The sixteen-year-old sighed, tipping his head back to stare up at the sky before looking back at them. Sora sat forward, feeling Kairi do the same.

“Do you want the whole story?” Riku asked, eyes blank and unreadable. “Or just mine?”

“Whole story,” Vanitas bit out, hands twisting on the railing that he used to keep himself upright. Riku looked to him before his eyes dropped back down to Aqua. She nodded once, slow. Riku’s eyes closed once more, a barely heard sigh slipping through his lips. His eyes opened again.

And Riku told them.

“Hundreds of years ago, the Keybearers did indeed destroy our own empire through the War started by unknown causes, though it has been theorized that it was from power hungry Nobles trying to pull a coup. Most died. A lot of people died. But the youngest princess of the Emperor’s family didn’t. She had long fled from the continent, sickened by the corruption that had spread through the Noble Houses and seeped even into her own home, unable to continue living there. Her name was Sigrun. Following her were her four closest friends, Xehanort, Eraqus, Helgi and Heimdall. They watched the war unfold from afar, watched the thousands of deaths that occurred, refusing to get involved in the War. And once the dust had settled, she traveled back to the world that had been destroyed.

“She gathered all the remaining Keybearers and gave them a choice. Choose peace or die. Surprisingly, the first few to swear allegiance to her were the few Noble children who had survived. Many, as it turned out, were of like mind to her, done with their parents’ scheming and trickery. And to these, she bestowed an unimaginable power that still travels through their bloodlines today, the few that are left. To the others who eventually joined her, she took them across the ocean, and used a long-lost power to create an inaccessible ring of mountains, hiding them from the world. The stories say she pulled them straight up from the sea.

“Using the materials from the mountains, the remaining Keybearers built a grand city of Towers that floated on the surface of the water. Eight Towers were created but only six are inhabited. She grew up, married, had kids, and passed the rulership of the city to her oldest, creating the line of Kings that still rule the city. Her closest friends created two of the noble houses, Flores and Speculo, while the other noble children created the others. The city was named Scala Ad Caelum. The home of the Keybearers.

“And for hundreds of years, we remained safe and away from the world. No one knew we were alive, and we had no interest in the outside world. Not when we had so thoroughly destroyed it before.”

Riku paused in his story, looking up at them. His eyes had dropped to the ground as he had spoken the story. He seemed tired but happy at the same time, as if telling the story of his people was both exhausting and exhilarating. Sora wasn’t ashamed to admit he had been leaning forward the whole story. They had always been told the story of the Keyblade Wielders but never in this much detail.

Kairi had a look similar to his, captivated but wary still, while Ven was more subdued but still interested. Aqua and Terra both watched Riku with careful eyes and Vanitas, of all people, was also leaned forward in interest, green eyes completely fixed on Riku.

“How I come into the story is much more traumatic,” Riku chuckled self-deprecatingly, before sucking in a deep breath. His eyes closed again. “I was kidnapped by a shadow three years ago from my home in Scala ad Caelum.” Sora felt a stab of pain go through him at that. No wonder Riku was so touch adverse and socially inept. “And I’m now trying to find my way home.” There was silence again and Riku curled into himself more as every second of silence went by. Eventually, Sora broke the silence.

“Riku…” Sora said, looking at the older boy, waiting until Riku’s eyes were focused on him to continue. “Why didn’t you tell us? About you, about everything? We would have helped you get home sooner.”

“Sooner?” Aqua questioned, eyes looking between the two of them and Sora was reminded that it wasn’t just the two of them.

Kairi answered her, looking like she was slowly processing and understanding what she had heard. “Riku, Sora, and I have been trying to find Riku’s home over the past couple days. We think we found it.”

“Were you ever planning to tell us the truth?” Vanitas asked Riku, drawing the conversation away from the place of Riku’s home and further back to the topic of Keyblade Wielder. Sora furrowed his eyebrows a little at the tension in Vanitas’s voice. It didn’t make sense for Vanitas to be so… Sora didn’t know. Vanitas was acting weird.

Riku shrugged, but there was still a melancholy hint to it. He was as… uncaring about the subject as he clearly wanted them to believe from his body language. “I don’t know. People knowing what I am… has only ever led to pain.”

Sora hated that he could see that. In every movement Riku made, every sentence he spoke, every way he tried to distance himself from the rest of them, showed his hesitance to others.

“I think we all need a minute,” Aqua interjected and Riku nodded, shooting Sora and the other teenagers one final look before quickly disappearing back under the deck. Ventus hurried over to Vanitas, just as easily seeing his brother’s agitated state. Sora felt Kairi’s hand tighten around his, squeezing. He squeezed back, mind still drifting slightly.

He’d had some of his questions answered, but they had also just created more.

Riku was a Keyblade Wielder. He was a Keyblade Wielder, like the ones that Sora had read about so often before bed. But he also seemed to know something about Sora’s dreams.

So, what did that make Sora?

Chapter Text

I’m an idiot, I’m a fool. Riku’s thoughts swirled and swarmed loudly in his head, his palm burning, despite him just having used Way To The Dawn earlier that morning, most likely in response to his heightened senses and heart rate. What was I thinking, telling them the truth like that? He hurried down the hallway, trying not to trip over his feet, wanting to get to his room as soon as possible, just in case one of the others decided they had more questions they wanted answered. He couldn’t speak more about this. Not now.

Basically slamming his door open, he closed it just as fast, rubbing his hands together after, in an attempt to negate the burning perhaps? I’m an idiot. He debated locking the door but decided against it. Not another thing to make them potentially mad at him.

If they didn’t think he was dangerous, they thought he was crazy, they had to. Even with Aqua’s story about possibly knowing a Bloodline in her youth, they couldn’t possibly have believed him. The Keybearers were gone to the rest of them world, wiped out in a war of their own starting. They didn’t have the already shattered suspension of disbelief to help with the story telling.

He paced in the room, moving from one wall to the other before turning and walking back, twisting his hands together forcefully, feet tripping and stumbling but not falling. Even if he didn’t have to worry now about them coming in and seeing him holding Way To The Dawn, because that ship had sailed, the Keyblade unfortunately held nothing but bad memories. Not exactly the thing you wanted to summon when panicking. Good memories too but now bittersweet memories.

He sucked in a shuddering breath, trying to fight past both a flashback and a panic attack. I’m an idiot, I’m a fool. Feeling his knees grow weak under him, he staggered over to the desk and collapsed on it, knocking over the stack of star charts Kairi must have put on the desk before running off to answer the bell of danger. Had it really only been an hour ago that they had been discussing homes, with unease on both sides, Riku had to add though he didn’t know where it had come from, and joking with each other, allowing their discovery of Riku’s home to build up their spirits? Would Kairi still even show him which map it was? Would Sora still allow him to use his map from his book?

Riku didn’t know why he followed Sora when he had brought up using his books. It didn’t make sense. Sora had told him in the past few days that he enjoyed reading make believe books, books of legends and myths and fantasy stories. But Sora had been so… determined, so earnest that this would help, so how could he say no? A couple of weeks and he already couldn’t say no to Sora. But now… Sora must have read about Keyblade Wielders, his books must have had those in it. It only made sense. Riku could have sworn he saw Daybreak written on that book Sora had been flipping through. He had been about to ask about it when…

The journal. Sora was a Bloodline. That was the only explanation. Sora had to be a Bloodline. There was no other explanation. Perhaps it was good that they had found Riku’s home today. He could take Sora with him, when he returned. If he still trusted him. If he still liked him. If he didn’t hate him. Help Sora summon his Keyblade and learn to wield it in the way Riku should have, instead of scrambling to stay alive day after day. Instead of staggering through death, knowing that if you let go, you doomed yourself and all your friends to painful, slow ends.

Would he take Kairi with him too? Riku highly doubted that Kairi would allow herself to be separated from Sora but, so far, unless she was also having dreams, there was no indication that she was also a Bloodline. Unless she and Sora were siblings, which Riku highly, highly doubted they were, there was no guarantee. And he didn’t know if Saïx and Axel would allow non-Keybearers to stay in Scala.

Well, scratch that. He must have been gone longer than he thought. There were plenty of non-Keybearers living in Scala, some who would never get a Keyblade or others who had given them up or chosen not to learn the arts.

Noi, did you choose the Keyblade? Would it even have been a choice for you? He wondered, slumping over to rest his head on his desk, facing the back wall. You should have gotten one because your father had one and I doubt marrying into House Speculo would allow you to not cultivate at least a bond with your Keyblade, but are you even old enough? I got mine at fourteen and very few people have done that. You’re about Sora’s age so anything possible. Do you even want one? You had never been that interested when Roxas would talk about them.

He was at least sure in the fact that Naminé couldn’t have one yet. She had been nine when he had been abducted, so she would only be twelve now, thirteen maybe if he had truly lost that much time and memory. Oh Naminé, you’ve probably changed so much. Do you even remember me? Remember what I look like? When I picture you, all I can see is little nine-year-old you. How much have you changed?

He sighed again. I’m so close to finding you and yet… I’ve never been farther.

He closed his eyes. He could almost see her. The white dress she loved to wear, sleeveless and short, her’s, Xion’s, and Riku’s House Symbol embroidered into the hem. Blue sandals and pink hair clips, all different shapes, and a dark blue sash around her waist with the crest of House Speculo, a sign of her future association with the House. Riku had never worn one, even when Noi and Naminé had started to. He wouldn’t have been a part of the House anyway. Not as their stepbrother.

The picture of Naminé faded away to show Noi, all bumbling limbs and gap tooth smiles of her twelve-year self. Riku had always been there to take care of her, even before her mother had passed on. Sending her to sleep and celebrating her accomplishments. Watching over her as she spent time with Saro before Saro became Roxas and things became awkward between them after their Betrothal. Being there when she cried and broke down about her future being decided for her by her mother’s dying wish, not being able to find it in herself to hate her mother but being upset all the same.

What happened between the two of you? Did you figure out how to stay friends even with this between you? Or have you been unhappy these past three years, without me there to comfort you?

My beautiful sisters… I’m sorry. I’m so sor-

“Riku?” The sound of his name ripped him out of his thoughts, and he blinked in surprise and confusion when he opened his eyes to see the light of sunset streaming in through the window. Had he fallen asleep?

“Riku?” Sora asked again and Riku sat up, shaking his head and trying to rub sleep from his eyes. He felt slow and lethargic, which was another point in favor of the fact that he fell asleep.

“Yeah Sora?” He replied, hoping his voice didn’t give away the fact that he had been sleeping. Sleeping was never a good thing to get caught doing.

“Can I- May I come in?” Riku frowned at that statement, as well as the hesitance in it. He thought Sora and Kairi would want nothing to do with him after he lied so blatantly.

“If you want to,” he settled on, trying for a neutral tone. He had admitted enough today.

The door creaked open slowly, and Sora peered in, just his head and upper showing for a second before he opened the door fully. He stood there for a second, hesitance written into every limb, and hands curled into fists. Riku found himself sitting up straighter almost instinctively, wondering what was bothering Sora so much. Sora took a small step in, as if thinking Riku was going to retract his invitation of entrance. Riku was a little surprised that Kairi wasn’t hovering on his shoulder. His mistake. He had thought that neither of them would have let the other out of their sight, not with Kairi’s near death that day. His heart picked up at just the thought, of the blood that had arced through the air, Kairi’s scream that sounded so much like Noi’s, like Shiki’s, when she had fallen down the steps at eight, when the beast had thrown her to the ground, scraping up her side.

He shut down that line of thought, hands twitching again, feeling the urge to dig his nails into his arm. He had no right to compare the three two of them.

“Riku?” Sora, right. Focusing his eyes back, he saw the fifteen-year-old shifting back and forth on his feet, still only halfway into the room, hand on the doorknob.

“Did you need something?” Riku asked, trying to keep all his emotions out of his voice. He cursed himself in the back of his head when his voice wavered a little. He used to be so good at that. The weeks on the ship had made him soft. Is that so bad?

“Riku…” Sora started, pursing his lips and flicking his eyes around the room, like he was uncomfortable to talk to Riku. No shock there, the cynical part of Riku’s brain hissed out. You knew you would lose them once the truth came out.

“Yes Sora?” He prompted, wanting to get this whole conversation over with. So Sora would stop avoiding his gaze and looking uncomfortable with his presence, like they hadn’t been joking in laughing an hour ago. I’m an idiot, I’m a fool.

“What’s a Station of Awakening?”

Riku blinked in shock. He hadn’t been expecting Sora to ask that. He hadn’t even realized Sora remembered his words to him. They had been rightly distracted by the invading pirates. But at the same time… Tell him or don’t. Say yes or no.

“Why do you want to know?” Riku asked instead of them myriad of other things he wanted to say. Should he explain this to Sora? Would he even believe him? Riku had already lied to him once, would Sora even believe that anything that came out of Riku’s mouth was truth?

“Because my dreams have been bothering me,” Sora said, Riku able to hear the shaking confidence that was being pushed into his words. “And I want to know the truth. You seem to know it.” Riku sighed, in both resignation and pain, and the scene flickered, instead a twelve-year-old Roxas looking at him, asking him if he hated him for what his parents had arranged between him and Riku’s sister. Both wanting answers and being surprised at the ones they would get.

“Sit, Sora.” Riku waved to his bed and Sora finally entered his room completely, edging his way to Riku’s bed, sitting on the edge of it and clasping his hands together tightly. Sora’s eyes wouldn’t meet Riku’s and Riku had a feeling that Sora probably wouldn’t like the answer that he would be given. Do you want to be chosen? He mentally asked Sora. Or do you want to be normal? Because I’m afraid that option is long gone.

“Is this a Keyblade thing?” Sora asked into the silence and Riku huffed out a breath, turning his chair to face Sora, the scrape of the legs against the wood the only sound in the room.

“Do you want it to be?” Sora was silent. It wasn’t an answer, but an acknowledgment all the same. Riku almost didn’t want to answer but… “Yes, it is.”

Sora slumped over, pressing his forehead to his clasped hands. Riku didn’t say anything, allowing Sora to process at his own speed. He doubted Sora had ever though that this would happen.

“Why?” Sora eventually asked, raising his head again to look at Riku. “I’m not a Keyblade Wielder.”

Riku shook his head slowly, thinking over the words in his head. What would be the best way to say this? “That might not be entirely true.” Sora’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and Riku sighed. Time to poke at old wounds. “Sora… How much do you remember of your parents?”

Sora’s breath stuttered and he dropped his gaze again, eyes traveling to his hands, which he unclenched and instead balanced palms up on his knees. Riku knew this was painful for him, the memory of Sora’s eyes as they watched the dawn together at Atlantica, the whispered words of his oldest memory. But it was important.

“Nothing,” Sora said, voice soft and shaky. “Even though I wish I did.” Riku nodded at this. It wasn’t the greatest, but there was another way.

“Did they leave anything with you, specifically jewelry?” Sora shook his head again and Riku felt his chest grow a little tighter. There truly was no way to know who Sora’s parents had been and whether or not they had also known of their heritage. Perhaps they hadn’t, perhaps they had lived their lives in carefree anonymity, until they had to send their son away.

“Sora, from what I can tell,” Riku started, drawing Sora’s attention back to him. “You’re a Bloodline.” Sora’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the emphasis of the word and Riku paused again, thinking over his words. “Basically… all those years ago, Sigrun wasn’t able to find all the surviving Keybearers. How could she? It would have been an impossible task in a world as large as ours is. But their blood and their ability to use the Keyblade was passed down through their children and their grandchildren and creating a whole new group of Keybearers who weren’t at Scala. Who didn’t always conjure Keyblades. Who did or didn’t know the secret to their blood. But some do. And we call them Bloodlines.”

Sora’s eyes widened in realization. “Sora,” Riku said, looking at his hopefully still friend. “You’re a Bloodline. A Keybearer who will manifest a Keyblade but not one from Scala.”

“I’m…” Sora’s voice trailed off as he looked at his hands again, now with shock, wonder, and fear. “I’m a Keyblade Wielder?”

“Yes,” Riku said softly, as gently as he could. Sora didn’t say anything for a second, still staring at his hands, and Riku waited for him to be the first one to speak.

“What if I don’t want to be?” Sora asked, curling his hands into fists. Riku winced.

“I don’t know,” Riku admitted. “I never got the choice to not be a Keybearer. It was the only thing that kept me alive.” Sora looked back at him at this. “But with your dreams of your Station of Awakening, it is all but confirmed that your Keyblade is, at least, sleeping within you.”

“What is my Station of Awakening?” Sora asked him, tipping his head to the side in question, rounding their conversation all the way back to the beginning.

“In short, it is your Heart,” Riku answered, hands twitching as he fought down the urge to use them to explain like he used to. “Your Heart given physical form. A reflection of your bonds and the people closest to you.” Riku shrugged. “Or at least, that’s what I was told. But I was told a long time ago, so I could be wrong. No one expected me to get a Keyblade, so I never got taught.”

“And dreaming of this ‘Station of Awakening’ means that I have a Keyblade?” Sora clarified, slowly rubbing his hands together, clearly more of a nervous tic than anything.

“Your Keyblade is now sleeping in your Heart,” Riku clarified. “When you summon it though, is up to you. I summoned mine three months after I started dreaming. I think,” he continued hurriedly, seeing the panicked look that was overtaking Sora’s face. “I didn’t have that much grasp of the passing of time during that time, and I needed my Keyblade to survive. You don’t, so it might not come to you as fast.”

Sora nodded, the panic receding and instead leaving behind a thoughtful look. “Do I have to keep this secret?”

“No,” Riku responded. “It was going to come out one way or another. And I’ve learned my lesson about keeping secrets from you.” Sora stood at this, walking back to the door.

“Riku,” he said, turning back to look at him with a small smile. “I’m not mad at you for keeping this a secret. And I don’t think anyone else is. That was a completely understandable thing to do. I’m just glad you’re okay. That couldn’t have been easy.”

“The explanation was simple-”

“I meant defending us,” Sora interrupted. “Thanks for doing that. But you don’t have to shoulder everything on your own now. You’ve got me and Kairi and everyone else on the ship. We just found your home, after all. We have a reason to visit now.” With that Sora left, pulling the door closed behind him and leaving Riku to his thoughts.

Well, that hadn’t gone like he was expecting.

~

Lea was torn between wanting to ask what had gotten his husband so distracted and not wanting to make it worse if the thought was bad.

He sat in the reclining chair in their room, watching Isa carefully sort through reports Lea was sure he had read two days ago and signed off on.

“Okay spill,” Lea finally said as Isa turned to pick up something he had put down two minutes ago. “What’s got you so distracted?”

Isa sighed, eyes flicking up to the ceiling for a quick second before turning to him. “How is Xion’s and Roxas’s training going?” Lea narrowed his eyes.

“While I’m glad you care, why do want to know?” He challenged. “Aren’t you usually too busy to ask something like that? I thought you trusted me with their training?” He sat up slowly, watching his husband with a careful gaze.

Isa huffed. “I do. It’s just-” His husband placed the papers down on the desk, bringing one hand up to massage one of his temples.

“Just what?” Lea asked, not wanting to allow Isa to worm his way out of this conversation, like he had countless times before. Not your job, Isa would often tell him.

Isa sighed. “Keep an eye out for symbols in the sky, okay?” Lea startled, violently, at this.

“What?!” He exclaimed, sitting up further in shock. But Isa didn’t answer him, not in any meaningful way.

“Just do it,” his husband sighed out, turning back around.

“Isa! That’s not an answer!”

“I’ll tell you if it happens.” Lea growled, rubbing his chest with the heel of his hand, a nervous tic that had developed at fifteen.

“You better.”

Chapter Text

Dinner was a quiet affair that night to the point that it was nearly painful. Riku had chosen not to join them, something he hadn’t done since that first week, and his absence was deafening. Everything seemed louder as the rest of them avoided the elephant in the room. Kairi frowned over her soup, staring at Sora who had eaten almost nothing, simply pushing the meal around with his spoon, eyes blank and staring at nothing. Vanitas was also breathtakingly silent and Ven’s eyes kept flicking up to his brother in worry, as if debating whether or not to try and talk to him.

Aqua, Terra, Kairi, and Ven had exchanged pleasantries when dinner had started, as they usually did, and had certainly tried to keep a conversation, but with the silence from both the usually loudest member and the unnatural silence from their quietest member, their voices slowly trickled off, instead exchanging glances that said both everything and nothing.

As she watched Sora push a carrot from one side of his bowl to the other, eyes unfocused and mouth in a slight frown, she decided she’d had enough. This was worrying behavior and while it could have been brushed off as a side effect of this afternoon, and everything that had happened, she knew it wasn’t. She knew Sora better than that.

“Okay, what is with you?” She asked, slamming her spoon onto the table, harder than she meant to, and causing all the others in the room, except Vanitas, to jump. Sora shot his gaze to her, blinking in shock and confusion.

“What?” He asked blankly, slightly delayed as if he hadn’t realized she was talking to him. Or he had to drag himself out of his thoughts. Terra flicked his eyes back and forth between them, as if debating the need to get involved.

“You’ve been out of it all dinner,” Kairi snapped out, before gesturing at the plate. “You’ve barely touched your food.”

“Oh,” Sora said softly, before turning slightly to the captain. “Sorry Aqua, I know you worked hard on this.”

“Thank you, Sora,” Aqua replied, a slightly concerned look in her eyes as she looked at the boy, placing her own utensils down. “But I think Kairi means that you aren’t usually this reserved.” Reserved, Kairi scoffed in her mind, settling back in her chair and crossing her arms, trying to push the feeling of something being wrong down until it was deep in her chest. He’s been dead silent. Sora wasn’t like that at all.

“I’m sorry,” Sora whispered, finally putting his spoon down and lacing his fingers together. He gazed down at the table and refused to meet their gazes. Kairi sat up a little at that, concern for Sora building up in her and she knew she wasn’t the only one to feel it. “It’s just… something Riku told me.” Kairi wasn’t the only one to raise an eyebrow at that, frowning in confusion.

Sora could have talked to Riku during that hour that they were apart, when Terra was fixing up the last of her injuries that hadn’t been cured by Riku and she had gotten a change of clothes. But what could he have said that worried Sora so much?

“Do you feel comfortable sharing?” Kairi questioned, softer than before. Sora sighed, not looking up from the table, and his hands twitched.

“I don’t know. Riku said it probably couldn’t, or wouldn’t, remain a secret, especially if we decided to go to Riku’s home.” Sora sounded… not scared but certainly wary, and Kairi couldn’t help the slight hurt in her chest at this. Sora shouldn’t be afraid to talk to her about anything. He shouldn’t be afraid of any of them.

“Well, it’s your secret to tell,” Aqua said kindly with a smile, flicking her eyes to Kairi as if in warning. “None of us will push you.” Kairi dropped her gaze to her bowl and scowled ever so slightly. She wasn’t trying to make Sora feel bad or feel pressured to reveal whatever it was, she just wanted to help. Sora was her best friend and she wanted to still be able to confide in him and be confided to in return, like they had before all this started. She wanted Sora to feel the same way about her as she felt about him.

“Riku said there were some Keyblade Wielders who didn’t live in Scala Ad Caelum after the war,” Sora said in a rush, immediately cringing backwards as all of their gazes flicked to him, including Ven’s and Vanitas’s, who had just been watching mutely. The pressure in the room racked up a couple notches as the silence hung there for a second. Kairi frowned in confusion. Where had that come from? And what was the point of saying it? “And that they passed their ability to wield the Keyblade down through their bloodlines.” Aqua mouthed Bloodline from across the table and Kairi was reminded of the small exchange between Aqua and Riku, where Riku had described someone as a Bloodline. Sora raised his head, blue eyes clear with worry. “Riku seems to think my parents came from one of these lines. Making me… one of them as well.”

Kairi froze. What? What? Sora was a… Sora could be a… HUH?

It seemed her thoughts were reflected across the table as Terra choked slightly, Aqua’s mouth dropped open, Vanitas froze, and Ven blinked in shock. Sora curled into himself, ducking his head to not look at any of them.

Sora was a Keyblade Wielder?? Kairi stared at Sora, feeling untethered and floaty. Sora could possibly wield a blade like Riku had? He could do magic like Riku had? One, that would be so cool. It would be amazing. Two, there wasn’t really anything wrong with that. Sora shouldn’t have been scared to tell them that. Another thought occurred to her.

Could she? She and Sora had grown up together and while they weren’t related, they were still probably from the same area of Radiant Garden. Was that even possible? She could admit part of her was reaching but…

“You’re a what?” Vanitas asked, voice a strange tone and yanking Kairi from her thoughts and throwing her back into the present. Sora turned his head to look at Vanitas, a sliver of confusion passing through his face at the strange tone in Vanitas’s voice and Ven turned to look at his brother, frowning at him. Kairi felt the same confusion rush through her. Vanitas never reacted like this and had never raised his voice at the younger kids. When Vanitas got upset, he got quiet, not loud.

“According to Riku, I have the potential to become a Keyblade Wielder,” Sora repeated. Aqua also looked to Vanitas, opening her mouth to say something, only to be cut off when Vanitas abruptly stood up and left the room, leaving the door swinging open. Kairi felt her brain skip in confusion. What…?

“Vanitas?” Ven called in shock, standing as well, but not leaving. But there was no reply from Ven’s older brother, which was another huge red flag, and Ven sat down with a thump, blinking in shock, and exchanged a bewildered look with Kairi.

“Did I say something wrong?” Sora asked, eyes flicking from Aqua to Terra to Kairi.

“No, you didn’t,” Aqua said, mystified, as she stared at the swinging door. “I think Vanitas just needs… some time to process this. You know he doesn’t do well with change.” But her voice was soft and confused, as if she didn’t truly believe what she was saying.

Kairi slid her gaze over to Sora and could see the same thought reflected in him as it was in her. That wasn’t a normal reaction, even with everything that had happened today.

“How did he know?” Kairi asked, wanting to know more. “Riku, that it. About you being a… Bloodline,” she clarified, and Sora frowned ever so slightly.

“My dreams,” he replied, and Kairi hummed. She knew Sora had bad dreams, she was familiar with the way he would wake suddenly and the way his eyes would be foggy and unfocused, like he had just been looking off into the distance before being dragged back to the real world. As well as the truly bad dreams and their consequences. But dreams were the cause of it? “Apparently, I’m dreaming of a sign that means I have a Keyblade.

“And the reason I brought it up,” Sora continued, dragging their attentions back to him. “Was because I wanted to ask if we were going to find Riku’s home.” Terra and Aqua both looked at them, moving their eyes from where they had been having another one of their silent conversations, no doubt about Vanitas.

“I think that’s more Riku’s decision than ours,” Terra said, frowning. “If he wants to find his home, then we can definitely help him.”

“We found it,” Kairi inserted, causing Aqua and Terra to look at her. “Right before the pirates’ attack. It’s a little over a week’s journey from here, in empty ocean.”

“Is it bad that I’m interested?” Ven asked, voice quiet and eyes not looking at them. It was clear he was still affected by Vanitas’s abrupt exit. “I kinda want to see it. Riku’s home.” Kairi couldn’t help but agree with him. Aqua nodded to him, a careful look on her face and Terra reached out to place his hand on Aqua’s in support.

“We’ll ask Riku tomorrow.”

~

The next morning dawned bright and early and with it, the return of Kairi’s anxiety. She and Sora hadn’t really talked about what he had told them the night before and even now, she could feel them dancing around the topic as they got ready for the day, both of them wanting to talk about it but being unable to start the conversation. Kairi ended up hurrying through her routine, forgetting her hair clips if only to escape the tense atmosphere.

Heading up the deck, she winced slightly as she saw Riku leaning on the railing watching the water. In the past couple of weeks, they hadn’t managed to get him out of his habit of waking up early. At least that was still normal.

For once, neither Terra nor Aqua was up at the helm because they had no destination. They hadn’t come to a conclusion of where to go next, so they instead just let the wind push them through the night and they would figure out which way to head today. It all depended on whether or not Riku wanted to find his home.

She didn’t look up to the crow’s nest as she walked down the deck. She didn’t know if Vanitas was still in his mood.

“Hey,” she said lightly as she took a place next to Riku, eyes fixed on the water. She leaned on the railing, hands clasped in front of her, and did her best not to look directly at the sun or the places where the water was particularly bright. “Pretty sunrise?” He made a noise of agreement, quieter than usual. Kairi could see his right palm going back and forth between being in a closed fist and open. She wondered if it was a tic of his.

“I never thanked you,” she mentioned, and this truly grabbed Riku’s attention, his eyes moving from the water to her, confusion written in them. “For saving my life yesterday.”

“Oh,” Riku seemed to scramble for words and Kairi couldn’t help the small relief that went through her when it seemed like Riku hadn’t changed that much. “You don’t… need to?” Kairi frowned back at him, narrowing her eyes.

“Of course, I need to!” She exclaimed. “You saved my life!” With magic! Part of her shouted in her mind. Which she really wanted to learn. His shoulders hunched and he looked away from her, eyes squinting in the bright light.

“I lied to you first,” he countered. “I-”

“Nope,” she cut him off with a wave of her hand, making sure to try and keep her tone light and airy. “We discussed this. You aren’t obligated to tell us everything and you didn’t lie to us.”

“Lie of omission,” Riku grumbled, and Kairi sighed, low and long. Geeze, was Riku determined to try and make her hate him? As if she ever could. When had that happened?

“Doesn’t count,” she said. “You never told us something else, so you never lied to us. And,” she continued on when it looked like he was going to interrupt. “even though you could have stayed silent and done nothing, you chose to expose yourself and save my life. That counts for something.” His gaze flicked to her so fast Kairi was worried about his neck.

“I couldn’t just let you die!” He sounded scandalized. “Who does that?”

“A bad person,” she said. “Which you certainly are not.” He huffed but didn’t try to argue with her any further. She paused. Should she wait for Aqua and the others to ask him. A lot of people might worry him, but this was the type of decision that should be made together. She bit her lip.

“Do you want to go home?” She finally asked before she could stop herself. Riku jumped from next to her, which was a surprise in itself, but she knew it was more from the content of the question than the surprise of it.

“What?” He asked, sounding very shocked and Kairi contained another sigh.

“Your home,” she repeated. “We know where it is. We could very easily take you there.”

“I shouldn’t-”

“You shouldn’t what?” She pressed. “Go home? If you want to go home, you should. I think that’s something that everyone will agree with.”

“I can’t make you guys take me.” He sounded like he was grasping at straws, and he knew that he was. “And you all have no connections to the place and it’s so out of your way and-”

“One, you’re not making us take you, we’re offering,” Kairi listed, counting off on her fingers. “Two, we have Sora’s connection to figure out,” Riku looked to her in… not surprise, but some other emotion. It made her pause for the slightest second. Had he really thought that Sora would keep it from them? Or that they wouldn’t talk about it? “Three, we are going nowhere right now. We have nowhere to be. And four,” she stopped and placed her hand on Riku’s shoulder, turning his forcefully to look at her. “You’re our friend. You mean something to us. If we could take you back to your home, a place that you haven’t seen in three years and that you didn’t choose to leave, then we’d do it. None of us have homes to return to. Let us give you yours back.” He blinked at her, and she sucked in a breath as she noticed the wetness to them. “Oh sorry, I’m sorry,” she babbled. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I was too pushy, wasn’t I? I-”

“Kairi, it’s okay,” he whispered, wiping away one of his tears before it could fall. “It’s just… you remind me of someone I used to know. So much.”

“Who?”

“…My sister, Noi,” Riku said after a quick pause, looking away back to the water, looking into memories. He relaxed ever so slightly, hands and body untensing as his eyes clouded for a second, no doubt falling back into memories. “She’s just like you.”

“Point five,” Kairi said softly, trying not to let this new information startle her and ruin her sales pitch. “You have family waiting for you.” Riku looked down, hands retightening on the railing so much that Kairi was slightly worried he was going to break it.

He sucked in a deep breath. “Are you sure the others are okay with this?” And she was so close to jumping for joy because that was as close to an admittance that he wanted to go home as she would get.

“Of course, we are,” came Sora’s voice from behind her and they both turned to see Sora walking across the deck. He had a soft smile on his face and hands in his pockets, playing at being casual but Kairi could see the slight tension in him, the radiating happiness because he no doubt could also tell that was a confession that Riku wanted to go home. “It’s your home Riku. You don’t have to worry alone anymore.” He reached them and leaned on the railing next to Riku. “And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in learning about myself there as well. You said I could summon a Keyblade. That’s a pretty cool thing to learn.” Kairi nodded along with him.

“Okay,” Riku breathed out, looking to the sun. “Let’s ask Aqua about it.”

“She’ll say yes,” Kairi confirmed, leaning ever so slightly on Riku’s shoulder, trying to offer comfort. “She will.”

~

And she did. Kairi looked out into the night sky, trying to track the stars as she always did. Looking for the Spectral Keyblade. Looking for the constellation that would take Riku home. Sora was curled up next to her on the deck as well, already asleep while Ven was laying across from him, also in the realm of dreams. Riku stood at the front of the ship, looking out, and Kairi was going to grab him soon to sleep. Everyone else was except Terra and that was because he was steering.

A few more days and they would see Riku’s home. And hopefully get answers to a lot of things.

~

The Council looked up from whatever they had been doing. This shift… Was it really time? Could it possibly be?

One of them smiled. He was glad that all his years of bringing the Ones the Prophecy Spoke Of together had finally paid off.

The Beginning of the End was coming. It was just a matter of time.

He paused, before another smile crossed his lips. He couldn’t help but remember that his sister hated that saying.

Perhaps instead, it was The End of the Beginning.

Chapter Text

The mountain range seemed to touch the sky with how tall it was. Clouds wreathed around the tips, hiding them from sight, while waves crashed against sheer sides, causing foam and spray to scatter across the air. Sora knew that if they got close enough, the waves were high enough that they would hit them up on The Wayfinder’s deck. Riku had told them that his home was surrounded by mountains. Sora knew how big mountains could be. Riku had answered several of their questions, including ones about the mountains, on their way here. But the week and a half trip here had not prepared him for the sheer scale of it.

“Riku…” Sora breathed out in shock, unable to make his voice louder, staring up at the mountains. “You lived through here?” He couldn’t imagine it. And something poked him in the back of his mind, something that said, “You’ve seen this place before.”

“Yeah.” The other teen visibly swallowed as he answered, seemingly on the verge of tears. Riku was at the front of the ship looking out at the mountains, green eyes reflecting the sunlight, hands gripping the railing with more force than Sora thought possible. “Yeah, this is my home.” Kairi was sitting on one of the crates at Sora’s side, eyes wide and mouth parted slightly, while Ven and Vanitas looked out from the crow’s nest, no noise coming down from them. Sora could tell they were all taken aback as much as he was. He couldn’t see Aqua’s or Terra’s reactions from where he stood, but their silence spoke a thousand words.

“Ok Riku,” Aqua said after a few seconds, carefully guiding the ship ever closer to the wall of rock. Stars, the mountains were tall. “How do we get through?” Water slapped the sides of the ship, spray managing to get through the railing and creating small puddles on the sides of the deck.

“I have to unlock it,” Riku replied, taking a few shaking steps forward until he stood at the very front of the ship, reaching out a hand as if he thought he could touch the mountain. “I think, at least,” he muttered under his breath, and Sora was pretty sure only he had heard it.

“Unlock it?” Ven called down, leaning over the side of the crow’s nest, clearly listening in. Sora could barely see Vanitas, the older man hidden in the shade of the flag, only his arm visible from where it gripped the back of Ven’s jacket, making sure he didn’t fall over the side. Not that Ven ever had but Vanitas could be cautious. Often. “Like, with your Keyblade?”

Riku didn’t answer, instead summoning the blade to his hand in a flash of light and sound, lifting it to face the mountains. Sora leaned forward slightly to look at Riku better, able to see clearly now his shaking hands and the way most of the color had drained out of his face. Just as the Keyblade started to glow, Sora interrupted.

“Riku,” he said, trying to be soothing, stepping forward to place a hand on the other boy’s shoulder, feeling Kairi’s gaze on his back as he did so. “If you aren’t ready for this, we don’t have to go.” Riku blinked, slowly at first before his words seemed to fully register with the older boy and he dropped his Keyblade down as he turned to look at him.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, seemingly genuinely confused, eyes searching Sora’s. “This is what I’ve been working towards. Getting home.”

“Yes, but you don’t seem ready,” Sora replied, trying to make Riku understand. “You seem scared.” Riku made a face at this, fully banishing his Keyblade and instead looking down at the deck. Sora wanted to hug him but had a feeling it wouldn’t be appreciated at the time. Later then.

“I’m not-” he started, but this time Kairi interrupted, having stood up from her seat, moving forward to stand next to Sora.

“Riku, from what you told us,” she started, eyes determined. “You were kidnapped from here. A place that was supposed to be safe.” Riku flinched and his hands curled into fists, not negating the shaking in them. “And it’s been three years. You’ve changed and I bet whoever is waiting for you has changed. It’s okay to be a little scared.”

Riku huffed, clearly off put by their words. “I can’t just… not… go home. I promised them I’d always be there for them, and you all brought me here.”

“Don’t take us into account,” Sora said gently, not removing his hand from Riku’s shoulder. “You should only be worried about you. And the fact that you have family to return to is good. But if you aren’t ready to face them, seeing them again might just hurt you and them.”

“And hey, if worst comes to worst,” Aqua said, making all three of them jump as they remembered they were out in the open deck with the rest of the crew. “You always have a place here on the ship. If you need it.”

Riku stared at all of them in shock before chuckling slightly. Sora could see the slight mistiness of his eyes that he was clearly working to not let free. “Th-thanks Aqua,” he responded unsteadily. “Thanks Sora, Kairi.” He swallowed again before steeling himself and gently removing Sora’s hand from his shoulder. “But I’ve got to do this.”

“Then we’re here for you one hundred percent,” Sora stated. Kairi nodded firmly and neither of the two made any attempts to walk backwards as Riku turned and faced the mountains again. His Keyblade reappeared and Sora noticed with some joy that it didn’t shake as much.

Riku took a deep breath and then light immitted from the Keyblade, shooting forward in a line to hit the side of the mountain with a whooshing sound. And, from where the light hit, a shape (or outline?) of a keyhole shimmered into being, accompanied by the sound of a key being turned in a lock. The keyhole vanished a second later, the light creating it being swept away by invisible wind.

A second later, the mountain started moving.

Shouts of alarm rose from Terra, Aqua, and Ven as waves suddenly rippled across the sea, sending the boat tipping back and forth. Sora and Kairi clung to each other as the wind whipped past their hair, Sora wrapping one arm around Kairi to help her stand, and, in front of them, Riku stood, unyielding and unchanged, gaze upturned and looking at the mountains.

The waves died as soon as they came and the mountain finished its move silently and peacefully, exposing bright sunlight and blue water just through the now gap in the mountain range. Sora looked at the sight and at Riku and was reminded of the fantasy books he loved so much. Of the hero facing his next challenge.

“Captain Aqua,” Riku said, his voice barely a whisper but still so strong. “There’s your entrance.” Aqua didn’t respond verbally, instead angling the ship to sail carefully between the mountains, trying to regain her bearings from the rather abrupt storm.

Inside the mountain range, the water was crystal clear, blue and beautiful, and everything was quiet. It was wonderful. It reminded Sora of the few tropical places they had gone, the places that seemed untouched by anything but sunlight.

“I didn’t know that would work,” Riku whispered out, hands wrapped around his Keyblade’s hilt. His gaze had dropped to it and his hands were back to shaking slightly.

“What do you mean?” Kairi asked, before immediately backing off. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine,” Riku said, raising his eyes again. “It’s just that… I never left this place, technically. I was teleported away by a shadow, and I only heard from eavesdropping or books that you’re supposed to “unlock” the mountains to get in. I suppose I just really wanted to enter so the mountains let me in.”

“Or you actually unlocked the mountains and are good with the Keyblade,” Sora countered. “Don’t sell yourself too short.” Riku looked over to him, a small smile curling around his lip. Sora couldn’t help but smile back.

“What are those?” Ven questioned, leaning over the side of the crow’s nest again, pointing outward, dragging their attentions back to the front. There, rising up from the water itself, were white things that would have been mountains themselves, if not for the strange color and smaller size of them. The sun burned bright off of them. Sora furrowed his eyebrows. You’ve seen this place before.

“Riku?” Kairi asked, turning her head slightly to the side to look at the older boy.

“The Towers,” he whispered out, barely breathing, looking like he was going to collapse. “I’m home.” He made a movement with his Keyblade but cut himself off halfway through. The wind blew past Sora’s ear and he turned to see the mountains slowly merge back together, closing the narrow passage with rumbling and groaning. There weren’t as many waves on this side of it.

“Hmmm,” Aqua hummed out, gazing up at the sails, now flat with the lack of wind, all of it being stopped by the mountains circling them. “Riku?” She asked. “How do we get to these Towers?”

“I can do an Aero spell,” Riku said, but Sora could see the blankness in his eyes that spoke of a flashback.

“Ok, ok, stop.” He moved his body to it was between Riku and the Towers. Not that it stopped Riku’s sight of them, Riku being taller than Sora, but he had to try. “Riku, stop.” He was very tempted to reach out but just because they had more time now to know each other didn’t mean that Riku wouldn’t lash out if he was in the middle of a flashback.

“Stop what?” Riku asked, but Sora was relieved to see that his eyes had moved from the Towers to him. The blankness was still there.

“Do you want to see them?” Sora asked again.

“Sora, you just asked me that,” Riku started, an indescribable emotion in his words, but it wasn’t anger.

“Riku!” Sora exclaimed, hoping the blankness would go away. “You don’t owe them anything. You don’t owe them to return if you aren’t ready for it.”

“I can’t just-” Riku cut himself off and abruptly sat on the ground, as if all his energy had been sapped in a second. Both Sora and Kairi made noises of concern and shock and sat down just as fast, Sora kneeling down in front of him and Kairi to the side.

“Riku?” Kairi asked and Riku shook his head, turning it away and angling it so his hair fell down in front of his head.

“Riku?” Sora asked, softer, reaching out to place a hand on Riku’s knee. Riku seemed to deflate.

“Maybe you’re right,” Riku’s voice was barely above a whisper, and he placed his hands in his lap, perhaps in an effort to hide the shake of them. “Maybe I am scared. But… I can’t be scared. I’m not allowed to be scared. I was always there for them. We both lost our fathers early and when my mother married theirs, I became both a big brother role and, in a way, a father role. And when my mother passed away just a few years later, that role grew even larger. They were everything to me and now… Now I think I’ve changed too much to take that role up again.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Sora said. Riku’s head snapped up and Sora could see the tears gathering in the corners of Riku’s eyes. His mouth opened to object to Sora’s words. “No, listen to me. You are different. And honestly? They probably are too. There is no way they haven’t changed in the last three years. Yes, you all are different and there is going to be no way to go back to being how you were. That just means you’ll get to know them all over again and rediscover your bond. Rediscover the way the three of you will operate. And there’s nothing wrong with that, right?” Riku paused for a second, clearly going over Sora’s words in his mind before his eyes dropped again.

“Not really,” Riku admitted.

“And that’s okay as well,” Sora continued, moving his hand to instead hold Riku’s, squeezing it gently. “You don’t have to be okay or ready immediately. But… will going home have a bad effect on you? Of any degree?” Riku paused and Sora was happy to see that he was really thinking about it.

“No,” Riku eventually settled on, blankness slowing draining from his eyes. “It will be… difficult but not bad.” Sora nodded firmly and, as he stood, he was abruptly reminded that they were on the open deck of their boat, and they weren’t alone. Honestly, he needed to get a grip. Second time that happened in the last ten minutes alone. Heat flamed across his cheeks, and he steadily refused to look at any of the other crewmembers, but he didn’t say anything, not wanting to bring this to Riku’s attention and undoubtedly cause even more embarrassment for the older boy. Thankfully, everyone was also good enough to not bring it up either.

“Ready?” Sora asked Riku, pulling him up as well and the older boy nodded, allowing a single tear to slide down his face before brushing them away. He summoned his Keyblade and, with one final breath, pointed it at the sky, letting another streak of light erupt from it. This one, instead of unlocking something, shot up into the air and exploded into a white symbol, tracing itself across the sky. A base, three loops, and two trailing ends.

“Here I am sisters,” Sora heard Riku say, voice broken and shaking while also having an undercurrent of confidence. “I’m home.”

~

Naminé dropped her books as her hands went numb, sending them to the ground in a great crash! that no doubt shook the house. She didn’t care. How could she? Her eyes were pinned to the window she had just passed, the window out to the sea. There, painted across the sky, was the symbol of House Somnia. Her old House. Xion’s old House. Riku’s Second House. That-That could only- She had been watching for a sign. She didn’t expect this. This could only mean one thing. For Kingdom Hearts, she hoped and prayed it only meant one thing.

“Naminé!” Xion exclaimed, throwing the door open behind her, no doubt drawn by the crashing sound. “What happened?”

“X-Xion,” Naminé stuttered out. “Look outside.” Xion came hurrying up to her side, trying to look at her, to look at what had caused her to drop her books. Naminé shook her head, rather forcefully. “Xion, look outside!” She shrieked, ripping herself out of her sister’s hold and running to the window.

“Naminé, what-” Naminé heard Xion’s voice abruptly end behind her and she knew that Xion must have seen it too.

“Xion…” Naminé whispered out, feeling her sister come stumbling up behind her, eyes locked on the symbol in the sky. Out of the window, Naminé could see the people looking up to the sky, confusion radiating through them, raising voices in shock. “Xion, it’s Brother.” Her voice cracked and broke and she could feel her feet turning without her commands. “It’s Riku.” That was the last thing she managed to get out of her mouth before she was sprinting out of the room, down the hallway, passing Roxas and ignoring his questions as she ran down the several staircases. She could hear Xion’s footsteps behind hers, Roxas’s voice asking questions, and the sound of the servants in the house realizing that something must have happened. A few of them were old enough to remember the old House symbol. A few of them knew what had happened.

It was one of these people who pulled the front door open for Naminé, allowing her to continue her run. She knew what it meant. She wasn’t going to stop the young heiress.

Naminé could hear Xion’s shouts from behind her, but they didn’t sound angry or commanding, they simply sounded shocked. Naminé didn’t stop for her. They were both going to the same place.

Cresting a hill, Naminé’s heart leaped to her chest when she saw the boat coming into port. Not a Scala boat, not a boat ever seen before. It was the boat that had her brother on it.

She kept running. She had waited too long to see her brother again.

~

Saïx raised his head at the pull of the Strings and spotted the symbol through the window. He Knew that Axel was already heading down there, to see what the commotion was. He didn’t know that it was to see whether or not Riku had truly returned home.

And to see whether or not he had brought the others.

Chapter Text

“RIKU!!!” He snapped his head up at the scream, whipping his gaze around to scan the dock they had sailed up to. His breath caught in his throat. The voice was different but the same, in a way. The same cadences when pronouncing his name, but different sounding. That couldn’t be…

But there, running down the dock towards them was a young girl in a white dress, blue sandals pounding on the wood, pink key shaped hairclips holding her hair back. Naminé, his mind whispered, sounding shocked even in his own head. It had to be. It couldn’t be anyone else. But she was so much older. Riku was so much older.

A second later, his body caught up to his mind, promptly blanked for a second, resulting in him standing on the deck frozen in shock, before fully comprehending what was happening. “Naminé!” He cried out, relishing the fact that he had said her name that wasn’t in a conversation talking about the past, that she was there for him to say her name to, that she wasn’t gone anymore. He was the one who had been gone. Taking two steps and leaping over the side of the ship onto the dock, glad that The Wayfinder was taken care of well enough that he didn’t get any splinters in the hand he braced on the railing, he landed on the dock easily, arms out to balance himself.

She shot forward, crossing the final few steps faster than he imagined possible, leaping up at him and trusting him to catch her. Which he did, scooping her up in a hug that sent them twirling in a circle, perfectly controlled even if it looked wild. She sobbed into his shoulder, clinging to him tight, hands digging into his back and shoulders, and a part of his brain worried that he was still able to lift her easily even though she was bigger and older. That wasn’t normal, right? How would he know? He had missed everything.

“Riku, Riku!” Naminé sobbed out, letting go of Riku’s shoulders to lean back and look him in the eyes. Her hands hovered in the air, like she wanted to touch his face, but didn’t. Tears, both shed and unshed, stained her face and made her eyes misty, and she had to take several big gulps of air, still panting from her clearly running the whole way there. Riku didn’t set her down but instead shifted to be able to hold her better, more securely. He hoped he was doing it right. She was so much older.

“I’m here, ‘né,” he said, smiling at her, feeling his own tears finally manage to spill out and trail down his cheeks. For once, he didn’t feel weak or vulnerable because of it. Moving his head forward, he placed their foreheads together, a frequent action in their youth. It nearly made him cry harder. “I’m home.”

“You were gone,” she sniffled, finally reaching out one hand to touch his face, placing it on his cheek right under his right eye as he pulled his forehead away from hers, allowing a good view of her again. “You were gone! And Xion wouldn’t tell me anything and we had to leave the house and-” She trailed off with another gasp of air, this one caused more by her distress instead of tiredness and Riku tugged her into another hug, cutting off her words.

“It’s okay,” he said again, trying to push the reassurance he would use with Rhyme into his words. Not that the two of them were the same in any capacity. “It’s okay.” Her arms circled his back again and she reburied her head in his shoulder, hiccupping and coughing slightly. He could feel her nails dig into his back. He didn’t care.

Behind him, he heard the sound of the gangplank hitting the dock, stirring him from the little world he and Naminé had created. His friends must be coming out. Blinking once more at Naminé, he turned to them. Naminé raised her head up as she felt Riku move and gasped upon seeing them.

“Naminé, this is Sora, Kairi, and Ven,” he told her, doing his best to cut off her panic before it happened. “They helped me get home.”

“They did?” The little girl asked, wonder and happiness in her tone. Riku nodded at her with a small smile and Naminé, still in Riku’s embrace, turned to them. “Thank you,” she whispered out, arms tightening around Riku’s shoulders. The three of them smiled at the little girl.

“No problem,” Sora replied, shooting his own smile to Riku. Riku smiled back at him. “We wanted to help Riku just as much as you did.” Riku smiled at them as well before something that Naminé had said earlier hit him.

“Wait, Naminé,” he said, sounding confused, and Naminé twisted back around to look at him. “Did you say Xion?” Naminé nodded and opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by another shout from further up the dock.

“RIKU!” He turned and was immediately hit with more shock as he saw the black-haired girl running at him. Again, older. Different outfit, she had never worn that much black before but… That had to be…

“Noi!” Riku shouted, recognition hitting him like a boat. He placed Naminé down as gently as he could quickly, before spinning around to catch her as she leapt at him, capturing him in a hug. She was heavier than Naminé was, and while she didn’t leap into his arms like Naminé had, he did stumble back a couple of paces against his will, trying to make sure neither of them fell. She didn’t seem to notice.

“Riku,” Noi said, voice wavering, trying to hug Riku even tighter, head resting on his shoulder. “You’re here, you’re alive.” Her voice shook at that and Riku felt all his emotions stab into his heart at once.

“Oh, Noi,” Riku sighed, pulling his head back from where it rested on her head to kiss her on the forehead. “You shouldn’t have had to worry about that.” Looking over her head, he could see a boy walking down the dock after Noi. Riku assumed this was Roxas. And he still looked scarily like Ven. He hoped that meant that the two of them had figured out how to remain friends.

Noi shook her head, refusing to look at him. “You were gone,” she whispered out. “What was I supposed to do but worry?” Riku sighed at that again but swallowed what he wanted to say and instead looked at her critically. Her black hair was shorter than he had ever seen her wear it. The short sleeves on her shirt exposed both muscle that she hadn’t had before he was gone and a scar or two, slicing down her arms. His eyes narrowed at that but waited to ask about them. He could later, when they were in private.

“’Xion’?” He asked her gently instead, flicking his gaze up for a second to land on Roxas who paused under the scrutiny, eyes widening as they fully took Riku in, before Riku’s gaze returned to Noi. “Was this something Roxas’s parents insisted on or…?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, it-it was me,” she admitted, sounding much younger for a second than he knew her to be. “Noi was… Noi was the name you gave me. I couldn’t stand other people using it when you weren’t here.” Riku sighed, in slight resignation and sadness, but smiled at her all the same. He was glad the name he had gifted her meant so much to her, but she shouldn’t’ve had to take a Title if she didn’t want other people to call her it when he was gone. She could have just gone back to her given name.

“Is this Noi?” Sora asked from behind him, and he turned as much as he could with No- Xion still clinging to him slightly. Naminé was still staring at his friends, a curious look in her eyes, and Terra and Aqua had come to the edge of ship near the gangplank but hadn’t exited. Vanitas was nowhere to be seen. Probably still up in the crow’s nest. Riku tucked that little observation away in his mind. He would figure it out later.

“Xion now,” Riku said, trying to shove down the part of his brain that got mad at that. No one gives up Titles and only close friends and family could use your old name, if the person allowed it. He should have been there. He should have been there when she chose her Title, should have helped her choose it. He should have been there because her mothers and father couldn’t be there. “But yes.”

Sora walked forward and held out his hand to shake, a friendly smile on his face. “I’m Sora,” he said. “This is Kairi and Ven.”

“You’re my brother’s… friends?” Xion stated, letting go of him and turning the end of the sentence into a question and looking at Riku out of the corner of her eye. Riku made a face back, knowing what was going through her mind. He had friends… now. He thought once. He thinks now.

“Yep,” Kairi replied, smiling at the girl in front of her. Xion smiled back and took Sora’s offered hand, shaking it. Riku was aware of Roxas still standing a couple of feet away, but the Heir hadn’t attempted to greet him or any of them, so he carefully ignored him. The two of them hadn’t ever been that close.

Arms wrapped around his waist, and he looked down at Naminé, who was hugging him, looking up at him with no longer tear-filled eyes. “Where’d you go?” She whispered out and his smile fell off his face against his will. “Where’d you leave to?” He could feel Xion’s gaze on him as well and he could hear the small greetings that had started stop.

He knelt down so he was eye level with Naminé, trying to make sure his hands didn’t shake. He could see her fear in her eyes, and it made his heart wither. “It doesn’t matter,” he told her, trying to push a little confidence into his words, and he knew Xion wouldn’t let it go so easily but he was hoping Naminé would. She didn’t need to know what had happened to him. Not now. Not ever. “All that matters is that I’m here now.”

“But you left.” He swallowed, trying to prevent his eyes from closing against the memories that had started to pound in his head. It wasn’t Naminé’s fault, she didn’t know any better, but… he didn’t leave. He hadn’t chosen it. But he supposed no one would know that. Even though he had no way to leave Scala Ad Caelum on his own.

“I didn’t leave,” he said, still looking at Naminé, but trying to make sure his words reached Xion as well. “I didn’t choose to leave. But I’m here now and that’s the most important thing, okay?” She looked at him, a frown on her face, but nodded uncertainly, reaching out to grab his hand and not let it go. He allowed it.

“You’ve changed,” Roxas muttered from behind him, and he finally turned his attention to the last of them. The fifteen-year-old watched him through wary eyes, flicking back and forth from him to the ship.

“Roxas,” Riku greeted, standing up. He didn’t know how the Heir would feel about him. Their interactions in the past had been cordial and neutral, barring that one conversation after his and Xion’s Betrothal, but he had never truly gotten to know the Heir. Roxas hadn’t really tried either.

“It’s been three years,” Roxas said evenly, narrowing his eyes slightly. Riku felt part of him burn in anger at the slight accusation in Roxas’s words, but he tamped that part of him down.

Riku nodded. “It has,” he agreed. He knew that Sora and the others had picked up on the slight tension in the air as he could hear them shifting behind him. “I have to thank you for taking care of my sisters in that time.” Roxas paused and Riku could understand him. He had clearly changed a lot during Riku’s three years away as well.

“Okay ‘Xas, stop it,” Xion admonished, walking over to swat him lightly on the shoulder. “No more fighting. Riku’s back now.”

“He is.” All of them whipped around while Roxas’s face melted into something more relaxed as the group saw Axel leaning against the wall of the closest house, still partly in the shadows. “Something remarkable, isn’t it?” Green eyes flashed from the shade in indecipherable emotions.

Riku paused. He had never truly known Axel before he had been taken. The Second King was more active in normal life than his husband was, yes, but Riku hadn’t even been close to being a Noble when younger. He had only seen him in passing.

Once Xion had become friends with Roxas, he had seen him more as Axel had spent more time with the Heir and thus, spending time with Xion, so Riku had seen him.

The few times Riku had interacted with him, though, left him puzzled. The Second King had always been known as the more laidback one. The more approachable one, both because of his laidback nature, and his heritage as a commoner instead of a Noble. But when Riku had seen him, it was obvious that the Second King was just as cunning and aware as his husband. And it honestly confused him on how more people weren’t able to see that.

“Axel,” he responded on instinct, hand tightening around Naminé’s, ignoring Naminé’s look at the movement. The Second King smiled, something sharp hidden behind casual flair.

“You know, your disappearance was one of the one things we could never solve,” Axel commented, pushing away from the wall and walking into the light, seemingly unaware of the way the shadows seemed to follow him for a second. “How did it happen?” One could call it rude to immediately start interrogating someone on how they were abducted when they just returned home, but that was just Axel being Axel.

“A shadow,” Riku answered honestly. There had been no inclination to lie. Why would he? It wasn’t something he was hiding, and Axel would be able to tell in a second that he was lying anyway.

“Shadow, huh?” Axel murmured. “There’s something new. Different from Marluxia, at least.” Riku felt the shift in air more than saw it at the mention of the name. That was another thing different about Axel. He didn’t speak around or outright ignore what had happened ten years ago. In Riku’s opinion, he was surprisingly blasé about the whole thing, especially for someone who had nearly died during the attack. Riku knew he would never be able to speak about the maze in the same laidback manner.

“What are you doing here, Axel?” Roxas asked, no anger in his words, just confusion, dragging the attention away from Riku and dispelling some of the tension that had fallen over the Scala natives at Marluxia’s name. Axel turned to Roxas and Riku could see his smile turn into something more genuine. Good to know that nothing had changed there.

“We saw the sign,” Axel replied with a one shouldered shrug. “Something like that doesn’t happen every day.” Riku had to admit that he was right.

“I drew a lot of attention doing that, didn’t I?” He asked, somewhat sheepishly, an emotion he hadn’t felt in a while. It hadn’t been his intention to cause confusion with everyone. He just wanted to tell his sisters he was home.

“How did you do that?” Xion asked, frowning as she presumably tried to think of how he could have done it. “You don’t know how to use magic.”

“Well…” Riku started. He could lie, say he learned magic while he was away. But Axel would be able to spot it in a second. He bit the inside of his cheek. He didn’t know why he was so nervous about this. While it was unexpected that he had a Keyblade, it wasn’t unusual. And that was only because of his heritage. Axel had a Keyblade and Roxas had probably Woken his. Xion might possibly have one as well. “I may… have a Keyblade?”

For a second, none of the Scala residents in front of him, or holding onto his waist, said anything. He couldn’t help the worry that sprung in his chest, and he was tempted to take a few steps back, so he was closer to Sora and the others. When had that happened?

“What?!” Xion shrieked, making almost everyone jump in shock, Riku and Axel not counted, wrapping her hands around one of Roxas’s arms and leaning forward. “You have a Keyblade?” Naminé gasped, leaning back to stare up at him while Roxas raised an eyebrow in surprise. Axel’s face didn’t change.

“Yeah, I do,” Riku said, feeling better now that they had reacted. Letting his body move on instinct and trying not to wince, he brought his hand up and summoned Way To The Dawn. Xion gasped and let go of Roxas to move forward and stare at it.

“Woah,” Xion breathed, tracing a hand around the wing that made up the teeth of the key. “It’s beautiful.” Riku winced again, a tiny thing, but noticeable to whoever was looking hard. He would describe his Keyblade in many ways. Dangerous, useful, cold. “Beautiful” was not one of them. “It’s so different from mine.” Riku did notice that, and he snapped his eyes up to look at her.

“What?” He asked, banishing Way To The Dawn, ignoring the little noise Naminé made. He got the feeling she wanted to look at it more. Perhaps to draw it, if she even still did that. He had missed so much, hadn’t he?

Xion smiled at him and lifted her hand. A beautiful, white Keyblade materialized from her palm with wings for a handle. The teeth were a star that started blue and turned yellow.

“Oathkeeper,” Xion whispered out, holding it close to her. “I got it almost a year ago.” Riku sucked in a breath as he stared at the Keyblade. It was a Keyblade that could be classified as beautiful and in Riku’s opinion, a perfect encapsulation of Xion. He also noticed that the wings on her hilt were the same as one of his and his heart warmed slightly at the small similarity.

But at the same time, he could feel his heart withering in his chest. Don’t worry, he told himself. Xion won’t go through what you went through. I’m sure her getting her Keyblade was completely normal and painless.

Xion banished Oathkeeper with a flourish. “What do you think?”

“It’s wonderful,” he responded. Xion nodded, smiling at him.

“I’m glad you think so,” she said. “And I’m glad you’re back.” He smiled as best he could.

I’m back, Riku’s mind whispered. But how much has changed without me?

Chapter Text

Even if they didn’t look the same, there was no doubt in Kairi’s mind that Xion and Naminé were Riku’s sisters.

From the way Naminé clung to Riku, either his waist or hand, or Xion’s barely concealed need for Riku’s approval as she rattled off what she had done in the past three years, there were years of history intertwined between the three of them. The shared looks, the small bursts of laughter shared between the three of them. But at the same time, there was a disconnect between them, small but telling, and Kairi could see it as the group of them walked up the path towards Roxas’s house.

Axel had dismissed himself after the Keyblade reveal and disappeared between two houses. And Kairi didn’t trust him. Even to herself, this wasn’t a surprise. She didn’t trust most people. She hadn’t trusted Riku when he had joined the ship. But there was something about Axel that just rubbed her the wrong way, very badly. Was it the way he barely reacted to the rest of them and Riku’s Keyblade? Or could it have been his eyes, the color of leaves but as cold as chips of ice?

Vanitas hadn’t wanted to leave the ship and Aqua and Terra had chosen to stay with him and the ship, so it was just her, Sora, and Ven who followed Riku and his sisters. And one of his sisters’… betrothed? Riku had mentioned to her, weeks ago, that one of his sisters had a betrothed and she was pretty sure Naminé was far too young for that sort of thing. So, it must be Xion. Who was also pretty young. Like, her and Sora’s age young. Kairi didn’t know how she felt about that.

Xion kept having to pause in her steps so she wouldn’t walk faster than Riku. Before it seemed like she had been trying to keep pace with Roxas, which would make sense if they had spent most of their time together the past couple of years. But she kept pausing, trying to also stay close to Riku but muscle memory kept fighting against her.

Naminé wasn’t struggling as much as her sister was. She walked beside Riku, hand in his, not saying anything, not looking at anything but Riku.

Kairi looked to her left to see Sora and Ven. She knew she wasn’t the only one feeling slightly out of place. Sora gave her a look back, raising an eyebrow at her. She shook her head slightly. There was nothing wrong.

“Here we are,” Roxas said from in front of them, dragging Kairi’s attention back to the front. She couldn’t help the small gasp that escaped from her, and she could hear Sora surprise as well.

The house, if it could be called that, was huge. Several stories and positioned on the edge of the top ring of the Tower, it reminded her of them one time she had seen the Castle when the ship had happened to pass by the Capital. Not that they had stayed long. Also, there was in fact an actual Castle on the Tower, she had seen it while walking. That thing had looked even bigger than the house was.

Looking to her side, she could see both Ven’s and Sora’s shock that reflected hers, though Riku had no reaction, probably having seen this place before.

“There are more plants,” Riku commented, gazing at the building, eyes moving down the path that led up to it and the plants that lined it. There were also pot after pot of them near the walls and in every window that Kairi could see. Xion shrugged, somewhat self-consciously.

“I needed something to do to deal with… everything,” she admitted. “Before I got my Keyblade, I gardened.” Riku gave her a small smile, though there was a hint of question in it. Like he wanted to know something but didn’t want to ask.

Roxas pushed open the door, followed by Xion and the others. Kairi was pretty sure this was the fanciest place she had ever been in. The entrance hall was huge, vast and sloping and the walls were white. It reminded her of a palace from Sora’s stories.

“So,” Roxas asked later, once they had sat down in what reminded her of a fancy dining room, but more relaxed. The table was low to the ground, made mostly of glass and surrounded by couches and chairs. Kairi was sitting next to Sora, leaning on his shoulder with her legs tucked into her body, Ven sitting on Sora’s other side. Riku had been dragged by Naminé onto another couch, the little girl climbing into his lap and holding one of his hands in hers. Xion and Roxas sat in one of the bigger chairs together, ankles and hands intertwined. “Are you going to stay in Scala?” Riku blinked, hand stilling from where it had rested on Naminé’s hair and has been slowly combing through the strands. It was clearly something that had happened before, if Naminé’s relaxation was anything to go by.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Kairi closed her eyes briefly at this, trying not to show that much emotion. She didn’t have a say in it, it was Riku’s decision. But she didn’t want Riku to leave. He was a part of her family now.

But at the same time, she knew he had to stay. He had his real family here after all and they had been waiting for him for years.

Roxas shrugged, refusing to answer. Riku shook his head slightly. “Of course, I’m staying here. I’ve missed a lot already.” Xion smiled at this and Naminé squeezed the one hand she was holding, tipping her head up and ignoring the hand to look up at him, smiling.

“And you three?” Kairi blinked and looked up when she realized Roxas was talking to them.

“For a couple days, probably,” Sora said, rubbing the back of his head. “We wanted to get Riku home and well…”

“We’re not all ready to say goodbye quite yet,” Riku jumped in, hand adjusting on Naminé’s head to accommodate for her new position. “We’ve grown close.” Roxas gave him a look, almost suspicious, and Kairi frowned. It almost sounded like Sora was about to admit that he had a Keyblade and Riku cut him off.

“Well, you’re welcome to stay here if you want to,” Roxas said before huffing a laugh. “It’s not like we’re short on space.” Riku turned to the three of them.

“Would you three at least stay here the first night?” He asked, voice lowered and Kairi stiffened a little at the tone of Riku’s voice. Almost normal, almost level, but she had spent the last couple of weeks in close contact with him. She knew that there was something wrong and she wasn’t the only one who could tell if the slight widening of Sora’s eyes was anything to go off of. But none of the three of them brought it up because it was clear Riku didn’t want them to, so she simply nodded.

“Just for tonight,” she said, seeing both Ven and Sora nod.

~

Roxas had been right when he said that his home had the space. Naminé had dragged Riku for a tour, which the three of them ended tagging along with as Xion and Roxas disappeared for a couple of minutes together.

The house was big, yes, but it was also… empty. Naminé had said that Roxas’s parents left early and came home late, so that was the reason that they weren’t there but… it still made Kairi slightly sad. Living on a small-ish boat with five other people, now six, for most of her memory made it so she had never felt lonely or alone. There was always someone there, even if she was attempting to hide from them. In Roxas’s house, it seemed like you had to seek people out in order to not be alone. She wondered how Roxas, Xion, and Naminé had been able to live like they had been.

“You sure you’re okay with staying the night over?” Riku asked them that night, hands curling into fists by his side and eyes flicking around.

Sora smiled at him, slightly plasticly which made all of Kairi’s senses go off, and took Riku’s hand for a quick second, squeezing it. “If it will make you feel better,” he replied and Riku smiled back at him.

~

Kairi was almost asleep when she heard the sheets across the room rustle and the sound of footsteps started up, walking across their room and the sound of the window opening hit her.

Sitting up and turning, she saw Sora disappear out of the window. She sighed but got up. It was probably time to have some sort of conversation.

Roxas had offered to give the three of them separate rooms, but neither she or Sora had been comfortable with that. They had never been apart from each other before, they didn’t need to start now.

Stepping out onto the roof from the window, slightly surprised that there wasn’t more security, she didn’t have to go far before she found Sora sitting on the roof, knees pulled up to his chest. She couldn’t help the small thought that raced through her. It was almost like the roof, or at least the section of it, had been designed to be able to be sat on.

“Hi,” she greeted softly, not wanting to startle him if he hadn’t heard her coming. They were on the third floor of a big house overlooking a big drop.

“Hey,” Sora responded, turning his head slightly to look at her as she took a seat next to him. The stars shone brightly above them.

“I noticed you seemed distracted this afternoon,” she commented. “You want to talk about it?”

“No,” the fifteen-year-old boy said instantly, only to pause and make a face. “Maybe? I don’t know.” He curled his arms tighter around his knees. “I don’t know how to feel about it.” Kairi didn’t say anything to reply, instead simply leaning on his shoulder slightly, reminding him that she was there. Pushing him wouldn’t get anything out of him.

While waiting for Sora to say something, she instead turned her gaze outward. In the dead of night, the moon’s light reflected off the water and buildings of Scala, making it look like it was glowing. She could see the other seven Towers from here, the closest two all the way back to the abandoned final two. Riku had told them that there simply wasn’t enough people to inhabit them, so they mostly were used at places to hang out for kids. It was what all the “cool kids” did, in Riku’s words, not hers.

“Riku didn’t mention I was a potential Keyblade Wielder,” Sora eventually admitted into the silence. “And I get that there wasn’t really a time to say it but… I have to wonder. He mentioned that there were people like me, who could wield Keyblades not from Scala but he never mentioned how they were treated?” Sora leaned down to rest his chin on his knees. “Like, is it bad for you to be considered a “Bloodline”? Or is it not spoken of?”

“You’re worried,” Kairi said gently, ignoring the part of her that had also worried about the same thing. Riku had never, from what she could understand, even hinted that it might be bad or weird for him to be a Bloodline. Sora turned his head to her.

“Of course, I am,” he refuted. “This could be the only link I’ll ever have to my parents. To my past. And I don’t know how anyone will react.” Kairi sighed. She could understand Sora, she really could. If she had something that could possibly be a link back to her parents other than the fact that they had lived at Radiant Garden, she would take it, no hesitation. But at the same time…

“Sora, the truth is you don’t know how they’ll react,” she said. “And just sitting here and thinking about it isn’t helping either. Ask Riku tomorrow if you truly want to.” Sora sighed.

“I just don’t want him to think it’s a stupid question,” he grumbled. Kairi frowned.

“You’ve never been worried about that before,” she commented. And she would know. Sora had asked many a stupid question when they had travelled together.

“Yeah, but it’s Riku,” Sora muttered, like that would answer anything. Kairi tipped her head in confusion but decided she wasn’t going to poke that thread.

“Well, if you want to know, you have to ask him,” she informed him, nudging his shoulder. “C’mon, don’t tell me you’re scared of asking a question.”

“I’m not,” he grumbled but pushed back a little, a spark of playfulness returning to his eyes.

“Then ask him and stop worrying.” He huffed but nodded. Kairi counted it as a win. She turned her head back up to the sky. “There,” she whispered out, pointing upwards. The Spectral Keyblade gazed back at them.

~

Sora disappeared back into their room after a couple more minutes, soothed by Kairi’s words. Kairi watched him until he disappeared into the dark, not doubting that he would make it to bed okay. With a small sigh, she turned back to look at the sky, hands tapping on the roof beneath her. She couldn’t help the small feeling of concern and worry that was building in her heart and she hated that she couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. What was causing it.

“Oh,” a quiet voice said from above her and Kairi twisted her head quickly to look up, heart racing in surprise before slowing slightly when she saw Xion looking down at her from above her, sitting on a higher roof. “I’m not used to anyone else being up here.” Xion tipped her head at her, as if trying to decide something before shuffling forward slightly, digging one hand into the tiles in order to control her fall.

Kairi sucked in a breath in concern as Xion slid down the roof, feet digging into the roof in order to help herself. “It’s okay,” Xion told her when she slowed down to be sitting next to Kairi. “I do this often.”

“You could have fallen off the roof,” Kairi muttered, unused to feeling concern for someone she had met hours earlier. “I doubt Roxas or Riku would be very happy about that.”

Xion waved her hand dismissively. “I have magic, I’d be okay.” The other girl blinked at Kairi, blue eyes reflecting the light of the moon, and Kairi resisted the urge to scoot backwards a foot or two. “Can I ask you a question?”

Kairi paused in confusion. “If you… want to?” She replied and Xion nodded once, turning away from Kairi and instead looking out over the water, at the other Towers.

“Do you know what happened to Riku?” Xion asked after a second of quiet and Kairi felt most of the tension drain out of her. The question made sense; it made sense for Xion to want to know what had happened to Riku but…

“No,” Kairi said softly, and she could see Xion’s shoulders slump slightly at her answer. “I’m sorry,” she continued. “Riku never really told us anything. He’s only been with us for a month at this point.”

“No, it’s okay,” Xion responded, eyes dropping to her hands. “He just…”

“He’s changed, hasn’t he?” Kairi muttered quietly, half to herself, and Xion nodded sadly.

“I thought I wouldn’t care,” the other girl revealed. “Even though part of me, the biggest part of me, thought he was gone for good, the part that believed he was still out there thought that everything would be fine when he came home. That we could just go back to how everything was. But…”

“You can’t,” Kairi said, eyes moving back to the stars as memories pounded on the back of her skull. “No matter what happened, no matter how long you were apart, no matter how much you want things to go back to normal… they can’t.” Xion sighed again, shoulders hunching further, and Kairi looked to her. She looked so sad.

Biting back her own instincts, she reached a slightly shaking hand out and placed it on Xion’s shoulder, feeling the other fifteen-year-old tense slightly under it. “I’m sorry,” Kairi whispered out.

“He never used to be so… tense,” Xion murmured softly. “He smiled as often as the wind blew and never had any problems with Naminé using him as a climbing wall. But now… Now, he’s different.” Kairi didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t say anything, but left her hand on Xion’s shoulder, a silent comfort.

“I’m sorry,” the other girl said, bringing one hand up to wipe at her eyes. “I shouldn’t be dumping this on you.” Kairi shook her head as Xion turned back to her and tried to smile as encouragingly as she could.

“It’s fine,” Kairi told her. “You needed to say this. I don’t mind listening.” Xion smiled back at her and sniffled slightly. “But, know this,” Kairi continued, seeing Xion’s gaze sharpen slightly at the change in Kairi’s tone. “He never forgot about you. He talked about you, when we could make him talk about himself. Trying to get back to you and Naminé was the reason he joined us.” Sora had told her, the night after they started traveling to Scala. Told her, with Riku’s permission, about his sisters and his mission to find them.

“Really?” Xion questioned, blue eyes glowing slightly, and Kairi nodded again.

“Really.” Xion sniffed again, unshed tears disappearing back into her eyes as they moved back up to the stars. “It’s going to be hard, readjusting with Riku. He’s probably feeling the same thing. But, if you love each other, and I know you do, you’ll make it work.”

Xion laughed, quiet and bitter. “You make it sound so easy.” Kairi didn’t respond and Xion gulped down a breath of air, scrubbing at her eyes again. “Thanks… for listening. And helping.” Kairi nodded, finally letting go of Xion’s shoulder.

“Of course,” Kairi responded. Xion hummed, contemplating something as she looked out.

“You’re good with people,” she said suddenly, and Kairi flinched. She most certainly was not. “I wish I was like that.” Xion huffed out something that could have been a laugh and stood on slightly shaking legs, turning to look back at the roof she had to climb. “Goodnight Kairi,” she said. “Thanks for everything.” A second later, Xion waved her hands and wind seemed to gush out of them, propelling her up the roof at the same time that she said something. Kairi flinched backwards, one hand raising halfheartedly to cover her face and when she opened her eyes again, Xion was gone.

Kairi sighed, low and quiet, before looking back up at the sky, at the Spectral Keyblade that looked down on all of Scala. Perhaps there was something special about the place.

~

“Well? What are they like?” Lea hummed in consideration from his spot leaning on the balcony, not turning when Isa came up behind him.

“I didn’t really talk to any of them,” Lea admitted, tipping his head to look at Isa as his husband took the spot next to him. “They’re quiet, calm, but already attached to Riku.” Lea made a face. “I wonder how long they were friends for.”

Isa let out a rare breath of a laugh. “We got attached pretty quickly if I remember correctly.” Lea scowled at him, despite the slight joy that had lit in his eyes at Isa’s memory of the past. Isa understood his anger, at least, in a sense. He Knew why Lea was mad at him.

“Riku had a Keyblade,” Lea said in response and was probably hoping for a bigger reaction. But Isa had felt it, two and a half years ago, when Riku’s heart had first finally opened, and he had Awoken himself. It was how he Knew.

“I know,” Isa said evenly, and Lea sputtered next to him.

“You knew?” He exclaimed. “How on- Is this another one of your freaky premonition things?” Isa allowed one shoulder shrug, trying not to flinch at Lea’s words. He knew Lea was only allowing his words to slip because he was angry. “You know, I’m getting real sick of you not telling me things,” Lea hissed at him, turning his head away. Isa couldn’t help with that. Lea didn’t need to know everything Isa Knew.

“Why don’t you get to know our visitors over the next couple days?” He suggested. “They’re going to be here for a while, as you said they’re attached to Riku, and he must have brought them for a reason.”

“Or they’re just his friends,” Lea grumbled out but didn’t object. He turned on his heel and walked back inside their room, leaving Isa out alone on the balcony. He looked up at the Spectral Keyblade.

He wondered if Lea was picking up on his anxiety and that was why he was so snappish. Lea hated being left outside the loop, but he hated more being left outside the loop when it came to someone who was close to him struggling.

But Isa couldn’t help it, and he couldn’t tell Lea either. How was he supposed to say that he couldn’t Know beyond a certain point?

Especially with the implications that the sentence created.

Chapter Text

The feelings the late-night conversation with Kairi had invoked hadn’t gone away once he had woken up, despite his slight hope that they would, and Sora resolved to talk to Riku about what had happened the night before with Roxas as soon as he was able to get him alone.

Which was difficult due to the fact that his sisters were clinging to him.

He didn’t begrudge them the fact. They had lost him for three years and believed him to be gone forever, there was nothing wrong with that. He just… really needed to talk to Riku.

He, Kairi, and Ven had returned to the ship that morning after breakfast to fill Terra, Aqua, and Vanitas in on what they had discussed the night prior. Like Sora suspected, none of them had any problem with staying longer, though Vanitas got a bit twitchy when they invited the rest of them off the boat, and simply said that they could have another meeting that night about what they wanted to do.

Because, by all technicalities, they could leave. They had said they wanted to take Riku home and that’s what they did. Riku had told them on his very first day that his stay on the ship was going to be temporary and it was. But none of them wanted to leave Riku behind. He had become a part of their ship, their family. And Sora didn’t want to leave him and never see him again.

But they truly had no reason to stay. Unless Sora stuck around to figure out his Keyblade situation.

“Munny for your thoughts?” Kairi asked him and Sora jumped slightly as the girl walked up from behind him, leaning on the railing next to him. From their spot, looking out, they could see the dock in full, the different ships that were tethered to the wood and the start of several buildings. And if they looked up, the First Tower, as Riku called it, rose up at the scale of a mountain.

“I’m just… thinking thoughts,” Sora replied with a wince and Kairi cackled from next to him.

“Yes, that is what thinking is,” she snarked, nudging him with her arm. He smiled at her in return, or attempted to, and Kairi’s grin dimmed a little. She reached out with her hand, placing it on his arm. “What’s wrong?” She asked, more seriously this time, eyes searching his.

“I’m just thinking about what we’re going to do next,” he admitted, eyes dropping from hers and to his hands.

“Keyblade or Riku?” She questioned him and he blinked in confusion, turning his gaze back to her.

“What?” He asked, thrown off, and she smiled at him, slightly indulgently.

“In terms of moving forward,” she said. “Are you thinking about it because of your hypothetical Keyblade or because of Riku?” She tipped her head at him. “It’s okay if it’s either.”

He huffed out a breath of air, lowering his shoulders slightly. “I think it’s both,” he replied, looking down at his hands. His hands that could apparently wield a Keyblade.

“But…?” Kairi prompted and he shook his head.

“The same worries from last night,” he told her. “About Bloodlines and Riku.”

“Then just ask him.” Kairi repeated her words from the night prior. “Just go up to him and ask him.”

Which led him to right now. Midafternoon, he was walking back up the path Roxas’s home in order to talk to Riku. Because he just really wanted to know about what was going to happen next.

He hadn’t left that morning because he knew that Xion and Naminé wanted time with Riku, wanted to see him and talk to him. So instead, he and Kairi had spent the morning playing chess and then Sora had gone through the books he had on the Keyblade Wielders. He still didn’t know what from the books was fact or fiction, but it made more sense to him now why the map that held the way to Riku’s home was in the book about Keyblade Wielders. He really needed to thank Leon for the book.

Cresting the hill, he winced slightly when he saw Riku sitting in the grass of the yard, Naminé in his lap, and Xion standing in front of him, showing something off with her Keyblade. He didn’t want to interrupt them. But at the same time…

“Riku!” He called out and the three Scala natives turned to him. While Xion’s face showed confusion and Naminé’s peaceful serenity tinged with curiosity, Riku’s face seemed to light up a little at seeing him.

“Sora!” He called back, nudging Naminé a little until she got off him allowing him to stand, shoving back his hair as it fell into his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you,” he said immediately, not wanting to be dragged off topic or grow shy of the question. “Now, if possible and in private.” Riku blinked at him but nodded, taking his arm and leading him to the edge of the Tower. There was a railing circling it and if Sora leaned over, he could see the next layer twenty or thirty feet down. Up here, there was wind again, slipping through the small cracks in the mountains.

“What did you need to talk about?” Riku asked, positioning his body so it was between Sora and his sisters, who had chosen to stay in the garden, doing their best not to eavesdrop. Or, Xion was doing her best not to eavesdrop and Naminé didn’t look interested at all. Oathkeeper had vanished from Xion’s hand.

“Was there a reason you stopped me from mentioning that I was a Bloodline yesterday?” Sora asked seriously, looking away from the view and back towards Riku. Said boy blinked in surprise, face screwing up as he tried to remember.

“I did?” He asked, sounding confused. At Sora’s nod, his face turned sheepish. “Well, I didn’t mean to.” Sora let out a sigh of relief at that. So, it had just been Riku’s mistake, nothing to do with the fact that he was a Bloodline. “Speaking of that, how do you want to go about that?”

“Hmm?” Sora asked and Riku bit his lip, eyes looking away and hands twitching at his side. His right hand curled into a fist and let go.

“I didn’t have the most… conventional awakening ceremony,” Riku said. “So, I don’t think I could help you. We could ask Xion or Roxas or even whoever is training them. But I personally can’t help you.” Sora turned the thought over in his head.

He really did want to learn the Keyblade. It would be good protection for The Wayfinder and the people on it, especially if they ran into the beasts like Captain Hook had summoned again. And, like he told Kairi, it was a connection to his parents, as fragile as it was. He wanted to follow it, even if it didn’t go far.

“I would like to learn,” Sora said, opening his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them. “I really want to.” He felt sure about it, in a way he barely had before. Riku smiled back at him, and Sora felt better about his choice.

“Keyblade?” Naminé asked and both boys jumped, turning back to see Naminé standing a few feet away from them. “Sora has a Keyblade?” Xion snapped her head up at this, confusion flashing across her face and Sora was slightly relived that she hadn’t been listening in. He hadn’t noticed that Naminé had gotten close, and he bit his lip. Not really how he wanted to say it but…

“We think,” Riku admitted, turning back to face his sisters fully. “He for sure had a Station of Awakening and he’s been dreaming about it so…”

“Oh,” Xion muttered, looking down at her hands, which she clasped together as she thought. “Today’s our day off or I would be taking you to Axel to have him figure it out.”

“Axel?” Riku asked and Sora’s mind flashed back to the man who had greeted them yesterday. Sora would admit, he had been the most intrigued about the purple marks under his eyes rather than the actions of the man. But he could also tell that Axel had set both Kairi and Riku off, one more than the other, so he reserved judgment for the moment.

“Yeah,” Xion said, releasing her hands to shake them slightly, like she hadn’t meant to squeeze them as much as she had. “He taught Roxas when he got his Keyblade and once I got mine, he’s been teaching me too.”

“Huh,” Riku mused, and Sora looked back to him, seeing a slightly darker look in his eyes. “I’m not saying he’s a bad teacher, he’s the best Keybearer in Scala but…”

“Yeah, I felt the same,” Xion admitted. “But it’s been getting… better the past couple months.” Sora had no idea what they were talking about and from Naminé’s face, neither did she. She also didn’t look that bothered by that fact.

“What’s with Axel?” Roxas asked, coming out of the front door. The other boy raised an eyebrow at the four of them, specifically Sora, as he probably hadn’t realized that Sora had appeared.

“Sora’s a Bloodline,” Xion told him. “We’re debating talking to Axel about what to do about it.”

“Oh,” Roxas said, leaning on the door frame and crossing his arms. “Yeah, I would say go to Axel. That’s the strange thing. We’re told about Bloodlines but never what to do with them.” Roxas shrugged once, unconcerned. “Perhaps because we won’t usually meet them.”

“Someone say my name?” Sora was glad he wasn’t the only one to jump; Naminé’s face going white for a second, while Xion spun around, hands moving like she was going to summon her Keyblade.

But it was just Axel, walking out of the break between two houses, shaking his hand slightly as if shaking something off. Sora had to take a deep breath to calm his racing heart. Did this guy just pop out of random shadows?

“Axel!” Roxas exclaimed, in both surprise and joy. “What are you doing here? Isn’t it our day off?” Axel smiled at him.

“It is, don’t worry,” the Keyblade Master told him. “But I couldn’t help but hear my name and wondered what it was you were talking about. Nothing bad, I hope?”

Sora flicked his eyes to Riku, silently asking him if he should say anything. Riku pursed his lips but nodded slightly, before raising an eyebrow. Do you want to tell him, or would you like me to? Sora took a step forward. It was his news and his Keyblade, potentially. He should get used to saying it.

“We just had a question to ask you,” Sora said, and Axel’s attention swung to him.

“Oh?” Axel hummed, tipping his head slightly, eye narrowing.

“It’s just… According to Riku, I’m apparently a Bloodline?” He let the end of the sentence turn up into a question as he still didn’t completely understand it himself. Axel’s eyes went wide for a split second, a break in his mask, before returning to normal.

“Well, that’s definitely something.” Good something or bad something?  Sora’s mind wondered and the part of him that was still worried didn’t want to know. “How’d you know?” Axel asked and Sora brought his attention back to the conversation in front of him.

“Dreams,” Sora answered, and Axel nodded in understanding.

“Already dreaming of your Station of Awakening, are you?” He mused and Sora got the feeling it wasn’t actually a question that needed to be answered. “That little ship of yours is just full of surprises, ain’t it?” Axel’s eyes drifted from Sora to land on Riku and for a second there was quiet. None of the teenagers responded.

“Well!” Axel clapped his hands once as he abruptly changed tones and Sora started at the sudden change, grateful that he wasn’t the only one. “Do you want to Awaken your Keyblade?”

Sora nodded and Axel’s eyes narrowed a hair further. “Wonderful,” the Scala native said. “Speaking of, how good are you with that Keyblade of yours, Riku?” Next to Sora, Riku stiffened slightly. “Able to fight?”

“Yes,” Riku answered shortly. “But I don’t see how that has anything to do with what we’re currently talking about.” Axel shrugged once.

“Call it curiosity and my teacher’s instinct coming through.” Axel leaned back ever so slightly, eyes moving from Riku to Xion and Roxas. “I already teach your sister and Roxas. Perhaps there might be something I could teach you and your partner.” Sora, who was still watching Axel, saw Riku make a quick face out of the corner of his eye, and felt a spark of confusion go through him. Was it because Axel was insinuating that Riku wasn’t good enough?

“Still…” Riku trailed off and Axel sighed.

“How about this, because you clearly haven’t changed at all.” He straightened, drawing all the kids’ attention back to him. “Show me what you’ve learned and what you can do, and I’ll figure out what to do about Sora.” Riku narrowed his eyes at the older man but eventually gave one short nod. “Wonderful,” Axel drawled. “To the Colosseum.” He turned on his heel and started walking down the path, Roxas and Xion both making moves to follow him. Naminé paused, looking like she wanted to follow them, but didn’t. Instead, she tugged on the hem of Riku’s shirt, whispering something to him, before backing up and hurrying back into the house.

“Is she okay?” Sora asked and Riku nodded absentmindedly.

“She’s just not that interested in Keyblade stuff,” Riku explained. “She won’t get one for a while, if she even chooses to have one.” Riku waited until Naminé had closed the door, before moving to head after Xion and Roxas.

As Sora and Riku followed them, Sora leaned over to Riku, seeing the uneasiness that he had been clearly trying to hide. “Are you okay?” He asked quietly and was rewarded with a small smile from the silverette in response.

“Yeah,” Riku sighed. “Axel just always rubbed me the wrong way when I was younger and that unfortunately hasn’t changed.” He looked down at his hands. “And I’m a little worried what will happen if I start fighting with my Keyblade in a place I don’t remember too well.” Sora frowned, upset on Riku’s behalf, before reaching out and placing his hand on Riku’s arm.

“Well, I’ll be there,” he told the older boy. “If you need anything, just tell me. And we can always retreat to the ship if needed. I think even Axel will think twice if confronted with a protective Terra.” Riku’s smile morphed into something bigger, and Sora felt his own mouth turn into a smile in response.

“Thanks Sora,” Riku said, and Sora squeezed his arm once before dropping his hand.

Axel reminded him of Vanitas in a way, with the laidback attitude that could very clearly snap into something else, even with all the signs that Axel probably put out there on purpose that he was nothing but harmless. And while he didn’t completely understand Riku’s hesitation to the man, he would support Riku no matter what. And if he could at least some answers about his own Keyblade out of this, he would be even happier.

He couldn’t stop his mind from drifting back to Riku’s and Xion’s Keyblades. Would his Keyblade be like that? Or would it be different? He had only seen Riku’s and Xion’s. Was there set types of Keyblades? Like a bunch of people had Riku’s Keyblade and a bunch of people had Xion’s? Or was it that each Keyblade was unique to each person?

It was that thought that got him the most excited. A Keyblade, completely unique to him, his own thing, a projection of himself.

He couldn’t help but be excited.

Chapter Text

Riku chewed on the inside of his cheeks as the five of them headed towards the Colosseum. He didn’t know how he felt about this. About fighting, especially when there was an audience. Yes, today was a good day, he hadn’t had any nightmares the night prior, and he had Sora with him, but at the same time, there was still a very good chance that this could go wrong. It had been quite a marvel that he hadn’t fallen deeper into a flashback any more than he had on The Wayfinder when saving Kairi. He wondered if it would be better or worse to fall into a flashback here.

“We’re here,” Axel announced, dragging him back into the present from his thoughts, and Riku moved his eyes from the ground in front of him to the arena in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he took in the entrance. The Colosseum was one of the only things he didn’t have clear memories of, as clear as his memory of Scala could be.

In the past, the Colosseum had been used for challenges and tournaments, holidays and celebrations. After the Massacre, it was more commonly used for young Keybearers to practice in, usually area of effect spells that normal training rooms couldn’t deal with. He had a clear-ish memory of standing behind a younger Xion and Roxas as they peered over the seats to stare at the Heir to House Concentio as he manipulated the water around him to take down all the others he was training with. He knew that Xion had sworn that night to get just as good as magic as the Heir had been. Riku wondered if that had happened while he was gone.

He wondered if the purpose of the Colosseum had changed while he was gone.

“Woah,” Sora whispered from next to him as they walked in, abandoning Riku’s side to instead walk in a slow circle, taking it all in. Riku couldn’t blame him. It was the biggest structure on the First Tower, nestled carefully into the side of the Mid Ring, besides the Castle after all. He gazed at the rows of seats, each abandoned and empty.

They flickered back and forth between seats and maze walls.

Riku took a deep breath, ignoring the shakiness of it, and forced his eyes to close for a second. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. But this is for Sora. He deserves answers. About the Keyblade and himself.

“Is Phil not here?” Xion wondered quietly, looking around, and Riku blinked, looking to her. Who was she talking about?

“No, it’s the day off,” Axel said breezily, walking deeper into the arena area. “He’s off doing whatever he does on days off.” Riku gave Xion a look and she thankfully read it, giving him a small smile.

“Phil runs this place,” she explained, gesturing to the Colosseum with her arms. “He’s not a Keyblade Wielder himself, but no one’s going to dare challenge him about his domain on the place.” Riku nodded quietly. In the past, he had known that someone ran the place, he had seen him once or twice, now that he thought about it, but he hadn’t ever known their name. Phil. How normal.

“So, will Riku be fighting us?” Roxas asked, leaning against the low barrier that circled the pit, one hand flexing like he was going to summon his own Keyblade. Riku froze, opening mouth to shout, “absolutely not”, he had far too many nightmares already, but was stopped by Axel.

“Nah,” the Keyblade Master said, shaking his head slowly, eyes flicking from Roxas to Xion then to Riku, and the sixteen-year-old couldn’t keep his gaze, instead looking away towards Sora before quickly moving his gaze to the seats nearby. He hadn’t forgotten Axel’s comment and the last thing he wanted to do was add fuel to the fire. Even if Axel was completely wrong. “We don’t know your guys’ different skill sets. Bad idea to just throw yourself in there.” Roxas made a noise, something that could almost be classified as petulant. “What? Don’t tell me you want to get trounced by Riku if he is a good fighter?” Axel asked, laughing at Roxas’s face and messing up his hair. Riku narrowed his eyes, as they moved back to the Keyblade Master, slightly at that. Axel always seemed more at ease around Roxas. He couldn’t help but wonder why.

“What will Riku be fighting against?” Sora asked, pulling his gaze away from the Colosseum to look at Axel. The Keyblade Master turned and summoned his Keyblade in a flash of light. Sora’s eyes grew round and Riku couldn’t help the way he tensed up. Out of the few Keyblades he had seen in his life, Axel’s always looked the most… dangerous.

Axel’s eyes flicked to him. He seemed to know what Riku was thinking as he lowered the Keyblade until it was hanging at his side. From his Keyblade emerged three glowing balls of light, hovering harmlessly in the air.

“He’ll be fighting these.” Well, it could be worse, his mind thought as his gaze took in the three orbs. They could have been black instead of white. Taking a final deep breath, Riku walked out into the center of the arena, seeing Roxas, Xion, and Sora back up to the edges out of the corner of his eye. Good, he thought. Don’t want to accidentally hurt them.

“Ready?” Axel asked. Riku nodded and Axel made a motion with his Keyblade, sending the three balls of light to circle him. Riku’s eyes flicked between the three of them carefully, waiting for them to make the first move. Moving first often meant death.

Way To The Dawn flashed into his hand just as the first ball of light shot at him. He ducked, mostly on instinct and pulled his blade up, catching the ball of light on the blade and sending it flying backward with a push. The second and third ones spun around him, trying to hit him from the back and he spun, stabbing the closest one, disintegrating it. He cursed internally as three more appeared from the ashes of the first one, similar but different from the beasts.

He knew they wouldn’t hurt him but at the same time…

Taking three steps back, he threw a Blizzard at them, following up by hitting two with a Stop and blocking one of them from hitting him. Twisting his Keyblade into a reverse grip, he managed to slice one of them and smacked the other one away with his hand, ignoring the sting that came with it. He settled his grip back to normal and backed up another step, watching all edges of the Colosseum. Reinforcement beasts lights could come from anywhere

The Stop wore off on the other two and he twisted abruptly, sending one of the ones flying at him careening into the other. He summoned Thunder Rain, hitting the black beast straight in the center of its head. Beat cheered from next to him, ducking under the blow of another beast, sending it neatly falling onto Riku’s Keyblade.

“Show off,” Shiki grumbled, twisting her head back to look at Riku, so he knew who she was aiming the jab at as she continued to move, weaving back and forth in front of another beast.

“Show off?” Riku asked sarcastically, a smirk curling up the side of his face, despite the way that his throat rebelled against his use of words. He hadn’t had water in a while. “Me?” She huffed at him but spun on one of her feet, allowing Riku to stab it in the heart.

“Hey Josh,” Beat yelled to their final member, who was positioned on the top of one of maze’s smaller walls, looking out. “You find what we need yet?” The blonde-haired youth gazed down at them slowly. Riku couldn’t help the wince that went through him. Joshua hadn’t been the same since one of the beasts killed Neku. None of them had.

Joshua opened his mouth to say something, but Riku snapped his head to the side at more movement, bringing his Keyblade down on another, the resounding clash echoing across the arena.

“Riku?” The man asked slowly, not dropping his Keyblade from where it protected him form Riku’s blow. “You back with us?”

Riku panted, eyes flickering at the speed of light around the arena. Where were Beat and Shiki? Where was Joshua and-

“Riku?” The man asked again, this time more forcefully, putting pressure on Riku’s Keyblade and pulling Riku’s attention back to him. Riku’s gaze snapped back to him, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the concern that he could see in the man’s eyes. Why was he concerned? “Do you know where you are?”

Riku swallowed, breath still going a mile a minute. This wasn’t the maze. How…? What was going on? How had he gotten here? Why was he just standing there? He had to find the others; they couldn’t defend themselves without him. They had already lost Rhyme and Neku and they were always so close to losing Joshua.

“Riku?”  This time the question didn’t come from the man in front of him, instead from off to the side and Riku flicked his eyes to it. It was a boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes and-

“Sora?” He questioned slowly, blinking twice. What…?

But apparently that was the right thing to do because Riku abruptly had to work to balance himself after the man in front of him dropped the Keyblade, leaning backwards as he positioned his Keyblade against his back in a backwards hold.

“Kingdom Hearts, kid,” the man- Axel, Riku abruptly realized, hissed out. “You scared all of us.” I was… in the arena fighting the light and… oh. He cursed himself in his head, quick and angry. He had fallen into a flashback. Of course, fighting in an area with high walls and sandy floors would throw him straight back into the maze mindset. He took a deep breath, trying to make his hands stop shaking around Way To The Dawn.

He could now clearly see it was Axel in front of him, his Keyblade held in an illusion of a relaxed grip. Sora was standing ten-ish feet away, one hand raised like he was going to reach for Riku. Both Xion and Roxas stood farther back, Roxas with one hand on Xion’s shoulder like he was holding her back and Xion leaning forward, worry painted all down her face. Riku felt the urge to curse again. Damnit, he had worried them. And lost control of his own mind.

“Riku?” Sora asked and Riku jumped when he realized that Sora must have crept closer while Riku was berating himself because the younger boy was standing next to him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, forcing his voice not to shake, trying to pull his shoulders back up and banished his Keyblade which he belatedly realized he was still holding. He never got rid of it until they were sure they were safe. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He just wished he had thought of a different time. Not something that had to bring up those memories and the people he abandoned lost abandoned.

“You sure?” Sora pressed, concern also coloring his eyes, and Riku nodded.

“Promise.”

“I think we’re done for today,” Axel said from in front of them, banishing his own Keyblade and turning to walk back to the wall where Xion and Roxas were. Riku and Sora exchanged a glance and hurried after him. Riku tried not to think of the concern that had been in Axel’s eyes. Why would the Second King care?

“So,” Axel continues, pushing himself up so he was sitting on the barrier, looking at the four teenagers, but Sora and Riku specifically. “What signs have you seen so far about his status as a Bloodline?”

“Dreams,” Sora answered, more confidently than he ever had with Riku. Perhaps he had grown used to the idea.

“Of?” Axel probed and Sora shrugged, one hand rubbing the back of his head.

“Places, people, a floating glass pane with a picture of me on it.” Riku blinked at that. Prospective Keybearers usually only get the one dream of the Station of Awakening. Clearly, Axel had a similar thought process as him because the older man leaned forward slightly.

“Places, you say?” Axel mused, eyes flickering. “What’s to say these aren’t just normal dreams?”

“They repeat a lot,” Sora said. “And they… feel the same. All my dreams do.” Axel made an incomprehensible humming noise but didn’t press further, instead relaxing.

“Well, it definitely sounds like you’ve been dreaming of your Station of Awakening.” He tapped one of his fingers on his knee. “How long have you been having dreams of your Station of Awakening?”

“Two or three months,” Sora shrugged. “Does the timing matter?”

“In certain circumstances,” Axel admitted with a shrug, leaning backwards slightly. “If you’ve been dreaming about it for that long, your Keyblade is probably already formed and waiting.”

“Really?” Sora exclaimed, sounding excited, and Riku didn’t disagree with him. Did that mean Sora could be a Keybearer now?

“Yes, but you can’t summon it, can you?” Axel asked, raising an eyebrow. Xion and Roxas both exchanged confused glances and Riku understood their confusion. If Sora had a Keyblade, why couldn’t he summon it?

“I… haven’t tried?” Sora said, frowning in confusion. His hands twitched at his side, right hand curling into a fist.

“Why can’t Sora summon his Keyblade?” Xion asked. “It should just happen one day.” That had indeed happened for Riku, though less out of nowhere and more he needed a weapon now or he was going to die. They were all going to die.

“Well, there are three ways for a Keyblade to manifest,” Axel said, gesturing with one of his hands toward Xion and Roxas. “One, it just shows up one day, like it did for you two because the two of you had been told and prepared for wielding a Keyblade your whole life. Your Heart and Mind were ready for your Keyblade. That’s common for Chosen. Two, if you are in mortal peril, like Sora currently is not. If he was, even if he wasn’t ready for a Keyblade, it would still appear to save and protect him. That’s more common for Bloodlines.” Riku had to admit that was most likely true. He had been about to get his throat torn out when his Keyblade manifested, and he sure hadn’t been preparing for it. He had only a vague idea of what the dreams had meant, and even then, he had thought his mind had simply been hallucinating, trying to comfort him by dreaming of something he knew of.

“Three, Keyblades sometimes just appear for highly gifted Keybearers. They could be perfectly safe and have no idea that Keyblades exist, and it would still appear. Though, those are very rare and is, again, more common in Bloodlines, though we only think that because all Chosen are prepared.” Axel dropped his hand. “Sora, I could help you try and manifest your Keyblade, if you’d like me to. It will be difficult and challenging, but it could probably work.” Sora nodded once, eyes flashing with determination.

“Not today, unfortunately,” Axel concluded. “Your Mind, now that it knows about Keyblades and manifesting them, will affect your Heart and make it easier for you to find your Keyblade. But it will take a few days.”

Sora nodded firmly. “It’s okay,” he said. “The Wayfinder has nowhere urgent to go right now.” Riku felt his chest loosen slightly at that. He knew that, logically, The Wayfinder and her crew had to leave sometime, they couldn’t stay here forever after all, but it still made him feel better that they wouldn’t be leaving immediately.

~

Saïx gazed out over Scala Ad Caelum, hands nearly digging rivets into the stone railing beneath him.

Axel had come back with the news the previous day that one of the kids was a Bloodline and pretty close to summoning his own Keyblade. This, Saïx would admit, he hadn’t known. He hadn’t been looking for that. He was kicking himself now for not. Why hadn’t he thought of that? They were part of a Scala-

It didn’t matter now. He could check now.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, and let his connection f a l l  a w a y.

The Strings moved down the shadows, seeking out the lights. They were there, they could feel them, they just had to find them. They passed the others, the unknowable and the unimportant, curling around Scala’s Towers and looking down, looking for the lights.

There.

Down by the docks, the crew of The Wayfinder and the Heir to House Speculo and his Betrothed and her sister sat together at the edge of the dock, talking and laughing.

They were right, the Strings of fate twisted around them, around wrists, hearts, necks, and hands, tying them all tightly to the web of fate. Binding them to their Destiny and Prophecy.

They paused, taking in the Destiny lines, and instead looked at them through their Hearts.

L I G H T.

Saïx stumbled backwards as the brightness blinded him, throwing him from his connection and sending him staggering into the wall behind him. His head ached and he had to slam his eyes closed to not see the dots dancing in them. One hand reached backwards, landing on the wall he had slammed into and supporting him, while the other covered his closed eyes and he breathed heavily, trying to get his head to stop spinning.

What… What the hell was that? He knew that the chosen people would naturally gravitate to each other, and they had to be strong to be able to face the darkness, but that… that was like nothing Saïx had ever seen.

Three with Magic. Five potential Keybearers. One sleeping heart, and four Keybearers, already fully awake and recognized.

Saïx pressed his hand deeper to his eyes, trying to get rid of the ringing in his ears. What could possibly be so bad that the world needed all that light to fight it?

~

The Strings on the other hand, decided to take this into their own choices. Reality needed to start moving and soon. Reaching out, they tapped on the Heir’s mind, wrapping around him. Not now, but soon.

Chapter Text

With the decision made that they would be staying longer to see if Axel could help Sora manifest his Keyblade, Aqua and Terra became much looser in letting Kairi, Sora, and Ven off the ship and around to explore. Before, while they had no problem with it, they wanted to know when any of them were leaving and when they thought they would return.

Now, the three of them were free to roam Scala with Riku, his sisters, and Roxas. And while that rule did technically apply to all of them, Vanitas had made his stance on leaving the boat very clear and Aqua and Terra clearly didn’t want to leave him alone.

Cresting the ridge to Roxas’s house, all thoughts of Vanitas and the others flew from Kairi’s mind as she spotted the three unknown teenagers talking with Roxas and Xion. She felt Sora and Ven stutter to a stop next to her. Riku was standing at the door with Naminé and there was a slightly mystified look on his face.

Xion was the first to spot them. “There they are,” she called, looking at them, and Roxas and the others turned to them.

“Wow dude, you weren’t kidding,” the one with blonde hair said. “He really does look a lot like you.” The statement was clearly aimed at Ven. The similarities between the two boys had been discussed late at night by all three of them when they were sitting on the deck of The Wayfinder, though they had no idea why. Vanitas had assured them that he and Ven didn’t have any other siblings. Roxas nodded at the boy’s exclamation, looking more relaxed than they had ever seen him.

“Weird, isn’t it?” He replied, crossing his arms and the blonde-haired boy nodded faintly, still looking caught off guard.

“And you two aren’t related?” The teenager with black hair clarified, looking back at Roxas. Roxas shook his head. “Super weird.”

“Ignore them,” the girl of the group told the three of them, ducking around Roxas. She walked toward them, stopping in front of Kairi and holding out her hand for a shake. “I’m Olette. The one without manners is Hayner and our third friend is Pence.”

“Hey!” Hayner squawked at Olette’s jab, causing Pence, Roxas, and Xion to laugh. Kairi didn’t attempt to smother her own smile as she shook hands with Olette. Already, the three of them were reminding her of herself, Sora, and Ven.

“Nice to meet you,” she responded. “I don’t know if you’ve been told, but I’m Kairi. This is Sora and Ventus, who goes by Ven.” She gave Ven a look as she introduced him, knowing that if she didn’t clarify that, it would be the first thing the teenager said. He shot her a look that was a tad sheepish.

“Nice to meet you too,” Olette returned, shaking both Sora’s and Ven’s hands. Riku came down from the doorway with Naminé during the introductions and the group of teenagers, plus Naminé ended up standing in the garden in a circle shape. Naminé was clinging to Riku’s hand this time round.

“I see you expanded your social circle, Roxas,” Riku commented, a small smirk curling up his face, something that made Kairi smile ever so slightly. “A vast improvement from when I saw you last.” Roxas made an incomprehensible grumbling noise, causing the three newcomers to laugh. Kairi watched them carefully. They were clearly Roxas’s and perhaps Xion’s friends and also clearly from Scala. Were they also Keyblade Wielders?

“Yes, he has definitely improved at socialization,” Xion giggled, she and Olette sharing a smile.

“Ha ha,” Roxas snarked before folding his arms across his chest. “So why are you here?” He directed the question at Hayner, raising an eyebrow. “It can’t be just to make fun of me.”

“We came to invite you and Xion to the Eighth Tower,” Pence exclaimed. “It’s been a while since we’ve hung out with you.”

“Still exploring that place?” Xion asked and Hayner nodded.

“It’s a great day for it,” he reasoned. “Look at the sky. We’re not going to get rained on.”

“Like last time,” Roxas commented and Olette and Pence laughed again.

“Yes, not like last time,” Hayner muttered, crossing his arms. “In a place where rain is as common as blue clouds, of course it rained on us.” Pence jabbed him in the side with his elbow, causing Hayner to yelp and unfold his arms.

“Do you want to come with us?” Olette asked, turning to Kairi, Sora, and Ven. “We don’t have a set limit on an exploring party.”

“Yeah, sounds fun,” Kairi said, after nonverbally checking in with both Sora and Ven, who both looked unopposed to the idea, before moving her gaze to Riku. “You going to come with us?” She asked and he shrugged noncommittedly. Naminé, seeing this, grabbed Riku’s hand in a tighter grip and started walking out of the garden, causing many laughs.

“I guess I’m coming too,” Riku said as he adjusted his hand in Naminé’s grip.

“Yay!” Olette exclaimed, moving to start walking as well. Hayner and Pence followed her and Xion and Roxas hurried after them.

“So, what’s big about the Eighth Tower?” Kairi asked after the group had been walking for a couple minutes, once she ended up walking beside Olette. The other girl looked to her, pressing her hands into her pockets.

“Well, it’s abandoned,” Olette explained, shrugging slightly. “After everything that’s happened in the past 15 years, there’s just not enough people to inhabit them. The Seventh Tower is pretty decrepit now, so no one’s really allowed to go there for safety reasons, but the Eighth Tower is still allowed to be visited.” Kairi was interested in the whole “everything that’s happened in the past 15 years” but didn’t say anything. She could always ask Riku later, when she didn’t run the risk of accidentally saying the wrong thing or embarrassing herself.

“And you’ve visited before?” Sora asked from where he was walking beside Riku. Olette nodded.

“Yeah, we like visiting,” she said. “We’ve spent the night there before.”

“It’s our safe place,” Pence commented, looking slightly serious.

Roxas grumbled. “You wouldn’t need a safe space if you just let me deal with it.” He recrossed his arms. Olette sighed.

“You can’t help us Roxas,” she said. “It’s just something that we have to live with.”

“Oh?” Kairi asked, wondering what they were talking about but not wanting to push.

“There’s a boy, Seifer, who lives in the same area as us on the Third Tower.” Hayner was the one to explain. “Let’s just say he isn’t the nicest person, and he loves to pick on those younger than him. The three of us discovered a couple years ago that he wouldn’t leave his little area, so we ended up starting to hang out in the Eighth Tower to get a moments peace.” He shrugged. “After Roxas and Xion became our friends, we started inviting them to hang out with us and it didn’t take long for them to figure out why we did it.”

“And I continue to say, you should let me try to do something about it.” Roxas sounded more caring than Kairi had heard him the whole time she had been here.

“Nah, we’ll deal with it,” Pence said. “He won’t stop and if we try and stop him, it’ll just get worse. We have our little hiding place and that’s enough.”

Kairi smiled at them as they walked out onto a bridge a couple feet above the water level, heading over to a different Tower.

“This is the Fourth Tower,” Olette told her. “The smallest of them.”

“Wouldn’t it make sense for the Eighth Tower to be the smallest?” Ven asked, looking around, and Olette shrugged. There were different people walking up and down the walkways, and the group carefully weaved around them as not to interfere.

“Just how it is.” Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Sora making a quick face and flicking his gaze up to scan the walls and buildings as they walked the path by the water around the Tower.

“Sora?” She asked quietly, waiting until Sora looked at her. “You okay?”

“Uh… Yeah, I’m fine.” She raised an eyebrow at him, and he flashed her a smile that would usually distract her, but she was worried about him. “I promise.” She didn’t believe him but decided to drop it as they were heading toward another bridge to a different Tower.

As they passed, she raised her head to look at a beautiful house situated at the edge of the Middle Ring, looking out to the ocean. She could have sworn she saw someone leaning over the wall to gaze at her from there.

“Welcome to the Eighth Tower,” Hayner announced as they crossed the bridge. It certainly looks like it’s been abandoned, Kairi thought.

While there were houses lining the edges of the Tower and paths crisscrossing up and down it, they looked damaged, dust coating the walls of the places and cracks marring what must have been pristine walls like in the other Towers. The stones under their feet were cracked and broken and there were piles of rubble dotting the street.

“This has somehow gotten much worse than when I was here last,” Riku commented, gazing around. “And that was only three years ago.”

“There was a really bad storm a year or so ago,” Xion explained. “The Seventh and Eighth Towers don’t have the same protections as the others do, so they got hit the hardest.” Geeze, Kairi’s mind hissed in surprise. What kind of storm could do this much damage?

“C’mon,” Olette interrupted her thoughts, causing Kairi to realize that the group had started to head off while she had been thinking. “We’re going up to our hangout spot.” She grabbed Kairi’s hand and pulled her along, causing the other girl to smile at Olette’s excitement.

“What’s it like?” She asked as they headed up the slightly decayed steps, keeping a careful eye out. She had good balance, she needed it to live on a ship, but she didn’t want to let herself relax too much and send herself or someone else tumbling down into the ocean or the Ring below.

“The hangout spot?” Olette clarified and Kairi nodded. “Well, it is the top of the Tower. While most Towers have a building or arena or something at the top, minus the First Tower because the Castle is at the top, this Tower had a park. And while most of the equipment and benches are gone, it is still a nice open area with many plants.”

Kairi could understand the appeal of a place like that. While there was definitely plant life around Scala, it was in ordered rows and boxes, nothing wild or free like Kairi had seen on coasts before.

She was then pulled out of her thoughts when she and Olette, neither of them paying attention, nearly ran into Sora and Riku’s backs.

“What…?” Kairi started to ask but trailed off when she saw Olette’s face. “Who is he?” She asked in a much quieter tone.

Because the reason the group had stopped was that there was already someone standing at the top of the Tower. A man with blonde hair that stuck up and in practical clothes.

“Cloud,” Olette whispered back. “One of the only people to ever leave Scala willingly. He travels a lot, so we never know when he’s going to be back. He lives in the same Tower as us.” Probably hearing them come to a stop, Cloud turned slowly from where he had been staring out.

“Cloud,” Roxas greeted, only the barest hint of surprise in his voice, despite the shock on his face. “We didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Understandable,” Cloud replied, with a voice nearly toneless. “I hope I’m not interrupting something. I was about to head back but I thought I saw something on the mountains.”

Kairi was the only one to turn their head and squint in the direction Cloud had been looking. How could Cloud see anything from this distance? What could have even been there?

“And you three.” Kairi turned back only to realize that Cloud was staring at her, Sora, and Ven. “You three are new.”

“They were on the ship that brought me home,” Riku interjected, placing one hand on Sora’s shoulder. “They’re staying for a while.” Cloud’s gaze swept to Riku.

“Riku of House Lux,” he greeted, and Kairi was suddenly aware that everyone from Scala had just gone stiff. Xion had frozen, color draining from her face while Naminé’s hands suddenly tightened to an extreme grasp on Riku’s shirt. Roxas’s eyes became slits and the three others had frozen, eyes widening in shock. Riku’s hand suddenly clenched on Sora’s shoulder and the three non-natives exchanged glances. What had just happened?

“I’m glad you’ve returned,” Cloud finished and turned and walked off, down the other side of the Tower.

“Guys?” Sora asked hesitantly when it seemed like the others weren’t going to move. “Everything okay?”

“What… in the hells was that?” Xion hissed out and Kairi balked, taken aback by the pure venom in Xion’s voice. “He just… He… What that…?” Riku removed his hand from Sora’s shoulder, pulling his hands together and rubbing his right palm before one of his hands jumped up, like he wanted to clasp something around his neck, but his fist closed on empty air. He returned to rubbing his hand.

“Why would Cloud say that?!” Roxas asked sounding both bewildered and angered, eyes glowing with rage. Naminé refused to move, hands still curled in Riku’s shirt, pressing her face into his side.

“Ummm,” Kairi mumbled. “Care to fill me in?” She asked lowly to Olette.

“Houses mean our family, where we come from,” Olette whispered back as Roxas, Xion, and Riku walked forward into what used to be the park area. “While there are “Noble Houses” and they are, well, Noble, every person in Scala is from a House. Like me. I’m a part of House Ala, passed down from my father. And Roxas, thus Xion and Naminé, are part of House Speculo. But while Riku was never a part of House Speculo, he was a part of House Somnia, Xion’s and Naminé’s old house. But that wasn’t his first house. It was House Lux. But once someone merges with a different House, like Riku did into House Somnia, it’s… well it’s extremely rude to refer to someone by their old House.”

“Oh,” Kairi said, looking out to where Riku had taken a seat with Naminé sitting in his lap, Xion moving to sit next to him.

“And usually, kids only take new Houses because their parents did. Meaning they either divorced and remarried or… died and remarried.”

Kairi flinched. She hadn’t even considered that part. Riku had never referred to Xion and Naminé with anything other than sister, but it hadn’t clicked for her that they didn’t look anything like him. Looking up, she could see both Sora’s and Ven’s stricken expressions, having overheard what Olette had said, and no doubt come to the same conclusion as she did.

“Just… don’t mention it,” Olette advised, looking at them. “Cloud already made it bad enough by addressing Riku by his First House. Don’t call attention to it.” Kairi nodded quickly and Olette nodded back, before putting on a nice smile and heading over to Hayner and Pence.

Kairi took a deep breath, trying to push back what she had just learned. Riku clearly needed a distraction right now. And as she walked over to take a seat on the grass across from him, she was determined to be that distraction.

But in the back of her head, her thoughts persisted. Suppose Riku isn’t that different from us in multiple ways.

“So, what’s the difference between Noble Houses and just Houses?” Ven asked, clearly trying to draw attention away from what had just happened, in the way he best could. Roxas grimaced slightly.

“Really nothing,” he admitted. “I’ve been told that Noble Houses hold more power than normal Houses, but I haven’t actually been taught anything different. And we supposedly have special Magic but nada in that department as well. I just am a part of a Noble House and for some reason, that makes me different. Not as much as if would have twenty-five years ago, but enough.”

“What happened twenty-five years ago?” Sora asked and Kairi found herself interested as well at the small smile that was spreading across Xion’s face. Roxas relaxed backwards as well and small expressions of happiness flitted across all the others’ faces.

“Well before that time, social classes were really rigid,” Xion explained slowly with a small frown. “You either were born a Noble or you weren’t and there was no way to change that. But then a Noble boy and a commoner boy became friends and with the Noble Houses already slowly disappearing, their friendship started to shatter all the walls that remained.”

“I probably wouldn’t have been able to become friends with Hayner, Pence, and Olette if Axel hadn’t befriended Saïx,” Roxas mentioned with a smile to his friends.

“Axel?” Kairi questioned and Xion nodded.

“Axel wasn’t born a Noble, even though he is one by marriage now.” She smiled. “Another reason why more people know Axel. He grew up around them.”

“You do realize names are never mentioned in that story,” Naminé spoke up from Riku’s side. Her focus was on his palm, which she was tracing lines on, but she had clearly been paying attention to their conversation.

“Yeah, but who else would it be?” Roxas shot back, raising an eyebrow. Naminé shrugged once, eyes not moving from Riku’s hand, and the rest of them slowly relaxed, friendly banter and jabs starting to be thrown back and forth as the conversation slid into something friendlier.

Huh, Kairi thought as she watched Olette nudge Xion as she said something, making the other girl shove her in the side. I couldn’t imagine not being able to be friends with someone simply due to where they were born. I’m glad that changed.

She smiled again, leaning back against Sora, as she watched the chaos start to unfold.

Chapter Text

After a few quiet hours that entailed conversations, laying on the grass watching the sky, and several impromptu tag/chase sessions, usually started by one of the fifteen-year-olds, Olette, Hayner, and Pence eventually had to leave once the sun had reached a little farther than halfway across the sky. There were promises that none of the non-Scala natives would leave without saying goodbye and the three teenagers had left, laughing and jabbing at each other. The rest of them had decided to stay for a little while longer and it seemed like nothing would happen.

“Do you feel that?” Roxas asked suddenly, his voice barely over a breath. Sora blinked, moving to look at Roxas, who was sitting up slowly from where he had been laying on the ground, before turning his head slightly to glance at Riku, raising an eyebrow at the older boy who was sitting out on the grass with Naminé in his lap. It was clear that Riku was as confused as he was.

“The wind?” Kairi ventured, tipping her head to the side in confusion. Roxas slowly shook his head, standing up from the blanket, a blank look in his eyes. Xion reached out a hand, as if to grab onto him and pull him back down, but he escaped her grasp, walking several feet forward, eyes fixed unnervingly on the distance, swaying slightly.

No, fixed on the First Tower. Sora shifted a little, an uncomfortable feeling building in him, the wind suddenly feeling a lot colder than it had. Kairi’s hand settled on his and he gave her a quick look, seeing his own unease reflected in her eyes.

“Roxas?” Xion asked quietly, standing as well. Sora couldn’t place the inflection in her voice. Riku slowly moved Naminé off his lap and Sora felt his legs stiffening in preparation to get up as well. Ven, from where he had been standing over by the edge looking out, started to walk back towards them. Kairi tensed in preparation as well.

“Can you…?” Roxas started, turning back around for a second to look at Xion. His eyes were still blank and lifeless, like he wasn’t actually looking at her, and Sora saw one of her feet move backwards a inch in response. “Can you feel that?” Xion shook her head mutely, expression baffled, and Roxas turned back to the First Tower in the distance. The wind brushed over them, ruffling their hair and making more than one of them shiver, only adding to eerie feeling that had started to settled over all of them.

“Roxas, what’s happening?” Riku asked slowly, standing up with Naminé clinging to his waist, eyes flicking between Roxas and Xion. “What are you… feeling?” But the young Heir didn’t answer, instead taking a few more shaky steps in the direction of the Tower. Sora could tell he wasn’t the only one tensing in preparation. The edge of the top of the Tower was right there and even though Roxas wasn’t heading in the specific way, it was still a possibility enough to make many of them worried. While he doubted that anything bad would really happen, Roxas still seemed to be in a fugue state. It wouldn’t be good to leave him like that.

“It’s calling me,” Roxas whispered out, one hand raising a couple of inches like he wanted to reach out and touch something. “They’re calling… us.” Sora finally started to stand as well, the hand holding Kairi’s not pulling her to her feet quite yet, instead both of them kneeled on the ground, ready to do anything.

“Xion, has he ever done something like this before?” Riku asked his younger sister, the smallest note of panic in his voice as Roxas showed no reaction to any of them and she shook her head, the worry on her face much clearer. Naminé clung to Riku, blinking in shock and confusion, her eyes flicking between her two siblings and Roxas.

“Roxas! Roxas, wait!” Xion called out as Roxas started walking away, down the ramp that would lead away from the garden and to the bridge back to the Fourth Tower. But Roxas didn’t stop and Xion cursed, Riku’s hands slipping over Naminé’s ears for a second, before hurrying after him. The four remaining teenagers exchanged glances before Riku took Naminé’s hand, carefully untangling her arms from his waist, and followed them, leaving Sora, Ven, and Kairi with little choice but to follow them. Ven quickly grabbed the blanket and placed it back in the basket that had been already in the park when they arrived, clearly having been left there, probably by Roxas and his friends, in times past.

When they finally caught up with them (the others were going fast!), Xion was attempting to reason with Roxas who was now on the bridge to the Fourth Tower, steadfastly ignoring her. Riku hovered behind them, clearly caught out of his depth.

“Riku!” Sora called out as he hurried out onto the bridge, Kairi and Ven following behind him. The older boy turned to him, and Sora could see the worry in his tightened eyes and twitching hands. “What do we do?” Sora asked, eyeing Xion and her increasing desperate attempts to try and stop Roxas. It wasn’t working.

“I don’t know,” Riku admitted, turning back to look at Roxas. “At this point, the most logical option is to just let him go. See where this leads. He can’t leave Scala.” But Sora could tell that Riku wasn’t happy with that option either and he was tempted to reach out to Riku, but Xion interrupted them.

“Really?” Xion asked, backing up to side so Roxas could get past her. “That’s the best we can decide on? Just let him walk off, in some trance.” Riku blinked and Sora could see the surprise in his eyes at Xion’s snippy response. Sora could agree with him.

“Xion,” Naminé said quietly, admonishingly, and Xion’s eyes widened when it seemed to hit her what she said.

“I’m sorry,” the teenaged girl said quietly, cringing backwards slightly, curling her hands into fists. “I just… I can’t stand not knowing what is happening to him.” She turned after those words and ran after Roxas, trying to keep pace with him.

Riku looked back at the three of them, biting his lip for a quick second before stopping. “Are you okay with just following an entranced Roxas?” He asked, smiling slightly grimly. Sora didn’t even have to think before nodding.

“And here I thought we left the weird stuff with Captain Hook and his black beasts,” Ven muttered as the five of them hurried after the Betrothed pair.

“Can you tell where he’s heading?” Riku asked Xion as they caught up with them, the girl seemingly content to just walk beside Roxas and keep a close eye on him. She had lost most of the outward tension but her movements were still tightly controlled and her hand kept twitching. Definitely a tic that all the Keyblade Wielders shared.

“Somewhere on the First Tower, I think,” she responded. “That’s where he was looking before.” Riku made a sight face as he lapsed into silence. Sora’s own mind was going a mile a minute.

What was happening? What triggered this? They had just been having a nice picnic, spending some time in the sun to rest and relax. Where had this come from? Was this normal? Xion was acting like it wasn’t, but if it wasn’t what had caused it? Why had it been caused?

“Any ideas what caused this?” Sora asked quietly, deciding to voice his thoughts, the question mostly directed at the Scala natives. While Riku’s face didn’t change, Xion’s nose scrunched up a little.

“Roxas has had intense dreams before, mostly in the past year, and they sometimes even slip into lucid dreams, according to him, but nothing like this,” Xion admitted, hands clasping in front of her for a second before dropping back down to her sides. “These dreams aren’t bad, actually, nothing nightmare inducing. Just… intense, apparently. He doesn’t tell me what’s in them. But again, he’s never spaced out like this.”

Sora was glad that it was the middle of the day and hot because all the Scala residents were either working or indoors, meaning no one noticed their hurried steps and Roxas’s blank look.

“Could his dreams have something to do with this?” Kairi asked from Sora’s other side, her expression worried and stressed. He could also feel Kairi’s gaze on him and he was tempted to turn and try to reassure her. Just because he also had intense dreams did not mean he was also going to space out one day.

Xion shrugged. “Unfortunately, I don’t know. He rarely shared the exact nature of the dreams, just the feelings that came from them. I’ve wondered more than once if he even remembers what happens in those dreams.”

Riku made another face.

Sora’s thoughts were interrupted though, by the same feeling that had descended on him as when he crossed the Fourth Tower earlier that day. He twitched, part of him wanting to turn and scan the windows and doors, to find whoever it was.

Someone was watching him.

The feeling choked him, causing anxiety to rise in his chest. Not only watching, but this whole Tower emitted a feeling of… loneliness and grief and Sora got the feeling that if he attempted to search out where the emotions were coming from, he would find himself drowning in the pain that irradiated this place. How anyone could stand to live here was beyond him. He also got the strangest feeling, the same feeling he’d had when he entered Scala, of knowing. That he had seen this place before, somehow and somewhere. But that was impossible. Right?

Xion’s hypothesis about Roxas heading to the First Tower was confirmed when the Heir continued onto the bridge that connected them, not pausing or even slowly slightly. Xion for a second looked like she was going to attempt to stop him again, but didn’t.

As he crossed onto the bridge, Sora couldn’t help the pause that he made, and turned back slightly to the Tower. Perhaps one last attempt to catch whoever was watching him if it wasn’t just his mind continuing to play tricks on him.

“Sora?” Kairi asked quietly, trying not to draw attention to them, noticing his stop. He turned back to her.

“I’m fine,” he told her. “Just… thought I saw something.” She peered at him before nodding slowly and allowing the two of them to catch up with the others. She reached for his hand again and squeezed it once.

Roxas was apparently not heading home though, as once they entered the First Tower, he didn’t travel back up the path they had come from, instead turning the whole opposite direction and making for the stairs that would take him up the Rings.

“Ven, could you take Naminé back to her house?” Riku asked quietly after a clear second of thought, pausing for a second to turn to the other teenager. “I… don’t know if I want her around this.” Said teenager nodded, reaching out to offer his hand to Naminé.

“Riku,” the little girl said, a tad bit of reproach in her voice, and her hand tightened on Riku’s.

“It’s okay Naminé,” Riku told her, placing his hand on her head. “I just don’t know where this is going, and I don’t want to scare you.” She pouted slightly, but let go of Riku’s hand, instead taking Ven’s.

“Tell me everything that happens,” Ven said to them, and he and Kairi nodded, watching for a few seconds as Ven and Naminé walked off before turning to run up the other set of stairs, trying to catch Xion and Roxas.

“Riku,” Xion whispered to them as they caught up, her hand now clasped with Roxas’s. “I think we’re heading up to the Castle.”

“The Castle?” Riku exclaimed in surprise, tipping his head up to stare at the top of the First Tower, even though they couldn’t see it from here. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” she rebuked again. “I’m just telling you what I think.”

“We won’t get in trouble if we go there, right?” Kairi asked, her face twisting in worry. Xion smiled gently at them, the only sign of relaxation she’d had since this started.

“No, we won’t,” she reassured. “Roxas and I go there often to train with Axel. I’m pretty sure all those in Noble Houses have standing invitations to visit the Castle and since Riku is family and you two our invited guests, we won’t get in trouble if caught.”

“If?” Sora asked. Why did she make it sound like it was only a possibility that they might get seen?

“The Castle is barely inhabited.” Riku was the one to answer, to Sora’s surprise. “The last time it was truly full was a decade ago, when Scala was still ruled by Saïx’s parents.” Riku’s eyes closed very briefly in what Sora thought was grief. “It was also the first place hit during the Massacre. Saïx never truly tried to reopen it. None of the Nobles visit or spend time there like they used to. The only people who live there year-round now are Saïx, Axel, the guards, and the few servants that take care of it. It’s mostly cold and empty now.”

Sora felt that was kind of sad. Also, did Riku say massacre?

“I was right,” Xion commented as the group rounded the corner. Sora felt his breath vanish.

The Castle was huge. Made out of walls of glittering gold, it looked like it was a part of the Tower, the walls simply sloping up from the ground itself. It also felt strangely… inverted? to Sora. Starting small at the bottom, the width of it grew as it rose, until it nearly eclipsed the top of the Tower.

“Xion?” Roxas’s asked, blinking in shock and turning to look at her. Sora felt a stab of relief at the awareness in his eyes and he could also see the tension bleed out of Xion and Riku at the sight. “Why are we here?”

“You tell us,” Xion responded, reaching out to take Roxas’s hands in hers, holding them close. “You were the one who led us here.” Roxas blinked at her before realization grew in his eyes.

“Yeah, I did,” he whispered, turning to look at the Castle again. “But… It’s calling me. I don’t know why but they are.”

“What is?” Riku asked, a slight bit of wariness and anger in his voice, and Roxas turned to them.

“I don’t know,” Roxas admitted, shoulders hunching slightly. “But I don’t think we should ignore it.” Riku narrowed his eyes, moving his gaze from Roxas up to the Castle.

“Well, could anything bad happen from following this feeling?” Kairi asked, presumably getting the same feeling that Sora had, that Riku was not for this at all. Not that Sora completely blamed him. Riku knew a lot more about Scala than he or Kairi did, but Xion had said it was open to them.

Xion shrugged one shoulder. “Technically, no,” she said. “Like I mentioned earlier, all of us are allowed into the Castle. We’re not likely to be caught anyway, and it doesn’t seem dangerous.”

“You say that now,” Riku grumbled, but lost some of the hostility in his stance.

“Is the call still there?” Sora asked Roxas, getting a nod back in return. “I say we follow it. It hasn’t hurt us yet.” Kairi nodded as well but both of them turned to Riku, not being the only ones to, as both Roxas and Xion had shifted to stare at Riku as well.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he groused, looking tempted to cross his arms, but relaxed even further. “Fine, we can chase down your mystery feeling which already dragged us this far already.” Xion smiled at him, and Roxas turned back to the Castle.

“Which way Roxas?” Xion asked. He furrowed his brow.

“This way,” he said, starting toward the Castle. Sora reached out and grabbed Riku’s hand, dragging him with them. They were in it together, after all.

The Castle was just as pretty on the inside as it was on the outside, gold covering each wall and intricate designs and paintings in every nook and cranny, high swooping ceilings and clearly magical light sources dotting the walls.

“It’s beautiful,” Kairi breathed out and Sora was glad he wasn’t alone in his awe.

“It is,” Riku agreed before pausing. “Are-Are you sure we’re going down that way?” He called up to Roxas, who had walked up a staircase and was heading down a hallway.

“This is the way the pull is heading, yes,” the teenager responded. Riku made a face and Sora couldn’t help but agree with him. That hallway just felt… dark. It felt cold and wrong and made Sora shiver even though he was several feet away from it.

He looked up to Riku. The older boy looked back at him before sighing in exasperation as Roxas continued on, oblivious to even Xion’s uncomfortableness.

“We’re in this together, right?” Riku asked Sora and Sora didn’t try and stop the smile that spread across his face at that.

“Right,” he whispered, squeezing Riku’s hand, before following Roxas down the hall.

~

The strings twisted.

They K n e w.

They always did.

They had brought the Heir.

You put this off long enough.

Saïx opened his eyes, biting back a sigh. He didn’t… want to but…

You put this off long enough.

Perhaps he had.

Chapter Text

“I don’t think we should be in here,” Kairi whispered, wrapping her arms around herself as they walked further down the hallway. Riku couldn’t help but find it in himself to agree with her. The very walls surrounding them seemed to lean in, leering at them, hissing words of anger.

“Roxas, where are we going?” Xion asked, reaching out and grasped Kairi’s hand, squeezing it tightly. Riku’s heart warmed at the sight of his old family getting closer to his new one. Focus.

“I don’t know,” the Keybearer admitted, turning his head back for a second to look at them. “But can’t you just feel it? It’s like the hallway wants us to follow it.” None of them said anything.

“No,” Xion said after a second. “I don’t feel that.” Roxas shrugged at that and Riku narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t like Roxas to be so callous of Xion’s feelings. He opened his mouth to say something only to be stopped when they arrived at a set of doors.

“We’re here,” Roxas breathed and for a second, Riku could almost feel what Roxas was feeling. The idea of the walls wanting them to walk through them seemed believable and he felt compelled to walk through the set of double doors like it was the door to his own home. But a second later, the feeling faded and left Riku shivering. Sora reached out and took his hand. Riku smiled back.

“Are we really doing this?” Xion asked, reaching out her other hand to place it on Roxas’s shoulder. He turned back to her, a complicated expression crossing his face.

“I think we have to,” he responded and Riku hated that he was right. There was just something about this place that was both scary and intriguing.

Roxas took a final step forward and gently turned the handle and sent the door swinging in. It made no sound and for some reason, Riku thought it should have.

The room the group of teenagers stepped into was high walled and completely enclosed, no windows at all. The room was lit with a chandelier of flickering candles, giving the room both a homely glow and several ominous shadows. The walls were covered in artwork of all kinds, from paintings to ancient scripts and even etchings straight into the wall. And in the center was…

“Woah,” Sora breathed out and Riku nodded along, hearing similar exclamations of surprise and awe from the others.

The back wall of the room was surprisingly bare, compared to the rest of the room. A single drawing of a Keyblade, a simple design Riku had never seen before, rested at the top of the wall and swirls decorated the edges of the wall twisting from chains to flowered vines into lightning strikes and ending with simple lines. And in the center of the wall were lines of text, written in a language Riku didn’t know.

The group drifted apart from each other quietly, each going to look at something different. Sora let go of Riku’s hand and Riku looked back for a second, but Sora gave him a gentle smile and walked off, settling Riku’s nerves somewhat.

Riku found himself in front of a painting the depicted a young girl, perhaps their age, wearing a pink shirt wrapped around herself with flowy sleeves reaching up for the heavens, somehow standing impossibly on the ocean itself, the body of water still and quiet. Surrounding her were four boys and one girl, each looking up to the sky as. A heart shaped moon hung in the sky. Kingdom Hearts, whispered Riku’s mind. It had to be. That’s how all the stories described the thing as. He stared at the painting. A girl with four friends, on the ocean, summoning the impossible. Was this Sigrun? The first leader? If this was, who was the other girl? She had never been mentioned in any of the stories.

“What are you looking at?” Sora asked him quietly, walking up to his side. Riku blinked for a quick second, wondering what could have brought Sora back to his side, but answer anyway.

“I think this is Sigrun and her friends,” Riku replied, just as quiet. He also felt the urge to lower his voice. He felt if he spoke too loudly, he would desecrate this sacred place. “When they made Scala Ad Caelum.” Sora hummed in consideration, a hand moving by his side and Riku looked at him more carefully. “What did you look at?”

Sora pointed at a carving in the wall that depicted two Keyblades clashing. One, a chain wrapped hilt with a gear for the teeth of the blade and an eye at the hilt. The other, slender and slim, with a star for the teeth. While they were clashing, Riku didn’t get the feeling that they were fighting.

And it was a testament to the room and how weird it was that he was getting feelings about carvings in the wall.

“Want to keep looking?” Sora asked him and Riku nodded quietly. He didn’t know why he felt the urge to continue exploring, to continue to see what was in the room. There was something… off about the room, and Riku didn’t know if he actually wanted to find out what.

Walking away from the first painting, he and Sora soon arrived at a second one. This one depicted a tall, white building against a multicolored sunrise. Five shadows stood out against the sunrise; the features of each person lost in the painting. A monstrous looking beast flanked the five of them on either side. On another building in the painting, the picture depicted two more smaller shadows back-to-back. The shadow of a Keyblade was falling on one of them. Three more smaller shadows were on an even farther back building.

Sora made a small noise from beside him.

“Sora?” Riku asked, turning to see Sora’s face screwed up slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel like I’ve seen that place before,” Sora confessed, staring at the painting in confusion. “But I don’t know how.” Riku opened his mouth to say something only to be distracted by Roxas’s voice, also lowered but loud enough to be heard across the room.

“Come look at this,” the Keybearer told them, standing in front of the wall of script. As Riku walked over, he looked around the room to see if there were any other paintings he could make out.

A watercolor painting depicted a pink haired teenager reaching out toward something out of frame while darkness tendrils reached out from the corners to grab at him. A black-haired teenager with a hat stood back-to-back with him, light seeming to seep from his very being and a white heart hovered in the small space between them, a hole in the center of it.

An etching in the stone created the picture of a castle, not the Castle but similar, split down the center by a great rift.

A young teenager yanked against ropes bound around his wrists, long animal ears flattened against his head as another child, younger than him, attempted to reach him against her own ropes. Fire raged in the background, what looked to be a town burning to the ground.

A black-haired man in white robes held a burning book as he stared out to the sunset, a shadow of a person approaching him from his back.

“Do any of you recognize this language?” Roxas asked, dragging Riku’s attention to the words that Roxas was gesturing at. He wasn’t the only one to shake his head.

“It reminds me of the older version of the language written here,” Xion admitted, reaching out one hand, stopping right before she touched the wall. “But this is even older than that is and that one is from hundreds of years ago.” Riku narrowed his eyes at the script. Xion was right, it looked a lot like the written words used both in Scala and in the outside world, even if the two were a little different, but it wasn’t similar enough for Riku to make out more than a couple of letters.

“Why would something be written in a language that no one can read?” Kairi asked, tipping her head back to look at the top of the wall. Riku followed her gaze, his eyes landing on the Keyblade inscribed on the top. It wasn’t one that he had ever seen.

“Because the carving it as old as the language is,” a voice from behind them said, causing all of them to jump, Riku included. “And it’s not completely unreadable.” All of them spun around. “I can read it,” Saïx said, having entered the room without any of them hearing. Riku gulped at the sight of the leader of Scala Ad Caelum. Yeah, they probably shouldn’t have gone in here.

“Saïx!” Roxas exclaimed in shock, wobbling slightly from the speed he had spun around. Xion had frozen, eyes growing three times their normal size while Sora and Kairi exchanged glances, clearly not knowing who this was but could tell that he was someone important. Riku was also struggling to remind himself how to breathe. He had only ever seen Saïx once in his life and that was from a distance during the ceremony to officially name Axel a Keyblade Master. Unlike his husband, the primary ruler of Scala didn’t make a habit of interacting with the public. Or even leaving the Castle at all.

“I can explain,” Roxas continued on, but Saïx shook his head and held up one hand, silencing him, seemingly oblivious to the slight flinches that had come from Riku, Roxas, and Xion at the movement of his arm.

“You don’t need to,” the First King said, eyes flicking to each of them in turn. “I saw this coming. I just thought it would take you longer to find this place.”

“What?” Asked Roxas in shock but Xion was already taking over. Riku had to admire her bravery. He was still reteaching his mind how to breathe without his every thought dedicated to it. You’ve faced scarier things than this. What is wrong with you?

“Where is here?” She asked quietly, moving forward to take Roxas’s hand. Saïx’s eyes flicked to her, watching her for a second before answering.

“It is the Gallery,” he told her evenly, taking a few more steps into the room to gesture around. “It is a recording of events that have happened, are happening, and are still to happen.”

“Like the future?” Sora asked only to abruptly close his mouth when Saïx’s focus ended on him.

“Yes Sora,” Saïx replied and Riku shivered again like he had when walking through the halls. When had someone told Saïx Sora’s name? Or even what he looked like? Had Axel?

“You can see the future?” Kairi questioned, turning her head to instead look at the paintings instead of Saïx when his attention turned to her.

“In a way,” the ruler admitted. “But these aren’t my art… Mostly.” Riku raised an eyebrow at that. Saïx had created something that was here. Not that there was anything wrong with that but…

And the populace had long theorized that certain Noble houses could see the future, even if Roxas had never shown that ability. Was this a confirmation of that?

“But you weren’t asking about the paintings, were you? Or, at least, that wasn’t your main concern,” Saïx clarified unnecessarily, eyes falling back on Xion. “You were asking about the writing.”

“What does it say?” Riku asked, finally getting his voice back under control, hands curling into fists to try and prevent their shaking as Saïx’s gaze fell on him. “If you’re allowed to tell us.”

Saïx looked… amused for a quick second, something lighting in his eyes, before his expression melted back into one of careful indifference.

“Which people know what is written there is up to me to decide,” he told them, eyes moving to the words behind them then to the paintings around the room before settling back on them. “But are you sure you wish to know?” Riku frowned as he considered this, turning to look at the other teenagers.

The way Saïx had phrased it almost made it seem like it would be a burden to know what was written on the wall. Like it would make their lives harder. He met Kairi’s eyes, then Roxas’s and around him he could feel the same kind of determination. They had been drawn to their room for a reason. Perhaps this was the reason.

“Yes, we are.” Sora was the one to respond, looking straight into Saïx’s eyes. The man stared at them for a second before dipping his head once in a nod of acceptance.

“It is a Prophecy,” he said, moving his eyes back up to the Keyblade at the top of the wall. “As old as Scala is or perhaps, even older. The language has long been lost except to a certain amount of people and the knowledge of the Prophecy has also been forgotten from the common person’s mind, if they even ever knew of it.”

“What’s it about?” Xion asked when Saïx paused, looking back down at them. He hummed slightly, amusement again tingeing the edge of his words.

“No one seems to agree,” Saïx said, eyes tracing the words on the stone. “Some of my ancestors have thought it depicted the people who would end the World. Others, the ones who would restart the Keyblade War. Even others thought it was nonsense, a children’s tale from before the War that ended up being written down and accidentally taken for fact. It certainly reads like one.”

“What do you think?” Riku was surprised by his own boldness. A small smile flitted across Saïx’s face as he tipped his head slightly to the side and closed his eyes.

“I think it is a prophecy depicting some event that will happen and the people it will happen to, but not the event that we believe it will be.” The First King opened his eyes, flicking his gaze around the rest of them again. “There is no precedent for this prophecy, so we have nothing to hold it against, nothing to judge it by. Just the fact that it is very possible that it could never happen. That the circumstances could never line up.”

All of the teenagers exchanged glances as they digested that. Riku could feel his thoughts spinning in circles. An impossible prophecy? Or at least, a very unlikely one? But it was kept here in the Castle, locked up in a secret room covered in pictures of the past and future. That had to show that some of the people who looked at it in the past thought it was at least a little important.

“But what does it say?” Xion asked again.

Saïx gazed at them, eyes flicking to a painting behind them that Riku couldn’t see before returning to them. Then he told them.

The moon will form and the sea will rise

Purposes and conflicts will all crystalize

The prodigies of the Prodigy and the sister of the damned

Will join the three hearts all hand in hand

The two broken brothers and the two mirrored hearts

Will all be there when the conflict starts

The Mind imprisoned, the Soul contained

Promises and deals all bloodstained

To find your enemy, to find your friend

The magician and father you must defend

The truth broken council, once seven now four

Will have to be there to open the door

And those five forced to enemy’s side

Their heartbreaking souls try to abide

And as souls return from their faithless departs

You must always remember, “Find Kingdom Hearts”

Chapter Text

The five of them had quickly left the room after Saïx had revealed the prophecy, all of them lost in their own thoughts. Kairi wrapped her arms around herself, feeling unnaturally cold. And feeling like they were being watched.

Leaving the room and the hallway that had led to it negated the feeling a little bit and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sora doing a similar movement, clearly feeling the same thing that she was. Ahead of them, Riku walked, eyes focused on the ground and not reacting to anything. Xion and Roxas were leading the way out, but they were also clearly affected by what had just happened.

“Okay, come here,” Roxas hissed out after the group had been walking for a few minutes, getting out of the Castle proper. He gently grabbed Xion’s upper arm and dragged her into an alcove slotted between the railing surrounding the Upper Ring and one of the Ring walls, once they had gotten low enough. It was carefully hidden so that barely anyone would’ve been able to see them, and it was balanced between the Upper Ring and Middle Ring.

Roxas settled himself and Xion down on the bench built into the alcove, while Riku leaned against the wall nearest to the opening. Kairi pulled herself and Sora down to the ground, ignoring the slight dirt and rough texture of the floor, allowing the boy to lean on her slightly. They were both shaking.

She might not know who that man had been, but it was clear the others did. And the room of pictures and paintings and… the prophecy.

“Promises and deals all bloodstained”

It didn’t paint a pretty picture.

“So…” She eventually started when it became clear that no one else was going to. “Are we going to talk about what just happened?” Riku’s eyes flicked up to her and Xion shivered. She sighed. “Great, I’ll start. One, who was that man?”

“That was Saïx,” Roxas answered her, one arm wrapped around Xion. “The Leader of Scala Ad Caelum. The First King of Scala Ad Caelum. Either title has been used.” Oh, it makes sense now why they were panicking, Kairi thought. “He’s the one we mentioned earlier, when we talked about the social ranks and all that. Him and Axel are married.”

“That explains your reaction to him then,” Kairi mentioned, specifically pointing her comment at Riku. He shrugged one shoulder, the picture of calm, but his fingers drummed a frantic beat down his arm. “Two, are we going to talk about the fact that some of us might’ve just seen the future through those paintings?”

The one she had ended up seeing was a chalk drawing, lines carved painstakingly with dozens of colors. It depicted three shadows, mostly likely of people, standing on a hill at night. The strangest part had been that the moon, big and beautiful above them, hadn’t been a circle. Instead, it had been a heart, hanging in the sky like everything was normal, a yellow color that seemed a little too bright to be normal. Lines of white and blue circled the three shadows, binding them close to each other.

“Saïx didn’t say that those pictures were the future,” Roxas rebuked, eyes dropping down to his lap, but Kairi could hear it in voice. He didn’t fully believe what he was saying.

“No, he said some of them were of the future, some of the present, and some of the past,” she corrected with a tip of her head, eyes flicking between the other teenagers. “So, there is technically a chance one of us saw something from the future.”

“Honestly, I’m more concerned about the prophecy,” Riku stated, leaning deeper into the wall, closing his eyes slowly. Kairi looked to him and could see that he was… worried would probably be the easiest way to put it. He looked like he had whenever she or Sora accidentally triggered him.

“Didn’t Saïx say that the circumstances of the prophecy were incredibly rare and not likely to happen?” Sora asked, moving his head to rest more comfortably on Kairi’s shoulder. She reached down and took one of his hands in hers, rubbing circles into the back of it, both as a grounding measure for Sora, even though she didn’t know if he needed it, and a soothing motion for her.

“Yes, but haven’t several impossible things happened in the past couple of years?” Riku inquired rhetorically, opening his eyes, but staring out over the water instead of at any of them. “I mean, Scala was supposedly safe, but a child was kidnapped from there. A common pirate captain somehow managed to control the black beasts that terrorized the place I was for the past three years.” Several people snapped their heads up at that.

“What?” Xion asked, finally blinking and seeming to finally come back to herself, but Riku brushed past her. His eyes stayed fixed on the mountains in the distance.

“That same kidnapped kid finds himself on a boat with an almost fully awakened Bloodline? Do you realize how rare that is?” Riku continued, eyes sliding to Sora seemingly against his will. “Not even starting to mention the Massacre from a decade ago.”

“Yeah, I would like some explanation on that,” Sora interjected, rotating his head to stare at Riku, meeting his gaze. “You can’t just drop something like that and move on.” Kairi agreed with Sora and her hand tightened on his as she looked around at the other three. What massacre?

Riku sighed and Roxas dropped his gaze, Xion leaning closer to him, as if in comfort. Or seeking comfort.

“The Massacre was…” Riku started, trailing off and shifting his eyes. His hands curled into fists, and he gritted his teeth. “The Massacre happened ten years ago. A scorned Keybearer, who had been banished four years prior for kidnapping people and performing experiments on them, returned with a vengeance, unleashing the selfsame beasts that we fought on The Wayfinder. A lot of people died, Saïx’s parents among them. Many Noble Houses were wiped out because the attack was focused, in the beginning, on the Upper Ring. But the beasts would spread down the Tower and into several more.”

“My dad died that night,” Xion whispered, and Kairi immediately felt like a terrible person for bringing it up. “He was saving me, mom and Naminé.” Roxas reached over and took her hands in his, squeezing them tightly. She leaned deeper onto him.

“Axel nearly died that night as well,” Riku continued, carefully watching Xion out of the corner of his eye, keeping an eye on her. “He and Saïx had taken on the traitor themselves after he had murdered almost the whole Castle. They drove the traitor off, but Axel nearly joined Kingdom Hearts.”

“What was the traitor’s name?” Kairi found herself asking and could see the surprise flash in Riku’s eyes for a second. She felt the same. Why should she care what the traitor’s name was? But she could see the same question in Sora’s eyes, and she licked her dry lips. One of them was going to ask.

“Marluxia,” Roxas hissed out instead, eyes taking on an angry tinge. “The scorned Head of the Noble House Flores. The last Head of House Flores.”

Riku shook his head softly, an almost nostalgic air taking over his eyes and voice. “The Noble Houses are disappearing faster than clouds on a hot day.”

“Sorry for bringing it up,” Kairi muttered softly, shoulders hunching slightly as she shot an apologetic look to Xion. The other girl shook her head.

“It’s okay,” she replied with a sigh. “You couldn’t’ve known.”

“Bringing the topic back around,” Sora said. “What did you mean, Riku, when you said that the Massacre was related to the prophecy?”

“Not really related,” Riku clarified. “Just that we are living in an era of impossible things. Who’s to say that the prophecy couldn’t happen.”

Kairi shivered again, an action she felt repeated by Sora. The prophecy’s words echoed in her head.

“It’s so… scary, isn’t it?” She whispered out, voice barely louder than a breath. “If that’s true and the prophecy is about to come true, what does that mean? For us? For the World? Saïx said that it had to do with a disastrous event. And the words…” The five teenagers dropped their gazes, each troubled by their own thoughts. Kairi felt her hands tighten around Sora’s and the boy leaned closer to her, as a reassurance to both of them. I’m here.

“’The five forced to the enemy’s side’,” Xion whispered out into the silence and Kairi raised her head along with Sora, seeing Riku do the same thing. “While I don’t know the other three, two of them could be Ienzo and Even. Or just Even.” Kairi didn’t even ask what she wanted to know, just twisted her head to Riku. But Riku was also blinking in confusion at Xion and Roxas was the one to answer.

“Even and Ienzo were friends of the Royal Family, though more specifically Axel and Saïx. Not from any Noble House, Even’s brilliance with Magic theories and magic application brought him to their attention and the Royal fostered the brothers, much like they had done with Axel, when their parents passed away. On the day of the Massacre, Even and his brother were kidnapped by Marluxia and his associates for Even’s knowledge. Neither has been found, even with search parties going out.”

“And you know about this how?” Riku asked with a raised eyebrow.

Xion made a face, halfway between a grimace and a frown. “Axel was with Ienzo when he was kidnapped. He was unable to protect him. Ienzo was eight. He told us about it once after a particularly hard training session.”

Eight? Kairi thought with a pit growing in her stomach. If this was ten years ago, he would only be three years older than Sora and me.

“Okay, let’s say Ienzo and Even are referenced in the prophecy,” Roxas said, with an indistinguishable note in his voice. “Any other ideas?” Kairi frowned. She didn’t really know. She didn’t know anyone from Scala. Hell, she didn’t know anything about prophecies.

“What’s Kingdom Hearts?” Sora asked instead, moving to push himself off her shoulder and sit properly, looking to Riku, who made a face.

“Kingdom Hearts is… an idea?” He trailed off, looking to Xion and Roxas for help. “It’s… the place Hearts go after their Bodies perish. It’s also a physical thing that, when summoned, could cause catastrophic damage.”

“Yeah, we believe in it,” Xion took over, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “But there isn’t any true definition of it. It just… is.”

“The basic description we have of it,” Roxas said, tipping his head in contemplation. “Is that it’s a heart shaped moon. But no one has ever summoned it in the current age, so we don’t know for sure.”

“The last time it was summoned, according to our books,” Xion finished, looking up at the Tower they were sitting at. “Is back when Sigrun was creating Scala Ad Caelum. They say she used part of the power of Kingdom Hearts to form this world for us.”

“I saw a picture with Kingdom Hearts in it,” Kairi admitted, thinking back to the chalk drawing, and Riku hummed in agreement, nodding slightly.

“As did I,” Riku said. “But I’m pretty sure the painting was of the past. It seemed to be Sigrun and her friends forming Scala.” She nodded slowly and saw both Xion’s and Roxas’s faces fall into thought. She couldn’t answer what Riku had said though. She didn’t know what time her drawing was from. She had no idea.

“I saw you, Riku,” Xion said softly and Riku’s wasn’t the only head to snap up to her.

“What?” Riku asked in shock, unfolding his arms and pushing off the wall to stand straight. Kairi watched him carefully.

“It was you, I’m sure of it,” Xion continued, eyes moving to stare at her big brother. “You had your Keyblade, and you were fighting a black beast. It looked… dusty, where you were. There was a girl with red hair, a boy with yellowish-blonde hair, and a boy with just blonde hair with you.” All the color drained from Riku’s face and Xion wasn’t the only one to sit up a little in interest. “Riku, was that from the time you were kidnapped?”

“Yes, it was,” Riku muttered, looking away.

“You weren’t alone?” Sora asked.

“I don’t remember even insinuating that I was.” Kairi frowned at that but nudged Sora to drop it.

“So, we’ve at least seen the past in those artworks,” Roxas said, furrowing his brow as he thought. “And Saïx would have no reason to lie to us at all.”

Saïx, Kairi’s brain whispered. What else did he say? She tried to scan her mind. Did he say anything else? …Oh.

“Guys, what did Saïx mean when he said that he knew that we would find that place, just that we found it early?” She asked, looking around at the three people who had lived at Scala for, at least, a time.

“Well, Saïx did say that he could see into the future in a way,” Xion said, looking back up at the Castle, which they could just barely see from their position, stretching upwards. “Perhaps he saw us.” Kairi nodded to her at that. It made sense but at the same time…

“Why us though?” Sora asked, raising his head up to look at the others. “What’s so special about us?”

The five of them exchanged glances. They had no answer for that.

~

“Whatever it was, it really spooked you, didn’t it?” Ven asked them that night, when the three of them were laying out on the deck, staring up at the star speckled sky.

When the five of them had returned to the house, where Naminé and Ven were waiting not so patiently for them, they hadn’t said anything about what had happened, still reeling from it all. At that point, it had been late enough that the three of them had to return to The Wayfinder for dinner and checking in with Aqua and Terra. Dinner had been a quiet affair, with both Sora and Kairi out of sorts, and while they had tried to get to sleep, they both had realized it was hopeless and went out to the deck, as they often did when one of them couldn’t sleep. To their surprise, Ven had been out there, waiting for them, despite the fact that he would usually be asleep at this point of the night, and the three of them laid down on the deck, not saying anything to each other until Ven decided to break the silence.

“I wouldn’t say ‘spooked’,” Sora hummed out and Ven wasn’t the only one to give Sora a look. Kairi sighed. Ven was right.

“It’s just…” she started, trailing off after a second as she bit her lip. How did she explain what had happened? “We learned the First King of Scala can see the future, there’s a Prophecy in place that may happen, it may happen or be related to us, and several of us might have gotten glimpses into the future.” Info dump it was.

For a second, there was silence again as Ven didn’t say anything, before a slightly incredulous laugh bubbled up in their third’s chest. “Well, why didn’t you say so?” He hummed out, slightly sarcastic, and Kairi winced. “The future?” Ven asked, once the laugh went away.

“Yep,” Sora murmured. “But he wouldn’t tell us a lot and Xion and Roxas didn’t know that much either.”

Ven sighed, suddenly losing all his humor. “Of course, it is,” he muttered. “You know, ever since Riku joined, nothing’s been normal, you realize that, right?”

“Hey!” Sora snapped out and Kairi, still looking up at the sky, could hear Sora shifting on the wood, almost like he was getting ready to sit up.

“I didn’t say that was a bad thing,” Ven said quickly. “Just… it’s not as shocking that we get dragged into this. I think, from the second we let Riku on our ship, we left our careful, normal lives behind.”

~

Saïx could feel the winding in his heart. Could feel the Strings starting to tighten, starting to strangle him. He knew, he always did. He knew what not being able to see meant.

Two more days, his mind hissed. You can Know two more days into the future. He closed his eyes. He knew what that meant. He just hoped he had managed to pass on the needed information to the kids. They would share that information with the others. They would do what was needed. They would save the world.

His heart thumped again, straining against the Strings that held it.

In two more days, I’m going to die.

~

A branch cracked. An animal went skittering through the underbrush. A flock of birds flew off. All of them had been disturbed by the portal that had just appeared in the mountain side. The dark portal that had just appeared.

Out from it stepped a man. Older than he had been, more powerful than he had been. His yellow eyes flashed as he laid eyes on the Towers in the distance. Ah, home. His mind thought. Why did I leave?

Behind him, others emerged, followed by the Heartless, their shadows stretching and twisting unnaturally. The woman of the group turned to him.

“Now?” She asked, placing one hand on her hip. He shook his head slowly.

“Not yet,” he said quietly, taking a few steps forward until he reached the edge of the cliff. The closest he could get to his home from here. “Soon, though. Two more days.” She sighed and grumbled but didn’t argue. The air crackled around her, in response to her irritation.

His eyes rested on the First Tower. Is he still there? Part of him, the quietest part of him, wondered, something strange filling his heart at that thought before quickly being banished. That wasn’t productive to their work.

“Soon,” he whispered out a final time and Marluxia’s yellow eyes sharpened with malice as a smile curled up his face.

Chapter Text

A castle in the distance, sun shining around the spires of it. Green bushes in many shapes lined the edges of it, creating beautiful walls in the garden and making a nice view for when the residents of the castle decided to look out.

“Mickey…” A female voice said slowly and the light from one of the windows was eclipsed by the shadow of an anthropomorphic mouse in a big, poofy gown. She placed her hands on her hips and looked down at the other, who was leaning over a pile of paperwork, slowly working through it.

“Minnie?” The other mouse asked, looking up groggily. He blinked at Minnie’s expression, reaching one hand up to rub at his eyes. “What are you doing here? Usually, you’d be asleep at this time of night.”

The female mouse sighed, sounding exasperated, and leaned down, taking the quill from him. “Mickey, it’s the morning,” she told him firmly, placing the quill back in its inkwell. “You worked through the night. Again.”

“I did?” He asked, hand curling like the quill was still in his hand, a testament to how tired he was. He looked around, eyes settling on the windows on the wall and the sunlight pouring through them. His eyes widened. “I didn’t mean to, honest. I was planning to just finish this one stack of papers but then I realized that the one about the attacks related to another, so I had to go and find that one and I realized just how many I had to do and-”

“Mickey,” Minnie said, gently cutting off her husband, placing a hand on his shoulder. He blinked again, looking up at her before letting out a sigh and sitting backward in his chair, leaning on the high back of it. His gloved hand reached up again to tug at the crown on his head and he pulled it off his head, setting it on the desk in front of him.

“Gosh, I’m sorry,” he said, letting the tiredness slip fully into his voice. “I must have worried ya.”

“It’s okay, Mickey,” Minnie replied, waving her hands and letting magic spill from her fingertips, carefully sorting the papers on her husband’s desk, setting them into neat stacks that she would go through later. “You should go get some rest.”

The mouse shook his head tiredly. “I can’t,” he told her. “I havta be prepared for everything that will happen today and no doubt Chip and Dale have some new invention to show me and Goofy and Donald-”

“Mickey.” Minnie cut him off again, firmly but with a hint of warmth in it. “Sleep. You’ll be of no help to anyone if you fall asleep while making a decree. I’ll take your work for today and wake you up once it’s noon. You can take over then.” Mickey looked like he was going to argue more but one look at his wife’s face and he sighed and nodded quietly, pushing his desk chair backwards and standing from it, swaying slightly.

“Gosh, what would I do without ya, Minnie?” he sighed, slightly dreamily, and the other giggled, a small smile making its way over her face.

“Thankfully, we’ll never have to know,” she said. “Now go, sleep.” He took a couple of steps in the direction of the door and the windows glitched from glass to stained glass and the ground rumbled, though neither of them seemed to notice. He reached out and the scene flickered again and twisted and neither of them noticed, Minnie giving a final wave goodbye to her husband as he left the room to go sleep and the ground moved a n d-

Sora landed on the glass pane with a thud and his knees ached and his ankles collapsed, sending him to his knees. The glass was cold under his hands and the colors danced in his eyes and as he stared at it, the patterns on the glass started to swirl and his hand burned and-

“Wake up, Sora!” Kairi yelled, abruptly yanking Sora from the abyss of sleep, and that was all the warning that Sora got before a pillow impacted hard on his stomach. He wheezed, rolling over away from Kairi and wrapping his arms around his stomach. His movement accidentally dislodged his book from the night prior that he had forgotten to put away and it clattered to the floor.

“Kairi!” He choked out, trying to force air into his lungs, hearing her laughter from behind him. “What the heck?”

“Of all the days to sleep in, it had to be today?” She yelled and he could hear her footsteps as it sounded like she danced around their cabin. He rolled back over, blinking confusedly at her as she hurried from one side of their cabin to the other. She was still holding the pillow in her arms and looked fully up and awake.

“Remind me what today is?” He asked, sleep still coloring his voice and Kairi paused, looking at him incredulously. She brandished the pillow like a weapon.

“Axel’s going to help you Awaken your Keyblade today, remember?” She exclaimed and Sora froze. “Don’t make me hit you with the pillow again.”

“Wait… that’s today?” Kairi looked extremely unimpressed.

“Yes, it’s today, idiot!” She said, throwing her hands up in the air, pillow slipping out of her grip and landing with a thud on the ground. “Unbelievable.” Sora sat up. “Now go! Get ready! I won’t be waiting forever.”

She left the room, muttering under her breath good-naturedly, and Sora scrambled to his feet, doing his best not to tangle his blankets. His foot impacted on something, and he peered down to look at the floor, blinking as he remembered the book he had knocked from the bed.

Reaching down, he picked it up, checking over the spine and pages carefully. He didn’t want to damage it by accidentally throwing it off the bed and then leaving it bent. But it was fine, barely a scrape on it that wasn’t already there, and he placed it on top of The Children of Daybreak Town. With the knowledge that he continuously gained every day he was in Scala, he had taken to comparing the book to his new knowledge every night, to see if there were any differences in the book and reality. And surprisingly, it had held up, from what he could tell at least. He really needed to ask Leon where he had got it from.

But last night, like a few of the other nights, he had found himself drawn to The Lost Continent.

Part fantasy story, part biography, it told a highly dramatized tale of how people like Scrooge ended up at their continent, instead of the one they were actually from. The mystery of the book made little to no sense if you actually thought about it, as there were countless people, mostly who resided in the Capital and served the King, who knew the actual story, passed down generations. But it was also just… known that you didn’t ask the people. For some reason.

The only known truth, the only hard truth, was the fact that they hadn’t meant to stay. When the book was officially published, the King at the time had announced that while it wasn’t true, it got one fact right.

That they hadn’t meant to stay.

But other than that, the book had mostly faded into myth and obscurity, seen as very clearly a children’s book, a fantasy novel for those who liked to imagine that the Toons, which was their official name, had escaped a dying world, passing through their own to try and move on, only to fall in love with the rapidly recovering world that was trying to pull itself back to its feet following the Keyblade War. It was a beautiful story, a nice one that would make sense to have been created after the horror that was the Keyblade War.

But, it made Sora question, and that was the reason he found himself flipping back through it.

The Children of Daybreak Town was remarkable accurate. And The Lost Continent had come out around the same time.

So, how much of that was true?

~

By the time that Sora managed to stumble on deck, Riku, Roxas, and Xion were already there, talking with Kairi and Ven. Riku turned to him with a teasing smile.

“Kairi said you slept in,” he teased, and Sora felt warmth on his cheeks for the smallest second.

“Kairi is a liar and doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Sora grumbled, shooting a look at the girl, who smirked, but he was unable to hang onto his anger. He was too excited. He could get a Keyblade today!

“Excited?” Riku asked, probably picking up on his emotions from the smile on his face, and Sora nodded quickly. He was!

“I wonder what your Keyblade will look like,” Xion mused, summoning her own in a flash of light. Oathkeeper balanced in her hand, light reflecting off the handle. “There isn’t really a pattern to them.”

“So, they’re each unique?” Sora inquired and Xion nodded. He smiled at that, his excitement increasing at the newest revelation.

“You guys heading out?” Aqua asked as she walked up from the stairs, leaning on the wall slightly.

“Yep!” Sora chirped. “We’ll be back soon though. I want to show you all my Keyblade.” Aqua smiled at him and made a shooing motion.

“Well go on then,” she laughed. “Go find your Bloodline.” With that, the teenagers left The Wayfinder behind, running down the path towards the Colosseum.

Sora’s smile stretched from ear to ear as he ran after his friends, feeling lighter than he ever had. He was here with Kairi and Riku and Ven. And Roxas and Xion both looked to be on the fast track to friends as well. He couldn’t remember a time when he was more surrounded by friends.

And soon, he would get a Keyblade. Something that could protect himself and his family. Something that was connected to his parents, something real, something more than the scattered memories he held onto. He couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up in him as he raced down the path, following Riku and Roxas.

And then, it felt like something had grabbed his heart from in his chest, twisted it in circles, and squeezed it until it burst.

He was distantly aware of his legs stopping, sending him tumbling face first into the ground. His arms moved up to catch him on instinct and his mind distantly recognized that the ground was seemingly coming up to meet him. Pain burst from his arms, hands, and face but he couldn’t focus on that. Because when he lifted his head, he wasn’t in Scala anymore.

He lifted his head to find himself sitting on the ground of a smooth road. Pure white buildings stretched up from all around him, at least a dozen stories tall. Storefronts dotted the bottom floor of each building, but each sign had no lettering and there was nothing in the windows. A cobbled stone path stretched in front of him, each stone carefully placed and in perfect condition, not a crack or speck of dirt to be seen. The whole city was dead quiet, and Sora could hear every single one of his breaths.

It was daytime but dark, clouds dampening every piece of light.

“What?” He whispered out, looking around. Where was he? What happened? He could still feel the pain, but it felt dull or distant. He shivered, feeling cold wind whip past his ears and through his hair, and when he turned his head around, in the distance, past the buildings, it looked like the ground just ended, dropping off into a massive cliff that led to ocean.

“Sora.”

Where was he? And why did it feel like he had been here before?

His arms came up to wrap around himself and he shivered again, looking back around. He was tempted to call out. Maybe someone would know where he was. How had he even gotten here?

“Sora.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flicker of motion and snapped his head towards it.

“Hello?” He called out and the shadow stopped, slowing to a halt before turning around. A figure in a black coat stood there, silver clasps hanging from the coat. Their face was hidden in shadow.

“Sora!”

“Hello?” He said again. “Where am I?” The figure tipped his head to the side slightly, as if hearing something.

“I thought I told you that I was busy today,” the black figure said, the voice old and croaky. The figure turned but not closer to Sora. Instead, he turned around and Sora caught the shape of a young woman with long silver hair and glasses coming around another corner. She paused when he looked at her, hand tightening on the wall it grasped.

“I know,” she said softly, dipping her head to look at the ground. “But… The kids. They would like to see you. Their progress is… immense.” The older figure hummed, turning to fully face the woman and she flinched backwards from something, eyes closing, almost like she was bracing for something and-

“SORA!”

Sora’s eyes suddenly snapped open as he gasped, choking on air, and he found himself laying on the warm ground of Scala, the other five teenagers huddled around him, worry painted over all of their faces.

“What?” He forced out, his throat feeling raw and scratchy. Kairi, who was sitting by his head, visibly relaxed, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. There were tears beading in the corners of her eyes.

“Oh, you’re okay,” she said breathlessly, squeezing her eyes closed. Her hand tightened on his shoulders. “You scared us! Really badly!”

“What happened?” Sora asked in confusion, still reeling from… something. Hadn’t he just been somewhere else?

“You fell,” Riku answered, and Sora could see that he was just as relieved as Kairi. He sat at Sora’s right side, hands hovering over him like he wanted to touch, but wasn’t. “Busted your arms and face up pretty badly, but I’ve fixed that now.” It just then occurred to Sora that he no longer felt any pain. “You just weren’t waking up.”

“How long was I… out?” Sora wondered, hoping that he hadn’t scared them too badly. If he fell unconscious… was that just a dream? Just a reflection of the dreams that often haunted his sleep hours? But it felt too real for that.

“Not long,” Xion answered, leaning on Roxas in relief once Sora’s eyes flicked to her. “Just a few minutes but we were about to go get Axel if you didn’t wake up. We started to worry you had hurt your head.”

“Oh,” Sora said, moving his eyes back up to the clear sky that was rapidly being taken over by clouds. The dream continued to haunt him. The woman and the man and the empty city. Was it even a dream? He had only been out a few minutes. And he hadn’t technically fallen asleep.

But still, it persisted. The figure in the black robe. The girl. The white city that he had seen before. In his dreams and in the Gallery, up in a painting he had looked at with Riku.

“Sora?” Riku asked and Sora pulled his gaze back to him. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Riku looked worried again, one hand reaching out to take Sora’s right.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Sora reassured him, moving to sit up. Ven moved, placing his hand on Sora’s lower back and helping him sit up. Sora winced as he did, echoes of pain circling through him before they vanished. “I promise.” He got dubious looks from everyone but none of them protested him trying to stand.

He got one foot under him, then the other, almost falling into Kairi in the process, but managed to stand and balance. The ground beneath him was nothing liked the cobblestone in the city. It had looked too… perfect.

“See, fine,” he told them, steadfastly ignoring both Kairi’s and Riku’s looks that told him he was not fine. He noticed that Xion was giving him the same look. Well, he found where she got it from. “We were heading to Axel, right?”

“Right…” Roxas said slowly. “We were going to see if he could help you Awaken your Keyblade. It’s been a couple of days. If you still feel up to it…?”

“Of course, I do,” Sora rebuked, feeling the urge to cross his arms. Riku gave him a look. “I do! Here, I’ll rest after we Awaken my Keyblade okay?” He turned to Kairi. “That work for you?” Kairi flicked her eyes up to Riku, who shrugged slowly.

“Fine,” she said. “But we only get your Keyblade then you go back to The Wayfinder, got it?” He nodded to her.

“How about we walk to the Colosseum?” Ven offered and the others nodded. Sora huffed. He hadn’t tripped, he had…

Something grabbed his heart and squeezed.

No, he hadn’t tripped. Maybe this would be another thing to ask Riku about later.

The walk to the Colosseum was quiet and Sora couldn’t help the feeling that he had messed up the happy feeling that had taken them with his fall. He hated it but he couldn’t fix it. He would make them all feel better once he got his awesome Keyblade.

As the Colosseum came into view, Sora was hit by another thought. Had Saïx told Axel about the group in the Gallery? Neither Xion nor Roxas had seen the Keyblade Master in the past two days since the incident and while neither of them seemed concerned about it, it still lingered in Sora’s heart. Saïx said that there was nothing wrong with them being in there but…

“This was where we were supposed to go, right?” Ven asked as they entered the Colosseum and saw no Axel.

“Yes, it is,” Xion replied, her voice reassuring.

“Don’t worry,” Roxas said with a smirk. “Axel’s been late for things before. He might have just been caught up in ruler stuff.” Ven shrugged and headed over to one of the walls bordering the arena area, hopping up on it and sitting down. Kairi and Sora went to join him.

“So, what are you hoping for in your Keyblade?” Xion asked him after a seconds break, leaning on one of the walls.

“I don’t know,” Sora mused. “I don’t really have any idea of what it could look like. I mean, all of yours are very different.”

“Well, how clear is your Station of Awakening?” Riku asked. “The picture you see in it should have your Keyblade. It did for me.”

“Oh?” Sora asked, intrigued, and Xion nodded. “Well…” He screwed up his face and closed his eyes as he tried to think back to the dreams and the pictures he drew. “It’s… simple?” he said. The thing that he had been holding looked simple. At least, it didn’t look anything like Xion’s or Riku’s. Nothing flashy.

“Simple?” Kairi asked dubiously. Sora nodded. He didn’t really know any other way to describe it.

“Sounds like you,” Riku chuckled, and Sora’s smile widened.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He jabbed at Riku teasingly and the older boy laughed, leaning against the wall next to him.

“Speaking of Keyblades, what does yours look like?” Ven asked, turning to Roxas. “We’ve seen Xion’s but not yours.” Surprised flashed across Roxas’s face before he pushed himself off the wall.

“Really?” He questioned. “Strange.” He shrugged before reaching a hand out, much like Xion had sone that first day, and summoned his Keyblade in a flash of light.

It was black with several connected parallel lines for teeth. The hilt was two wings with a purple gem in the center. There was a chain running down the center of the neck.

“Oblivion,” Roxas said, lowering the Keyblade to hover at his side.

“Nice,” Ven said.

“How do you name your Keyblades?” Kairi asked, leaning her head to the side to rest on Sora’s shoulder. “Is it a process or…?” All three of the Scala natives shook their heads.

“The Keyblade names itself,” Xion said and Riku took over when they got strange looks.

“Basically, when we summon our Keyblade, we just… know what it’s called.” He shrugged. “It tells us.” The three non-Scala natives exchanged glances. “Look, once you get your own Keyblade, Sora, you’ll understand.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Kairi said and Riku smiled, opening his mouth to say something else only to be cut off by a gasp from Ven.

“Guys?” He said, voice shaking, and they all looked to him before switching their gazes to where he was looking, after they saw his face.

To where seven black beasts like on the ship were rising from the ground.

Chapter Text

Riku froze, dread and shock rushing through him as the black beasts rose from the ground, limbs twisting and unspooling as they pulled themselves to their full height. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the color drain from Kairi’s face as she flinched at the sight of them and Sora sat up instantly, hand instantly shooting to Kairi’s. Ven hadn’t moved since he saw them and both Xion and Roxas seemed to notice that something was up, even without knowing what the black beasts were.

“What are those?” Xion asked, sounding shaken and confused, and Riku opened his mouth to answer but was stopped by the first beast lunging at them.

Way To The Dawn flashed into hand on instinct and he moved forward and to the side to slash his Keyblade through the beast, ducking under its claws, causing it to explode. He heard both Xion and Roxas exclaim behind him. He continued forward, allowing his momentum to drag him to the ground to a roll, evading the next set of claws before propelling himself to his feet, slicing through one of the black beasts that was just emerging from the shadows. He looked back for a quick second.

“Why are they here?” Sora yelled, jumping off the wall and dragging Kairi with him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Ven staggered down to follow them, arms out to steady himself and both Xion and Roxas looked shocked, eyes wide as they watched Riku take on the creatures. “How are they here?!”

“I don’t know!” Riku yelled back, stabbing another through the chest, feeling a fourth just barely scratch his back, the phantom feeling of claws slicing through his arms assaulting his brain. “Xion, protect the others. Roxas, I could use your help. Keyblades are the only way to kill these things.” He threw out a Blizzard as he swiped at the fourth one and was relieved when he heard the sound of another Keyblade being summoned before Roxas appeared on his left side, beheading one of the creatures.

“What are these, Riku?” He snapped, ducking under the claws of another. Six more rose up from the ground. Screams started to penetrate the air, from further down the road, deeper into the Tower. What the hell is going on?

“These are the same beasts that were at the place I was,” Riku explained, staggering back several paces and using his Keyblade as a shield against two of the beasts. “They also attacked The Wayfinder when I was on it, under the control of a common pirate.”

“A pirate is attacking Scala Ad Caelum?” Roxas sounded incredulous and Riku couldn’t help but agree with his tone. It seemed impossible. But it only proved…

“I don’t think so,” Riku sent back, spinning on his heel and dislodging the two beasts that were clawing at him. “Just that these creatures are probably under someone’s control.” He slashed another but was forced to take several steps backwards as three more swarmed him.

A scream interrupted them and Riku and Roxas turned back to see Xion hit the ground, a scratch gouged into her side as she struggled to defend the three others from the growing number of beasts. The three non-Scala teenagers were bunched together but couldn’t do anything to help.

“XION!” They both yelled and simultaneously retreated, Roxas falling to his knees next to Xion and casting Cura on her. Riku stopped in front of them, throwing out a Blizzaga, trying to hit as many as he possibly could.

“Back up to the wall,” Riku snapped and Ven shot forward, helping Xion to her feet with Roxas. The girl staggered but Riku could already see the wound her side start to knit up as the spell took hold and Roxas turned back to Riku, resummoning his Keyblade.

“Won’t that just trap us?” Kairi asked, still shivering in Sora’s arms, leaning most of her weight on him. And yeah, Riku could understand that. She had nearly died the last time they fought these things.

“Better than having them attack us from all sides,” Riku shot back, slamming a Stop into one of the beasts that had dodged his Blizzaga, freezing it long enough for Roxas to kill it. “Now move.” Xion shook herself free from Ven once the Cura set in fully and resummoned her Keyblade, moving forward to fall into step next to them.

“I can fight!” She snapped at Roxas when he reached out as if to stop her and a second later, he gave up, the three Scala natives backing up into a protective outer circle around the other three. The beasts snarled and screeched, sounding broken and not at all what creatures should sound like. One of them raced forward but was cleanly cut in half by Xion, further silencing any objections Roxas had about her rejoining the fight.

“This is a lot more than was on the ship,” Sora whispered out from behind them and Riku swallowed. At the maze, the beasts tended to travel in packs, yes, but usually much smaller ones. Riku had always gotten the feeling that whoever had placed them there didn’t actually want them dead. The deaths that did happen, like Neku and Rhyme, were just unfortunate accidents. And somehow that always made him madder.

“What do we do?” Roxas asked as he pushed back another beast ducking under a strike from two more. Riku couldn’t answer. He felt magic crackle at his fingertips but instead simply stabbed another one of the beasts, feeling claws dig into his shoulders before he managed to throw it backwards and off of him.

He didn’t know. There must have been a couple dozen at this point, all surrounding them, filling the maze Colosseum up. He swiped down again, blocking another beast from hitting Shiki Kairi. He tried to control his breathing. Now would not be a good time for a panic attack/flashback.

Roxas fell backwards with a slash to his arm, Riku shooting in front of the injured older boy, seeing Rhyme run over to her older brother out of the corner of his eye and he turned again, smacking two away from Sora and throwing a Firaga at them, attempting to create any type of path through.

But it didn’t matter at all, the wall refusing to break even with the indents that Riku tried. Another beast lunged at him and Riku sliced through it, hearing Kairi scream in surprise and he turned and moved forward, shoving the beast backwards from Shiki, Roxas moving into place nest to him, the two of them sending a Blizzaga spell to try and create a barrier, Neku falling backwards with a snarl on his face as he dragged Joshua away from the fighting.

“What do we do?” Xion was the one to ask this time, blood dripping down her face from a lucky nick one of the beasts had gotten in. Roxas turned towards her blood dripping from his wounds down his side and Riku himself was bleeding from both arms and one of his legs, all scratches. Shoving back the pain, he moved forward again, gritting his teeth.

“Keybearers!” A familiar voice shouted, shattering both the silence that had taken over the arena and the memories in his mind. “Shield!” All three of them acted on instinct, all casting Shield in the small space between them and the beasts, letting it expand and cover them fully just as the barrage of fire decimated the Colosseum grounds, sending dozens of hearts into the sky. The sky was stormy and Riku looked up, trying to make out the shape in the distance.

“Axel!” Roxas shouted, letting the Shield drop and he hurried toward his mentor, Xion and Riku following slower, keeping close to the three who were defenseless. The sand crunched underfoot, all black and burned from the Second King’s Magic and Riku could see the expressions of shock that were on their faces, no doubt caused by the cascade of flames that had just taken care of the beasts. Riku didn’t feel much better. He knew the Keyblade Master was powerful, everyone did, but it was different when seeing it in person.

The Second King looked over them, blood running down his face from a wound on his head and his hands were stained red and brown. His Keyblade was held in a death grip and the tips of his fingers smoldered with Magical remnants, both from his most recent attack on their behalf and presumably the last couple times he’d had to use it.

“Are you all okay?” The Keyblade Master asked them as he swung his Keyblade and Curaga washed over all of them, sealing up all their cuts and tears. Riku shivered slightly at the burst of energy that came from it.

“Mostly,” Riku said, voice caught between frantic and calm. “Axel, what’s happening?” Axel blinked down at them for a second, his face unnaturally grave.

“Marluxia has returned,” he said and Riku wasn’t the only one to stagger in shock.

Marluxia. The one who orchestrated the Massacre ten years ago. Who was banished from Scala Ad Caelum. Who killed Saïx’s parents. Marluxia.

“What?” Xion shrieked and Axel’s gaze snapped to hers, something softer swirling in his eyes for a quick second.

“He has and he has unleashed his beasts all over the Towers. He’s been gathering power for this. Xion, the reason I’m late is I went to your house and took Naminé. She’s on The Wayfinder.” Xion basically deflated and Riku wasn’t much better. Naminé was safe or, at least, safer. “You all need to join her.”

“Wait, what?” Roxas asked, looking back at Axel from where his gaze had slid to Xion, and Axel’s face hardened.

“Don’t argue with me,” he snapped, eyes flicking above them to look around. “Leave Scala. Now. All of you.”

“Why?” Riku asked, confusion racing through him. “We shouldn’t just run.”

“You’re not running,” Axel said. “You’re surviving. We need you to survive.” He turned back, scanning the entrance to the Colosseum but nothing had come through. Axel had apparently cleaned it out really well. “You need to leave now.”

“Why us?” Kairi asked. “Are you having everyone evacuate?” Axel didn’t answer, eyes flicking back down to them.

Sora did though. “The Prophecy,” he whispered out and all of them froze. “It has something to do with this.” Axel looked at him and nodded once.

“Get out. Leave. Survive.” Fire started gathering on his fingers as he activated his Magic. “You need to.”

“Axel…” Roxas started, reaching out as his friend started to walk off. Axel turned back.

“Don’t worry, Roxas,” he said gently, a smile curling around his lips. “We’ll meet again.” With a flash of light, his Keyblade split into two spinning disks, each spitting fire and smoke from its pointed spokes. “Leave now.”

“I want answers when we get back,” Riku snapped out, realizing the futility of arguing, but turned and grabbed Roxas by his arm, dragging him down the street, away from Axel and towards the docks. “Follow me!” He yelled and none of the others argued, though Roxas tried to slip out of his grip, tried to get back to Axel. But the older man disappeared around the corner, fire flying from his hands and disks, and Roxas stopped fighting against Riku’s grip.

But Riku needed him to fight. “Look alive,” he snapped out, shoving Roxas in front of him. “There are still more beasts out there.” Roxas stumbled a few feet, but quickly got his bearings and lifted Oblivion with a snarl, charging at the beasts that appeared. Riku chose to ignore the tears beading in Roxas’s eyes.

Without having to talk, he and Xion dropped to the back, carefully and quickly shepherding the three others down the path that Roxas was creating.

The ground rumbled beneath them and the six of them spun around to see a wave of the beasts, all formed together, racing down the street. It rose up in the air once it got close to them, standing like a pillar, and attempted to engulf Xion.

“Blizzard!” Both he and Xion shouted as one and the combined spell was enough to knock the pillar back several feet. The ground split beneath them, hairline fractures appearing in the road. Explosions went off in the distance. Dust puffed up from the ground.

Was this what it was like ten years ago? Riku wondered as he stabbed another beast, curling his hand against the pain of the claws sunk into his forearm. Just a normal day until the world ended? Until everyone was dead?

“Riku! To your left!” Xion yelled and Riku just managed to get there to shield both Sora and Kairi from two beasts working as one. They snarled at him, claws flashing and eyes glaring, but he shoved them back, swiping Way To The Dawn through one of them and throwing a Fire at the other. The pillar rose up again in the corner of his eye, and turned, he and Xion leaping forward as one, raising their Keyblades up to strike it.

Only their Keyblades ripped away from their hands, somehow escaping their grips, and hit each other, turning into a slightly bigger, mostly white Keyblade with devil wings as the hilt and a feathered star as the teeth. A pink colored heart hung from the keychain. Their hands instinctively wrapped around each other’s on the hilt and a bright beam of light emitted from the Keyblade, shooting the pillar dead center and causing several dozen hearts to float up to the sky. The pillar disintegrated in front of their eyes, the few beasts not hit falling to the ground and slipping back into the shadows.

They both hit the ground after their Keyblades separated, flinging them through the air and onto the ground, Way To The Dawn and Oathkeeper landing on the ground in front of their respective wielders. For a second, no one said anything and Riku blinked slowly, in shock. He could see Xion doing something similar.

“What was that?!” Roxas shrieked out from where he was still fighting the smaller ones and Riku and Xion both looked at each other in shock.

“I-I don’t know,” Riku yelled back, eyes flickering down to his hands.

“Neither do I,” Xion said, eyes wide and shaking. “That’s never happened before.”

“Focus on that later!” Ven exclaimed and they both shot to their feet, scooping up their Keyblades and running to catch up with the group and properly protect them.

“How far are we from the docks?” Kairi asked, hand gripped so tight in Sora’s that Riku doubted even the strength of Kingdom Hearts could pull them apart. Riku moved past them, slashing through another beast.

“Five minutes of normal walking time,” Riku told her, throwing three Stop spells in quick succession, trying to create a bigger bubble around the three non-Keybearers. Not Shiki, not Beat, not Joshua. They huddled closer together. “But the farther we get from the center of the Tower, thus closer to the docks, the less beasts there should be.” He reached out and pressed a hand to Sora’s back, pushing him forward as he cast a Shield spell to guard their heads from a few beasts that attempted to drop on them from above. “Keep going!”

He turned on his heel again, getting a slash to the side for his trouble, but able to return it. He bit back his curse of pain. They were still minutes away from the docks. The beasts moved forward again, and he gritted his teeth.

How much longer could they keep this up?

~

A black beast hit the wall of the Castle with such force that it died on impact, its heart fluttering slowly to the ceiling. Two more got crushed by the weapon swung at them.

The Strings tightened.

Saïx’s eyes snapped out to the window again as he physically grabbed one of the creatures, throwing it to the side. An unfortunate side effect of his Magic that made him reckless but useful in battle. At least this time, the walls weren’t coated in blood. There was barely anyone here to kill.

They counted the seconds.

Saïx Knew that people were coming. He could feel them. Their corrupted Hearts, their corrupted Magic. Their hatred bled into the walls of Scala, into the ground, into the Magic and the Gallery and all its secrets. Marluxia and his allies, whose number had somehow grown in the past ten years.

Saïx destroyed the last beast in the hallway and took a second to breathe.

The Strings Knew.

And so did he.

Saïx couldn’t Know beyond this battle. He just hoped his husband wouldn’t die with him.

Chapter Text

Kairi was only half aware of what was going on around her. She knew she should be paying attention, but she couldn’t. All she could feel when she looked at the creatures that Riku, Xion, and Roxas were defending them from was the feeling of claws digging into her back, tearing apart her side and nearly killing her aboard the deck of her home.

She stumbled again as Sora pulled her farther down the street, legs only moving at half speed. She was supposed to be moving, supposed to be better than this, but she couldn’t. Her hand tightened around Sora’s; in a way she knew could be painful, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“Kairi?” Sora prompted her again, pulling her close to him. She shook but leaned on him, doing her best to keep breathing. “You still with me?” She blinked slowly, turning her head to be able to look at him, before nodding, unable to get words out. Behind her, she was aware of Riku throwing off another spell, the heat of it washing over her back, working to keep her and Sora and Ven safe. Roxas shattered another beast in front of her, the white heart racing to the sky.

She flinched as another scream sounded through the air from somewhere to her left. Not one of her friends but still someone. It ended abruptly.

Riku, Xion, and Roxas had told them the story that a Massacre had happened before, that it had been a Keybearer named Marluxia invading Scala and unleashing the beasts on everyone. Isn’t that what Axel had said earlier? Was it happening again?

“Xion, behind you!” Riku shouted, Roxas turning back for a quick second, and Kairi heard the sound of a grunt and then felt the wind of an explosion. Another destroyed beast. But three more raced forward, claws slashing and clawing at them.

How had anyone survived this ten years ago?

“Xion, Riku!” Roxas shouted from in front of them, decapitating another beast, ducking under the claws of another. But not fast enough and Kairi could see the red that arced through the air. “How are you two doing?”

“Good enough!” Xion replied, her voice coming from behind Kairi and to the left. Another snarl rang through the air and out of the corner of her eye, Kairi could see Xion shoot forward and stab another beast, not even taking a moments pause before turning to fight the next.

“We need a new strategy!” Riku yelled, voice sounding strained and choppy. “We’re never going to make it through.”

“Shield?” Xion volunteered, backing up slightly, but Kairi could see Roxas look back and shake his head.

“Shields can’t move,” he responded, sending a bolt of fire at two beasts, before moving forward in a roll to destroy a third. “I think we just have to stick with this strategy.” Riku grunted and Sora dragged Kairi closer to himself and Ven as a beast hit the ground where she had been standing, quickly getting stabbed by Riku. The older boy checked the three of them over quickly before moving again, slicing through three at once.

“Do you think Aqua, Terra, and Vanitas are safe?” Ven asked, reaching out to hold onto Kairi’s other shoulder, also picking up on her distress, making it so Kairi was shielded on both sides. Sora made a face.

“I don’t know, and I don’t think we can worry about that right now,” he said to Ven, hands tightening around Kairi’s arm when another explosion, this one of fire, sounded in the distance. “Riku said that there should be less beasts down by the dock.” Kairi flinched in surprise when a drop of water hit her.

What? She wondered and tipped her head up, eyes narrowing at the sky. The sky, which just hours earlier, had been light and blue with thin strips of white, was now covered in clouds, dark grey and black. Another drop of rain hit her and her nose wrinkled on instinct. She ducked her head back down.

“Oh great, now it’s raining,” Riku grumbled from behind her and the part of her that wasn’t panicking agreed with him. This would only make it harder. She usually liked the rain, but not when it was going to get in their way.

“Look out!” Roxas shouted and Sora dragged her down into a crouch as another one of the pillars swarmed over their heads, just missing them. She panted shakily, feeling her knees knock together as she crouched. How long could they keep this up?

Sora pulled her to her feet again and she did her best to stay upright and standing, only leaning on Sora a little. She needed to be better than this.

Riku passed her again, destroying two more of the creatures with his Keyblade and turned back to them.

“Everyone okay?” He asked and Kairi could see Sora nodding. She couldn’t bring herself to.

“We’ll be fine,” the boy told Riku and Riku looked at them for a second, an indescribable expression on his face before he nodded once in return and went back to taking out the creatures. Kairi squeezed Sora’s hand again, for both her comfort and his. “We’ll be fine,” Sora said again. To whom he was speaking, Kairi didn’t know.

Ven gasped suddenly, head whipping around to land on something behind Kairi and that was all the warning Kairi had before she felt something envelop her from behind.

Cold. Wet. Kairi opened her eyes to see nothing. She threw her hand out in front of her, but those were also barely visible. She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. When she opened her mouth, a stream of bubbles escaped her mouth, as if she had found herself underwater.

She reached out again, trying to grab something. Trying to pull herself out of this… this darkness. She felt like she was choking, air regularly escaping her as shown by the bubbles but there was nothing to breathe in. She felt like she was getting compressed, getting smaller and colder and hurting and devoured.

Then… there was something in the distance, something just beyond what she could see. A light. Growing brighter. She reached her hand out, trying to grasp it, and she felt a hand clasp her own in a grip that was warm, smooth edges and perfectly manicured nails. Nothing like her friends.

“Who are you?” She tried to ask, tried to look at the person who had grabbed her, but just like her breath, there was nothing. Her eyes slipped closed against her wishes as the lack of oxygen started to get to her and behind her closed eyelids, she could see someone.

White hair, silver eyes. A gentle smile on a face that held no scars, no sign of hardship. She smiled at Kairi, holding Kairi’s hand with hers and Kairi could feel the light that came from her. She felt… safe.

“Pr-t--t -im fo- -e,” came from the girl, only a fleeting impression in her mind. “M- b-o-he-, m- fri-n-.” The girl released her hand and Kairi reached out blindly. Don’t leave her here to die. But instead, a different hand grasped hers, familiar in its roughness and scars and she only had a second to try and look for the girl in the white dress again before-

“Kairi!” Sora exclaimed in worry and panic as he dragged them both to the ground. Kairi coughed and choked, trying to fill her lungs with much needed air. Her hands scraped into the ground of the street as they curled into fists as darkness spattered the ground, having been dredged up by her coughing. Her knees had hit the ground hard but she couldn’t focus on it, couldn’t focus on the blood and scrapes that no doubt covered her. Her eyes burned and she could feel the involuntary tears dripping down them as full body coughs wracked her. She couldn’t breathe. She still felt stifled, broken, covered in darkness and pain and-

“Kairi!” Sora exclaimed again and Kairi felt a hand settled onto her back, rubbing it in smooth circles. “It’s okay, it’s okay.” Kairi didn’t know if he was trying to reassure her or himself. Her hands spasmed out again, trying to grab something, anything, and a hand gently took hers in theirs, holding them carefully. A hand holding hers…

The girl… Who was she?

Kairi looked up once she got her coughing under control to see Riku and Xion tag teaming the pillar that had apparently swallowed her. Ven was kneeling across from her, worry painted across his face as his hands held hers, rubbing the backs of them and making sure she didn’t hurt herself. Darkness spattered the ground in front of her and a little on Ven’s shirt.

“What… happened?” She forced out, feeling as if thousands of shards of glass scraped down her throat which each word. She broke into coughs again, more drips of darkness getting caught on her lips and staining her dress as she choked. Her hands and body seized up as she coughed and Ven let go of them as she yanked them back into herself as the coughs ran down her body.

“The pillar swallowed you,” Sora told her, and Kairi almost rolled her eyes. Yes, she knew that, thank you Sora. “Riku and Xion started fighting it until it was weaker and then I saw you and pulled you out.” She leaned backwards slightly, and he moved his hands to support her better. The coughs slowly died down.

“Did you… see the… girl?” Kairi asked him and while she couldn’t see Sora’s face, she could see Ven’s and could see the confusion on his face.

“What girl?” Sora asked, sounding mystified. “There was no one in there but you.” Kairi blinked. But… she had seen someone; she knew she had.

Tipping her head up again to look around, she froze when she saw another beast hovering behind Ven’s shoulder, all sharp edges and hiding in his shadow, red eyes flashing.

“Ven!” She yelled, her throat screaming at her for attempting it, and he turned to look where she was, flinching backward violently when he noticed the creature, which took off running once it noticed it had been spotted. She was about to yell for Riku or Roxas only for the creature to not swipe at Ven at all and instead tackled a beast behind Sora. They rolled on the ground before both vanishing after they had clawed each other, a heart raising to the sky in their absence. All three of the teenagers blinked at each other.

“I didn’t hallucinate that, right?” Ven asked slowly, after a second, and Kairi shook her head numbly. She coughed again, lightly this time, and only specks of blood came out.

“Get up, you three!” Riku snapped from behind them, and Kairi did her best to get to her feet, trying not to look at the liquid darkness on the ground or on her dress. She winced when she realized what the spots of black on Ven’s shirt had to be. She didn’t want to remember the feeling of drowning.

This is the second time I’ve nearly died when fighting these things, her mind hissed at her. I need to learn how to fight them better.

Sora reached out and grabbed her hand again, guiding her as gently as he could down the street, following Roxas’s and Xion’s lead. Her legs were shaky, even more than they had been, and Ven moved behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist to help her stand.

The rain pounded harder on them, turning from a drizzle into a downpour. Kairi looked up as they ran and saw a bolt of lightning arc across the sky, lighting up the clouds and the Towers, followed immediately by a clap of thunder that made her shake. Ven lost contact with her as they sped up, but at that point, adrenaline had taken over and helped her move.

Why was it always storming when these beasts appeared?

Roxas turned back to them, a hand held over his eyes in an effort to block out the rain and see them. Kairi was doing the same thing and she was sure she wasn’t the only one. The stones had grown slick underneath them from the rain running down them and she held tightly to Sora’s hand. She could see Ven out of the corner of her eye, running next to them.

Turning another corner, Kairi had to stop suddenly as three more beasts leapt at them, getting stabbed and slashed by Riku and Roxas, respectively.

“How close are we to the docks?” Roxas yelled through the rain, another bolt of lightning and clap of thunder doing their best to drown out his words. Their eyes appeared white for a second.

“Close!” Riku yelled back and Roxas made a face before he turned back, catching another beast under the head. Kairi could no longer see the hearts as they rose to the sky, the rain now in sheets.

While expecting it, she still jumped when Ven slipped on the ground and hit the ground hard, blood joining the water on the ground as Ven hit his head, trying to scramble up and press his hand to it at the same time. The water from the puddles splashed up as they ran, soaking them further.

“Ven, are you okay?” Sora asked, slowing for just a second and Ven nodded, shaking his head slightly as if to shake off something.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said, holding his other hand out for balance. “I’ll live.”

“There! The docks!” Xion shouted and Kairi felt relief rush through her when she spotted the familiar sails of The Wayfinder, thrashing against the waves and wind. At least they wouldn’t have the same problem as when they got here. There was plenty of wind to push them.

Running down the stairs to the docks and trying not to trip, Kairi tried to keep all her friends in eyesight which was getting harder by the second. Riku’s hair flashed in the corner of her vision and Xion’s Keyblade arced through the air, but people were lost in the pouring rain. Sora’s hand tightened to a bruising grip.

Holding tight to Sora, she felt the ground under her shift from stone to wood as they started running down the docks, the three Keyblade Wielders circling them. As Riku had said earlier, there were less beasts down here than closer to the heart of the First Tower but there still was enough that Kairi refused to let go of Sora.

Which turned out to be a mistake.

The water near them suddenly exploded as a huge beast shoved its way to the surface, waving huge fists around and roaring loud enough to deafen them all. Kairi screamed and she knew she wasn’t the only one, her feet stuttering to a stop as she threw herself backwards to avoid being hit by the beast. The Wayfinder was still 30 yards away and she could, just barely, make out what had to be Terra and Vanitas, running down the dock.

A second later she saw nothing at all as the beast used its second hand to backhand her and Sora off the dock, sending them flying ten feet downward until they hit the second layer of dock. The wood splintered around her, and she felt hundreds of little pieces spear her arms and hands. For a second, she laid there, stunned, before attempting to move.

She groaned as she lifted her head, shaking her wet hair out of her face and closing her eyes against another flash of lightning. Her cheeks stung from wounds and her right ankle hurt badly.

Pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, she swallowed once before trying to lift her head, to see what was happening. And getting a good view of the beast’s hand lowering almost in slow motion towards her.

She froze. And a second later, another body impacted hers, sending her sprawling five feet away from where the beast was. She rolled over and over, before managing to throw out a hand and stop her movement. She snapped her head back up, trying to look for the person who had hit her.

And the person who had shoved her, who had moved her out of the way, who had taken her spot to get crushed…

Was Sora.

She screamed when the hand impacted the dock where Sora was standing and then was immediately blinded by the flash of light that took over the space.

Chapter Text

The first thing that Sora registered was that it was quiet. Far too quiet. The second thing was that it was still cold but dry. Nothing like the situation he’d just been in.

Sora opened his eyes slowly, having to narrow them in an effort to see beyond the blackness that was covering every inch of the space around him. With a confused glance, he looked around, before looking down and gasping in shock.

He wasn’t on the dock of Scala anymore, shoving Kairi out of the way of the massive beast. He wasn’t even in the white city like before, when he had collapsed. Instead, he was kneeling on a circular platform in a dark space. The circular platform reminded him of the stained-glass pictures he had seen once in one of the nicer towns they had visited.

It also reminded him of his dreams. His… special dreams.

A power sleeps in you.

“Who said that?” Sora asked in shock as the words reverberated through the air, tipping his head up to look around. It sounded like a young girl. He stood shakily as he got no answer. “Where am I anyway? I have to go back; my friends need me.” Riku, Xion, and Roxas couldn’t hold the beasts off forever and Kairi needed someone to watch her back.

If you give it form, it will give you strength.

Sora sighed in frustration. That wasn’t the answer he wanted. Ignoring the voice for a second, he turned his focus downward, instead looking at the platform. The platform was almost glowing with light, looking like a thousand candles were lit right underneath the glass. It illuminated a picture drawn out in color and glass. It looked like…

Was that him?

It was. He was wearing the clothes he was wearing now, and it looked like he was sleeping. His hand was empty, but it felt like… there should be something there. Six smaller circles surrounding the picture of him each held the face of one of his family.

“Is this my… Station of Awakening?” He asked the air, thinking back to both Riku’s and Axel’s explanations. It must be. This is what he had drawn over and over again.

The day you will save the Heart is both far off and very near.

“’Save the heart?’ Whose heart?” He asked but like before he got no answer. He huffed in slight outrage and anger. Really, the least the mysterious voice could do was answer his questions, especially after it rudely interrupted their attempt at fleeing Scala. He felt a pang of worry and fear. He really needed to get out of there. Taking a few steps forward, he looked down on Kairi’s face. She looked at peace, a small smile on her face and her key hair clips keeping her hair back.

The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow will become.

Sora turned at those words, feeling his gaze being drawn to behind him at his shadow, slightly against his will. His shadow remained the same, but Sora couldn’t help but shiver. From this angle it looked a lot like the beasts they were fighting.

But don’t be afraid.

Kinda hard, his thoughts scoffed. They were fighting beasts that could kill them and had no idea how everyone else was doing. That huge one had just popped up as well. And they were destroying Scala and Axel was gone, run off to his death and Sora couldn’t protect Kairi-

In a movement that reminded himself heavily of Riku, he grabbed his arm with the opposite hand, digging his nails into his arm, forcefully snapping himself out of the downward spiral. It wouldn’t help anyone if he dissolved into panic.

And don’t forget…

Sora jumped slightly at the voice, which didn’t completely make sense. Of course, the voice was still there but…

Sora looked back to the center, at the light that started to build there, a glowing orb hanging in the air. He took a few steps towards it, feeling the warmth leaking from it. Calling him in.

You hold the mightiest weapon of all.

The light was slowly forming into something. A shape that seemed familiar to Sora, in the way that one person recognized a phrase or rhyme they’d heard before. A shape that was similar to Riku’s weapon. Or Xion’s. Or Roxas’s. But at the same time, different. Because it was his.

So don’t forget.

Sora could almost touch the light now. It was warm and comforting. For a second he could almost feel two sets of arms around him, hugging him close like he was still that lost four-year-old, holding onto a raft for dear life and screaming into the ocean because “where did his parents go?”

But then it disappeared and instead Sora was left with a feeling of regret, determination and safety. A strange combination of feelings.

You will save the heart.

His hand brushed the light, sending lightning bolts down his arms, through his spine, and up to his Heart. He knew what it had to be.

The light formed into…

~

The Keyblade burned in his hand, in the way warm bread or a friend’s hand would. A warmth that was a reassurance, a compliment, a gift, a reminder that he always had a weapon. Had a Heart. Had a Keyblade.

Kingdom Key rested in his hand as he shoved the beast’s hand back up, causing it to wobble in the water.

“Sora?” Kairi asked and Sora turned to her, letting Kingdom Key fall to his side in the same way that his sword often would. He was tempted to rest it against his shoulder like he also did with his sword, but it occurred to him that he didn’t truly know the limits of the Keyblade. Could he hurt himself by letting the Keyblade interact with him? Kairi was lying on the ground from where he had thrown her, a scratch marring her cheek, and she stared at him in shock, a crack of lightning lighting up her eyes.

“Hey Kairi,” he said, slightly shakily, but distracted when the beast roared again, sounded extremely annoyed. “One second,” he told her, before dodging another on the blows, running up the arm of the beast, moving to slash the back of its neck. The beast roared in pain and detached its hand from the dock, walking several shaky steps backwards and Sora had to drop to a crouch, holding onto one of the spikes on the creature to not fall off. He twisted Kingdom Key instead to a stabbing position and skewered it through the top of its head.

Behind him, he felt something that could almost be a ray of sunlight. But it was raining. Turning his head, Sora only caught a glimpse of a bright light shooting from somewhere in the First Tower, traveling down and slicing the beast in two. It froze before twitching and falling back towards the docks and he took the chance to leap from its head to land, mostly intact, on the dock. The beast looked like it was about to fall on the dock and crash into Kairi and him, but it disintegrated into white light and a heart flew up to the sky.

Sora immediately turned to the Tower, trying to see who had interfered but it was too hard to see because of the rain.

Sora paused, panting, before turning back to Kairi whose eyes were the size of dinner plates. He moved his hand to reach out to her. “I knew I was a Keyblade Wielder,” he mentioned, his voice somehow sounding a lot more confident than he felt on the outside. She reached back, as if on instinct as her eyes remained on his Keyblade. He grasped her hand and pulled her up, steadying her when she stumbled.

“What…?” She asked, looking him up and down.

“Its name is Kingdom Key,” he told her, a little bit of giddiness accompanied by understanding fueling him. He understood what the others meant now, when they had said that the Keyblades named themselves.

“Sora! Kairi!” Ven shouted through the wind, panic making his voice crack, and Sora raised his head, remembering what had happened. What had led to him and Kairi falling from the level the rest of them were on.

“C’mon,” he said, linking his hand with Kairi’s and pulling them both in the direction of the ship. The rain made the dock slippery, and he held tight to Kairi. Just because they could both swim did not mean they wanted to. His teeth chattered as the rain continued to drench them. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.

“Riku!” Sora shouted as they managed to get back up to the rest of them. Riku and Ven whipped around at Sora’s shout, only to freeze in shock at what Sora was holding. Despite the danger they were in, Sora couldn’t help the smile that overtook him.

“Cool right?” He exclaimed, raising the Keyblade slightly. “Its name is Kingdom Key!”

“Wonderful!” Vanitas snapped and Sora jumped. He hadn’t realized that Vanitas had arrived. He had a hand tight on Ven’s shoulder. “We have to go. Now!”

Sora nodded once, pulling Kairi along with him as they ran down the docks. Sora could see now that Terra had joined them as well, standing on the gangplank. Xion and Roxas both looked up as the five of them appeared.

“Sora!” Xion exclaimed. “You have a Keyblade!” Sora opened his mouth to say something else only to be cut off by Vanitas.

“Later!” He said, shoving Ven in front of him, and getting a scratch down his side from the beast aiming for Ven. Riku destroyed it a second later. “Get on the ship!” He snapped at Roxas, who was the farthest from the gangplank, fighting back beasts.

Roxas turned towards the ship but hesitated to run to it and Sora knew why. Xion shot forward, grabbing Roxas’s shoulder and tugging him backwards. That seemed to be enough for Roxas as the two teenagers ran for the ship.

“Is this everyone?” Terra asked as he hurried down the gangplank to allow Kairi and Ven on it. Sora paused after releasing Kairi, turning back to Scala. He couldn’t help but feel that he should be staying. Something had to be… not fixed but changed. Set free. The words from before floated back to him. You will save the heart.

“Stop looking,” Vanitas grumbled out, pushing Sora forward and he turned back so he didn’t trip going up the gangplank. Riku had gone up before him and Sora entered the boat before Vanitas and Terra just as another lightning flash split the sky. Thunder clapped and it sounded like a heartbeat.

Just like Axel had said, Naminé was on the ship, standing up by Aqua’s side. The little twelve-year-old was clearly shivering, basically holding onto Aqua’s leg. Xion had collapsed to a sitting position against the mast and Roxas stood above her, still looking out to Scala.

“Aqua, time to go!” Terra shouted as he and Vanitas ran up the gangplank, turning back to drag it up after them. Aqua nodded and grabbed the wheel.

Sora had to reach out and grab the railing to keep balanced as Terra pulled on the rope to let all the sails loose at once and it sent the ship sailing backwards quickly. Vanitas’s hand landed on his back again, gently this time, supporting. Sora lifted his head up to see the older’s face, green eyes hollow and nose bleeding slightly as he stared out to Scala.

“Ven’s okay,” Sora said, knowing what was bothering Vanitas and the twenty-year-old looked to him for a second before removing his hand and walking over to where Ven was standing, holding onto a rope around the mast.

Another wave slammed into the side of the ship and Sora gave up, dropping to sit on the floor, pressing his back against the solid part of the railing. He placed Kingdom Key in his lap and forced his eyes closed, trying to focus on breathing and not imagining what could have happened to him or Kairi if he hadn’t gotten the Keyblade.

A second later, a weight pressed into his side, and he opened his eyes to see Kairi curled up against him, her hands gripping the edge of his jacket. She was still clearly shaking, and he sighed, curling his body so it better supported her. Across the ship, he hadn’t been the only one to do this, Roxas finally taking a seat next to Xion while Naminé had run over to climb into Xion’s lap, pressing the side of her face into Xion’s hand.

Vanitas had climbed up into the crow’s nest, because of course he had, and Ven had taken a seat against the opposite side of the mast than Xion and Roxas. Riku was standing at the front of the ship, one hand wrapped firmly in a rope to keep him tethered as he looked out to the mountains. Terra had hurried to Aqua’s side, one hand wrapped around her shoulder as they stood together as Aqua fought to keep the wheel steady and firm against the crosswinds and waves.

As the ship headed towards the mountains surrounding Scala, Riku raised his Keyblade and a bright beam of light shot from it, creating the same lock from a week earlier, accompanied by the same sound and the mountains started moving again. It was a lot harder to feel the impact from the mountains this time around.

I wonder if I could do that someday? His mind wondered as Riku dropped his Keyblade and slid to his knees, moving to sit much like Sora was, pressed against the railing. His head tipped backwards and Riku closed his eyes, letting the rain pepper him. I’m not a native from Scala but…

Sora closed his eyes again, trying not to let what had just happened flash in his mind. The injuries to himself and the others, Axel sending them off with a vague warning. Sora didn’t know where the feeling that the prophecy had to do with them came from, but according to Axel he was right. Of course, he could now see a connection between them.

The Keyblade carving above the prophecy… It’s Kingdom Key. Why it was his Keyblade he didn’t know, and he honestly didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want this. He never thought that his life would turn out this way. He thought he would be on The Wayfinder forever, happy in his normal life.

But he didn’t regret it, in the strangest way. He didn’t regret helping Riku, didn’t regret coming to this world. He had his Keyblade now, the last link to his family. He had his new family with him, and they even had Roxas, Xion, and Naminé with them. The prophecy spoke of all of them. Why them?

His eyes slid back open and over to where Scala was vanishing behind the ring of mountains.

What now? What are we supposed to do now?

~

“You’ve grown up, little prince.” Saïx gritted his teeth in a snarl at the changed but familiar voice, the same taunt that he had thrown at Saïx ten years ago still serving its purposes and pissing Saïx off.

He turned on his heel, the claymore moving effortlessly from one hand to another as he glared at the people entering the room. The throne room had barely changed from the fight ten years ago. Fitting that when it was once his parents and Lea’s end, it would now be his.

Marluxia smiled at him, flint cold yellow eyes, scanning the walls before landing on Saïx. A massive beast rose up from behind him, its cat like eyes glaring over Marluxia’s shoulder.

The traitor smiled.

“Fancy a rematch?”

Chapter Text

Lea looked back out to the ocean during a quick break after destroying a couple more of the beasts, seeing, to his relief, The Wayfinder getting further and further away, disappearing into the wind and rain, vanishing under the blanket of the dark clouds.

Roxas, you’d better be on that ship, his mind thought. Hopefully Xion would be able to stop him from doing something too drastic.

He wished he’d had more time to tell them about… everything, even with his own limited knowledge. But Isa had only told him about their connection to the Prophecy that morning and an hour later, minutes before he was about to go meet with the kids and explain everything, the beasts had been spotted.

The very same beasts that had ravaged Scala Ad Caelum ten years before. So, all plans for the day had been abruptly thrown out the window.

After that, Isa had told him to get Naminé and the teenagers off Scala and Lea didn’t disagree with him. One, he didn’t want Roxas or Xion or any of them to die to the beasts. Two, if they really were the ones the Prophecy spoke of, he sure as hell didn’t want them near the villains until they could figure out what that meant. Again, he would have very much liked to be there to help them, but that was out of the equation now.

Hearing the sounds of more beasts coming from behind him, he took a second to change Flame Liberator into his two chakrams, spinning around and throwing them down the street, their flaming edges unfortunately not as effective as they could have been, with the rain and wind smothering their biggest flames.

Hurrying after them, he caught the one as it returned to him but ducked under the second, allowing it to spin over his head and hit another beast that hid in the shadows. If this was any other occasion, he would have used the shadows to get to Isa instantly, but he needed to make sure no one else was hurt. They had already sent out the guard with the orders to evacuate people to the Fifth and Sixth Towers because, like before, it seemed the beasts were concentrated in First Tower and spreading from there.

He spared a brief thought to the house in the Fourth Tower. Did they know what was going on? How was he reacting? He should have visited in the past ten years, but he never knew what he would say. They had fled to the Fourth Tower for a reason. They didn’t want visitors.

Catching the second chakram, he fused them in an instant back into Flame Liberator and decapitated one of the larger beasts in a second and spinning it around to stab another. He looked up to where he could see the Castle a Ring above him.

He couldn’t help but feel a stab of irony. Isa had told him about his desperate dash to the Castle ten years ago to find Lea and now Lea was trying to reach the Castle to find Isa. Hopefully the encounter that would probably follow went better than ten years ago. His chest still ached and burned on bad days.

Taking the stairs two at a time, he rounded the corner, passing from the Mid Ring into the Middle Ring. He slashed another beast and nearly tripped over a decaying body. He paused for a second and a moment later, the body faded into light and disappeared. That had been a development that they had realized ten years ago that anyone killed by the beasts had no body to bury. Lea was never sure if that was a blessing or a curse.

He destroyed another three beasts, slipping slightly on the wet ground as he gazed around. There were no living people he could see, and he nodded slightly to himself as he continued on. Innocents shouldn’t get messed up in this.

The marketplace that usually filled the center of the Middle Ring was dead and quiet, none of the usual sounds and laughter that filled it. Instead, the only thing that was heard was Lea’s Keyblade as it slashed through beast after beast. There seemed to be no end to them.

Using a gravity spell to boost himself up to the Upper Ring, he rolled on instinct and just managed to dodge the claw swiping at his head. Unleashing Thunder, he didn’t stop to see if he had succeeded in destroying them. Right now, all that mattered to him was finding Isa.

Looking up to see the Castle in the rapidly closing distance, he allowed himself a single moment to hope before throwing his chakrams through another two beasts. They just didn’t stop coming.

He was distracted from his thoughts when the sounds of strumming came from in front of him and he turned the corner to see Demyx twist another set of stones into a sword to pierce another beast. The Heir to House Concentio turned to see him and the wave of air that had been aiming at him slowed and stopped.

The courtyard of the Castle was empty aside from him and Demyx and he paused for a second to catch his breath, banishing Flame Liberator for the smallest moment.

“There are people in the Castle,” Demyx informed him and his Keyblade came right back out. Isa.

“How many?” Axel asked, trying to see if there were any shadows big enough to travel through in the Castle.

“Unknown.” Demyx turned on heel and another strum of his sitar had a beast that had just formed being blown back into the wall. “At least three.”

Axel growled slightly but nodded.

“Go on,” Demyx said, waving one hand to the Castle. “I got this here.” He turned his transformed Keyblade around again and played a complicated melody that had all the water resting in the courtyard shaking. “Dance water dance,” he hissed out, a sharp grin taking over his face. Axel knew why. Saïx hadn’t been the only one to lose his parents ten years ago. The twenty-two-year-old made a hand motion and the water rose up into different forms. House Concentio always had proficiency in music-based magic, their strange, unique style of shaping their Keyblades.

As Axel ran into the Castle, he spared one thought for the sadness of the House disappearing. He knew Demyx’s preferences. House Concentio would probably be the next Noble House to naturally die out.

The white halls seemed to mock him. Pristine and clean, they didn’t give him any evidence of where the fight was. At least ten years ago, they were able to follow the bloodstains to their target.

Making a split-second decision, he turned at the next hallway and headed towards the throne room. If there was anywhere Isa would be, it would be the throne room. That or the Gallery. But he didn’t think Isa would risk alerting the enemies to the room’s presence.

He threw the doors to the throne room open, scanning them for Isa. Where was he? If he wasn’t there, then where could he be? Axel left for an hour. One hour, and he had lost his husband.

Saïx wasn’t in the throne room, but he did recognize who was.

“Elrena,” he greeted the woman in front of him and she spun around, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

“That’s not my name anymore, Lea,” she spat back, lightning bolts flashing in her eyes. Outside the Castle, the thunder rumbled. He raised an eyebrow.

“Was that an accident or have you truly gotten that powerful with your Magic?” He asked her. She scoffed and a second later, something small and sharp went flying towards him. He jumped out of the way and saw a throwing knife clatter to the ground after it hit the door.

“Picked up a new hobby, have you?” He questioned her and her face finally curled into a smile as three more knives flashed into her hand.

“In a way,” she said and threw another two. He ducked under them, deflecting the third one with the edge of Flame Liberator.

“Where’s the rest of your group?” Axel asked, moving to also dodge the bolts of lightning being tossed at him.

“Oh around,” she replied, twitching her fingers and making sparks dance down the blades of her knives. “I’m sure you’ll see them soon.”

Larxene’s eyes flicked behind him for a split second and that gave him just enough time to whip around and place his Keyblade in between his body and the scythe baring down on him.

“The prodigy,” Marluxia hissed out, smirk curling up his face as he pressed hard enough to send Axel down to one of his knees. “Your skill had grown much since we last fought.” Axel snarled wordlessly at him and banished his Keyblade in a risky move, throwing himself out of the way. Marluxia stumbled forward slightly after the pressure pushing back on him disappeared and Axel took that chance to try and stab him in the back with his Keyblade. But Larxene threw another knife at him, and he was forced to dodge, allowing Marluxia to straighten up and turn around.

“Where’s Saïx?” Axel questioned, because there was no way his husband would just let them walk through the Castle. He twirled his Keyblade up to clash with Marluxia again. Larxene backed up several feet, her green eyes flicking between the two of them, searching for openings.

“That’s strange,” Marluxia hummed, trying to hit Axel. “Shouldn’t you know? You were always so close ten years ago. Has that changed?” Axel narrowed his eyes as Marluxia’s grin widened. “Don’t tell me… Trouble in paradise?”

Axel abruptly broke the blade lock and fell backwards, allowing several bolts of fire directed at the traitor to answer for him. Marluxia spun his scythe backwards, holding it behind him as he cast a Shield spell. It was smaller and weaker than Axel remembered his spells used being as, but more than expected of someone with a bound Heart, Lea noticed with a frown. It was somehow enough to stop Axel’s fireballs.

Axel swiped Keyblade down again, forcing Marluxia back several steps as he tried to dodge. The scythe turned right-side up again and Axel stopped advancing. He instead split his Keyblade into his two chakrams, sending one spinning at Larxene, who dove out of the way with a squeak, while the other got smacked away by Marluxia’s scythe. A second later though, they both disappeared and reappeared in Axel’s hands, reforming into Flame Liberator.

“Ooh, a new trick,” Larxene giggled as she stood up, three more knives appearing in her hand. They crackled with electricity and Axel cursed the fact that binding a Heart didn’t bind Magic as it did magic.

“Yes, rather interesting,” Marluxia mused, spinning his scythe once before advancing again. “It seems there have been many changes in the past ten years. Such as…” Marluxia’s scythe locked with Axel’s Keyblade again and Marluxia peered at him. Or more specifically, his face.

“Those marks are new,” he said, and Axel gritted his teeth, anger rushing through him. Of course, Marluxia knew what they meant. Of course he did. It was the reason he had gotten banished in the first place. Axel twisted his Keyblade and broke the lock, but Marluxia managed to turn his scythe quickly enough that he hit Axel in the temple with the flat part of his blade, knocking the Keyblade Master to the ground. His Keyblade vanished as it hit the ground and slid away from him.

“See, that is the strange part,” he hummed as he advanced on Axel, who shook his head sharply to try and get rid of the headache that had ripped through him at Marluxia’s blow. “I could have sworn I killed you.” The scythe scraped on the ground, a low and ominous threat. “You know ‘blade through the heart’ and all that. Breathing gone and all.” Axel tried to focus and recall Flame Liberator to himself. “The whole dramatic death and threat of bodily harm in retribution. But now… you’re up and right as rain, still a nuisance and still getting in the way of our plans.” He could feel Flame Liberator just at the edge of his consciousness. “Don’t tell me the Little Prince actually used his inheritance. I thought we didn’t learn how to use it until we were fifteen and it takes months to master. He could have just as easily re-killed you.”

Flame Liberator flashed into his hand, and he surged to his feet, clashing with Marluxia. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He hissed out, forcing the traitor back a foot. Marluxia raised an eyebrow.

“I would like to know; it’s why I’m asking.” Their blades scraped together for a second before they both broke apart, Axel taking a few steps backwards and found himself nearly on the dais. He hadn’t realized they had crossed the room in their fight.

Looking back up, he dodged two of Larxene’s knives just in time, the electricity coated projectiles slamming into the wall behind him and staying there.

“Geeze, Elrena,” he drawled, watching her eye twitch as he used her given name again. “You used to enjoy reading books and carving statues. When’d that change to throwing knives? Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” he continued as he ducked under another one of her knives. “Just, it can be dangerous, y’know?”

Whatever she had been about to say was cut off when the doors to the throne room slammed open with a Bang! and one of the beasts, though this one much larger and cat-like, came flying through it, having been used as an impromptu battering ram, rolling over once before standing with a growl. Saïx followed it, walking calmly, eyes sharpening when he took in the scene in front of him.

“Saïx!” Axel exclaimed when he laid eyes on his husband and Saïx raised his eyes for a second to gaze at his husband, checking him over for injuries, before returning his look to Marluxia.

“Here I was hoping they would distract you longer,” Marluxia sighed, and the cat-like beast retreated from where it had been staring at Saïx and instead curled around Marluxia like a snake would. From his spot near the dais, it looked like the size of a panther or lion. Much bigger than most of the other beasts. Strangely shaped as well.

“From what?” Saïx asked and Axel abruptly refocused on what was happening. Marluxia shrugged noncommittedly and Axel could practically hear his husband’s teeth grinding. A burst of Magic flooded the room and Saïx shot forward, slamming his weapon into Marluxia’s. Axel moved forward, attempting to strike Larxene, but was cut off by Xaldin, who appeared from seemingly nothing and forced him to pay attention to him. Axel growled, but moved backwards, twisting Flame Liberator until it locked with Xaldin’s weapon. Larxene’s laughter bounced against the walls.

Axel kicked Xaldin backwards, sending the older male stumbling a few steps. He raced forward, trying to take the opportunity, but he was cut off by another flying projectile, though this one wasn’t one of Larxene’s knives. As it whisked past him, all he could tell from it was that it was glowing.

Turning on his heel, he brandished Flame Liberator in the general direction that the projectile had come from and blinked in slight shock when another person emerged from another Dark Corridor. Someone who couldn’t have been from Scala. Only Xaldin and Larxene had left with Marluxia when he was banished, and they hadn’t lost anyone else meaning…

Marluxia had mentioned that he hadn’t been working alone, but Axel hadn’t actually taken him seriously. Shame on him, he guessed.

“Who are you?” He asked quietly, eyes focusing on the mysterious cloaked figure. But they didn’t answer, instead flinging three more glowing… things at him and forcing him to duck to the side. He was old enough and skilled enough to realize Magic when it was in use, and he had no intention of finding out what exactly it could do.

Splitting Flame Liberator back into his two chakrams, he threw one at the mysterious person, using the second as a shield against Xaldin’s returning attacks. Gritting his teeth in anger and concern, as Xaldin had managed to cut off his sight of his husband, he shoved forwards, reaching out his off hand in order to catch his second chakram without looking. There was no blood on the points, which was slightly disappointing, but at least he wasn’t being pelted with glowing… somethings anymore.

Dropping to one knee, he merged his chakrams together in a flash of light, nearly taking off Xaldin’s leg with Flame Liberator before the man managed to get out of the way. Popping back up to his feet, Axel craned his neck in an effort to get a look at Saïx, but the mysterious figure returned, forcing him back into the fight.

Spinning his Keyblade around his fingers like he would with his chakrams, he twisted it upwards as Xaldin attacked him again, forcing his weapon away from him and managing to nail him in the chest with his elbow. Moving away just as quickly, he threw up a hasty Shield as more projectiles flew at him. Dropping it a second later, he moved back into battle with Xaldin, who didn’t seem to know when to quit. The beasts hovered at the edges of the fight, seemingly deciding whether or not to get involved.

He traded another blow with Xaldin, trying to keep his husband in his view, as difficult as that was becoming. He also spared another thought of where Aeleus was. Despite the fact that they had sent the other guards out, Aeleus wouldn’t leave them alone. Especially with the fact that Xaldin was one of the people attacking.

Axel ducked backwards again as the unknown cloaked figure threw another slightly glowing projectile at him. It bounced off the wall and landed harmlessly on the floor. Axel couldn’t get a good look at it due to the other person attempting to kill him, but it looked like a playing card.

A beast also tried to take a bite out of him, and Axel barely managed to destroy it and block the next hit from Xaldin. So, it seemed they had joined the fight after all. Kingdom Hearts, fighting multiple opponents in close quarters combat always tired him out. Shoving Xaldin back with his Keyblade, he got a glimpse of his husband, fighting both Marluxia and Elrena as well as the cat-like creature that stayed close to Marluxia.

Axel gritted his teeth. He wasn’t usually pessimistic, but he and his husband were outnumbered four to two of rational thinking opponents and who knew how many beasts. And they had both been fighting for over an hour at this point.

Forming his chakrams again, he fended off both of his opponents trying to take a few steps forward. He wasn’t blind to the fact that they were trying to force him into a corner.

A scuffled noise by his husband caught his attention and he got a good view of Saïx throwing Elrena into a wall, eyes and weapon glowing around him as he turned back.

Axel paused. Wait… Crap.

He had just enough time to realize what was happening before Saïx was fighting Marluxia yet again except this time it looked like Saïx was winning. There were times when Axel both hated and loved his husband’s inherited Magic.

Now he just had to make sure he didn’t get in the way of Saïx, because he couldn’t tell friend from foe in that state.

Spinning his chakrams, he used one to hold off Xaldin as flames sparked from the second one. The cloaked figure was forced to back up, rather quickly, in order to prevent being set on fire.

Dropping his one chakram, he placed his hand on the ground, allowing his Magic to take over. Waves of flames raced across the ground, not only targeting Xaldin and the other fighter, but they also flowed across the ground until both Larxene and Marluxia were forced to back up to avoid burns. Axel picked up his other chakram and threw it, forcing Marluxia to duck as Saïx started dueling with Xaldin, eyes glowing with no recognition. When Marluxia looked back, Axel could see a thin line of blood that dripped down his cheek. Axel smirked and caught the chakram, fusing them back into Flame’s Liberator in time to deflect Larxene’s knives.

Within a second, it was obvious that their opponents had changed. Xaldin and the other figure descended on Saïx with a fury while Larxene and Marluxia split off from each other without even exchanging a glance, circling around Axel. He spun Flame Liberator in his grip, being unable to hold it still as his eyes flicked back and forth between the two enemies. The only way for him to keep both of them in his view was to back up and that would only corner him further.

“What’s the matter?” Larxene crooned at him, a bloodthirsty grin on her face as she flicked electrified knives between her hands. Axel really wanted to know how she kept getting more of them. “You were so confident earlier.” Axel didn’t dignify that with a response, simply pursing his lips together and making the mistake of putting his back to Marluxia. The sound of boots against tile was the only warning he got, and it was only because of that was he able to spin around and block the scythe bearing down on him. Of course, he got a knife to the shoulder blade and ankle for his trouble.

Spitting out a hiss of pain, he was unable to stop his right leg from collapsing out from underneath him as the knife skidded past his ankle, causing at least some damage if the screaming pain said anything. His knee hit the ground with a thud and the weapon lock with Marluxia slipped out of place, forcing him to roll to the side in order to avoid being sliced in half.

It's okay, the rational part of his brain tried to reassure him as dust and grit flew into his eyes from the chunk of ground Marluxia had just dislodged. You’ve survived worse. He immediately snorted inwardly at the words. Because they were in no way true. It’ll be fine.

Pain ripped down his back and he couldn’t help the sound of pain that escaped him as the beast that kept following Marluxia took its attack turn, carving lines into his back. Twisting Flame Liberator into a backwards grip, he stabbed blindly backwards as he stood shakily, unable to stop Larxene from landing another knife on his person, this time into his chest. The next sound of pain turned into a growl as he activated his Magic again, throwing up a fire shield between him and them before shoving the wall outward, giving him much needed room. Placing a hand on his chest, he whispered out a Curaga before moving shakily back into battle with Marluxia, who had managed to get through the wavering flame wall. Their weapons clashed against each other, and Axel gritted his teeth. That was all he could do, basically.

“I’m getting tired of this,” Marluxia hissed out, shoving Axel backwards a couple of steps until the Second King hit the wall behind them. Me too buddy, but you don’t see me complaining, he spat out in his mind, ignoring the panic that had shot through him the second he made contact with the wall. Flicking his eyes to behind Marluxia, he could see both Larxene and the beast advancing on the two of them. Saïx was still busy fighting the others and the beasts.

Kicking out blindly in an effort to distract Marluxia, Axel managed to get one hand off of his Keyblade, forcing a Blizzaga out of his palm and sending Marluxia flying backwards, at the cost of knocking the breath and thought out of him. Blinking slowly as he dropped his Keyblade back to his side, he was unable to do anything as Larxene threw two more knives into his chest. The strain of fighting, magic, and Magic was getting to him.

The beast growled again and pounced forward, knocking Axel to the side with a powerful swipe of its paw. He rolled to the ground, feeling Flame Liberator vanish from his hand and it was only a quickly conjured Shield that managed to save him from being torn apart again. The beast snarled, slamming its paws onto the shield and Axel panted, inklings of fear starting to flow through him.

This couldn’t be where he and his husband died, right?

Reaching one hand up, it hovered over his chest as he debated whether or not to pull the knives out. Leaving them in would stem the blood flow but pulling them out would let him use Curaga…

In the end, he didn’t get to decide because a powerful lightning strike from Larxene shattered his already failing Shield and the impact of it sent him skidding backwards several paces.

Hearing a noise come from further into the throne room, Axel looked up blurrily to see the mysterious figure get thrown into a wall and not get back up. He couldn’t help the weak chuckle that slipped from him and it, even from all the way across the room, caught Saïx’s attention.

Snapping his gaze to his husband’s, there was a second when Saïx’s gaze faded from the glowing yellow that had overtaken them and instead were his normal color. They flicked over to Axel’s right shoulder and Axel saw his husband’s eyes widen just as he felt the burning pain slash down through his back.

Chapter Text

Riku woke up slowly, something he almost never did, the rocking of the ship slow and soothing, a lot different than he remembered. Wood pressed into his right cheek, no doubt placing splinters into the skin, and he had a twinge in his back, like he had pulled something.

Opening his eyes and grimacing slightly at the crusty feeling that came from the corners of them, he blinked several times as his brain struggled to process everything. A headache built in his head and his fingers and hands tingled, like he had slept on them wrong. Fading fuzzily into view, flickering in and out of focus, was the deck of The Wayfinder but… sideways? For some reason…

Oh, Riku realized, after a minute spent blinking slowly and laying still. The Wayfinder wasn’t sideways. He was. He sighed inwardly. He was clearly not fully awake yet. And wasn’t that a strange thing?

His hands twitched and moved slightly along the ground as mental commands to them slowly started to register and his awareness finally stretched to his legs, which didn’t hurt as his arms did, instead simply laying there. He forced his eyes back closed as he scrunched up his face slowly and moved his limbs minutely, trying to get feeling back into them. It took a couple minutes more of that before he felt certain in his control of himself. He hadn’t woken up that slowly or deliriously in years. It would have only gotten him or them killed.

Now that his brain was working at mostly full capacity, he recognized that he was laying on his side on the deck of The Wayfinder, his back pressed up against the railing and one hand trapped under his body. The source of the feeling in his hand and the splinters in his face.

With a groan, he forced himself slowly up into a sitting position, leaning against the railing. His head lolled backwards, smacking into one of the bars and only adding to the aching headache. One of his hands reached out and grabbed his right leg, dragging it closer to him and into a more comfortable position. Honestly, what was wrong with him? The last thing he remembered…

Scala disappeared behind him in the distance, the mountains rumbling back into place. He felt numb as he watched the spray die down and the rocks disappear behind clouds. The last time he had left Scala, he had done it involuntarily and had worked so hard, for so long to get back.

But then, when he arrived back, he didn’t really know if he could stand to stay. Sora and Kairi and the others would have left soon, even if Sora had gotten a Keyblade. Whether it would have been two days from then or two weeks, they would have left. Riku wasn’t sure if he would have been able to stop himself from going with them. What kind of big brother did that make him?

But he didn’t belong in Scala anymore, not in the ways he’d changed.

He tipped his head back up to the sky, letting his eyes slide closed and feeling the raindrops drip down his cheeks. The storm was mostly focused around Scala and even now, he could feel them speeding away from the dark clouds, away from the rain. His knees gave out from underneath him, and he hit the deck with a dull thud. His hand shot out, slow and sloppy, and only just managed to stop him from continuing until he laid on the deck, instead pushing himself to lean haphazardly against the railing. He had a feeling he wouldn’t stay propped up against the railing for long. He was so tired. Fighting the beasts, using his magic, opening and closing Scala…

He needed a break. Just a couple of minutes, he told himself. And then he had fallen asleep.

He sighed, partly in anger at himself for actually falling asleep, and partly in resignation and tiredness. The sun warmed his face, and he closed his eyes again, trying to block out the rays. It made his eyes burn and made his mind rebel, thinking of deserts and friends and death and betrayal-

“You’re awake,” Vanitas said from in front of him, snapping him from his thoughts, something he was grateful for, and Riku opened his eyes, dropping his head down to see Vanitas walking across the deck towards him. The older man looked tired, the beginnings of black circles under his eyes and his gait was a little too wild to just be swagger. “You’re the first one up.”

Hearing that, he blinked a final time, reaching up one hand to rub at his eyes and refocus them, before he scanned the deck again.

Sora and Kairi were curled up together against the railing of the starboard side, hands grasping each other’s and foreheads almost touching. There was the faint stains of dried blood on Kairi’s head and clear marks on Sora’s jacket, remnants of the night before. Ven slept on his side, his back up against the mast, knees pulled to his chest in sleep. Riku couldn’t see any clear injury on him, besides the discoloration of his hair into a murky brown that came from dried blood, something that had been caused by his fall. Xion and Naminé were just visible around on the other side of the mast, Naminé curled up in Xion’s lap, and Riku assumed Roxas was with them. The little girl looked uninjured, something that soothed a part of Riku and Xion had been treated to several Cure spells on different levels during the fight. Whether she still had some wounds or not, Riku didn’t know.

Terra was up at the wheel, looking out to the sea, but as Riku looked up at him, Terra looked down, smiling when he noticed Riku awake.

“What happened?” Riku asked, pushing himself up into a more comfortable sitting position, shaking numbness from his legs as he forced them to move. Vanitas made a face, quick and fleeting, before settling back into indifference.

“After we escaped Scala, all of you kids dropped off all about the same time,” Vanitas told him, gaze moving back to the other teenagers, eyes lingering on his little brother for a second. “Aqua set us on a course for Radiant Garden, I think. I wasn’t exactly… paying attention. She just went to sleep about an hour ago.” Riku distantly wondered if Vanitas got any sleep the night prior. Probably not.

“Oh,” he said in response, the only noise he could make his mouth say as the information settled into his brain, and he rubbed his temple slightly in a futile effort to dispel the headache before standing, feeling several bones in his back crack in protest and his stomach had a swooping sensation rip through it, no doubt caused by his lightheadedness. “That makes… sense.” He shivered once he was in full view of the sun, despite the warmth it provided. It was so different from the torrential rainfall that had pounded them the day before during their dash to the docks. And in Scala, that amount of rain was even more strange.

“Did we sleep a whole day?” He asked blankly as the time of day suddenly hit him. It was morning now. And it had been noon-ish the day before when the beasts came. Sora had slept in after all. It had been about a half hour dash to the dock and another fifteen-ish minutes to the mountains. That meant…

“In a way?” Vanitas replied, shrugging slightly. “You all fell asleep just as the sun passed the high point and sunrise was maybe half an hour ago?” His eyes screwed up slightly as he thought. “You, Roxas, and Xion haven’t woken once, so I put your rest at about eighteen to nineteen hours. Sora and Kairi both woke during the night, though only Kairi seemed truly awake. They both fell asleep again after an hour. Aqua did her best to clean their more pressing injuries. Ven woke up just as the moon was rising but barely stayed up long enough for me to patch his head up before returning to slumber. Naminé was awake through about half of the night and most of the prior afternoon, but either stayed in Xion’s lap or sat near Aqua.”

Magical exhaustion, he thought. The only explanation for Xion, Roxas, and I. Getting a Keyblade can be taxing, so that’s probably why Sora’s out. Ven is… Ven. And whatever the hell happened to Kairi in that shadow tower must have tired her out.

“Are we getting up?” A voice from the deck asked and both Vanitas and Riku turned to see Roxas standing up, coming around the side of the mast, pushing his hair out of his face. Beneath and behind him, Xion shifted slightly as her bed stood up, chin falling down to her chest. Her black shirt had a tear in, the side specifically, right where she had gotten slashed the day before.

“If you want to,” Riku said and Roxas nodded, eyes flickering around the ship, sharing a quick glance with Riku, before landing back on Xion. He reached down and nudged her in the shoulder that hadn’t gotten hit during the fight.

“Wake up,” he told her, and she groaned, reaching a hand to bat away Roxas’s hand. That was a good sign, at least, that she still had most of her motor functions. Now, thinking about it, it made sense why he had woken so slowly. Magical exhaustion sucked. It hadn’t been long before both he and Joshua realized it was bad if it affected them, so they had always regulated their magic usage, except in dire circumstances.

“Go away, ‘xas,” she slurred out. But when Roxas didn’t stop poking her, she finally opened her eyes, as slow as Riku had, confusion crossing her face as she looked around. A second later, she clearly remembered everything, and her face fell. Riku turned away from her, unable to deal with it and headed over to where Sora and Kairi were sleeping together. He didn’t know how to comfort her anymore.

The two fifteen-year-olds were curled tightly close to each other, which made sense to Riku. Kairi had almost died, again, and they had been forced to flee. Getting closer to them, he could see the bandages wrapped around Sora’s arms under his jacket, and the blood on Kairi’s head was only the last remains of it, the rest clearly scrubbed off.

“Sora,” he said quietly, reaching out to shake the other boy’s shoulder. Sora twitched under his touch but didn’t move or awaken. “Sora,” he tried again, louder this time, not removing his hand from Sora’s shoulder.

A second later, Sora’s sky-blue eyes blinked awake at him, confusion coloring them as he stared up at Riku.

“Riku?” He asked quietly, voice cracking from disuse. “What are you doing in my room?” Riku shook his head mutely.

“You’re on the deck of The Wayfinder,” he told Sora as gently as possible, waiting for recognition to grow in him. “Remember?” Sora blinked again before looking around, seeing Vanitas and Roxas somewhere behind Riku.

“Why am I on the deck?” Sora asked, reaching one hand up to rub at one of his eyes as Riku removed his hand from Sora’s shoulder. Kairi started to shift as Sora did, waking up slowly due to Sora’s movements. As Sora dropped his hand, his face abruptly changed as memories of yesterday no doubt flowed through his mind. Riku felt another stab in his heart at the despair and sadness that moved through Sora’s eyes as they turned to him.

“Yeah,” Riku muttered quietly to Sora’s unasked question that swam in his eyes. “That really happened.” Sora nodded slowly before moving to stand up, further dislodging Kairi in the process and causing the girl to fully open her eyes.

“Good morning, Riku,” she muttered out, reaching one hand up to hold her head. He hummed in response, and she stood as Sora did, having to catch herself on the railing as her legs hadn’t fully woken up yet. Sora placed a hand on her back, the other grasping one of her arms gently and Riku abruptly felt like he was intruding.

Riku turned back to escape the feeling, seeing both Xion and Naminé fully up, while Vanitas was still negotiating with Ven’s sleep schedule to get him up.

“Where are we going?” Sora asked Terra, walking forward a couple of feet to get closer, tipping his head up to look at the first mate, who looked down.

“Radiant Garden,” he responded, and Sora nodded. Kairi walked to his side, one hand holding her opposite arm in a half hug.

“So, are we going to talk about it?” Roxas asked, crossing his arms and biting out his words, and Riku winced. Kairi stiffened beside Sora, and fear flashed across Naminé’s face. She hurried over and wrapped her arms around Riku’s waist, burying her face in his side. He patted her head as gently as possible. She didn’t do anything to respond.

At the silence that permeated the ship as Ven was slowly awakening due to Vanitas’s prodding, Riku sighed quietly. They had to talk about it, one way or another.

“Scala Ad Caelum has been attacked,” he said, dragging everyone’s attention to him. He tried not to feel like he was impersonating Neku, who always knew what to say in situations like these. “Whether they were able to drive off the invaders or not is unknown, but Axel seemed pretty insistent on getting us to leave Scala, something he wouldn’t have done if he believed they could win.” Roxas stiffened at this, snapping his head up to glare at Riku, but Riku could tell Roxas wasn’t actually mad at him. Beat had often gotten like that. He was mad at the circumstances and the actions that had needed to be taken.

“The Prophecy had apparently come into effect and has something to do with us,” Riku continued, feeling Naminé’s arms tighten around him at the mention of the Prophecy. He patted her head again. “We have no other information besides that.” Xion wrapped her arms around herself and looked away while Kairi leaned into Sora’s offered embrace.

“We’re currently heading towards Radiant Garden,” Sora spoke up, mostly to Roxas, Xion, and Naminé. “It’s a trading port we frequent often and Kairi’s and my hometown. We have allies there but…”

Riku knew what he was thinking about. What could they possibly do? What were they supposed to do? Against all that power, it seemed hopeless. The beasts had nearly destroyed them. Riku knew what they could do. He knew it frighteningly well.

“Can we go back to Scala?” Xion asked, a hint of hope and question in her voice. “And help?” But Riku was already shaking his head.

“Doing that would be pointless and against Axel’s last wishes,” he told her gently. “We don’t know what it is like there now. We could be walking into a trap. Or worse.” Her face fell and he wanted nothing more than to move forward and wrap her in a hug like he would do when she was younger, but he doubted that would be helpful right now. He didn’t know what to do.

Roxas took that up instead, moving forward a few feet and wrapping one arm around her shoulders, gripping her in a side hug. Riku tried not to flinch.

“Do we just head to Radiant Garden?” Kairi asked, eyes moving from one person to another. “What then?”

Riku didn’t know.

~

His yellow eyes opened slowly, the cold wind of the ocean blowing into his face as he stood on the cliff. His plan had worked but only partly.

The Ones The Prophecy Spoke Of had gotten away.

He felt a stab of anger slice through his heart as he thought of them. He knew who they were, he knew what they could do. Not names, but abilities and feelings. And those had always been more reliable in the past.

So, how could they have possibly gotten away? Was it the Partial Reality-Wielder? The One Without a Heart?

He paused in his thinking as another thought crossed his mind.

Was it the Council? Were they finally deciding to interfere?

He was tempted to laugh at their hypocrisy. The second their precious Prophecy went into effect they were more than willing to change the world and events as they saw fit. But any time before that, they were content to sit and let the world tear itself apart.

The man gritted his teeth in anger. He had seen the world tear itself apart once before in his lifetime. He had seen the effects of it. He would not allow it to happen again.

Reaching deep inside his Heart, brushing away the connections to it despite one of the soul’s attempts to attack him again, he touched the long slumbering power in it. He didn’t have much left of it and there was no way for him to get more now that he had, rather explosively, cut ties with his former family, so he did his best to use it sparingly. He, of course, knew that Xigbar could replenish it easily, but that man seemed to have something against his own Magic, so he didn’t push. He had enough in his own Heart to do the trick, anyways.

Raising his hand, he felt No Name form in his hand, his corrupted heart twitching in pain at the retrieval of his old weapon. Focusing the little bit of power he had left into it, he fired off the ball of light that quickly became a comet streaking across the sky.

He could already feel the power starting to work in it. Soon, The Ones The Prophecy Spoke Of would be here and he could deal with them himself.

Chapter Text

“Kairi?” Vanitas’s voice drifted into her thoughts, and she felt her eyes flutter open against her will, seeing the older man crouched in front of her. His green eyes drifted across her, as if checking for something. “Are you awake?”

“If you mean you just woke me up, then yes, I’m awake,” she groused, eyes flicking behind him to the stars dotting the sky. A breeze drifted across her, making her shiver, and she was tempted to curl up into a ball, stopped only by Vanitas’s hand on her knee.

“You were moving,” he informed her gently. “And we should clean your wounds before you go back to sleep.”

“Wounds?” She muttered out. Why would she have wounds? Why, actually, was she out on the deck? That didn’t usually-

Oh. Right.

Everything from the day before suddenly rushed back to her, hard enough to make the breath leave her lungs, and she felt her expression falling, no doubt signaling to Vanitas that she remembered. Scala had been attacked. She had nearly died, again. Sora had gotten a Keyblade.

“Did that… really happen?” She murmured out, eyes drifting back to Vanitas. The twenty-year-old nodded slowly.

“Yes,” he replied with a grimace and a slight tightening of his hand. “It did.” He pushed himself back up to his feet, looking over to the wheel. “Aqua,” he called, quietly but still loud enough to be heard. “Kairi’s awake.” The older woman nodded quickly, and Vanitas moved, taking up Aqua’s spot at the wheel, while Aqua picked up a bag and hurried over.

Kairi’s eyes slid to the person next to her and she jumped slightly in surprise when she noticed that Sora’s eyes were half open, staring out over the deck. Following his gaze, she could see Riku asleep on his side, dried blood on his side and pant leg.

“Sora?” She prodded, frowning when she didn’t get a response.

“He’s been like that for a while,” Aqua told her gently, settling down in front of her and picking up a damp cloth from her back, dragging it gently down the side of Kairi’s face. “I’ve cleaned his injuries as best I could with him in that state, but I suspect he’ll fall fully asleep soon.”

“Is he okay?” She asked, hand hovering over his shoulder and Aqua nodded firmly as she pulled the cloth away from Kairi’s face.

“He’s fine,” Aqua reassured her. “Don’t worry.” Accepting Aqua’s words, the older woman had never lied to them before, Kairi turned back, letting out a low hiss of pain when Aqua pressed a different, smaller cloth to her wound. “Sorry,” Aqua said. “But it’s cleaning your wound.” Kairi nodded at that, well used to the health treatments Aqua had on board. She, Ven, and Sora had been adventurous in their younger years, and had gotten injured more times than Kairi could remember. Mostly Sora, though.

“Your wound isn’t that bad,” Aqua told her, sitting back slightly and examining her head. “It should be fine without a bandage but if it makes you feel better…”

“No, it’s okay,” Kairi responded. “Plus, Riku has that healing magic. Maybe he’ll use some tomorrow morning, when he wakes.” Aqua nodded to her and moved on to Kairi’s hands and arms.

Kairi let her thoughts drift as that happened, eyes flicking to each of the teenagers out on the deck. Roxas, Xion, and Naminé were curled up around each other, Ven was asleep against the mast, and Riku was laying on the deck at the front of the boat.

“You should get some more sleep,” Aqua murmured, regaining Kairi’s attention and the younger girl turned to her. “I can tell you’re tired.” Kairi opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. There really was no point. “You’re safe on The Wayfinder, Kairi,” Aqua said, packing away the remains of the supplies. “Get some more sleep.”

Kairi didn’t fall asleep instantly, instead simply leaning on Sora’s shoulder and watching the stars for a while as Aqua steered the ship. Vanitas returned to sitting by his brother’s side, angling himself so Ven was laying in his lap. One hand was placed protectively on Ven’s head, ruffling the hair softly, and his eyes stared at nothing when he wasn’t looking at Ven, green eyes flashing at quiet intervals in anger and vengeance.

Kairi sat on the deck with her legs folded beneath her and eyes half open as she recalled the night before, keeping an eye out on everyone. Usually she wouldn’t be this paranoid, and it certainly wasn’t from lack of trust like her interactions with Riku had been before, but she had almost lost everyone. Who knew who could have made it out of Scala if Axel hadn’t come when he did? Had it really been set in stone that she and Sora would have joined the rest of them or was it possible they were instead killed by the beast that Sora faced?

The sun warmed her face as she watched, a nice distraction from the shudders that would occasionally wrack her, and it was the type of day that she usually would flee down to her cabin to escape the sun, but she couldn’t now. And she knew she wasn’t the only one.

Sora sat a few feet from her, eyes almost as glazed as hers, looking but not really. Ven was curled up near the stairs that went up to the wheel, hidden in the shade, but his eyes were clearly almost always on Vanitas, who had taken up his usual spot up in the crow’s nest. But instead of looking out, Kairi continued to catch the older boy looking down, keeping a close eye on all of them. Roxas and Xion were sitting together, heads nearly touching as their hands were clasped in each other’s. Kairi knew why. The rest of them might have been through something traumatic but Xion and Roxas had lost their home and possibly someone who was close to them, at least to Roxas.

Naminé was the only one of them asleep again, which was surprising given that Ven was still on the ship and Vanitas looked like he was about to. She was pressed up against the mast, a couple feet away from Roxas and Xion, position in a way that made it so Kairi could only just see her feet. She was also hidden in the shade. Kairi was starting to think she and Ven had the right idea.

Riku hadn’t said a word since he had laid out everything for them, expressions and feelings retreating behind the mask that he hadn’t worn since the earliest days of them staying together. His eyes, even though he sat in the sun, seemed to be cast in shadow, hiding the green orbs and the expressions they carried. He had summoned Way To The Dawn for reasons Kairi didn’t know, and was sitting against the front of the ship, the Keyblade balanced gently in his lap. None of the others had done that, so it was clearly just a Riku thing.

Aqua had come out onto the deck an hour earlier, clearly not able to sleep long. She had greeted them but said nothing else and she stood now with Terra at the wheel, the two mid-twenty-year-olds having silent conversations. One of these days, Kairi’s going to get the story of how they met and how long they were together before she and Sora came along. Because it couldn’t have possibly been that long due to the fact that they were eighteen when the kids arrived, but they were talking silently then too.

Kairi blinked slowly again. The sun was getting too much. She really should head to the shade before it affected her too badly…

“Sora!” Kairi squeaked out as the eight-year-old jumped on the bed, dislodging her from the place curled up by the headboard, causing her to nearly hit head on the wall behind her. The boy laughed slightly at her, settling down on the bedding that he had disrupted. “What was that for?” She asked, closing the book she had been reading. It had been a book about plants, an “encyclopedia” as Aqua called it. She had found it by accident when she was sniffing around the ship a couple of weeks earlier and Aqua had given it to her while mentioning that she didn’t actually know where it was from. It was nothing like the books that Aqua had given Sora, the ones about fantastical worlds and “Keyblade Warriors” of the past. But Kairi liked it all the same.

“I wanted to,” Sora shrugged, leaning backwards to rest against the end of her bed and put his hands behind his head, watching her with a small smile. She huffed at him, which only served to make him laugh more.

“Everything okay in here?” Aqua asked as she knocked on the doorframe. Their door had been left open, probably by Sora, but it wasn’t bedtime yet, so it was fine.

“Sora’s annoying me,” Kairi grumbled out and Aqua laughed.

“Such is the way of those who care for us,” she said, and Kairi paused at that. Years on the street, while not teaching her many mathematics or reading abilities, had taught her how to read body language and voices. It was needed in order to keep her and Sora away from those who would hurt them. Like she had.

Sora had picked up on it too. “Experience Aqua?” He asked as casually as an eight-year-old could and Aqua sighed quietly, not losing the small smile on her face as she entered their room, taking a seat at Kairi’s desk and spinning the chair around to look at them.

“In a way,” she told them and Sora, in what must be a fit of bravery or foolishness, pushed himself off of Kairi’s bed to hurry over the couple feet to the desk, climbing into Aqua’s lap. The older girl made a slight noise of surprise but didn’t push Sora away like Kairi had been worried she would. Even after a few months together and working out most of the issues that came between them, Kairi was still worried. Of course she was. She probably would never stop worrying about Sora.

“I had a friend once,” Aqua continued and Kairi dragged her attention back to her. Aqua gently wrapped her arms around Sora, holding him in a loose hug. Somewhere in the back of Kairi’s memories, she couldn’t help but see Sora curled in the embrace of another woman, but those memories faded away as quickly as all the other ones had. She could never hold onto them.

“She was my best friend ever,” Aqua recalled, eyes moving away from Sora and instead looking off towards Kairi’s and Sora’s window. “She and I did everything together. She and I teased each other and played with each other and spent every moment together.”

“Like me and Kairi?” Sora exclaimed and Aqua laughed, tightening her hug around the boy.

“Yes, exactly like you and Kairi,” she reassured him with a smile. “I thought I would never leave her. For a while, it seemed like I would marry her.” Sora made a face at that, out of Aqua’s eyeshot and Kairi couldn’t help the giggle that slipped past her lips. Sora still couldn’t grasp the beauty of falling in love with someone, of staying with that person for life.

Aqua clearly could tell something had happened, if the way she looked at Kairi out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t say anything and the soft smile that had been resting on her face slowly slipped away.

“What happened to her?” Kairi asked, drawn against her will into Aqua’s story. Aqua sighed again, though this one sounded much more sad.

“In truth, it was what happened to me that changed us,” Aqua admitted and Sora leaned backwards, curling deeper into her embrace, trying to offer her a little comfort in the only way he knew how. “I didn’t see how we were changing until… the day I last saw her. Until the day I ran away.” Kairi sucked in a breath at that, and Sora moved his head up to stare at Aqua. Kairi knew what running away meant. She knew that meant that Aqua would’ve had a home, but she left it.

“Why would you do that?” Kairi asked her, the nights and days she and Sora had suffered through flashing in her mind. “Willingly?”

A complicated expression crossed Aqua’s face, and she picked up Sora, holding him close to her as she crossed over to sit next to Kairi. Against her better judgement, Kairi found herself leaning into Aqua’s side.

“It’s not what you two are thinking,” Aqua told them. “I didn’t go out into the streets. I had this ship and directions to Leon. I would have survived easily, even on my own.” She let go of Sora with one of her arms and instead wrapped it around Kairi, curling the little girl closer. “But I couldn’t stay home. It would have been much worse if I’d have stayed.”

“I don’t understand,” Sora muttered, playing with one of the loose threads in his pants and Kairi felt more than heard Aqua’s third sigh.

“And I hope and pray you never do,” she whispered. “Mine is not a story I would wish on anyone.”

“But… you’re so happy,” Kairi said. “I thought that was just a Sora thing. To be able to smile even when everything’s bad.” Sora swiveled his head to look at her and she gave him a look. It was true.

“Well, I have a good life now,” Aqua told them. “And the ability to smile through tragedy, while not a skill that should be relied on or used all the time, is still a good skill to have.”

“Whenever I get sad, I just freeze up,” Kairi murmured, leaning more deeper into Aqua’s side. While it wasn’t strictly their bedtime yet, it was sure getting close and Aqua’s story could be classified as a bedtime story, something that Terra had worked hard to get into their sleep schedule.

“That’s understandable, but sometimes you have to stand up and do what’s right.” Aqua pulled her tight into a side hug. “Even if you’re sad.”

“Like you and Terra?” Sora asked, now fully leaning on Aqua, eyes nearly closed.

“Yes, just like me and Terra,” Aqua said and Kairi hummed in understanding. Her eyes were starting to slip closed, and she could feel a smile growing slowly on her face. She could get used to staying with Aqua and Terra.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open as the bed fell out from underneath her. She opened her mouth to scream, only for bubbles to escape her. She wrapped her hands around her throat, choking as her eyes flitted around the darkness. Trying to look for the light.

She couldn’t breathe and Sora wasn’t there, and neither was Riku and she couldn’t-

“My b-ot-e—r,” a voice whispered out and Kairi found her hands taken again by the young woman in the white dress. She looked Kairi in the eyes and Kairi could see the tears tracks streaming down her cheeks as her dress flickered back and forth from white to spattered with red. “Protect -im f-r -e.” Kairi tried to tighten her hands on the girl’s, trying to hold her close again, but just like before the girl slipped out of her grip. As the young woman fell backwards, Kairi’s mouth opened in a silent scream as she tried to dive forward to hold her again. She had to reach her, she had to know what she was saying. She reached and-

Fell, slamming to the ground on a sheet of colored glass, falling to her hands and knees at the force of it. She gasped again, finally able to breathe and for a second, she thought she saw her own face written across the glass but when she tried to reach out, it twisted away and-

“Kairi?”

Kairi shot up with a gasp, falling basically into Sora’s lap as her heart raced. Sora made a noise of shock and Kairi felt his hands cradle her gently as he twisted her until she was in a more comfortable position.

“Kairi? Are you okay?” Kairi blinked up at the sky, seeing the blue sky that had barely changed. Sora’s face was just out of corner of her view, and she sucked in another breath. She could feel the tear tracks down her cheeks.

“Sora, is she okay?” She heard Xion ask, and Kairi shook her head slightly, trying to remember what she had been dreaming about. What had happened? All she could remember was darkness and a bright white light.

“I think so,” Sora replied, and he moved more so he was almost taking up Kairi’s view. “Kairi, are you okay?”

She swallowed once before nodding slowly.

“Nightmare, I think,” she rasped out, wincing at the crack in her voice.

“You think?” Came another voice and Kairi couldn’t tell if it was Ven or Roxas.

Feeling the shakiness of her arms slide away, she pressed her hands into Sora’s knees to push herself up and could feel Sora’s hand on her back, helping her up. In the back of her mind, the injuries from that day on the deck twinged.

“Are you sure?” Sora asked her, already knowing what she would say. She nodded as she turned to him, blanching when she saw the other teenagers watching her as well.

“How long was I out?” She asked and Sora shrugged.

“An hour or two,” Sora told her with a small smile. “Vanitas fell asleep as well. I thought it would be good to let you sleep but then you started moving and…” He shrugged. “I woke you up.” She nodded distantly about to say something else, only to be distracted by… something racing overhead, slicing the sky in two.

She felt her breath leave her body as it passed, and her eyes immediately snapped to it. It was like a comet in the middle of the day. What could it be? Moving her eyes back down to Sora, she could see the same shock and awe in his eyes. And she could feel it…

They had to follow it.

Underneath her, she could feel The Wayfinder start to turn in order to follow the light trail. She was glad that everyone else agreed with her.

It was important, she knew it.

Chapter Text

Sora’s eyes hadn’t left the sky ever since the comet had raced overhead, even in the hours past. It was… beautiful. Beautiful, impossible, and irresistible. The trail it left was just bright enough for them to follow and that’s what they did. He was tempted to climb up to the crow’s nest in order to get a better look at it, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to risk waking Vanitas, though it sounded like he was waking anyways. Instead, he stood at the front of the ship, hands curled into the railing as he gazed out. Riku stood at his side, his eyes fixed on the horizon just as Sora’s were.

Sora could feel it, the tugging in his chest. They needed to follow the light trail, they needed to see where it had come from. It was important, so important. It was impossible to resist.

Kairi was still sitting, though she had moved from the floor to one of the crates, hand wrapped around the railing closest to her. Her eyes didn’t leave the sky, the unnatural light of the trail reflecting in her eyes. He hadn’t seen her that interested in where they were going since they first set out on The Wayfinder, eight years old and completely new to the ocean.

Naminé, who had awoken while Kairi was sleeping, was settled back in Xion’s lap, both girls watching the sky in enraptured silence. Roxas sat against the mast in a similar fashion while Ven stood on the opposite side of the ship than Kairi, hand wrapped around one of the ropes and watching the sky.

“So… why have we changed course?” Vanitas called down from the crow’s nest and Sora blinked in shock, ripped out of his blank thoughts, and turned to look up at the other. He wasn’t the only one to do so.

“What are you talking about?” Sora asked after a second, and Vanitas looked down at him. Even from here, Sora could see the confusion in Vanitas’s green eyes. Why was Vanitas confused? Hadn’t he also seen the comet?

“We’ve changed course,” Vanitas said, slowly as if he was trying to explain something difficult to them. The older man shifted his position slightly, moving to start climbing down the rigging. “Why?” Sora frowned and looked at Riku out of the corner of his eye, who looked just as confused as Sora felt. He could see Kairi shift as well, frowning as her eyes flicked from Vanitas to Aqua and Terra behind them. Could… Could Vanitas not feel it? Did he not know?

Vanitas had been asleep when the comet flew over and thus, hadn’t seen it. Maybe that was the reason?

“We’re following the light trail,” Aqua said from the wheel, leaning slightly on Terra and watching Vanitas with a careful look. The light from the sun cast shadows across Terra’s face, so Sora couldn’t see what he was thinking, but he was probably agreeing with Aqua.

“Why?” Vanitas asked, repeating his earlier statement, and he made it sound like they were doing something strange. Sora didn’t know how to reply to it. They just… were. It made sense. He could see the same confusion reflected across the others and Ven took a few steps forward like he was going to climb up to the crow’s nest to Vanitas.

Whatever they were going to say next was cut off when another pulse from the light trail soared out, relighting the light trail for them to follow, cutting through the slowly gathering darkness as the sun started to sink. He turned away from the deck to look back up at it, the light of it not burning his eyes like the sun would.

And again, Sora felt it in his soul. The need to follow it, to head there and see what was there. Because it was clearly important. It built in him again and he knew that it was affecting the others too. With a small smile on his face, he turned back to where Vanitas was. He hoped that Vanitas had felt it too.

But the older boy was staring at the sky in shock, frozen halfway down the ropes that led from the crow’s nest to the deck.

“See?” Sora asked half hopeful, half cautious. Because he didn’t like the look in the back of Vanitas’s eyes. Like he wanted to leave and never come back. Vanitas’s head slowly dropped down to look at Sora and Sora shivered, violently, at the look in Vanitas’s eyes. Because that wasn’t an expression that he had ever seen on Vanitas. Ever seen on a human.

Even when things got horrible for him and Kairi, for the few others that were stuck on the streets. When it seemed like nothing would get better and they were doomed to die slow, painful deaths on the streets with no one to mourn them. When it got worse, Sora never saw anyone look like that.

Like they were already dead.

“Look!” Xion exclaimed, not seeing the silent exchange between him and Vanitas. Sora is pulled by her voice and when he turned, he could see cliffs rising up from the ground. The sun that was just barely starting to sink down towards the horizon line behind them cast them mostly into shadow and Sora could just barely see the different cliffs instead of a black mess against the horizon.

Sora felt his eyes flick back up to Vanitas as the other made a choked off noise in the back of his throat, but his attention was dragged back to cliffs, slightly against his will.

The feeling was getting stronger. They needed to be there, they needed it. Once they were there, they would figure it out and Vanitas would be fine again, and all their questions would be answered if they were there.

As they got closer to the cliffs, Sora leaned out over the railing, trying to see anything. See why they were brought there specifically. But there was no change and the water and cliffs seemed normal.

“I wonder why we’re here,” Kairi murmured from next to him and he nodded absentmindedly, settling back down against the railing. It didn’t completely make sense. He tipped his head back up to try and see the light stream again, but blinked in shock when he noticed it fading away. Why was it fading? It hadn’t before.

A second later it was gone, and Sora was hit with all the thoughts that he hadn’t realized he was having.

Why were they following a mysterious light trail? What was affecting their thought process? Where were they going? Why was Vanitas the only one not affected?

And from the gasp that came from Kairi, he guessed that she was also thinking the same thing.

He whipped around, staring at Terra and Aqua in shock, who also had dawning realization on their faces, but what he was about to say got cut off when something slammed into the right side of The Wayfinder.

Sora pitched sideways, legs giving out at the sudden hit, and landed on the deck with a thud, feeling stinging burns start to bloom on his arm and side that he landed on. Kairi shrieked in surprise, as did Naminé, and from his vantage point, Sora could see both Roxas and Ven on the ground as well. Riku had curled over the railing when the light trail had vanished, as if taken aback by something, and he now used that vantage to keep himself up.

Shoving himself up into a sitting position, Sora scanned the deck, looking to make sure everyone was relatively alright. As he did that, another hit rocked the boat, this one making the sails rattle, and Sora looked up to where Aqua and Terra were supporting each other, attempting to remain standing.

“What’s going on?” Xion asked, reaching out and pulling Naminé close to her. The little girl didn’t resist, basically falling backwards into Xion’s embrace.

“Don’t know,” Riku gritted out, somehow managing to stay on his feet. Sora staggered to his feet, running and tripping his way across the deck to grasp the railing and peer over in the water below.

His blood ran cold. Holy-

Swirling around The Wayfinder, submerged deeply into the water, were several of the beasts they had fought on Scala. Not completely the same, these were much bigger, with round tops and tentacles, but still the same beasts. Sora could tell.

As he watched, another one of them charged at The Wayfinder, sending another impact rippling through it, causing Sora to have to hold onto the railing to stop from being thrown backwards.

“The beasts,” he cried as he braced himself against the railing. “It’s more of the creatures we fought on Scala!” He turned around, seeing the shocked and scared expressions of the others.

“They can swim?!” Kairi shrieked as another impact hit the ship, this time from the other side and it was accompanied by the sound of wood splintered, sending panic racing through his veins.

A second later, Riku summoned Way To The Dawn in a flash of light and ran toward where Sora was standing, wrapping one hand in a rope to keep himself steady as he leaned over, sending a bolt of magic down on top of the creatures. They shrieked, something that was muffled by the water, but didn’t stop in their attack. Noise from behind him alerted Sora that Roxas and Xion had also drawn their Keyblades.

“What do we do?” Naminé yelled from where she was still on the ground after Xion moved, staring out in fear. Sora looked up to Aqua and Terra and could see that Aqua was attempting to turn the ship around to get them out of there, but the constant attacks from both sides were making it difficult. Another impact with the sound of more wood splintering reached Sora’s ears and he froze, dread racing through him.

If this continued… the beasts could sink The Wayfinder.

Turning on his heel, his gaze searched the deck as he tried to figure something out. What could he do? He couldn’t do magic like Riku could. More wood splintered from the hull, causing the ship to rock violently, and Sora could see that he wasn’t the only one who had realized the ramifications of what the beasts could do.

“Kairi?” He called out, trying to find his friend, stumbling again as another hit the side of the ship. He had let go of the railing as he turned around and was regretting it now. Naminé shrieked again as she slid backwards due to the force of the hit and Sora watched Ven run over to her, taking her arm and pulling her up to her feet and closer to the mast. Away from the edges.

If Ven was here… Sora thought, before tipping his head up again, scanning the crow’s nest. And he was right. Vanitas was still up in the rigging. Except… he wasn’t moving.

“Vanitas!” Sora yelled up, but the other didn’t respond. Or even acknowledge that Sora had spoken. Instead, his hands were fisted in the ropes, holding him up and his eyes were fixed on the cliffs that they had been approaching. “Vanitas!” But he didn’t answer.

Taking a quick risk, Sora looked to where Vanitas was, trying to see what was distracting him so much. The sunset made it difficult to look for long, but Sora managed to get a glimpse.

Were those… buildings?

They were white, at least the tops of them were, and, in a way, reminded him of Scala. The way the light bounced off them at least. In the back of Sora’s head, he heard Riku’s voice telling him and Kairi about the buildings of Scala, the three of them curled up in Riku’s cabin as waves battered the sides.

Nothing like the impacts now. They hadn’t been worried about the ship capsizing then.

Still worrying about Vanitas, but also concerned about Kairi, who he hadn’t seen, he pulled his gaze away from the older boy and the buildings.

“Kairi!” He scanned the deck. How was she missing? They were on a boat!

A second later, another impact hit the boat and it was accompanied by the loudest sound of wood cracking and the feeling of the boat suddenly listing to the side. Sora yelled, hearing other voices yell as well, as he went tumbling backwards as the boat leaned abruptly.

His hands clawed at any handhold, feeling wood catch in his clothes and skin, and in a second, Kingdom Key appeared in his grip, the teeth digging into the wood and holding him there. He panted, snapping his head up to look at the deck. Which was now listing at 45 degrees.

Aqua and Terra were pressed together, Aqua barely holding onto the wheel. Roxas, Kairi, and Naminé were nowhere to be seen and Sora could just see the edge of Riku as he pressed himself to the side of the wheel stairs that was against gravity. Xion was curled up in his arms, face unreadable.

Ven had his hands wrapped in rope as he held onto the mast despite his slipping feet, and Vanitas was still up in the rigging.

Sora opened his mouth to shout something but was cut off when a final impact hit the ship. This time the deck that had listed far enough down to be hit by the beast and Kingdom Key disappeared as his focus fled him and he fell into the water.

The last thing he felt was cold before he blacked out.

~

His yellow eyes watched with satisfaction as the ship sank quickly beneath the waves, the Heartless well enough to deal with it. While he highly doubted that he had managed to kill The Ones The Prophecy Spoke Of, he at least greatly injured or scattered them. And who knows? Perhaps he did manage to kill at least a few of them.

He couldn’t help the contemplative hum that slipped out of him. When he had watched them fight off the beasts as best they could, he could have sworn he had seen him.

And it would be frustratingly poetic if he was one of the Prophecy’s Chosen.

He sighed, slightly angry at himself. He shouldn’t have allowed him to escape all those years ago. He had been too soft on him, too entranced by his power and Magic. He had gotten harsher after she had… left them, but he still gave him too much freedom, too much space. And look where it had landed him.

Shaking his head slowly, he turned and headed away, making a note to have the Heartless search the area. If he could recover him, it would be a wonderful boon to his plans.

Even if he had always been too rebellious for his own good.

Chapter Text

“Riku? Are you awake?”

Riku groaned as the voice drifted into his ears, a headache pounding behind his eyes. An aching feeling started to make itself known across his entire body and his eyes felt heavy and sticky. Coldness was seeping into his body from the surface he was laying on. A hand poked him on the forehead, sharp and questioning, and he swatted at it on instinct, making his shoulder protest. A voice yelped.

“What did you think was going to happen?” A slightly different voice asked, sarcastic and biting. “I warned you not to surprise him.” Riku blinked open his eyes, despite their attempts to stay closed and frowned in confusion at the view of a concrete ceiling. “Riku? Are you going to join us?” He turned his head slowly to see Roxas and Ven sitting on the ground near him, both watching him.

“What happened?” He asked, voice hoarse, as he sat up, the grey concrete extremely uncomfortable to lay on. He pressed a hand to the side of his head as it spun slightly.

“The Wayfinder got attacked, remember?” Ven asked and Riku closed his eyes as he thought back.

Beasts were attacking them, but who was controlling them? He couldn’t see Sora or Kairi. Where was Roxas and Naminé? He held Xion tightly, not wanting to lose her again. The ground broke underneath him and he went plunging into the water.

“Ah, right,” he hissed out, rubbing one of his arms, which was twinging in pain the loudest. It was only then that he got a good look at where they were.

It looked like a cell, with a stone floor, ceiling, and walls with the exception of one which was made of bars. Cold air hung stagnant around them and the only light he could see was a burning torch bolted into the wall across the hall, outside of the cell.

“Where are we?” He questioned slowly, looking around, trying to tamp down the small bits of panic and fear that were starting to build in him. It’s nothing like the maze, it’s fine. Everything’s fine.

Roxas shrugged, halfway rolling his eyes as he leaned back against the wall he was sitting nearby. “How should we know? We woke up here.” But Riku could tell that it was all posturing. Roxas was just as worried as he was.

“And we don’t know where everyone else is either,” Ven said in a low voice, slightly shaking hand going up to the chain around his neck. Riku didn’t know the significance of it, but he had a good bet that it had been a gift by someone on The Wayfinder if he held it when worried about them. Perhaps Vanitas had given it to him. Riku also noted that Ven seemed… more on edge, if Riku could describe it as that. His eyes hadn’t stopped flicking around the cell they were in.

“Well, we can start by getting out of here,” Riku declared, trying to emulate Neku Terra, getting to his feet despite his still spinning head, trying to pull Ven’s attention from the walls that Ven was watching carefully and back to him. Roxas’s grin turned sharp as he got up as well, happy now that they had a direction to go, and Ven looked at them both in confusion.

“How?” He questioned, hand releasing his necklace, and Riku gave Roxas a look.

“We only woke up like two minutes ago,” Roxas defended himself, looking like he wanted to scoff and cross his arms like the teenager he was. “I didn’t have time to tell him all the uses of a Keyblade.”

“Huh?” Ven said, clearly thoroughly lost, and Riku sighed.

“They’re called Keyblades for a reason,” he told the confused boy and summoned Way To The Dawn into his hand. Pointing it at the door, he pictured it opening in his mind and a light shot out of it, similar to the one that had unlocked the mountains in Scala, but smaller and less bright, and the cell door swung open with a clunk. Taking a second to take in a deep breath, he pressed a hand to his chest and whispered out Cura, feeling most of the achiness and pain disappear. “Are the two of you okay?” He asked them and got two nods in return. He didn’t know if he completely believed them, but it would have to do for now. “C’mon, we need to go find the rest of us.” He walked out of the cell with Roxas just behind him and Ven scrambled to his feet behind them, following.

The hallways were dark, barely lit up by the torches that lined the hallway, and shadows danced on the walls. There were several other cells in the corridor, their doors handing open and swinging creakily whenever the smallest gust of wind brushed them. Rust crawled up the sides of most of them and moss grew through the smallest cracks in the floor and walls. This place looked long abandoned. But it couldn’t have been, because someone had put the three of them in that cell.

The three teenagers stayed close to each other as they walked slowly down the corridor, Riku and Roxas carefully keeping an eye on the defenseless member of their group.

“Do we even know where we are?” Ven asked as they crept down the hallway, clearly doing his best to stay in the center of the hallway and away from the hanging open cells. He seemed to jump every time one of the doors moved.

“I would assume the city on the cliffs,” Roxas muttered under his breath in answer and Riku blinked in confusion. What?

“There was a city on the cliffs?” Riku asked, turning back to Roxas, who nodded.

“I didn’t get a good look at it,” Roxas admitted, eyes flicking around the walls as they moved. “But it looked a lot like Scala.” He looked at the ceiling, eyes darkening slightly. “Or more likely, we’re under the city.” Riku followed his gaze, frowning at the ceiling. This place… doesn’t feel natural, he thought, frowning deeper as his own thoughts hit him. How could something not be natural?

A sound dragged him from his thoughts. Without taking a second to think about what that meant, he grabbed Ven’s arm, dragging him backwards against the wall. Roxas turned when Riku did that and Riku motioned as quickly as he could to get back here to Roxas, hissing in Ven’s ear when the younger boy was about to say something. Roxas got the hint, thankfully, and backed up, pressing himself against the wall next to Riku. Both of them banished their Keyblades as quickly and quietly as they could. The sound turned into footsteps and Riku bit the inside of his mouth. At least they knew they weren’t alone.

The footsteps grew louder and Riku narrowed his eyes as the shadow appeared on the wall, cutting off the light that danced on it. Ven, who had been struggling in Riku’s grip, not completely understanding what was happening, abruptly froze. Roxas sucked in a sharp, quiet breath.

From their vantage point, they couldn’t see the person before they passed them, as they were hiding in the intersection of four different hallways. Riku’s eyes widened as he took in their long, dark robes that obscured their face and muffled their steps. It had been a close thing, Riku hearing them, and that thought only caused his heart to beat faster as he watched them walk down the hallway. In his mind, he pressed up against desert walls with Shiki and Beat, trying to not be spotted by the beasts that crept down the corridors, their yellow eyes sweeping around, searching for kids to kill.

They passed without incident and Riku only let his breath out once the steps had fully, fully disappeared and even gave a couple extra seconds after that. He finally released Ven with an apologetic look, wincing at the freaked-out expression on Ven’s face. His eyes flick up to Roxas, the same thought running through both their heads.

So, they definitely aren’t alone.

“Do you think that’s one of the people who locked us up?” Roxas asked quietly, taking a chance and peering down the hallway that the person walked down. There was no change in his expression, so Riku relaxed a tad bit more. Ven stepped away from him, arms coming up to give himself a hug.

“Probably,” Riku muttered, risking the noise to summon his Keyblade again. He felt better, as strange as it was, having Way To The Dawn in his hands. Maybe because you’re so used to fighting and fleeing. Roxas turned back to him and Ven and made a face.

“Hey Ven, wake up,” he hissed out and Riku blinked in surprise, reaching one hand out to place it on Ven’s shoulder, turning him around as gently as he could. While Ven wasn’t actually asleep, he did have a strange, far-off look in his eyes. The rest of his face was blank, and his hands were slipping from his arms, clearly only held up by friction.

“Ven?” Riku asked warily, shaking his shoulder a little. Ven blinked at the movement, lifting his head to stare better into Riku’s eyes. For a second, there was nothing in them despite the movement, before they cleared slightly and Ven frowned in confusion.

“Riku?” He asked, looking around and taking a step back, though it was small due to Riku’s grip on his shoulder. “Why are you so close?”

“You tell me,” Riku said, watching Ven carefully. “You’re the one who just went quiet on us.”

Ven blinked again. “I did?” He questioned after a second and Riku felt his frown grow. While Ven slept like the dead and it took a force of nature (or Vanitas) to wake him, it had never affected his awake world before. At least, not what Riku had seen.

“Yeah, you did,” Riku continued, trying to run through possible options of what was happening in his head. What could possibly be going on? “Are you okay?” Ven paused for a second before nodding his head.

“I’m okay,” he said, more confidence in his voice. Though at least half of it was faked. Riku would know. “It’s probably just aftereffects of being thrown off the boat. I could have hit my head.” Riku nodded internally as he thought over the possibility. That could be a reason, but that also opened up a whole other can of worms. If Ven had gotten hurt, not only was Riku going to die via Vanitas, Ven could also be hurt, and they’d have no way to tell. He sucked in a breath before putting his other hand on Ven’s other shoulder, drawing a questioning noise from the boy.

“Cura,” he breathed out and the scratch down Ven’s leg vanished in a quick burst of light. Whether or not that helped Ven, Riku didn’t know, but he felt the strain of the magic settle into his bones. It had at least done something and that was good enough for Riku. At the moment, at least.

“Where’d you learn that?” Roxas asked him as Riku removed his hands from Ven’s shoulders, leaning against the wall for a quick second to get his breath back. His eyes moved to Roxas and-

-the bird landed on the wall, making Neku laugh, his small chuckle breaking the dim silence. Riku paused, turning back to look at the older boy in confusion as Beat disappeared around the corner.

“What’s so funny?” He asked the older boy, Way To The Dawn dragging through the dust on the ground. Neku looked up at him, clearly attempting to stifle his chuckles.

“Nothing,” he replied, managing to make his face neutral again. In the night, it’s hard to see, but Riku could still see the glimmer of humor in them. “Just something Josh said to me once. It’s coming back now.” Riku nodded slowly. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Riku often wondered how long Neku and Joshua had been imprisoned in the maze. They had certainly known their way around when they found Riku.

“Hey Phones!” Beat called back, making Riku jump. He never understood how Neku and Joshua didn’t seem to be surprised by anything. “You and Silverette coming?” Neku sighed indulgently, a small smile making its way up his face.

“Yes, we’re on our way,” Neku responded. He turned back to Riku and-

-shook his head. “Just… around,” he answered, and he could tell Roxas wasn’t satisfied with the answer. The younger boy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, looking at Riku with suspicion but Riku brushed it off. Roxas wasn’t intimidating, as much as he tried to be. Riku had long stopped being scared of people, not after everything. Not entirely true.

“C’mon,” he said, instead of bringing up anything else. “We should try and find a way out of here. And find the others.” Ven hummed in response and Roxas sighed, summoning Oblivion, dropping the conversation. Clearly against his will.

“Should we follow the person?” Roxas asked and Riku paused, thinking it over. There could be more of the people who captured them down that way, but there could also be a way out.

“It could lead to a way out,” Riku admitted, twisting the handle of Way To The Dawn in his grip as he thought it over. “Or it could lead to more people.” He looked up at Ven and Roxas. He took a quick second to let the smallest, most childish part of him note how similar they looked in the dark lighting before continuing on. “What do you two think?”

The two slightly younger boys’ eyes flicked to each other almost at the same time, wondering what the other would say.

“I choose follow them,” Roxas announced with a grim smile, hefting Oblivion. “We could deal with anyone we find and if there is a chance we can find an exit or the others, we should take it.” Riku turned to Ven.

“I just want to get out of here,” Ven admitted, hands moving up to rub his arms in another self-hug. Riku frowned at the motion. It wasn’t that cold in the corridor. Chilly yes, but not something to be worried about. “I don’t like it here.”

Riku didn’t find it too scary, but he had long since realized and accepted that what he saw as normal was not what other people saw as normal. An unfortunate side effect of being kidnapped and then going through everything he did.

But Roxas was blinking in confusion as well, shooting his near twin a look, and Riku mentally dismissed it as “just a Ven thing”.

“Following the person then,” Riku decided and started walking down the hallway, holding Way To The Dawn at the ready. When he looked over his shoulder a minute later, he saw Ven following close behind him, Roxas taking up the rear, his own Keyblade ready and waiting.

While the person was long gone due to their long discussion between them, it seemed like the corridor wasn’t like the others. There weren’t any more branching paths, after one more that they chose not to go down, and the cells disappeared, just replaced with cold stone. The lights remained however, but it didn’t stop Riku from getting progressively more and more on edge. If someone were to come down the hallway, there was nowhere to hide. They would have to fight and while Riku was confident in their abilities, fighting could create noise and they didn’t know how many people were down there with them.

“Look,” Ven muttered and Riku dragged his gaze down from the ceiling he had been briefly looking at to see what Ven had pointed out.

It was a door, big and heavy looking, somehow made of metal. Riku paused when he reached it, turning back to look at the other two.

“Are we going through?” Roxas asked and Riku bit the inside of his mouth before nodding. It was their best chance at finding something.

Reaching out, he placed his hand on the handle and pushed it open, ignoring the slight warmth that came from it, screwing his eyes up at the sudden influx of light that washed over the corridor.

Chapter Text

“Kairi. Kairi, wake up! Wake up please!”

Kairi groaned as the voice penetrated through the darkness, dragging her into full consciousness. A ringing in her ears started to build and she could taste the aftertaste of blood on her tongue.

The ground beneath her was hard and cold and when she rolled slightly, she felt herself slip much further than she meant to go. The voice above her gasped and part of her brain screamed at her to get up, you’re about to fall.

“Kairi!” The voice said again, even more panicked than before, and she fully opened her eyes with a groan of pain and determination, seeing a multicolored sky above her, made of blue, purple, and pink. She frowned, trying to remember what she was doing there and Naminé’s face suddenly appeared over her, blue eyes wide and scared. “Are you awake?” She asked and Kairi nodded slowly as her brain turned over her thoughts in her head, moving one hand to wave Naminé away, closing her eyes again as a wave of pain wracked through her head.

“Naminé?” She questioned hoarsely and heard a noise of assent from next to her. A sound that plucked at the familiarity strings of her brain trickled into her ears, but she couldn’t focus enough thought onto it to figure out what it was. “Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” Naminé admitted, accompanied by the sound of something, probably a body, shifting across stone. “Don’t you remember what happened?” Kairi frowned again as she wracked her brain. They had been on The Wayfinder… and they were trying to figure out what to do when they saw the mountain and…

Waves. Explosions. The sound of creaking wood, bringing fear and panic to her mind. Where was Sora and Riku? Where was Ven and Vanitas and Aqua and-

The boat tipped and Kairi slipped, fighting and losing against gravity, falling backwards as the ocean came up to meet her. She slammed into something and got a quick second view of Sora before the waves swallowed her and everything went dark.

“Oh,” Kairi said dully, all the aches in her body suddenly making sense. The Wayfinder had been attacked… and sunk.

Pressing her hands to the rock beneath her, she attempted to push herself up to a sitting position, ignoring the slight pain in her body, feeling her hands slip from underneath her as she tried. Her back hit the rock again, knocking the breath out of her and causing the ringing in her head to double. She panted for a quick second as she laid there.

“Be careful,” Naminé said, voice coming from her left side. “It’s really slippery.” Gritting her teeth, she forced her hands back underneath her, closer to her body this time. Even as her hands slipped, she focused on holding them close to her, not letting them slip out. With one final shove, Kairi managed to get up to a sitting position, seeing Naminé sitting on her left side, knees pressed into the cold stone and fiddling with the end of her dress, which was frayed and ripped.

“Oh geeze,” Kairi whispered out as she got a look where she and Naminé were. She finally realized what the sound was. The sound of ocean waves when they were close to the person. The rock they were on was part of an outcropping, positioned about two to four feet above the water line. Out in front of her was the ocean, not exactly calm and quiet but better than it was in a storm. Behind them was a mountain, the cliff face sheer and sharp. She and Naminé were trapped.

Looking down at herself quickly, she saw basic scrapes and bruises already starting to form on her arms. Her dress was ripped at both the hem of her skirt and there was a slit on her right side, exposing part of her side to air. Salt crusted under her nails and both the taste of blood and salt water sat in her mouth. Cold wind hit them both without anything to block it.

She turned to Naminé, trying to prioritize like she knew Aqua and Terra would. “How long have I been out?” Naminé’s hands were grasped tightly together, the little twelve-year-old clearly trying to not look out into the ocean. There was a scrape on her arm and angry red spots on her legs, but nothing seemed broken, which was a small miracle.

“Only a couple of minutes,” Naminé told her, looking up into her eyes. “I woke up down there,” she pointed to another rock much closer to the water level. Waves lapped up onto it, making the rock edge look shiny. “and saw you up here. It took me a couple of minutes to climb up here because of the water but once I got up here, I started to try and wake you.”

“Ok, well thank you for doing that,” she said to Naminé, who nodded shakily, looking back down to her hands. “And you didn’t see anyone else?”

“No,” Naminé admitted, and she curled her hands closer to her. “I don’t know where the others are. I don’t know how they’re doing, I don’t-”

“Okay, easy,” Kairi interrupted her, moving her body so she was facing Naminé head on and reached out to grasp Naminé’s hands, rubbing the palms of them, both trying to warm them up, because it was freezing out here and they were both wet, and trying to distract her. “Easy, focus on me, okay? Focus on me.” Naminé’s hands were shaking badly, and Kairi held onto them tightly. She debated pulling the girl into a hug and eventually settled on moving further around to let Naminé lean on her side. It was times like these that she cursed her slight aversion to touch with strangers. Not that Naminé was completely a stranger. “We will be okay. And so will your brother and sister and everyone else on the boat.”

“Really?” Naminé asked, sounding very doubtful but at least she wasn’t panicking anymore. She leaned closer to Kairi, probably seeking warmth but also comfort.

“Really,” Kairi assured, trying to push confidence into her words. “While I don’t know that much about Xion or Roxas, Riku and Sora are tough. They’ve been through things worse than a swim before. So has everyone on that ship. I bet the rest of them are together and taking care of each other. And we’ll find each other, and everything will be okay, got it?”

Naminé looked up at her and smiled slightly. “Okay,” she said, and Kairi nodded once, releasing Naminé’s hands. She took one more second to allow Naminé to lean on her longer before setting her resolve. They needed to do their part of finding the others.

“Good,” Kairi replied before standing up as slowly as she could, arms out for balance against both the wind and slipperiness of the rocks. Thankfully, her boots had been laced up tight, as they always were, so she hadn’t lost her shoes. How Naminé hadn’t lost her sandals was a bigger question, but Kairi wasn’t going to think about that right now. “So, going up the cliff is a no go and there’s clearly nothing in that direction.” She gestured to their left side, where there was just ocean meeting cliff for as long as they could see. “I think we have to go that way.” She pointed to their right side, where the cliff only went for fifteen yards or so before turning a corner, exposing the rest of the ocean.

“Why can’t we just stay here and wait for the others?” Naminé asked, wrapping her arms around herself. “We don’t really have reassurance that there is anything that way.”

“You’re right but we can’t stay here unfortunately,” Kairi said gently, sitting back down. She wanted to reach out to Naminé again, but they had to move. “You see the water level? It’s rising right now because high tide is coming. If we stay here, we’ll be underwater soon anyway.” Naminé’s face showed panic, but Kairi placed a hand on the back of her shoulder, rubbing it slightly in circles, an action that Aqua had done frequently in her childhood to calm her down. “Hey, we’ll be okay, remember? I can swim pretty well, if I do say so myself, and it shouldn’t be too hard to take you with me.”

“I can swim too,” Naminé interjected, sounding slightly put off and Kairi blinked in surprise.

“You can?” She asked, taken aback, and Naminé nodded.

“Not the greatest because I only started learning a couple of months ago, but Roxas insisted on it. ‘We lived on an island surrounded by water after all’. In his words, not mine.” Naminé didn’t sound too upset by it and Kairi allowed herself to smile a little at that. It was nice that Naminé’d had someone to look after her those three years when Riku was gone that wasn’t only Xion.

“Okay,” Kairi said, nodding and thinking to herself, “But we’re going to take precautions.” Reaching down, she tugged a little on her skirt until she found a place that had been torn slightly more than the others by the rocks and ripped it, pulling it carefully around and around until she had basically hemmed her skirt of about two inches of fabric around the whole bottom. Taking Naminé’s wrist gently, she tied one end of it around it, double knotting it before tying the other end to her own wrist. While the water wasn’t too rough, it wasn’t the smoothest thing ever, especially with the tide coming in.

“There,” she hummed, making sure it wasn’t too tight, but secure enough on both sides. “So, we don’t get separated.” Naminé tugged a little on the edge of it, face twisting a little in discomfort at the tightness of it, but she didn’t argue. Looking at Naminé, making sure she would be okay to swim, her eyes settled on Naminé’s hairclips, so much like the ones that Kairi wore. “Here,” Kairi murmured, reaching out and gently pulling them from Naminé’s hair. The little girl made a noise of confusion and inquiry but didn’t attempt to stop her. “So we don’t lose them.” Pulling her own hairclips out, she placed all four of them into the pock of her dress, which latched shut with a button that Aqua had sewed on herself after she heard Kairi complaining about it not staying shut. Making sure they were snug in her pocket, she exchanged a quick smile with Naminé. No need to lose any of their accessories.

Standing and taking a few steps towards the edge of the rock, Kairi peered over it and looked down into the water. She couldn’t see the bottom. Not that she expected to. She turned back to Naminé.

“Ready?” She asked, offering her hand to the girl, who took a deep breath and nodded, grabbing Kairi’s hand with her own and using it to help her steady herself as she stood. The girl walked a few steps forward until she was as close to the water as she could go. Kairi took a second to squeeze Naminé’s hand in comfort before letting it go.

Kairi jumped first, followed by Naminé a second later, both of them hitting the water at around the same time.

Kairi didn’t shiver as much as she thought she would and the cold water didn’t shock her as much as it could have, though she had to admit, she was already cold and wet before she got in the water. She had already been soaked. Kicking up, she surfaced, treading water and feeling the bond with Naminé. A second later, Naminé popped up as well, gasping a breath full of air, treading water a foot or so away from her.

“You okay?” Kairi asked Naminé, wanting to make sure the young girl was ready. Naminé nodded as best she could, bobbing up and down in the water as she was. She almost glowed in the water, both her white dress and the reflecting light on the water from the sunset adding to her ethereal feeling. Kairi nodded back before leaning her head up to look at the cliff. They had seen the beginning of buildings up there, when they had arrived. Kairi wondered if the people who lived up there were the same people who attacked them.

“Ready to swim?” She asked Naminé as she dropped her head back down and the younger girl nodded again.

Kairi kicked her feet through the water, angling her body to the side, and started to swim down the coastline, going slower than she usually would in order to make sure Naminé kept up with her.

As she swam down the coastline, she looked up a couple of times at the cliffs, trying to see anything. But there was nothing to see. Just cliffs that went up a couple hundred feet, silver, brown, and black, constantly reflecting the dying light of the sunset. Turning back occasionally, she kept a careful eye on Naminé, using her eyes and the bond connecting them. She wasn’t going to lose Riku’s little sister.

During one of the times, as she turned back to check on Naminé, the little girl’s eyes widened as she noticed something in front of them.

“Look!” She exclaimed, trying not to get water in her mouth, doing her best to point forward while also not causing herself to stop swimming. Worst case scenarios racing through her head, Kairi whipped back around, only to see a break in the cliffs coming up. Flashing a smile to Naminé, she swam for it.

Getting closer to it, the break was revealed to be a break in the mountain as well. Wedged up in the side of it, about ten feet above the water line and with a trail of boulders leading towards it, was a door.

Grasping one of the boulders with numb fingers as she got close enough, Kairi dragged herself up onto it, the flatness of it almost feeling unnatural. Reaching a hand out, she took Naminé’s and pulled her up as well, the little girl ending up almost in her lap. To her relief and slight surprise, the fabric tying them together had stayed.

“A door,” Naminé whispered out, shivering slightly in her grasp, craning her head to look over Kairi’s shoulder at the door as Kairi untied their wrists. “I wonder who lives here.”

The people who attacked us, the suspicious part of Kairi’s mind hissed, finally starting to rear its head now that they weren’t in a safe area anymore. Her one arm tightened imperceptivity on Naminé’s waist.

“Are we going in?” Naminé asked once she had released her, standing up with a little wobble, clearly doing her best to keep her balance.

“If the door’s unlocked,” Kairi answered, taking a step and moving from the boulder they were on to the next one. It’s better than staying out here in the coldness and wind. Naminé came after her, having to jump a little, as her legs weren’t as long as Kairi’s. The little girl grabbed onto her waist to hold herself up and Kairi found that she didn’t mind it so much.

Scrambling from one boulder to the next, Kairi kept a careful eye on Naminé the whole time as they headed up the slightly wet boulders. She was shivering again, the coldness of the water coming back full force now that they were outside of the water. Her hands were shaking and the wind that was blowing over the water didn’t help either. She looked up. The sun was nearly gone. Soon it would be night. And it would be even colder.

Pulling her gaze back to the door, she couldn’t withhold the small sound of surprise that went through her when it opened easily at her touch, swinging inward to reveal a dark hallway. While she had hoped that they would’ve been able to get in this way, she had not been expecting it to be that easily. Naminé looked up at her. Kairi blinked down at her. Well… would anyone really expect a pair of kids swimming up from the see and finding their secret door? Part of her brain muttered while the other part murmured about it being a trap.

But Kairi sighed. Trap or not, she and Naminé needed to go in there. It was getting too cold to stay outside. And they needed to find everyone else.

Sora, Riku, Terra, Aqua, Vanitas, Ven, where are you guys?

~

Aqua took in another deep breath, ignoring the slightly shaky quality to it. The beast crawled over the rocks above her, sending small pebbles bouncing down to where she and Vanitas were hiding, nearly hitting the two of them. Well, she was hiding, and Vanitas was still disassociating.

Another growl rumbled across the air as the beast passed over them again and Aqua pressed a hand into Vanitas’s shoulder as he twitched, keeping him pinned to the ground beneath them. The beast growled a final time before leaving abruptly. She waited for its footsteps to come bounding back, as it had before, but nothing happened.

She swallowed quietly before leaning down to Vanitas. “Vanitas?” She asked as quietly as she could. The boy’s eyes flicked to her, and he blinked slowly. Aqua had only truly seen him locked in a flashback this deep once, about six months after he had come to The Wayfinder.

“Hoder?” He asked quietly and she shook her head sadly.

“Not Hoder,” she told him, recognizing the name he had called her then too. “It’s Aqua, remember?” He blinked slowly again and Aqua could tell he still wasn’t fully there. “It’s okay, Vanitas,” she said, reaching out to hold him in a half hug as she looked up, staring out of the cave mouth that hid them, to the large expanse of water and dying light outside of it, just visible against the black night. “We’ll be okay.”

Chapter Text

“Sora, wake up!”

Sora sat up with a broken gasp that tore itself out of his throat against his will, scattering sand everywhere, before immediately choking on the water that started spewing out of his mouth, forcing itself out of his lungs as they tried to heave air. His breath caught as the water left his mouth and he scrambled from his sitting position into one that was better for getting water out. The salt water stung the inside of his mouth as it left it and his mouth felt unclean. A hand rested on his back and rubbed circles on it as he coughed out the water, leaning over the ground.

“Easy Sora, you’re okay,” the voice said, low and soothing, and Sora belatedly realized it was Terra’s. “We’re okay now.”

Coughing out the final amount of water that had found its way into his lungs, he raised his head shakily. He could see the ocean a couple of feet in front of him and there was sand under his knees. His stomach heaved again as it tried to help his lungs get the water out of him even though the water was gone. His whole body ached.

“Is he okay?” Xion asked from somewhere to his right and he heard Terra hum in response.

“He’ll be okay,” Terra replied, hand slowing to a stop as Sora became more and more aware. “He just swallowed some seawater.”

“It feels like I swallowed the whole ocean,” Sora grumbled out, swiping the back of his hand against his mouth as he sat back against his feet, rubbing the remaining salt water off his face, feeling grains of sand stick to his cheek and into his hair, and kneeling gently on the sand. Now that he wasn’t choking anymore, he tried to get a good look around.

They appeared to be in a cove of sorts, soft, white sand that looked nothing like the water out in the ocean creating a small area to sit between the ocean and the cliffs behind it. Xion sat to his left, a small cut marring her arm and a worried look in her eyes, while Terra was behind him. There was a scrape on the side of Terra’s face, red and inflamed, still sluggishly dripping blood. The sunset on the ocean made their eyes glow unnaturally.

“What happened?” He asked, tongue moving weirdly, his mouth feeling scratchy and gross from the salt water he had ingested. He immediately got the urge to cough after speaking, his throat rough and abused.

“The ship got attacked, remember?” Xion prompted, eyes worried and rubbing her palms together. “We all got tossed overboard.”

The impacts hitting the ship. Vanitas frozen in the crow’s nest. Kairi probably being knocked overboard before him. Riku and Xion braced against the wall, pressing against the fall of gravity. Kingdom Key couldn’t help in this scenario.

“Oh,” he said softly as the memories hit, trying not to drift off or cry. The Wayfinder… it was gone. It couldn’t be gone. “Where are the others?” He asked, trying to distract himself.

“We don’t know,” Terra said gently, removing his hand from Sora’s back and rolling his shoulders back. Sora noticed his face twinge in pain when he did so. “I managed to grab Xion as we fell, and we found you here on the beach. I don’t know where the others are.” Kairi, Riku…

“We just have to find them, right?” Sora asked, trying to push the happiness he was known for back into his voice. The last thing they needed was for everyone to fall into depression. “I mean, they couldn’t have gone far.” Xion smiled slightly as she looked at him.

“We have to get out of here first,” Terra spoke up, standing and surveying the area. “We could risk the ocean again, but there’s no guarantee that there’s anything out there but more sheer cliffs.”

“Well, we can’t stay here,” Sora said, eyeing the water. “The tide’s rising. We’ll end up swimming anyway.” Terra hummed, and instead turned and started walking to the back of the cove they were in, examining the wall. Sora looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Xion shiver slightly. He agreed with her. It was cold and getting colder as the sun drifted down. Their state of wetness wasn’t helping either.

“I think there’s a path built into this,” Terra muttered, voice just barely reaching them, and Xion and Sora turned to him.

“What do you mean?” Xion asked, tipping her head to the side, and Terra gestured to the cliff.

“Look,” he said, moving his arm to trace a path up the cliff, and Xion and Sora stepped closer. Following Terra’s hand, they were able to see the tight, winding path that wound itself up the cliff face. The path couldn’t be more than two feet wide at the widest spots.

“That looks dangerous,” Xion commented, looking vaguely ill, and Sora agreed with her, eyeing the cliff face with suspicion.

“Well, it’s that or the water,” Terra said, and Sora made a face. Terra was correct, of course he was, but at the same time, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to trying to scale that path. He turned towards Xion, and the girl shrugged at his look, also examining the path. “C’mon,” Terra murmured as he started up it, one hand braced against the side of mountain.

“Wait,” Xion exclaimed quickly, and both of them turned back to her. “Before you go…” She reached out one of her hands and Oathkeeper appeared in her palm, looking as pristine and unscratched as ever. Pointing it down to the ground, she stepped forward and laid her other hand on Sora’s arm. “Cura,” she whispered out and a dozen of the small aches that Sora had been feeling vanished in an instant, leaving him feeling slightly more awake and rejuvenated.

Xion pulled her hand back, looking at him critically, before clearly deciding that was good enough. Taking a step past him, she did the same to Terra, making the wound on his head seal itself closed and stop bleeding. Terra blinked in surprise as Xion backed up again and did the same on herself.

“Riku did that,” Sora murmured out. “As did Roxas. Is that a spell you can learn?” He should know how to do then, if possible. The ability to heal wounds would be invaluable in their lifestyle.

“Yes?” Xion responded, banishing her Keyblade in a flash of light. “But I think you need a Keyblade to do it.”

“Oh,” Sora said disappointedly, looking down, and Xion’s eyes widened slightly, and she reached out a hand, mouth opening like she was going to say something.

“We should keep going,” Terra said, gently but firmly, looking down at the two teenagers. “We need to get up this cliff before the light completely dies.”

 Xion and Sora shared one more look, Sora wondering slightly what Xion was going to tell him, before Sora started after Terra, swallowing back his fear. He could hear Xion behind him. His thoughts spun. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a Keyblade, he did, but… They had been in Scala to try and help Sora learn the Keyblade and now…

The path was sturdy which made sense as it was carved into a wall. It was mostly level, something that decreased his anxiety a lot, and slowly gained height as it went back and forth across the cliff face. Sora hadn’t been able to tell from the ground, but the cliff wasn’t actually straight, instead on a decline that made it perfect for a slightly dangerous path to be carved into it. Who had been crazy enough to carve a path into a cliff, Sora hoped to never meet them.

“Are you doing okay, Xion?” Sora asked after a couple of minutes, not daring to turn back and look at her himself. He would surely fall then, and he didn’t know if Xion had a spell to stop him from falling to his death.

“Yes,” Xion responded, voice only shaking slightly. Rocks slipped under Sora’s feet, and he did his best to cling to the rock to the side of him, futile as it was. In front of him, Terra seemed to be doing okay. He wasn’t falling down the cliff, at least.

“So, what are we going to do?” Sora asked, raising his voice so it traveled to Terra. “After we climb this mountain, that is.” Terra paused for the briefest of seconds and his hand tightened on the piece of rock he was holding before he relaxed and carried on.

“Well, we need to find the others,” Terra called back, wind nearly stealing his voice. “The rest of them must have been swept off the ship as well, so they’re probably somewhere around here, like we were.”

“And after?” Sora questioned, worry building in the pit of his heart, despite his attempts to stop it. The Wayfinder had been attacked by those beasts in the water, it had sunk. How were they supposed to leave this place without a ship?

Sora felt his heart wither for a second and he stuttered in his steps, eyes sliding shut. The Wayfinder… it was gone. The ship that had become his home, Kairi’s home. A place where he finally felt safe. And it was gone. It almost didn’t feel possible.

“C’mon Sora!” Kairi cried as she ran down the deck, hurrying forward until she could jump and lean on the railing on the front of the ship. “Hurry up!” Sora giggled slightly as he ran after her, knowing why she was so insistent. He heard Aqua laugh from behind him, but he ignored her for a second.

The sunset loomed high and beautiful in the sky, just starting to dip down to the water. The sky around it started to shift colors and the heat waves around it made the clouds hard to see. The sea rushed by them as The Wayfinder plowed through the waves with barely any rocking.

Sora leaned on the railing next to Kairi, the nine-year-old smiling at him as the light from the sun made her hair light up.

“Such a pretty view,” Kairi hummed, turning back to the water, and Sora nodded in agreement. The sunsets were particularly beautiful, especially when they were on the open sea like this. They had left Monsteropolis early that morning after delivering a couple crates of meatal canisters to the nice people that lived there. Yes, they looked a little strange, but Scrooge trusted them, so the crew did. Both Kairi and Sora had enjoyed the jokes that the head workman, Mike, had told to them while the others were working on unloading. Aqua had been very firm on the fact that Kairi and Sora couldn’t start helping with carrying the shipments until they were thirteen, so both kids had a way to go. The smallest part of Sora still wondered why Aqua and Terra had bothered to take them in if they weren’t going to let them help in their work, but he firmly shoved that part away. It didn’t matter. Aqua and Terra were their family now.

“Sora,” Kairi started, drawing his attention back to her. Her eyes gazed out onto the ocean, reflecting their deep depths. “Do you think we’ll ever have a ship like this?”

Sora blinked in confusion. “You mean, like The Wayfinder?” He asked, tipping his head to the side. Kairi started to shake her head but stopped and instead looked thoughtful.

“Yes, kind of like The Wayfinder,” she said, her fingers tapping on the railing they held onto. “But a ship of our own. Just the two of us.” Sora paused at this. He and Kairi had been on the ship for over a year now. And it truly had become home and Aqua and Terra, their family.

“Maybe,” he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. He hadn’t ever really thought of it. To him, it made sense that they would just stay on The Wayfinder. Stay with their family.

It hadn’t ever truly occurred to him that there would ever be a time when they weren’t on the ship.

“Sora?” Xion asked quietly from behind him, and he startled, turning slightly as far as he dared to see her almost directly behind him. “You stopped moving. Are you okay?” He blinked, trying to chase the remnants of the memory from his mind.

“Yeah,” he answered and looked back up, seeing that Terra had paused as well, turning back around to look at him. He waved a hand, trying to reassure Terra non-verbally. The older man frowned but accepted the placation from Sora, turning back around and continuing to climb. Sora tried to refocus on the climb, but his memory continued to drag back to the thought.

He had never pictured a time when The Wayfinder wouldn’t be there for him.

“I can see the top!” Terra called back and Sora sighed in relief. Even though none of them had come close to falling, the path was still treacherous and gave him anxiety.

Staggering the final few steps, he took Terra’s offered hand as the older man helped to pull him up onto flat ground. The sun had fully set by the time they had reached the top, just in time, so he shivered in the cold air and rushing wind. He took several steps forward, so he wasn’t as close to the edge of the cliff. The long grass rustled around his legs, the color of it indistinguishable in the darkness.

Turning on his heel, Sora found his gaze drawn to the white city in the distance. Tall buildings rose to the sky in patterns that Sora had never seen before and the city itself seemed to give off a glow of silver and white. As well as an allure.

He furrowed his eyebrows as a small pressure started to build up in the back of his head. Had he… seen this place before? He couldn’t help but feel like he had. The place seemed familiar, in a way that quoted words would be familiar.

Xion sighed as she stepped up next to him and he turned to look at her. She had a passive expression on her face, but he could see the worry and concern that was building up in her eyes. He had seen it often on Kairi, after all.

“We’ll find your siblings,” he told her quietly, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder. She shuddered under his grip, her arms coming up to wrap around herself in a hug.

“It’s just…” she trailed off. “I just got Riku back. And I never lost Naminé. I can’t let this be the time I do. I won’t.”

“Don’t worry,” he said to her, squeezing her should in a comforting gesture. “I’m sure they’re both safe with other people. Perhaps they’re even together. We just need to find them and then…” He was the one the trail off this time because Terra had never really answered his question. What would they do now? They didn’t have a ship to get onto and leave with. Not that they’d had a plan before then.

They hadn’t gotten a chance to really talk to each other and figure out what they were going to do after Axel sent them away from Scala. They were going to, going to flee to Radiant Garden, but then the comet had come in and distracted all of them. And Sora still needed to figure that out too. What type of magic was that? Being able to convince them they needed to follow it? The only one who had been immune had been Vanitas and that was, probably, because he was asleep when it first passed over their heads.

“Then, we will figure it out with Aqua and the rest of our crew,” Terra interjected walking up behind them. Sora dropped his hand from Xion’s shoulder as the two teenagers turned back to look at him, seeking comfort. “We will figure this out, we just need everyone first. And I bet that the city is the best place to start looking.”

Xion looked to him, and Sora nodded once, allowing Terra to take the lead as the three of them started walking, the dying embers of the sun sinking behind them. This was the only thing they could do now.

Keep searching.

Chapter Text

The light streaming in through the door caused Riku to squint his eyes, the sudden brightness making his eyes burn and reflexive tears build in the back of them. Ven made a bit off noise from behind him, a cross between a groan and a hiss, and Riku agreed with him. But they couldn’t stay here for long.

“Come on,” he said, gesturing with his hand as he took a couple steps past the unnaturally high threshold. His feet landed on wooden floors, making only the slightest creak sound and he blinked in confusion at the abrupt change in décor. The walls were finely crafted wood and velvet, creating patterns on the walls, and small braziers filled with what were clearly magical flames hung from the ceiling, lighting up the hallways warmly. Roxas made a noise of surprise from behind him and Riku turned back to look at them, agreeing with their confused looks. It was an abrupt change.

Ven, being the last out, pushed the door closed behind him and Riku noticed that the door was cleverly hidden as a normal, wooden door from this side. An intricately carved handle served as a doorknob and looking at the door, you wouldn’t be able to guess it was actually an entrance to a secret, underground prison. It made Riku shiver. What kind of place were they in?

“Where are we?” Roxas asked, voice lowered, looking around at the walls and Riku shrugged, feeling the nervousness build in his chest. He didn’t like not knowing, it had only ever gotten them killed in the past.

“A house, perhaps?” Ven mused, eyes flicking in every direction, reaching out one hand to touch the velvet, but stopping right before he made contact. “In the city we saw?” A mansion, more like, Riku thought, gazing at the tall hallway.

“What kind of person has a prison under their house?” Roxas muttered, eyeing the walls with more suspicion than before. They looked normal, but this place clearly wasn’t.

“Focus,” Riku told them, forcing his attention back to what they needed to do, walking as quietly as he could forward until he managed to peer out around the corner. Much like the corridors before, there was no one to be seen or to be heard. More velvet and magical flames met his eyes as he gazed at the hallway.

“Keep going?” Ven asked quietly, he and Roxas making their way up to stand next to Riku. Riku nodded once and Ven expression flickered for a second before choosing a direction at random, right, and starting down it. Riku and Roxas hurried after him. Roxas gave Riku a look of confusion as Ven hurried along the hallways, too quickly that made sense. Riku felt the expression reflected on his face but didn’t say anything.

Also like the corridors, all the hallways looked the same. Same pattern, same color velvet, same wood paneling beneath their feet. In the corner of most of the hallways, a small grey box was attached to the ceiling, a black circle on it along with a glowing dot. He didn’t know what they were, but he tried not to think about it. He was worrying about enough. They could honestly be walking in a circle and Riku would have no idea. It made his skin crawl. He felt like he was being watched.

“Ven?” Roxas eventually asked after the boy had turned down yet another hallway with unflinching confidence. “Do you actually know where we’re going?” Ven paused for a second and turned back to them. Riku realized he had the same glassy eye look again, though toned down several degrees. The worry in him built up again. What was so special about this place? What was it doing to Ven?

“Not really,” Ven answered and shifted slightly on his feet, hand twitching up to his necklace again. His eyes flickered around the hallway, never staying on one point for more than a second. “But I just get the feeling that this is the way out, you know?” Riku and Roxas exchanged a glance, Roxas raising an eyebrow.

“No not really,” Riku admitted after a second and Ven’s face fell a little, an insecure expression flashing across his face. With Roxas, they had an explanation given to them of why Roxas had been drawn to the Gallery. This… didn’t make sense at all. None of them had ever been here and Saïx wasn’t around either.

“Oh,” Ven said, and his hand dropped from his necklace, which glimmered in the light for a second and Riku’s eyes flicked to it. Was that a…?

“We should just keep moving,” Roxas interjected, taking a step forward to place his hand on Ven’s shoulder. “Mysterious sense or no, it’s not like we can get into a worse situation.” Riku highly disagreed but Ven nodded so Riku was outvoted.

“This way then,” Ven directed and the three of them headed down the next hallway, sticking close to each other, Oblivion and Way To The Dawn ready to use.

“Look,” Roxas whispered after a second and Riku blinked in surprise when he saw the glass wall. There hadn’t been anything to show that it wasn’t just another hallway before they stepped into it and it made him shiver again. He hated this place. Even more than the maze. At least there, after a while, he could navigate it just fine…

“It’s the city,” Ven murmured and Riku felt Way To The Dawn slip down from its ready position as he moved towards the glass, his unused hand reaching out to touch the glass.

It was dark outside, the sun completely gone, and instinctively, his gaze moved up to the stars. But there were barely any to see, and he pressed back the surge of disappointment. If he could have seen the stars, he could have made a guess about how far from Scala they were. How long they had gone still trapped in that fog of the comet. Where had that even come from? Why had it brough them here?

“I’ve never seen a place like this,” Roxas muttered, coming up to Riku’s other side, Oblivion held in a loose grip at his side.

And it was true.

Scala was tall, built like the mountains as it was. But these buildings… blew anything that Scala had made out of the water.

Each building was easily a hundred feet tall or more, made of silver material that reflected all the light off of it. A mix of glass windows and walls created the sides of each of the buildings and while there was barely any light in any of the windows, there were still one or two lit up against the night sky. Much like the window they were standing in now.

It was clear that they weren’t in a mansion at all. It looked like it, from the inside. Looked like one of the houses that you would find deep in the woods in those stories Sora loved or perched on the sides of the Third or Fourth Towers. But the outside of it was clearly like all the others building that surrounded it and it made Riku swallow.

They really had no idea where they were, did they?

Riku’s eyes moved from looking outside to the glass in front of him. It was cold as ice and felt so much stronger than it looked. Was that even possible? Then his eyes moved to the side of him, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, turning back around to face Ven.

Who had frozen, staring out of the window from five feet away, blinking in shock.

“Ven?” He asked, and when Ven didn’t respond in any way, he moved forward, placing a hand on Ven’s shoulder. Which finally manages to snap Ven out of whatever he had fallen into. A single tear slid down the younger boy’s cheek and Riku’s concern rocketed up several notches.

“Riku,” Ven whispered out and Riku heard Roxas’s footsteps head their way. “I don’t think I like it here.” Riku took in a deep breath, trying to compartmentalize. What was going on with Ven? Where was everyone? Where were they? What had brough them there?

Carefully and quickly, he pushed each of those questions into a different box.

“Then we’re leaving,” he replied, reaching up to squeeze one of Ven’s shoulders, the opposite one than Roxas did. “We’re leaving.”

Tightening his grip on Way To The Dawn, he locked eyes with Roxas for a quick second and then the three of them were off, the two Keyblade Wielders keeping Ven between them, both watching out for any more signs. The fogginess was still there in his eyes, just a little, but he was moving fine. Riku hoped that they wouldn’t keep going into hallway after hallway. It was getting tiring and worrying.

The hallway though, opened into an open aired room. The hallways transformed into a balcony that circled the whole room, looking down into the room below it.

“Whoa,” Roxas murmured as they entered the room and Riku nodded slowly. Looking up, he could see the ceiling several meters above him, the rafters of it crossing over each other.

Ven walked instead to the edge of the railing, placing his hands on the rail, leaning over and looking down. Riku scanned the walls. There were three more entrances into the balcony that circled the room and Riku frowned, holding Way To The Dawn tighter in his hand. There were too many entrances to defend or watch all at once.

Ven gasped and backed up suddenly, drawing both Riku’s and Roxas’s attention.

“Ven? What is it?” Riku asked, taking a step forward, worry building in him again, and Ven turned to look at him.

“There’s someone down there,” Ven said, voice dropping as his body did, settling into a sitting position to look through the bars of the railing. Riku moved forward slightly, sitting down next to Ven and banishing Way To The Dawn to look where Ven was. Roxas sat down next to him.

Leaning over, Riku looked down. The ground dropped into a story or two and Riku blinked at the almost transparent layer of glass that covered the room below. It looked a lot like the one above the maze. And just below, almost unseeable, a person moved below.

Riku almost couldn’t see them. There were several bookshelves and… Riku frowned. Glowing screens? The person moved again, walking from one bookshelf to a desk, writing something down. Riku couldn’t hear their footsteps.

“I don’t think they can hear us,” Roxas muttered, looking down in confusion. Ven blinked at him in confusion.

“They should be able to,” Ven said back. “It’s too quiet here.” Riku nodded to Ven in acknowledgment. It was too quiet in the room. Even talking quietly, their voices should travel down. That only confirmed it.

“Look at the barrier,” Riku murmured back, pointing one hand down at the silver dome. “It can block sound.”

“It can?” Ven asked and Riku winced. He shouldn’t have sounded so confident. But he had been thinking of nights when rain pounded down on them, smacking into the barrier and stopping. When the lightning that flashed above them was the only clue that there was also thunder they could not hear, wind that would not reach their ears. Those were some of the worst nights because there was water right there and a clear reminder that they were trapped, contained, caged- Shaking his head once, forcefully expelling the memories, he stood again, walking around the edge to instead gaze at the other entrances. They also looked all the same. Ven wasn’t the only one who didn’t like this place.

“What are they doing?” Ven questioned, and Riku turned back around to see Ven and Roxas, now standing, looking over the railing down at the person. They had left the notebook behind and were flipping through a different book now, something that had been pulled from the bookshelf.

“Stop watching them,” Riku grumbled out, moving to stop them. Why should it matter who was down there? Couldn’t they be a prisoner too? Shouldn’t you ask? What happened to the heart Kairi was sure you had? But Ven ignored him, leaning farther over the railing in an effort to see what the person was reading. As he did this however, he accidentally leaned in front of one of the light sources hanging from the ceiling, casting a shadow over the person.

Riku dropped to the floor on instinct, shoving himself backwards, ignoring the way the wood scraped uncomfortably on his ankles, and Roxas grabbed the back of Ven’s shirt and dragged him backwards as the two of them hit the ground, out of the person’s view as they looked up at the sudden darkness. Riku looked at the two of them, meeting Roxas’s eyes, which flickered back down to the place they had just been looking.

Taking a chance, Riku scooted forward a foot or two, trying to look over without showing himself to the person below. Just like before, he couldn’t see that much of them, the barrier and distance messing with his perception. Now though he could see that they had long blonde hair and Riku couldn’t tell the color of their eyes that scanned the ceiling for them. Riku paused, looking down at them. Maybe he was reaching but they didn’t look anger or even confused at the interruption. They looked… scared?

But he was probably reaching. He still couldn’t see them that well. And he wasn’t that great at reading body language, not anymore.

Looking back up, he could see that Roxas still hadn’t released Ven, the Heir still clearly on a hairpin trigger thanks to the adrenaline that no doubt just shot through him, and opened his mouth to say something else only to hear quiet conversation getting closer.

His eyes widened. Someone was coming.

Without a second thought, he pushed himself back a foot so he could stand without being seen and gestured for Roxas and Ven to do the same. They both stood, Ven’s face set in a frown of confusion while Roxas clearly heard them as well. Realizing that they had gone too far around the railing to go back out the same way they had come from, Riku chose the closest exit, gesturing to it silently, making sure it wasn’t the hallway that the voices were coming out of.

Waiting until Roxas and Ven ran out it first, he followed them, almost falling down the stairs that started immediately downward from the exit. Going down a few of them, he quickly realized it was a spiral staircase going downward.

Shouldn’t you investigate?

He paused at the thought. He didn’t like it here, Ven didn’t like it here, they didn’t know where they were or where everyone else was but… Shouldn’t they try to find out a little bit about who was here? What if they were the one responsible for dragging them here with some magic?

Taking a risk, he paused after a few steps and sat down, backing as far as he could so whoever entered the balcony area couldn’t see him. Then, he listened.

“You really think more than a couple of them survived that wreck?” A voice asked, loud enough that Riku deduced that whoever it was had just entered the balcony area. “As if. The Heartless destroyed the ship. Probably only the three that we picked up survived.” Riku blinked as he realized. They were talking about The Wayfinder! So, the ship really had sunk…

“You underestimate them.” This voice was old, creaky, but still full of power. “The Ones The Prophecy Spoke Of would not be taken down by a meager shipwreck.” Was he… talking about them? The Ones The Prophecy Spoke Of. More confirmation that whatever was happening had something to do with them. The older voice scoffed. “No, they are somewhere here, either in the city or the surrounding cliffs. And we will find them.” Riku furrowed his eyebrows as he listened more. That voice… sounded familiar, somehow. Like from a dream. Or memory.

“You really think these… kids are the ones the Prophecy is talking about?” The other person sounded incredulous. “They’re kids! Half of them haven’t come into their heritage, one actively rejects his heritage and his Magic, and two of them you’ve held before. Not to mention the brothers-”

“I would know more if you told me more,” the older voice warned, cutting off the other person, and the other voice went silent, not attempting to continue what he had been saying. “No matter. They are all touched by Reality, you told me that, thus they must be a part of the Prophecy. Why else would The Council get involved?” The other voice scoffed but didn’t say anything.

Riku flinched as the hand landed on his foot and he snapped his gaze down to look at Roxas, who had crept back up the stairs, watching him in confusion. Riku gestured with his eyes as best he could back towards the balcony and Roxas’s eyes flicked up there as the other voice finally spoke again.

“Should we be concerned about them freeing him and his brother?” The other voice asked and Riku moved a little closer to the sounds. Free who? Who was a prisoner? Was it the person below?

“No,” the older voice said. “He is too worried about his brother’s safety and the brother is too well hidden. That is one thing we don’t have to worry about.” The other voice made a humming sound, contemplative, before the sound of footsteps restarted. For a second, it sounded like they were coming Riku’s way, and he got ready to run, but the footsteps passed by him before slowly fading off into the distance. Roxas tugged on him again, this time on the arm, and Riku swung his gaze back around to glare at the younger boy until he released him.

“What?” Riku hissed once he was sure the people were gone. Roxas looked at him seriously.

“Ven found a door. That place down there?” Roxas jerked his head towards the balcony. “It’s a prison.”

Riku paused. “For who?”

~

Aqua shivered quietly as she made her way down the street. The white buildings towered over her, looking down on her. This whole place felt unnatural.

She bit her lip as she looked around. She had left Vanitas carefully hidden in a cave in the cliffs. He had fallen asleep, still not able to drag himself out of the flashback and Aqua worried about him. It had been years since he had it this bad and it was just putting her on edge more. And she still didn’t know where everyone else was.

Footsteps sounded in the distance and Aqua frowned, pushing herself into the shadows of one of the alleys. So far, she had seen no one but the beasts that roamed, clearly searching for people.

A door opened and Aqua pressed herself back further.

A young woman came around the corner. Younger than Aqua, she had silver hair and a pair of glasses perched on her nose. She seemed… lost.

She sighed once, taking a few more steps forward before pausing and turning her head in Aqua’s direction.

“I know you’re there.”

Chapter Text

Running through the hallway, Kairi didn’t know if she disliked the ocean or the corridors more. While the ocean was cold and dangerous and ran the risk of pulling them out to sea and away from the cliffs and the rest of their families, the corridors didn’t feel much better. They were dark and foreboding and something just itched at Kairi’s mind, making her hunch her shoulders as she and Naminé snuck as quickly as they could through the halls, footsteps barely making any noise. Water dripped from unseen corners, and she swore she saw bugs once or twice. The whole place reeked of abandonment and disuse, or simply apathy. But it couldn’t have been, because there were certain areas that were well maintained. A few of the floors in corners and the door they had entered being the biggest example. No, it was clear that it was certain parts of the underground space had simply been left to degrade on purpose. And honestly, who did that?

The door they had gotten through had opened into a dark and cold hallway, floors cracked and dirty, with barely any light lighting up the foreboding place. Strangely, there was no handle on the other side of the door, and it swung shut behind them, latching closed, only adding to creepy feeling that swept through both of them. With no other place to go, unless they wanted to try and force their way back out and into the ocean, they had started forward, hoping to find both an exit and their friends and family. Because they had to be alive, they had to be. But so far, no luck.

Naminé shivered again as they passed yet another empty crossroad, teeth chattering, and Kairi couldn’t help but agree with her. Not only was it cold, both due to the concrete and them still being wet, but it was also creepy down there. Kairi now regretted not being able to force herself to change her outfit from the day (days? She didn’t know) before, because not only was she now wet and cold, but her dress was also still stained with the same black substance which made her head pound and heart race whenever she looked at it. All she could feel was the rain, pressing down around her, and the claws from the beasts and the feeling of drowning, of loosing breath after breath, unable to get air, and the chattering of the beasts and the unfeeling eyes watching-

“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Naminé asked, breaking through Kairi’s thoughts, as she pressed close to Kairi and Kairi shrugged one shoulder, doing her best to make sure that Naminé didn’t realize she had pulled Kairi from her memories. They were in an unknown area and Naminé was young, stupidly young. As well as Riku’s younger sister. She had to protect the little girl. And that meant being aware at all times. You can’t even protect yourself, how could you protect her?

For some reason, there was a puddle of water in the middle of the hall and Kairi gently steered herself and Naminé around it, hissing insults at her thoughts until they retreated back into her head to torment her at a later date, hopefully when they weren’t so much in danger. They were wet enough already and there was no reason to get more wet. They turned another corner, quick walking slowing for a second as they had whenever they turned a corner. They didn’t know who could be waiting on the other side after all. Kairi’s feet made almost no sound as she crept down the hall, to her great relief, and Naminé’s pattering steps were barely louder than the water drips. One day, she would need to figure out how Naminé was so quiet. It honestly seemed like something she would have picked up from Riku, but Kairi didn’t know what Riku had been like before he was kidnapped. He could have been completely different.

So many things she didn’t know, so many things that could go wrong, so many things that could hurt her family.

“Not really, but we need to find the others,” she told the younger girl after a second, trying to keep confidence in her voice as she tried to find the best words to use to reassure her. “If that means searching this entire place, that’s what we’ll do.”

“We don’t know how big this place is,” Naminé whispered, worry in her tone, and Kairi chose to ignore it. She knew the younger girl was just worried about Xion and Riku, but Kairi was also worried and didn’t need more worries on top of her own.

“Yeah, but Sora will probably make enough noise that we’ll hear him eventually,” Kairi said back, trying for some levity, reaching out a hand to pull Naminé along as they ran down another corridor. If he’s even down here.  They passed another cell, the door open and leaning, though this one didn’t have the rust or cobwebs the others did. It made her shake all the same.

Naminé gasped, footsteps skittering to a stop, and pulled her hand out of Kairi’s grip, darting inside the cell, seemingly unaware or uncaring about the dirt, grime, and danger that cell held.

“Naminé!” Kairi exclaimed, moving forward to try and grab her and pull her out of the cell, but was stopped when Naminé bent down, crouching on the back of her heels, balancing perfectly so her dress didn’t touch the ground at all, and grabbed something, small enough that Kairi couldn’t see it. What could Naminé be looking at?

“Kairi look!” She said, moving back out of the cell and presenting a small charm to Kairi with her palm. It was small, barely longer than an inch, and looked like a blue, sparkly ice cream bar. “This is Roxas’s. He must have been here.”

“It’s Roxas’s?” Kairi asked, hand hovering over the small charm. Her mind went back to the day she had spent with the other boy. She hadn’t ever seen him wearing any jewelry, except for his black stud earrings. Where would Roxas have been keeping it?

“Yeah, part of his necklace.” Naminé cupped the charm delicately in her hands. She smiled down at it and Kairi was abruptly reminded again that Naminé very clearly saw Roxas as family just like Xion and Riku, not just the boy that her sister would marry for unknown political reasons. Though Kairi had an idea. Riku, Naminé, and Xion were far too young to be alone and she hadn’t heard any mention of parents unless recounting certain deaths. She could fill in the gaps. “He keeps it hidden,” Naminé continued at Kairi’s look, smile not leaving her face. “But I was there when Xion made it and gave it to him. He must have been here.” She sounded so certain that Kairi couldn’t find it in her to argue. Not wanting to take that fragile hope from the girl.

“Okay, so Roxas was here, either alone or with others.” Kairi tapped her fingers to her chin as she thought, getting the urge to pace, but not daring to. “So, did someone release him or were they part of whoever imprisoned them? Or Roxas could have just wandered in there to check something and lost the charm.” Were there more than just them and the villains in this area?

“If Roxas was imprisoned in here, he could have released himself with his Keyblade,” Naminé told her, giving her a look of slight bewilderment, like she couldn’t grasp why Kairi didn’t know that, and Kairi blinked in confusion before shaking her head. She would figure it out later. She would make Riku or Sora tell her. They needed to tell her more.

“Well, we’ll just have to see if we find him while we look,” Kairi said, pushing away her worries again. They weren’t going to help. Taking the charm gently from Naminé, she placed it in one of her pockets so she wouldn’t lose it. She was sure Roxas would want it back.

She and Naminé continued down the corridors. She was more at ease now that she knew that there was at least someone else friendly out there. Naminé looked more happy as well, not as much dragging her feet and even the still chattering cold that surrounded both of them could dampen her spirits.

Kairi kept her ears out, thought, and it was this that saved them.

“Wait Naminé,” she hissed out after she heard something. Something that sounded like footsteps. She grasped Naminé’s arm and pulled her back, hiding the two of them quickly behind a corner as a person passed them.

They were wearing a black coat, buttoned up to the top, long enough to hide their feet, and a hood that cast their face into shadow. Naminé gasped quietly from under her arm and Kairi slipped a hand over her mouth. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Naminé, and she didn’t want to hurt the girl, but it reassured Kairi that there was barely any way for them to find them through accidental noises.

Thankfully the person passed them instead of turning down the hallway they were hiding in. Which was good because Kairi didn’t know what they would do then. While she could rather well, she much preferred to do so with a weapon and she didn’t have anything at the moment. When she got her sword back- She wouldn’t. The Wayfinder was sunk beneath the waves.

“That was a person,” Naminé squeaked after Kairi pulled her hand from her mouth, more out of forgetting to hold it there as her thoughts drifted. Kairi nodded silently, pinching herself with her other hand. Get it together. Pay attention. “We’re not alone.” Naminé’s voice was quiet and shaky. Kairi couldn’t help but shiver when she thought back to the person. They seemed so… scary. It might not have been a good thing that they weren’t alone.

Grasping Naminé’s hand again, she pulled the younger girl across the hallway. She wasn’t going to follow the black robed person and going the way they came from could cause them to run into more people. Kairi was more on edge now that she knew there were others in the building. Other hostiles.

“Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to come in here,” Kairi said out loud as she turned another corner.

“Hello?” A voice called and Kairi froze in shock, mind suddenly going several miles an hour, yanking Naminé behind her so hard she worried that she had hurt the girl. Who…? “I heard you,” the voice continued, and Kairi held her breath, heart racing from surprise and worry. “You don’t sound like the people that usually come down here.” Kairi’s eyes slowly dropped down to Naminé, and the girl stared back at her, worry and confusion in her gaze.

Kairi took a few steps forward, looking around the corner that she heard the voice from, but there wasn’t anyone there. Unless they were invisible. She furrowed her forehead in confusion, stepping back to hide around the corner again.

“Where are you?” She called back, as quietly as possible, remembering that there were still others there, but loud enough for the mysterious person to hear them. She didn’t even know why she was responding. “I can’t see you.”

There was a second of silence, then a noise that sounded like a scoff or a quick laugh.

“Well, this is a prison, isn’t it?” The voice responded, wryness in their tone. “It wouldn’t make sense for prisoners to be in the hallways.” Kairi paused at that statement, biting her lip as she thought it over. They didn’t know anything about this person.

Naminé tried to walk past her.

“Naminé, wait,” she hissed out, trying to grab the girl’s shoulders and the little girl turned back to her. Kairi got the sudden feeling that Naminé knew what she was thinking about.

“Roxas didn’t deserve to be in there either,” she told Kairi as seriously as a twelve-year-old could before continuing down the hallway. And Kairi couldn’t not follow her. Riku would murder her.

“Hello?” Naminé called out, walking down the hallway.

“Oh,” said the voice, voice turning up in surprise. “There are more of you.” Naminé hummed in response, before her gaze looked off to the right and she made a squeak in surprise, turning to walk closer to the side of the corridor. Kairi supposed that was where the person was.

“Hello,” Naminé said quietly, reaching out one hand to rest it on the bars of the cell. “We didn’t know anyone else was down here.”

“It’s okay,” the voice responded as Kairi got closer. Her footsteps barely made any sound, and she was as coiled as a tense spring, ready to grab Naminé and book it out of there if it turned out it was needed. “I didn’t know anyone else was down here either.”

Kairi finally got close enough that she could see into the cell, and she blinked in surprise. The person inside the cell wasn’t an adult. Or at least, not completely yet.

It was a young man, perhaps a year or two older than she or Sora. He had silver, bordering on blue hair, that was short and choppy. He was wearing a white button up shirt covered with a grey, sleeveless vest, with dark pants.

His eyes flicked to hers. “Oh, hello,” he greeted her amicably, and she nodded back, not knowing exactly what to say. His eyes dropped back down to Naminé. She found herself not tensing as much as she thought she would. Nothing… about him screamed threat, in any way, shape, or form.

“Do people usually come down here?” Naminé asked and he shrugged slowly. He was sitting on the ground in a crisscross position. In the darkness of the cell, Kairi could only just see that the walls were covered in letters, words, and numbers scratched into the walls, painstakingly done. There were lists of numbers, each under a different letter. Each number, minus the bottom one of the lists, had been scratched out. They went chronologically. Were they… ages?

“Only once a day,” he responded. “To deliver food.” More scratches covered the back wall, right over where the headboard of a bed would be if the cot could be described as a bed. They were names. Ienzo, Even, Lea, Isa, Aeleus. Ienzo was circled, quite frantically and Lea and Isa both had what appeared to be keys drawn under their names with the initial of R and B, respectively. Aeleus had a drawing of what could only be classified as a huge sword. It at least seemed disproportionate compared to the other drawings.

“I’m sorry,” Naminé replied, hand tightening around the bars. There seemed to be an almost invisible, shimmery layer between the bars and the rest of the cell, as if as a second wall. The young man shrugged again.

“I’ve grown used to it,” he murmured, eyes not showing a sign of bitterness or anger. On the side wall, there were a list of… characteristics almost? Words like loud, ice cream, memorized(?), fire were written under the name Lea again while the words moon, quiet, books, and organized were written under Isa. Under Aeleus there were two words. Protective and dead(?) with another question mark written farther under it. It seemed to have been written very shakily. And she used the word “written” loosely. It really looked like the young man had carved straight into the stone. With what, she didn’t know. There was nothing else in the cell except him.

“Why are you here?” Naminé asked and the young man flicked his eyes back up to her, eyebrows furrowing in something that could almost be classified as anger if not for the resigned tinge to it. More like frustration with a pinch of grief.

“My brother,” he admitted, leaning back on one hand and looking up at the ceiling for a brief second, eyes unfocusing like he was trying to see through the stone itself. “They want him to do something for them.” On the floor, countless spirals had been carved into the stone, reminding Kairi more of artwork than anything. They covered every spot of the floor, even the area under the bed.

“Has anyone else passed by here?” Kairi asked, trying to drag her attention back to what they were searching for. They had a purpose, they needed to fulfill it. “Other kids our age or older?” The young man shook his head slowly.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sitting back up to look at them. “No one else except you has been down here. Nor have I heard them.”

“Oh,” Naminé whispered out, looking down, before suddenly blinking in shock and looking back up. “We never told you what our names were. Apologies. I’m Naminé and this is Kairi,” she told the young man.

He smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you, Naminé.” His smile turned bittersweet. “My name is Ienzo.”

Chapter Text

The closer they got to the city; the more Sora was sure he had seen the city before. The lights, the color, the buildings, it tickled the back of his brain incessantly. He knew it from somewhere he just couldn’t remember where. It made his hands twitch and his eyes narrow, and something slammed into the back of his head, screaming remember. It didn’t feel the same as the times when he tried to remember where he and Kairi had come from, instead feeling more like he was grasping at something solid that kept jumping away than of at incorporeal shadows that disintegrated when he touched them.

All that was there in his mind when he thought back was sunshine and colorful buildings. Laughter and a younger girl with brown hair and a yellow dress and smile that looked like his and an older woman who wore Kairi’s hairclips .

Beside him, walking firmly but slowly, Xion hadn’t dropped her arms from where they were hugging herself, though now it was more in an effort to warm herself up than comfort. The sun had fully dropped, leaving only stars scattering through the sky, and all three of them were still wet from their dip in the ocean, no matter how involuntary it had been. Their clothes stuck to them, causing even more shivers to wrack their bodies. He felt the cold as much as Xion clearly did, he was just better at hiding it. He had gotten used to being cold years ago and had never been able to snap himself out of the habit of hiding when he was feeling the effects of the weather. Before, showing that he was cold would only worry Kairi. Now, it was habit. Unhealthy habit, but habit.

Terra, leading them, hadn’t shown any changes either. His gaze remained fixed on the growing closer city; hands curled into loose fists. Sora knew he was worried, but it was also concerning him. He had almost never seen Terra this quiet or focused before. The only time had been when Barbosa had gotten a lucky hit in during a raid, skewering Aqua on a sword when she had moved to protect Vanitas, who had only been on the ship a couple of months and had promptly frozen when Barbosa and his crew had come knocking. Terra hadn’t slept or eaten or said anything for three days until Aqua’s fever finally dropped and she started on the road to recovery. Sora wondered if the silence was from worry about their friends and what they could be getting up to or fear that they weren’t there to wait for them. This silence, despite its implications, didn’t stop Terra from checking in on them every couple of minutes however and Sora was happy for that fact.

Xion shivered again next to him, teeth audibly chattering together, and Sora frowned minutely. He would give her his jacket but that would leave him without any protection against the wind and cold and he would only hurt himself doing that. Instead, he nudged her, going on a base hope and his love of fantasy novels.

“Do you have any fire-based spells?” He asked once her eyes turned to his, remembering the cold spell that he had seen both her and Riku do in the past. Blizzard, was it? The two of them had done it in the heat of battle, but they must been able to do it when not it battle, right? He wondered if it would ever be possible for him to learn to do magic like that. Riku had mentioned it before, so it had to be true.

Xion paused, thinking it over before her eyes lit up, surprise and happiness sparking in them. She raised one hand and Oathkeeper blinked into existence in a shower of sparkles. Terra paused in his walking and looked over his shoulder to watch them carefully.

“Fire,” Xion breathed out, her voice taking on the same quality that Riku’s had when he had cast Cura on Kairi and a small ball of fire appeared in Xion’s off hand. Her fingers curled around it slightly, apparently not bothered by the heat and a smile lit up across her face. She turned to Sora, who was gazing at the fire in disbelief and intrigue. “Hold out your hands,” she instructed, moving Oathkeeper slightly, and Sora did so, cupping his hands together like her one hand was doing. “Fire,” she whispered out again and a small ball of flame manifested in Sora’s hands, causing him to flinch just the slightest bit, mostly from instinct. While not burning him, it did feel like he was holding a warm coal or a torch. Just enough heat to relax him slightly and stop the shivers that had been trying to break out across his body, but not enough to hurt.

Xion turned to Terra, who had seen what had happened and had already held out his hands and a second later, there was a third ball of fire cupped carefully in Terra’s palms. Sending Oathkeeper away with a flick of her wrist, Xion brought her hands together, holding her fire the same way. The good thing about the fire was that it was so small, it barely cast any light, masking the approach of the city as well as it had been without the flames.

“Good idea Sora,” Xion whispered out, holding the ball of flame close to her chest, sending shadows dancing across her face and lighting up her eyes. Sora could see the reflection of the flames in her pupils, burning alongside her emotions. He smiled slightly at her, recognizing the feeling of desperation and slight panic that were found in her eyes, feeling it in himself every second he couldn’t find Kairi or Riku.

“Just thought that going towards a place that could be dangerous while shivering probably wasn’t a good idea,” he joked quietly, trying to keep levity in his voice. Terra’s eyes flicked to him, narrowing slightly, and Sora steadfastly ignored him. Terra knew him well enough to know what he was doing but he couldn’t focus on it now. Neither could Terra. He would be able to sit down and process everything once they were safe somewhere with everyone back together. But until then…

Xion nodded to him, and he dropped his gaze back down to the flames in his hands, a little bit of breathy laughter escaping him. Magic… It was so cool.

“Let’s keep moving,” Terra said quietly after a final look Sora’s way, turning back to start walking again. Sora didn’t move to back away from Xion, instead staying close to her and she smiled at him, tucking the little bundle of flames close to herself. They both could use the comfort of someone else being there right now. They were both missing their siblings.

A second later, Sora noticed that the grass under their feet was slowly transforming into white, cobbled stone, causing their footsteps to start to echo.

“Look,” he whispered and pointing downwards with his head when Xion looked to him. Her eyes searched the grass, then widened when she saw what he saw. “We must be getting close.”

And they were. Up in front of them, the building rose, white and smooth, looking bigger and bigger with every step taken in their direction. Some of them were even bigger than Roxas’s house and that had been four stories tall!

But as they got closer, he noticed something else as well.

“It’s… really quiet,” he murmured in confusion and Xion gave him a look. “Yes, I know it’s late, but at the same time, there should be something.” He squinted his eyes at the city which was rapidly approaching, as if he could sharpen his eyesight and see further. Something started to build in his heart, a warning of some sort. “Someone out late, an animal running down the street, something. Especially in a place this big.” Radiant Garden had never been dead quiet, even on the coldest, most snow-packed nights of winter. There was always something. It was natural.

There was nothing here.

“Stay close,” Terra warned as their feet touched the true road of the city and the two teenagers hurried forward a couple of steps to cluster close. Neither of them was arguing with him. To Sora, the city almost felt colder than the cliff, even though they were mostly sheltered from the wind.

Their footsteps seemed too loud in the silent city, echoing down the road no matter how lightly they stepped. Terra had extinguished his ball of fire by curling his hands fully into fists, Sora being able to tell the man wanted to be prepared just in case something happened, but Sora and Xion still carried theirs, casting both small light and heat, though the light part wasn’t really necessary.

The city itself seemed to glow from the ground up. It was almost like walking through really thin fog. The ground itself seemed to be glowing, light sifting through some unseen cracks, and that effect wasn’t dampened at all by the bright, empty, reflective buildings that surrounded it. Sora shivered in a way that had nothing to do with the cold and looked up to the stars, trying not to focus on the buildings around them. He had seen them somewhere, but he almost didn’t want to know now. Not when the city gave him, and clearly the others, the creeps.

“What is it Sora?” Xion asked and Sora blinked, looking back at her, only to see her look up as well, giving the sky a contemplative look. “There’s nothing in the sky, right?”

Sora shook his head rapidly, a slight flush taking over his face for a second. “No, no, there’s nothing,” he reassured her. “It’s just that… this place is creeping me out and it gives me this feeling…” He trailed off, not knowing how to explain it. How do you tell someone you’ve seen a place before, even when you know that you’ve never been there? How do you explain that without sounding crazy?

“What feeling?” She asked and a grimace crossed his face. Did he really have to explain?

“Like the feeling of… knowing,” he said, trying his best to dance around the topic but also couldn’t bring himself to lie to her. He couldn’t bring himself to lie to anyone. “Like I know this place, but I know that I’ve never been here. Ever.” She gave him a look that was halfway between concern and disbelief. “I know how hard that is to believe but… I just know it.”

“Like your dreams?” Terra asked and both he and Xion jumped. They had forgotten the older man was there. He had paused when they did, turning back to look at them. With the light of the stars, moon, and ground, his hair almost looked silver.

“My… dreams?” Sora asked, thinking back to his journal. While he didn’t talk about his dreams, even to Kairi, everyone knew that he had started to have them a couple of months back. Before even dreaming about his Station of Awakening. It was kind of hard not to know.

But those dreams had been about his Station of Awakening, right? Just a call for his Keyblade. And now that he had it, he should stop having them but that didn’t explain the… drawings in his book… of a city, just like this…

Holy crap. He had seen this place in his dreams.

“What?” He whispered. Suddenly it all made sense. He could see it in his mind’s eye. The white city he dreamed of. The cobblestone paths and the grass by the cliff, two kids standing on the edge. The pictures of it scribbled down in his notebook, the coloring off but not the design. He felt like kicking himself for not realizing it earlier. The sweeping skylines, the cliffs. He could think of at least three drawings back in his book that had that exact picture described in them.

“What dreams?” Xion asked and Sora turned to her slowly. His mind was still reeling from what he had just discovered, and he had to force his hands to stay together in order to keep the fire intact.

“I have dreams,” he told her, voice catching slightly as his mind worked to catch up with his mouth. “Of places and things. But they’ve… they’ve never come true before. I’ve never seen them before. Except for my Station of Awakening.” Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but his mind was taken by yet another thought.

Two days ago, (had it really only been two days?), racing down the path at Scala. Something pulling at his chest, squeezing his heart, and him falling. Him seeing…

This exact place.

He felt his breathing pick up again, in time with his pounding heart. He had seen this place! He had, he had. There had been people, the figure in the black coat and a young woman, talking. They had been in a silver, empty city. The same city that he and his friends were now standing in. They were here, they weren’t alone.

What did that mean? How could he have dreamed about this place? How could he have seen it during the day? He hadn’t been asleep long enough to dream. He had hit his head falling, right? You couldn’t dream from that. Not from blunt force trauma.

“Sora?” Terra asked and Sora flicked his gaze up to him, knowing that the older man would see. From the light of the ground, he could see his panicked eyes reflected in Terra’s. “Are you okay?”

“I saw this place two days ago,” he whispered. “When I fell on the path.” Xion made a noise of surprise and recognition. “An hour before Scala got attacked.” He swallowed shakily. “There were people here.” Both Xion and Terra fell silent at that, and Sora swallowed again, now overtaken by a strange sense of foreboding. Shouldn’t it be a good thing that they weren’t alone in the city? Why did it make him feel so scared? Especially when he thought of the cloaked figure. Why did he shiver everything single time he popped into his head?

In his hands, the fire shook, sputtering quickly.

Footsteps broke through the silence and the three of them turned, Oathkeeper and Kingdom Key flashing to light as panic raced through them.

~

He blinked bleary eyes open. What… What had happened? Where was he? Reaching out a shaking hand, he felt it press up against cold stone and pulled his arm back, curling it into himself as he realized just how cold he was, the recognition of feelings sending shivers down him. The clothes he wore stuck oddly to him and there was a tang of salt in his mouth, making him open and close his mouth several times in an effort to negate the feeling.

Feeling more awake, he slid his eyes open again, this time getting a better view of the stone above him. Was he in a cave? Pushing one hand beneath him, he attempted to sit up only to get a burning pain in his side and chest, causing a hiss of breath. It felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed him in the right side while his chest felt like…

NO!

Ignoring the pain in his side, he shoved himself up into a sitting position. His brother. Where was his brother? Where were the others? The kids? Waves crashed, both outside and in his own memories, and he shoved the myriad of voices that swarmed up from his subconscious back down. Now wasn’t the time for a freakout.

Using one of the cave walls as a crutch, he forced himself up onto shaky legs, hand tightening on the rock when his legs threatened to give out, ignoring the stone that had just stabbed and split open his palm. He needed to get out. He needed to get out.

Moving his hand again, ignoring the bloody handprint it left behind, he grasped another part of the rock face, stumbling forward several steps. He needed… to get out.

Needed to return.

He closed his eyes and focused inwards, trying to separate the outside voice from his internal, conjuring up several painful memories to become a barrier between him and them. Him and her and them and this. Of course, that meant his dreams would be haunted for the next month, but it was worth it.

Walking forward on shaking legs until he was out of the cave, he just managed to stop himself from walking straight off the cliff. He paused for a second, taking a deep breath before forcing himself to go towards the city he already knew the direction of.

He needed to find his family.

Chapter Text

Roxas hadn’t answered his question, much to Riku’s chagrin, and had instead waved him down to follow him. Sending one final look backwards, worry and confusion swirling in him and seeing the balcony as empty as it had been when they arrived, Riku followed Roxas down the stairs, one hand out on the wall for balance. He was beginning to feel what he assumed was a fraction of what Ven was feeling. This whole place felt… wrong. And dangerous.

Ven was curled up at the bottom step in front of an old door, knees pulled up to his chest. His eyes were slightly glassy and Riku stopped beside him, nudging him in the shoulder.

“You okay?” He asked softly and Ven tipped his head up to stare at him, wincing slightly as if the movement hurt him.

“Yeah, I think,” he responded, completely ignoring the pain filled movement he had just made. “The headaches… aren’t as bad here.” Riku angled his head.

“You sure?” Ven simply nodded and Riku reached down a hand instead to help Ven up. Ven took it and for some reason that same shock that had ran through Riku’s hand the first time he met Ven shocked him again. He frowned slightly but Ven had brushed past him to get towards the door by the time he managed to find the right words to say, so Riku simply rolled his wrist, waiting for the shock to fade into white noise again. While it hadn’t happened since that first meeting, Riku couldn’t worry about it now. There was too much going on.

He hummed, allowing the unsaid words to swirl in his head before compartmentalizing them, but simply turned to where Ven was standing in front of the door. “How do you know it’s a prison?” Riku asked, crossing his arms over his chest, and Ven reached out a hand towards the door knob, only to be repelled by a shimmering, faint, silver barrier that covered the whole door, identical to the one below the balcony. Identical to the one over the sky of the maze, that during the lighter days they made games to try and touch.

“That could just be a precaution,” he instead voiced, but he knew it was true. “Perhaps they’re important.” But important how? Important for themself? Or important for others? And what the other voice had said, about rescuing someone and their brother. They had been standing on the balcony when they talked about it, possibly looking down. It could just be a random tidbit but…

“Maybe,” Ven muttered, one hand rubbing a circle in his temple. “But this feels… different. More.” And well, Ven’s weird feelings had gotten them this far. They could have gotten lost in the house instead of finding this place. Though, one could argue they were still lost.

“Would a Keyblade break through this barrier?” Riku asked Roxas, raising an eyebrow at him. Pretending like he didn’t know, like he hadn’t done it himself. In rage and anger and pain- Roxas hummed, eyes roving the walls as he thought, but then shrugged.

“It could,” the other teenager admitted and Riku nodded slowly. While it had never worked back at the maze in the conventional way, but he was everything but conventional, that could have been because Riku wasn’t trained in how to use the more magical aspects of a Keyblade or because there wasn’t really something to unlock. It was just a dome over a huge maze. And he didn’t feel like putting the others in a position to die in order to get the right… motivation for breaking the lock the way he had.

Oblivion flashed into Roxas’s hand and Ven backed up, leaning on the wall next to Riku, allowing Roxas to get a good view of the door. The teenager’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration and a light emitted from the tip of it, turning into a string of light that shot out from the teeth, hit the shimmery barrier, but then went past it after a few seconds of deliberation until it impacted the door. Much like opening Scala. Much like opening a door.

There was the sound of a door unlocking and the silver barrier disintegrated into the air.

“I… wasn’t expecting that to work,” Riku muttered, unable to stop the smallest bit of bitterness from entering his voice, cursing himself in his head, how could he not have realized, he could have saved them, and Roxas gave him a look, banishing Oblivion. In opposition, Riku summoned Way To The Dawn, trying not to think, not to flinch, not to hurt. Prisoner or not, Riku had long since learned to never go into unknown areas without his Keyblade. It saved his life more times than he would like to admit. But it couldn’t save theirs.

Reaching out a single hand, he placed it on the doorknob and, when nothing happened after a few seconds, he twisted it and pushed open the door, the door swinging open under his weight. It made no sound and that somehow put Riku more on edge. He surveyed the room.

The room looked a lot like it did from above, big bookshelves lining the walls and a desk with books and the strange glowing screens dotting the middle of the room. It made him shiver when he realized that there were no other doors and the walls were basically straight up to the balcony area, giving him the impression of standing at the bottom of a very large well. It certainly felt more like a prison cell now. Perhaps, perhaps, Ven and Roxas had been right.

“Hello?” Ven called out and Riku jumped, spinning around to glare at Ven, a scolding on the tip of his tongue, but it was too late. A noise came from behind one of the screens.

“Who’s there?” A voice asked and the man that followed the voice circled around from behind the screen. Riku backed up until Ven was directly behind him, Way To The Dawn held firmly in his grasp, ready in case of anything. Roxas was behind Ven, ready to pull them both out of the room if needed. He hadn’t summoned his Keyblade yet, though Riku didn’t know what he was waiting for.

The man had long blonde hair and green eyes, which swept across the three of them with clear confusion in them. He wore black pants and a tightly buttoned white long-sleeved shirt.

“Who are you?” He asked them, suspicion and slight fear warring in his voice. “And how did you get here?”

“We got attacked,” Riku said slowly after a second, not relaxing an inch. He gazed at the man with the same amount of suspicion he was giving them. This man… what was he doing here? If Ven and Roxas were right… “Our ship was sunk, and we woke up here.” The man narrowed his eyes at Riku, and he tensed up even more. It was clear that this man didn’t believe them.

“Not possible,” the man decided, derision in his voice, taking over the fear. “How could you have even found this place? The amount of Magical Shielding is impenetrable, especially by outsiders.” He turned a little to look back deeper into the room for a second before his eyes flicked back to them. “Although… your Keyblades might mean something else. If one of yours Magics, if you have such a thing…”

“Magical Shielding?” Riku heard Roxas murmur from behind him and he tipped his head back to look at Roxas, raising an eyebrow. It didn’t seem like something that Roxas would be particularly interested in. The other teenager had a look on his face, like he was trying to remember something, but his attention was pulled back when the man moved.

He walked backwards a few steps until he leaned against one of the bookshelves. He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Let’s say I believe you,” he said, watching them carefully. One of his fingers tapped a beat against his arm. “What did you do in order for your ship to get drawn to The City That Never Was?”

Riku blinked, taken aback. “The where?” He asked and the man scoffed quietly.

“This place. It’s what it is called. The City That Never Was.” He frowned at them, now fully analyzing them, suspicion slowly draining away as it became clear they didn’t have any knowledge that would make them a threat. “Bloodlines you could be, but one of you holds a Keyblade too well for that. Unless, of course… You could be from here, but none of the kids…” Riku frowned at the word Bloodlines. Only people from Scala used that…

“Are you from Scala Ad Caelum?” Roxas asked, getting to the same conclusion that Riku had, and the man’s eyes flicked to Roxas so fast that Riku instinctively shifted to the right slightly to try and shield Roxas, as futile as it was. It was a habit he struggled to break, even though it had caused him nothing by pain. Roxas, by some happenstance, had somehow managed to land himself in Riku’s “protect” books. When had that happened?

“Are you?” The man asked and Roxas took a few steps forward, passing Ven, until he was in Riku’s line of sight, nodding. Riku gritted his teeth. He had no right, no right and no need to defend Roxas but… habits were hard to break. And he and Xion and Kairi and Sora and Ven were all so young. “Strange. The Leaders weren’t in the habit of letting kids leave when I was there. The Heir was a strange happenstance and well... We all know how that turned out.”

“Leaders?” Ven asked, the word hesitant and confused, and Riku felt more confusion swirl through his brain. While that was the true title for Saïx and Axel, and Saïx’s parents had in fact gone by Leaders more often than King and Queen, most people called Saïx and Axel Kings for reasons Riku didn’t know. If this man was calling them Leaders…

“The Leaders of Scala Ad Caelum,” the man explained with a hand wave, eyes moving to the ceiling for the quickest second before returning to them. “You should know them…” Riku could see his suspicion starting to come back so he hurried to clarify. If this man truly was from Scala and a prisoner, it would do them no good to alienate him.

“We do, they just tend to go by the Kings,” Riku explained, and the man froze in shock, hand freezing in the air.

“’Kings?’” He questioned quietly, arm dropping to his side, and Riku nodded, his own confusion starting to war with him. Saïx had been King for ten years and while Axel had only become the second King six years earlier, everyone knew it was going to happen. It was… obvious, even to people like himself and the kids at the time, who weren’t as knowledgeable about the rumors and gossip going through the Towers. “What are their names?” The man asked and Roxas and Riku shared a confused glance, silently debating whether or not to trust him. But like before, Ven answered. Maybe he just didn’t feel the sense of confusion that Roxas and Riku were. Or maybe… Ven already had shown some… unusual qualities since arriving here.

“Saïx and Axel,” Ven responded, and the man’s eyes flicked to him. “Why?” The man closed his eyes, sighing low and heavy before opening them again.

“It seems I have been gone longer than I thought,” he told them, a sense of… melancholy taking over the area. “Because when I was there, there were two Leaders and a young prince named Isa with a best friend named Lea.”

Isa and Lea. Saïx and Axel. Riku knew that nobles took Titles. Hell, Roxas and Xion had both taken Titles, Roxas taking his at twelve years old because of his hatred for his given name and Xion out of grief, something Riku still hadn’t forgiven himself for causing. Xion should have had more time with her given name, more time to be a kid than what she got. Not counting everything that had happened in the past couple of days.

“Oh,” Roxas said blankly, and he clearly also understood. “You’ve missed a lot.” The words were blunt but… not untrue. How much had this man missed? The Massacre? Marluxia? How long had he been here?

The man nodded. “Is it a wrong assumption to make that they died the day Scala was attacked?” Roxas shook his head. So, he had been there for the Massacre, if that was what he was talking about. And Riku couldn’t think of anytime else Scala had been attacked, ignoring the day prior. “I had always thought… That they had survived.” The man’s eyes dropped to the ground for a second. “They had always seemed larger than life, though I supposed that was a side effect of their Magic.”

“You… knew them?” Roxas questioned, a slight sense of awe invading his tone, which made sense, and the man looked back to them before nodding once.

“Yes, they took me and brother in and funded my research,” he told them before his face twisted up in displeasure. “Though, that turned out to not be a good thing for myself and Ienzo.” Riku blinked, trying to think back to the name, while Roxas gasped, the biggest expression of shock Riku had ever seen him give. Had he heard the name before? Ienzo? Why did it sound familiar?

“You’re Even,” Roxas said, and the man looked to him in surprise. “Axel told me about you and Ienzo once. He wished he could have saved you.” The man, Even apparently, stared at Roxas, an unknown expression flashing across his face before it returned to, softened, neutrality.

“Lea attempted to save Ienzo, that’s all that matters to me,” Even responded, eyes moving back to the ceiling again for the quickest second. Almost like he was checking for something. Riku shivered as he remembered the men from before. Would they just… come and watch Even? Knowing that he couldn’t do anything about it? Riku swallowed back the feeling of bile in his throat. At least in the maze, no one was watching them. “But tell me, how long has it been?”

“You don’t know?” Riku asked and Even shrugged one shoulder, an expression of uncomfortableness crossing his face.

“I have a vague idea but…”

“Ten years,” Roxas replied and Even made a face for a second before his face smoothed back into neutral.

“Ah,” he said and nothing else and the three of them shifted on their feet, not knowing what to do next.

“I’m Ven,” Ven suddenly said. “We didn’t introduce ourselves. This is Riku and Roxas.” Like Riku predicted, Even’s eyes instinctively slid back over to Roxas from Ven, raising an eyebrow. Of course, someone who was partially raised in the Castle would recognize a Title.

“House…?” Even trailed off, questioningly.

“Speculo,” Roxas replied and Even nodded once.

“The second last Great Noble House standing,” and both Riku and Roxas made a face at this.

“There’s only one left?” Roxas said slowly, as if trying to figure out if this was another thing Even had missed. But no, he had been there for the first attack, he had just confirmed that. He knew about Marluxia. House Flores had died with him, the second his betrayal became clear.

“Lauriam is dead?” Even asked shocked, snapping his head to stare at the two of them and Riku did a double take. One, why was Even calling Marluxia by, what Riku presumed was, his given name? Only family and close friends did that after a Title was taken. Two, even though he was still alive, Marluxia’s status had been stripped and his Heart Bound, at least according to the stories. He wasn’t a part of the Noble House Flores anymore and that meant the end of the House. Titles don’t get stripped as well, unfortunately, so it really should have been Marluxia. There had been whispers that Marluxia’d had a Betrothed before he betrayed Scala, but if they were real, they were most likely dead due to the fact that no one had ever seen them. Or talked about them.

“Why did you call him Lauriam?” Roxas asked, as taken aback as Riku was. Ven’s eyes flicked between the two of them, hopelessly lost.

“That’s his name, isn’t it?” Even asked. “He didn’t choose to take a Title, so why would I call him by one?” Riku flicked his eyes to Roxas’s, asking silently what they were supposed to say. Because that didn’t make sense.

“He did though,” Roxas explained slowly. Even would have been there for this, it happened four years before Even had been kidnapped. Even if Even hadn’t been at the Castle at the time, he would have known about it or learned about it when he came to the Castle.

Even waved a dismissive hand, rolling his eyes, and a displeased expression crossed his face. “That is the person possessing Lauriam, so it doesn’t count.”

...

“The what?!”

Chapter Text

“That’s a nice name,” Naminé replied, voice sounding light and unbothered, but Kairi’s mind was whirling, thoughts going multiple miles an hour. Ienzo, Ienzo. Hadn’t she heard that name before? She was sure she had. But where?

Ienzo chuckled slightly at Naminé’s comment and Kairi allowed her eyes to drop back down to the two of them. “Thank you,” Ienzo said, a small smile on his face. “I happen to quite like it myself.”

“I’m sorry your brother is somewhere here,” Naminé said and Ienzo’s face fell slightly. “My brother and sister are somewhere here as well. I don’t know where they are.” Naminé looked down for a second, before returning her gaze to Ienzo. “I’m searching for them though.”

“Are they wandering like you are?” Ienzo asked and Naminé shrugged, fingers tapping on the bar she was holding, a movement eerily similar to something Riku would do on the railing of The Wayfinder. Well, they were siblings. Ienzo has a brother, Kairi thought. This sounded familiar…

“’The five forced to the enemy’s side’,” Xion whispered out. Kairi raised her head along with Sora. “While I don’t know the other three, two of them could be Ienzo and Even. Or just Even.”

“You’re Ienzo,” Kairi stated, suddenly remembering the conversation the five of them had after speaking with Saïx and learning the prophecy. All the revelations that had come from that day. The name sounded unfamiliar on her tongue, even to her, and she winced slightly at the way she pronounced it but continued on. “From Scala.” Ienzo’s eyebrows shot up and he leaned forward.

“Yes,” he said slowly, head tipping ever so slightly to the side. His hands laced together in his lap and his expression was suddenly a lot more guarded. “How do you know of it?”

“Xion told us about you,” she replied. “She’s from Scala, just like Naminé here and a few others. Axel had told her and Roxas about you and your brother.”

“Axel,” Ienzo muttered, eyebrows furrowing together as he mulled over the name, stretching the syllables slightly, and he looked back for a second, gazing at the list of names carved into the wall. “He would be older, wouldn’t he? But why a Title? Unless…They always liked each other.” His eyes shifted over to a different name on the wall. Kairi paused in her thinking, frowning. She had no idea what Ienzo was saying.

“What are you doing here anyways?” Ienzo suddenly asked, seemingly dropping the thought he had been previously thinking. His eyes turned back to her. He seemed to be brushing past the whole “Scala” thing, which was… strange. “I doubt you just walked here. Luxord told me this place was an island so…”

“Our ship sunk,” Kairi explained, taking his lead and changing the subject. She had many questions she wished to ask, wished to question how he was here, where he was, how did this place connect to Marluxia and the others besides the beast. But she refrained, able to tell that he didn’t want to talk about it, so she wouldn’t push. “It was attacked by beasts in the water. We got separated from our friends in the wreckage.”

“The Heartless?” Ienzo questioned, tipping his head to the side and narrowing his eyes. “What did you do to attract the attention of the Heartless?”

“Heartless?” Naminé muttered and Ienzo nodded.

“That’s what they are called,” he told them, raising one hand and making a gesturing motion with it. “Black things, yellow eyes, about this tall, in their normal forms at least.” At their nods, he sighed and dropped his hand. “Or at least, what my brother calls them, but he was told their name from someone else, so I suppose it could not be their name, but I trust my brother.” He shrugged ever so slightly, eyes dipping to the ground for a second.

“To answer your question,” Kairi interjected, backtracking slightly. “We just escaped Scala, which was attacked by those creatures.” Ienzo’s head snapped back up to her at that and there was concern in his gaze.

“What happened?” He asked and Kairi could only shrug. So he wasn’t against talking about Scala but perhaps against talking about himself or his brother. Still, she couldn’t tell him much about what he wanted to know. She didn’t know that much either.

“The creatures just attacked,” she said, biting the inside of her cheek and trying not to think of the panic that had overtaken her senses as she ran down the wet street, hand in hand with Sora and ducking away from magic and Keyblades fighting against ripping, tearing monsters. “Axel said something about the prophecy and something about Marluxia, but I wasn’t paying that much attention.” Her voice dipped a little in embarrassment. “I’ve had… bad experiences with the beasts.”

“Prophecy,” Ienzo murmured. “That’s the first I’ve heard of something like it. Though, whatever they have my brother doing has to do with Marluxia in some way. He doesn’t like talking about it, when we’re allowed to see each other, but I’ve picked up a few things here and there.” One of his hands rose to his face, a finger tapping his cheek.

“Marluxia attacked Scala,” Naminé said quietly, and Kairi’s hand rested on one of the younger girl’s shoulders. She could remember what Xion had told them, about hers and Naminé’s father and how he died. “He killed the Leaders and hurt his Betrothed.” Kairi blinked in shock at that. Due to Roxas and Xion, she had a good idea what being a Betrothed meant as well as having one. Marluxia had hurt the person he loved? Were they trying to stop him?

Though, there might not have been feelings involved. Xion and Roxas didn’t love each other, at least Kairi didn’t think so. But then… why get Betrothed? Also, what was Naminé talking about?

“Killed the Leaders?” Ienzo asked, shocked and Naminé nodded slowly. Ienzo sat up, leaning forward again. “How long ago was this?”

“Ten years,” Kairi answered, trying to remember more of her conversation with Roxas and Xion. At least, she assumed Naminé was referring to the attack ten years ago. Because… Axel and Saïx couldn’t be dead. They just couldn’t. Ienzo closed his eyes for a second before opening them.

“Ten years,” he murmured before looking back up at them. “The time Marluxia attacked Scala?”

“The first time,” Kairi corrected, trying to create the timeline in her head with her limited information. “He attacked a few days ago. Along with the Heartless.”

Ienzo paused again, eyes closing as he mumbled something under his breath, clearly trying to figure something out.

“How’d you know Marluxia had a Betrothed?” Kairi asked Naminé quietly, crouching down so she was more at Naminé’s level. If this had happened ten years ago, the girl would have been two. Maybe it was something that was just known but… Xion, Roxas, or Riku had never brough it up, despite the few times they had talked about it. Also, why would Naminé bring it up? Sure, the girl was a little strange, but that was random even for Naminé. The younger girl paused before turning back to her, confusion swimming in her eyes.

“I don’t… know,” Naminé told her, words stuttering in shock as if she just realized that fact. “I just… knew. I think I drew it once.” Kairi paused at that. Due to the past couple of weeks, she had seen many crazy things and realized that many things were possible that should really be impossible, but this pushed that barrier even more.

Kairi opened her mouth to say more only to be interrupted when footsteps echoed through the hallway again. Ienzo shot to his feet and Kairi felt her hands circle around Naminé’s shoulders, tugging her backwards. People, people who could hurt them.

“Go! Get out of here!” Ienzo hissed quietly at them, worry and fear coloring his voice, and Kairi took the invitation, pulling Naminé behind her as she hurried down the hallway, turning the corner and slamming her back against the wall, making sure she was between Naminé and the place where someone would pass just in case they headed this way.

The footsteps grew longer and then paused, slowing to a stop and Kairi didn’t dare breathe. Had they seen something? Did they know that Kairi and Naminé were here? Ienzo didn’t say anything either, at least nothing that Kairi could hear, so Kairi had to believe that meant that the person hadn’t started walking toward them, no matter how much it grated on her to have to rely on someone they just met. Ienzo seemed nice but she didn’t know him.

A second later, the footsteps started up again and this time, they were fading off into the distance. Kairi allowed herself to relax just the slightest bit but didn’t fully until the footsteps were completely gone. She looked down at Naminé and was hit with a revelation.

“I keep pulling your arm,” she mentioned, slight anger and hatred aiming itself at her, and Naminé looked up at her. “Does it hurt?” Naminé shook her head slowly, reaching out to take Kairi’s hand.

“I know you’re just worried,” Naminé whispered, and Kairi nodded, taking a step back towards the hallway to peer out. Despite the footsteps being gone, she didn’t want to take a chance. But there was no one there, so she allowed Naminé to run ahead, back to Ienzo’s cell, though she stayed close.

“You’re okay,” Ienzo sighed as Naminé reappeared in his field of vision and the little girl nodded. Ienzo didn’t sit back down, instead backing up slightly to pace back and forth. Now standing, Kairi could really get a sense of how small the cell was. Ienzo could probably only take six steps across the width of the room before being forced to stop and turn around.

“Who was that?” Kairi asked and Ienzo made a face. His hands shook slightly and he ran one of him through his hair before turning back to her.

“I don’t know how many of them there are, but they seem to run this place, probably under their master’s, whoever they are, supervision,” Ienzo explained, with the confidence of someone who had seen it over and over again. “They all wear the same thing and never talk, except for Luxord. They seem… cold, if you understand that.” Kairi nodded slowly. She understood what Ienzo was saying, at least in some capacity. But…

“Who’s Luxord?” She asked and Ienzo blinked in surprise, perhaps not realizing that he had said the name.

“One of the people, in the coats,” he said, voice going gentler for a second. “He’s nicer than the others, at least to me. He gives me information and helped me track the time I’ve spent here.” Kairi frowned and crossed her arms. Ienzo waved a hand dismissively, able to guess what she was thinking. “I know that he’s part of the group keeping me captive, but I don’t know anything about him. He could have been forced into staying here, he could have family members taken captive like me and my brother. All I know is that he’s helpful and nice, so I try not to think about anything more of it.” Kairi sighed, hating it slightly that he was right, and uncrossed her arms, one of her hands landing on Naminé’s head. The girl didn’t protest so she didn’t remove it.

“Never mind that anyway,” Ienzo continued. “You two need to leave.”

“What about you?” Naminé asked, reaching out one hand and wrapping it around the bars again. Ienzo smiled sadly and took a few steps forward, reaching back slightly, his hand being stopped by the silver barrier. He flinched and pulled his hand back, closing it into a loose fist that hovered in the air.

“I don’t matter,” Ienzo said quietly and Naminé made a small noise of protest. “What I mean is that they won’t kill me. They need me to control my brother, as infuriating as it is. You two don’t have that same protection. You need to find your family and leave.” His face twisted. “I can’t stand it if I see another person die when their death could have been preventable. I’ve heard enough about it in the past ten years.” He reached his hand out again, stopping it right before the silver barrier. It was a couple of inches from Naminé’s. “Please.” Naminé looked like she was going to argue but Kairi’s hand slid down from her head to her shoulder.

“Okay,” she replied, just as quiet. Naminé spun to her, face alight with shock and betrayal, but she understood Ienzo. Who had him captive could not afford to kill him, not if they wanted to keep his brother’s cooperation. They, on the other hand, were in this place because someone had tried to kill them by sinking The Wayfinder. If they were caught, they would be dead. No bargaining, no questions. Which meant they couldn’t stay there.

“We’ll come back,” Kairi promised, a strange feeling of boldness going through her. This feeling that went through her, a feeling of… injustice, at Ienzo’s situation, at his unnamed brother’s situation. She usually wasn’t this quick to trust people but… Ienzo was different. For some reason. And yes, this could be some huge elaborate scheme, but Kairi didn’t think so. There would have been no time for whoever it was to concoct a plan like this in the time since the wreck, which had only been an hour or two at most. And the whole point of sinking The Wayfinder was to kill them. Why create a different plan if they just wanted them dead?

“We’ll come back for you,” she continued, seeing the tiniest spark of hope in Ienzo’s eyes. Sora, you’ve rubbed off on me too much. “When our friends are back and more powerful, we’ll come back. For you and your brother.” Ienzo paused before nodding once slowly.

A promise forged.

Kairi let go of Naminé’s shoulder and instead offered her hand to the younger girl. Naminé paused for a second, still looking at Ienzo before nodding slowly and taking Kairi’s hand.

“We’ll come back,” the little girl repeated and Ienzo smiled.

“I have no doubts,” he replied and Naminé swallowed before looking away and Kairi started walking down the corridor opposite of the one they had entered from. They were still looking for an exit, it wouldn’t make sense to go back to where they knew one wasn’t.

Ienzo didn’t say anything else as they left.

~

A low growling broke through his thoughts, and he had a second to think about, then recognize, the sound behind him, before the beast tackled him, slamming him into the ground. The beast’s claws dug into his back, deep enough to pierce, but not to do actual harm. The unnatural coldness that always radiated from them swept through him and he snarled, pushing one hand off the ground to flip onto his back, attempting to grapple the creature above him, shoving back memories and dreams.

But just like before, the beast slipped right through his hands, its yellow eyes glaring down at him almost in accusation. He gritted his teeth but allowed his arms to land back at his sides. There was nothing that he could do against the creature, and he knew it. Not true, not true. You could summon it, you could bring out your Heart, regain your heritage.

Panting through his exhaustion, he, for a second, let his eyes close, trying not to look up at the constellations. The ground was cold, but not wet like he was, and he imagined that he was back on The Wayfinder, far away from all the chaos that Riku had brought with him the second he stepped onto the deck. The chaos that you had once, that you hated, that you loved, that was as much a part of you as the heritage in your bones and the blood in your veins.

But thinking of The Wayfinder only made him think of his brother and the worry that he had long since tamped down started to rise again. He hadn’t needed to be worried about his brother’s safety to this extreme for five years, he wished it had remained that way. Every second that his brother wasn’t in his sight was a second that he could be hurting, alone, cold, or dead. Just like years before, the fear started creeping up into his mind and well… his family had always said he did the best thinking while scared.

A blur leaped over him and tackled the beast that had been leaning on him. It snarled and the beast didn’t do anything for a second, clearly taken aback by the appearance of the other creature, but it eventually pinned its ears back and attempted to try and get back to its target.

Attempted.

He turned away, forcing himself back to his feet, looking back towards the city as the sound of the creature tearing the beast apart echoed down the empty air. He could feel the brush of air that came from once the beast was destroyed and then the feeling of the creature disappearing.

He shook himself. It didn’t matter right now. What mattered was finding where his family went.

And nothing, not even the voice outside his head, was going to stop him.

Liar.

Chapter Text

“Terra? Sora?” A voice asked from behind them and the three of them spun around to see Aqua coming around a corner from a building behind them. Sora gasped, the air abruptly shoved from his lungs, and Terra took off, running a few paces before he could wrap his arms around Aqua and hug her tightly. The two of them stumbled slightly from the force of the hug. She returned it with just as much enthusiasm as Xion and Sora hurried over to see her.

“Aqua!” Sora exclaimed, doing his best to look at the captain when she was still dwarfed by Terra’s hold on her. “You’re okay!” A pressure he didn’t know he had in his chest released slightly. One of his family members was okay.

“You’re okay!” She responded, clasping one of her hands with Terra’s as he released her, telling him something with her eyes that Sora was never able to interpret. “I was so worried when I couldn’t find any of you. I didn’t know what happened to you.”

Sora, realizing that the hug between the two older adults was over, took the final couple of steps and threw his arms around Aqua, hugging her tightly. She made a noise of surprise but a second later, one of her hands rested on his back and hugged him just as tightly to her.

“I was so worried,” Sora murmured, feeling the reflexive tears start to build in his eyes and clog his throat. His arms tightened around her. “You could have died.” She paused before sighing, sounding tired.

“I’m sorry I worried you, Sora,” she told him, her hand rubbing soothing circles on his back, something she had often done after nightmares in his childhood. “I didn’t mean to.” He released her and stepped back, swiping the back one hand across his eyes to brush away the few tears that had escaped. “But me and Vanitas-”

“’Tas is with you?” He cut her off, the childish nickname for Vanitas that sometimes slipped out of Ven’s mouth while he was still locked in sleep accidentally making its way into the world. While Vanitas always got the strangest look on his face when Ven said it, he had never truly objected to it, but the teenagers knew to use it sparingly. Like everything else with Vanitas, it was a guess whether or not it was acceptable.

“Not with me, with me,” Aqua said, already seeing Sora’s attempts to look behind her to try and find the older boy. “I left him in a cave by the cliff. He was asleep and…” She trailed off, a complicated look passing over her face. “He’s having a very bad attack,” she told him seriously and both Terra and Sora froze. While Sora had no memories of Vanitas’s worse flashbacks that he used to get, due to being young and purposely kept away from them by Aqua and Terra, he knew that they could be very bad and very debilitating. Not the greatest thing to have while in a hostile environment and separated from the others.

“Something triggered him badly,” Aqua continued, clearly biting the inside of her cheek. “I don’t know if he’ll snap out of it when he awakens.” Terra made a face, a cross between concern and something Sora couldn’t identify before nodding.

“We’ll figure it out,” Terra said and Aqua nodded back to him.

“Aqua?” A voice called out and Terra, Xion, and Sora froze up. “You ran off.” Aqua on the other hand, relaxed slightly and smiled, turning back towards where she had run from. Coming around the same corner was a young woman with long, silver hair. She had an orange shirt and a long, cream-colored skirt. Black straps crossed over her shirt.

“Vala!” Aqua called back, raising an arm in greeting. The woman spotted them and started to walk over, caution in every one of her movements. “This is Vala,” Aqua told the three of them, turning back to them, gesturing to the woman with her hand. “She helped me find you.”

“Does she… live here?” Terra asked, sliding the tiniest bit in front of Sora and Xion.

“Yes,” Aqua answered, an understanding expression crossing her face. “But there’s nothing bad about her.” She let go of Terra’s hand and instead placed it on his shoulder, no doubt seeing what he was doing. “She was helping me.”

Vala stopped a few feet from them, watching Terra warily. Sora could see now that she had glasses perched on her nose and… and…

“I thought I told you that I was busy today,” the black figure said, the voice old and croaky. The figure turned but not closer to Sora. Instead, he turned around and Sora caught the shape of a young woman with long silver hair and glasses coming around another corner.

“I know,” she said softly. “But…”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Vala said softly, reaching one hand up to adjust her glasses. “Aqua was looking for you. I’m glad she found you.”

“Why are you helping us?” Terra asked and a complicated expression flashed over Vala’s face.

“I just want you to leave as soon as you can,” she replied, eyes moving to the side for the quickest second. “It’s not safe here for you.”

“Why is that?” Xion asked and Vala paused, moving her gaze from Terra to the two younger kids.

“The people here… aren’t great,” she responded, sounding like she was swallowing glass as she said it. “And they haven’t been for a long time.”

“I know you,” Sora blurted out suddenly, the memory bouncing around in his head. His mouth moved without his permission, and he immediately got the urge to cover his mouth with his hand. Where had that come from? While Aqua and Terra turned back towards Sora with confused expressions, Vala narrowed her eyes.

“What’s your name?” She asked slowly and Sora tipped his head to the side slightly in confusion. Not exactly the response that he had been expecting when he had suddenly said that he knew her. Which, he shouldn’t have done that. What had even empowered him to do that?

“Sora,” he replied, and she relaxed, ever so slightly as a quick expression of sadness found its way into her eyes before being banished.

“Then I’m afraid I don’t know why you know me,” she told him gently. “I’ve lived here almost my entire life. Me and my twin.” Sora paused for a second. He could explain and deal with the consequences or make up a lie about why he said that. While he didn’t like lying, he didn’t know if anyone would believe him. Then again, all of their definitions of “normal” had been thoroughly thrown off the ship due to the past couple of days.

“I’ve seen you,” he said quietly, deciding to take the plunge. Maybe she knew something. Maybe she was magic and that was how he could see her. It was her, not him. It couldn’t be him. “In my dreams.” Aqua’s eyes widened at the admission while Terra tipped his head in confusion. Xion simply watched them, having none of the prior knowledge about his dreams that Aqua and Terra had.

“Dreams?” Vala asked and Aqua hummed.

“I thought those dreams had something to do with your Keyblade,” Aqua said, referencing what Sora had told her and the others after his talk with Riku, and Vala’s hands twitched, eyes widening again for another second before returning back to normal. She seemed a lot like Vanitas in that regard, an expression of neutrality the normal expression that graced her face.

“Some of them, yes,” Sora told her. “But others… Axel seemed confused, at least, when I brought them up. Like he wasn’t expecting them.”

“And these dreams… had me in them?” Vala asked, hands coming together and interlocking.

“You and others,” Sora responded. Vala furrowed her eyebrows, about to say something, only to be cut off when a dark, growling sound started up. Vala looked backwards in surprise.

“Heartless,” she hissed out and Terra paused.

“What?” He asked and she looked back.

“Heartless,” Vala repeated, hands moving to grab her skirt and pull it out of the way of her feet. “Beasts that roam this place. They’ll hurt you if they find you. Come on.” She turned and started hurrying deeper into the city and the four of them exchanged glances before running after her.

“Do you think that the Heartless are the same creatures that attacked us at Scala?” Xion asked under her breath as they ran, and Sora thought it over.

“Maybe,” he replied. “But we won’t know until we see one.”

Vala paused a second later, pressing her back to a wall of a building and peering around the edge. “There,” she muttered and gestured with her head. Sora, along with the others looked around the corner to see the same creatures that had attacked Scala. “Heartless.”

“Looks like you were right,” he murmured to Xion who nodded shakily. She didn’t look too happy to be right.

“Are they everywhere in the city?” Terra asked and Vala shook her head.

“They usually aren’t here at all,” she responded. “Years ago, they wouldn’t ever come close to the city.” Her eyes slid downward, sadness taking over her face. “But in the past couple of years, they’ve come close and closer and well…” She gestured backwards. “They sometimes come into the city at night, but not this deep into the center.”

“They’re looking for us,” Aqua said and Vala nodded, the shadows crossing her face for a second.

“It seems like it.” Aqua pulled Sora back into the shadows as the Heartless turned again, its yellow eyes scanning the area around it. Aqua turned to Vala.

“Vala, we need to get out of this place,” she said quickly. “Is there any place to do that from?” Vala thought for a second before perking up.

“There’s the harbor,” she told them. “Ships usually come about once every two weeks and deliver food and the like. I don’t know if there will be any ships there now, but you could check.” Aqua looked back at Terra and he nodded.

“Then, we’ll go there.” Vala smiled slightly before motioning with her hand.

“It’s this way.”

Vala led them through the expanse of the city, ducking into shadows and alleys in order to evade the Heartless roaming the streets. Sora’s thoughts strayed back to their still missing friends. Were they okay? Had they been found by the Heartless? Or whoever was controlling them? His footsteps picked up as Vala’s did, her clear worry infecting the rest of them. He couldn’t help the wonder that went through him. She lived in the city, had lived there for who knew how long. Why was she scared of her own home?

They turned the corner and-

-he laughed, the cobblestone clacking under his feet as his siblings ran with him, the rain pounding down on them doing nothing but excite them. Vali slipped as they ran down the stairs, his laughter abruptly cutting off for a second as he threw out his hands, an Aero spell escaping from them in order to support him. Vala’s head twisted slightly, looking back to her twin in concern, but he waved her off easily, the last vestiges of the spell causing slight wind currents to blow through their hair.

Hoder huffed in surprise as the white hair blew in front of her eyes, the glare she gave Vali all twelve-year-old bluster and Vali rolled his eyes in return.

Above them, lightning flashed, causing all their eyes to reflect white for a second. A moment later, the thunder rumbled over them, causing reverberations through their bones. He tipped his head back and laughed again, feeling the rain soak his black hair.

The five of them eventually managed to get down the set of stairs, tumbling their way into the square that the stairs deposited into, slipping on the wet concrete and feet tripping over themselves. True, they should probably be more cautious of injuries than they were, but magic danced at the ends of all their fingers and all of them had some sort of scar from training. Injuries didn’t scare them as they used to.

Vidar turned around as he landed on the level ground, immediately having to throw himself out of the way as Hoder took the opportunity to pounce on Vali, sending the two of them spinning to the wet ground. Lightning flashed again as he did nothing to stop the laughter that continued to make its way out of his mouth. Vala moved to help her twin and Vidar’s hands flashed cold as ice started crawling on the ground. Hoder backed up, leaning on Vidar’s shoulder and Vala pulled her twin up, the four twelve-year-olds giving each other challenging grins. He backed up, eyes moving between the two sides. He could help, he really could.

…Or he could make it worse.

Reaching into the familiar warmth that settled in his chest, he brushed aside the weapon and instead brought forth several of his creatures. They landed on the ground, roaring playfully, already aware of the situation due to his emotions and the four others scattered, laughter picking up again as thunder split the sky. Hoder shouted something about betrayal, and he looked over to reply, eyes catching on one of the reflective surfaces of the building nearby.

That wasn’t his face-

Sora’s feet stumbled underneath him, and he threw his arms up in a desperate attempt to stop himself from getting too injured when he inevitably impacted hard on the stones making up the street, but a hand wrapped around the back of his jacket and yanked him back to standing, the two of them skittering to a stop.

“Sora?” Terra asked, leaning down as Sora turned to look at the older man, his hand still clenched on Sora’s jacket. “Are you okay?”

Sora blinked. Had that been…? Another…?

“Yeah,” he stuttered out after a second, rolling his shoulders back. That was Vala. Vala and a few others. And they were… here? And safe?

What is happening?

Terra gave him a dubious look, but nodded once, gesturing for Sora to start moving again. The two of them moved back into time with the others, who had slowed down slightly when Terra and Sora had stopped. Aqua gave them a curious look, but Terra simply shook his head.

Sora tried to put the thoughts out of his mind. They were in a dangerous place, and they couldn’t afford any distractions.

What was happening?

Vala stopped a couple of minutes later, slowing to a stop as they crossed from city to grass again. They had crossed the whole city. A path stretched out in front of them for a couple of meters before sloping downward to where a staircase started.

“Down there,” Vala said, pointing at the staircase. “The harbor is down there.” She paused. “I can’t go any farther.”

“Why not?” Aqua asked, turning back to look at Vala as Terra and Xion started walking towards the staircase.

Vala shook her head slowly, a sadness taking over her eyes. “I can’t leave the city.” At Aqua’s questioning look and opening mouth, Vala smiled slightly. “It isn’t rules keeping us in the city,” she said gently, and Sora shivered at that for some reason. “I assume that you won’t leave anyone else that you came with. If I see any of them, I will lead them this way.” Vala turned away only to pause and look back at Sora.

“Sora,” she started gently. “I don’t know why you have seen me and possibly my friends in your dreams, but I have a hypothesis. Would you like to know it?” Sora nodded vigorously. I’ve seen you in the past, I saw you now. Tell me, why? “What do you know of Magic, Sora?”

“Magic?” Sora asked. “My friend can do magic. Like healing people.”

Vala shook her head. “Not magic, Magic.” It almost felt like a sweeping breeze the way she said it. “Magic is much more than simple magic is. It is unique to each person and highly powerful.” Her smile turned sad. “I had a friend once that could do Magic. His capabilities were only limited to his energy. His beasts were the most powerful things I had ever seen.”

A growling sound split through the air and Vala looked back for a second, before looking back to Sora.

“Find someone who knows what Magic is,” she instructed him, hand curling in her skirt again. “They will be able to explain it to you.” She finally turned and left, running back into the city with part of her skirt clenched in her hand.

“Sora?” Aqua asked quietly after the younger boy didn’t move. “You okay?”

He shook his head ruefully, a mix of Vala’s words from now and from his visions swirling in his head. “I can’t be normal, can I?” He asked slowly. “First I’m a Bloodline, and now I have this… Magic.” He felt Aqua’s hand settle on his shoulder.

“There’s nothing wrong with that,” she told him, starting to guide him towards the staircase where Terra and Xion were waiting. “You are who you are and there’s nothing wrong with that.” Sora started walking on his own, causing Aqua to drop her hand. “And you can ask Riku about it when we find him. I’m sure it’s nothing big.”

Sora nodded to her, only partially believing her words as the four of them started down the staircase. He looked up from his feet, gazing out to see a harbor nestled carefully against the cliffside. It wasn’t busy at all. In fact, there was nothing there.

Except…

He gasped at the same time Xion did, the two of them spotting it at the same time.

“The Wayfinder!”

Chapter Text

“The what?!”

Even blinked in surprise at his and Roxas’s outburst, leaning back slightly and raising an eyebrow. He looked shocked, like he wasn’t expecting the two of them to react how they were. And Riku couldn’t believe it. That or what Even had said.

Marluxia was possessed?

By who? What? How and where. Why?

Was it even possible?

Even’s face slid into something more neutral after a second, which seemed to be his automatic emotion. “Ah, I suppose that wouldn’t be as well known, would it?” He asked rhetorically. His hands tapped against the bookshelf he was leaning on. “That makes sense. I didn’t know that until I came here, after all. I must have forgotten.”

“Back up,” Roxas said, raising one hand in a “stop” motion. Riku’s hands curled into fists, his nails biting into his palms as he worked to force his thoughts back into something rational. He needed to know these things, needed to be thinking straight. “Marluxia, the person who has now attacked Scala twice. Who is the villain of all the stories. Whose very name is usually avoided saying because of what he did… has been possessed for ten years?”

“Fourteen, actually,” Even corrected absentmindedly, eyes roaming to the side for the quickest second, like that was any better. “Most people seem to forget that Marluxia was banished four years before he attacked Scala.” Riku swallowed, trying to make his voice work. He needed to ask questions, needed to know what was happening.

“So, he’s Marluxia now?” Ven questioned quietly, voice riddled with confusion, clearly with the intent of not being heard, but Even’s eyes snapped to him anyways. Out of all of them, Ven seemed the least shocked by the news, probably because he wasn’t from Scala like the rest of them.

“You are familiar,” Even said mildly after a second, causing Ven’s mouth to drop open in shock, but the older man brushed past what he had just said, waving a hand. “Lauriam is the person from before fourteen years ago. Marluxia is whoever is possessing him now. Or controlling him, is a more accurate term. Lauriam’s consciousness is still there, mostly, after all. Possession is much more… messy, than people like to believe.”

“I think we need an explanation,” Riku asserted, leaning forward to place both of his hands on the desk in front of him, seeing both Roxas’s and Ven’s shock, though they were for very different reasons. And it wasn’t like Riku wasn’t confused either. First, when would Even have ever interacted with Ven? Second, who was possessing Marluxia? Why?

Even sighed, sounding put off, before pushing himself away from the bookshelf and instead walking over to one of the other desks, which seemed to be his main one, grabbing one of the books and opening it, flipping through the pages. Roxas and Ven took a couple of steps forward so they could look, being closer to Riku and thus Even. Even stepped forward, eyes still on the pages of the book as he flipped through them. Which, Riku now realized, though he was reading upside down and slightly on an angle, was actually full of handwritten notes and pictures, all presumably done by Even. So, not a book, but a journal. Well, he had been taken for his knowledge after all.

“Here,” Even said, placing the book on the desk in front of Riku and spinning it so they could see it. There, drawn over two pages, was a rough outline of what a Station of Awakening would look like, an indistinguishable picture of a person drawn on it. It looked a lot like the one that Riku saw in his dreams, no doubt the same with Roxas. The difference with it though, was the fact that this one was shattered into pieces, held together by almost band-like lines connecting each piece of glass. Cramped writing was scribbled in the margins, several different words crossed out and replaced, each with different types of pencil markings.

“This is what happened to Lauriam’s heart.” He pointed down at the drawing, tracing the lines that connected the broken pieces. The picture was done in surprisingly steady pencil lines, highlighting each different part of the Station of Awakening. “In using the technique, Dive to the Heart, whoever it was connected to Lauriam’s heart, broke it, and imposed their own will on it by changing the way each piece connected to each other.”

“That matters?” Roxas murmured and Even sighed, muttering something that Riku couldn’t catch.

“Yes, it matters,” Even stressed, fingers rapping on the table in an impatient beat. “Your Station of Awakening isn’t just a representation of your Heart, it is also the resting place for your Keyblade, the holder of all your memories, many of which are connected to people, and the main control hub for emotion connected to magic. These pathways, which have been taken over, using the Dive to the Heart, allows whoever it is to have access to the rest of the Mind and body, allowing the Soul to be corrupted and taken over.”

Riku shivered involuntarily at that and could see he wasn’t the only one perturbed by the idea of it. Having someone find your Station of Awakening, break it, and then use it to control your body just made him feel… icky. The Station of Awakening is so important, clearly even more than he had known if Even was right.

And if this had happened to Lauriam…

“What’s a Dive to the Heart?” Ven questioned and Even paused, one hand coming up to his chin for a quick second. Riku and Roxas both blinked, turning to Ven for the quickest second. Riku bit in the inside of his cheek. It hadn’t even occurred to him to ask…

“It’s…” Even seemed at a loss for the first time. “Think of it like a way into the Heart. It’s a lot more complicated than that, but at the basic level, it allows someone to access the Heart of another person who is in a lot of emotional, physical, or mental stress.” He reached out and flipped one of the pages, revealing the words Dive to the Heart emboldened on top of it, with a list of several different occurrences, no doubt examples of when it could happen. “It was developed by private researchers sponsored by the Crown, taking inspiration from an older technique used during the war, in an effort to discover ways to help people who could benefit from outside intervention when it was necessary, like people who could often get overwhelmed by their Magic. This ‘control’ the Dive to the Heart would give them was often rudimentary and most often simply used to either get the person out of a dangerous situation or force them into some version of unconsciousness, for their safety or the safety of those around them. This Dive to the Heart used on Lauriam is… different, more controlling, more forceful. More permanent. Almost more like the version of it from the war that it took inspiration from.”

“And this happened fourteen years ago?” Riku questioned slowly and Even nodded.

“Fourteen years ago, the Heir to Noble House Flores was granted special permission to leave Scala for an indeterminate amount of time. The reason for this is unknown but it was speculated it was because of grief. The rest of House Flores had been wiped out a couple of months earlier by the plague that swept through Scala. He was gone for three months.” Even leaned forward again, hand landing on the book. He flipped back to the page of the Station of Awakening. His eyes flickered over his own notes, something dark and searching in his eyes. “It was in those three months that Lauriam would encounter whoever it was that did this to him and would fall victim to the Dive to the Heart, and that person would use his body to renter Scala and do whatever it was that got Marluxia banished.”

“You don’t know?” Ven asked and Even shook his head, a grimace twisting his face for the briefest second.

“The reason given out was that he had murdered several people through basic experimentation, such with blood and the like, but many people knew that wasn’t the truth. Simple murder and experimentation would not have elicited the reaction of having his Heart Bound and being banished.”

“And Heart Binding wouldn’t have affected this? Wouldn’t have made it better?” Riku asked, gesturing to the shattered Station of Awakening on the pages, and Even shook his head, a quick sorrowful expression crossing his face.

“No,” he replied. “If anything, it would have made it worse.” Riku froze, breath ratcheting up again. “With a Heart being Bound, it has taken away the Heart’s ability to fight, to try and repair itself like it was probably doing. The second the Heart was Bound, all fighting from Lauriam was summarily squashed and whoever it was had full control. There was now no longer any chance of freeing Lauriam.”

“No chance… at all?” Roxas questioned, taking in a shaking breath. Ven had gone dangerously pale, one hand gripping the wrist of his other, and Riku found himself sharing the same outlook. No chance at all…?

“Short of death, no.” Even sighed, shaking his head slightly. “If he was killed, his Heart would be free to return to Kingdom Hearts without any outside influence, but there is no way to free him while he is still alive.” The two teenagers next to Riku slumped slightly and Riku felt himself agreeing with them. Though he had only just learned about this, the want to free Lauriam from fourteen years of torment had already started to build in him. Now, knowing that wasn’t possible, made him feel frustrated and depressed. His want to save everyone… He didn’t know where he had gotten in from. Shiki had said it was because he was an older brother. Neku had agreed with her, much to the teasing of Beat and Joshua.

“There’s more,” Ven murmured and Riku looked back up to see Ven looking at Even. “There’s more you’re not telling us.” Even gazed at him before sighing once, looking much more tired.

“The only way for this to happen, the only person who could do a Dive to the Heart and possess Lauriam like they have… Would have been a Keyblade Wielder.” Riku’s eyes widened and his hands that had been leaning on the table slipped slightly, causing him to flail for the quickest second. Roxas’s mouth, which had been opening to ask something, froze in its open position while Ven blinked in confusion. “Whoever did this to Lauriam was a Keyblade Wielder.”

For a second none of them said anything. Riku’s thoughts spun. A Keyblade Wielder? A Keyblade Wielder. How? Why? What? Should have realized when Even said it was a Dive to the Heart, should have known. Why are you so surprised?

“What?” Roxas asked, sounding angry. His hands curled into fists. “You’re telling me, whoever possessed Lauriam and killed all those people both times was a Keybearer? Was from Scala?”

“They could have been a Bloodline?” Ven volunteered tentatively, but all three of the others were shaking their heads.

“Who would have taught them?” Riku asked rhetorically, feeling his own nails bite into the palms of his hands. “There was a reason I wanted Sora to come with me to Scala once I figured it out that he was a Bloodline. Even if he managed to summon his Keyblade, which he had proved he can do, it wouldn’t have been more than a strangely shaped sword that could sometimes cut through things regular swords couldn’t. The things of a Keyblade, such as magic and Dive to the Heart’s, have to be taught be someone.” Riku shook his head. He’d only learned magic because of Josh and the inherent knowledge the Keyblade sometimes, sometimes, decided to give to someone. Besides that, he knew nothing. He was well aware that he was far behind where he should have been, technique wise. “They could have maybe, maybe, been a Bloodline, but they would have had to have been taught by someone. And who were they taught by?” Riku leaned backwards, not wanting to think of the possibility but knowing that it made sense. “Whoever did this is from Scala.”

Even nodded slowly. “There are ways to tell if someone is controlled,” he continued, dragging the three’s attentions back to him. “But the biggest is yellow eyes. Unnaturally bright, yellow eyes.” Riku instantly committed that to memory. Yellow eyes. Kind of like the beasts.

“And whoever this person is, the one who controlled Lauriam,” Riku started, mind trying to connect several dots. “They control this place as well?” Even shrugged one shoulder.

“To an extent, perhaps,” the older man conceded. “Or they could just be another person who the man in charge commands.”

“Man in charge?” Roxas asked and a complicated expression flashed over Even’s face, hands tightening into fists.

“He’s an older man, powerful,” Even said and Riku’s mind flashed back to the voice he had heard by the balcony. Was it possible… that had been him? Had he really been that close?

Riku didn’t know whether or not to be scared.

“His Light, Heart, and Magic are… corrupted, almost,” Even continued and Riku looked back up. “He’s… wrong, in every sense of the world. He feels old and wrong and powerful and… different. But he’s still around and very powerful.” Riku closed his eyes slightly, taking in a deep breath. Of course, the person they had to fight was stupidly powerful and corrupted to boot.

“How do we fight him then?” Ven asked, voice quiet and Riku didn’t know how to answer. For a second, no one said anything, the words spoken weighing down the room into silence.

Was it even possible to fight him?

Then…

“You said I was familiar to you?” Ven asked quietly, looking to Even. “What did you mean by that?” Even tipped his head slightly to the side, staring at Ven.

“Your Heart,” he eventually said. “It feels familiar. The light and connection in it, while dimmed, are the exact same as the ones I felt five years ago. All Hearts are different, so it must be you.”

“’Feels’?” Roxas asked and Even nodded, taking a step back to lean against the bookshelf again.

“My Magic,” he explained and Riku paused at the emphasis, feeling the familiar feeling sink in his stomach. The only other person he had ever met with Magic was possibly Axel and Beat and he couldn’t think of him right now. Not his death, not his life. “It allows me to sense people’s Hearts. To feel them and their connections to each other and to magic and Magic.” Even sighed slightly, sounding very self-deprecating. “It’s what allowed me to have a such good understanding of Magic and magic. I could literally feel them.” He motioned to the drawing on the desk. “It’s why I can create this. I can feel Lauriam’s Heart and Light. I know he is possessed.”

He looked to Ven. “And how I know it’s you.” Ven blinked slowly.

“I have no memory of the past. My memory only starts with me waking up in a room with my brother hovering over me five years ago,” Ven admitted and both Riku and Roxas jumped. Riku hadn’t ever realized that! Or been told that! Ven had amnesia? “My brother refuses to tell me what happened to me to cause my amnesia or what our life was like before it.” He grimaced. “I admit, I haven’t ever truly pushed. It’s clearly taxing on Vanitas when I do and I’m happy with the life I have now. I can’t fully remember the few weeks after that either, my first true memory is with us already on The Wayfinder.”

“Perhaps you should push,” Even advised and Ven opened his mouth only to be cut off by a sound coming down the stairs.

Footsteps.

~

His knees gave out a couple of feet from the place where the grass became stone, and he gritted his teeth. Come closer. He closed his eyes against the pain, feeling it start to grow in his side again. The burning in his chest had negated as the other grew and he wrapped one of his arms around his side, placing his hand on the place where the wound burned the most.

He opened his eyes, looking up to the sky before whispering words that he long thought he had forgotten. He had, or he had forced himself to, until Riku had said them, kneeled next to Kairi in the rain, shattering his world along its axis yet again.

It didn’t work as well for him, of course it didn’t, but it worked, and he hated that it did. Time is wasting, why are you leaving? The pain died from his side, now only a pinprick in the dark, and he forced himself to his feet again.

The ground spun beneath him, and he slammed his eyes closed against memories and feelings as his feet crossed the threshold from grass to stone. Home, stay.

He shook his head, looking at the buildings and the breaks between them. His family was somewhere in there. He had to find them.

Your first mistake.

Chapter Text

Naminé had been quiet ever since they had left Ienzo back in the cell. Her hand didn’t slip from Kairi’s grip, and she didn’t fall back, but she didn’t say anything, just let Kairi pull her down the hallways.

Don’t get her wrong, Kairi didn’t like leaving Ienzo anymore than Naminé clearly did, but it was necessary. There was no way to get him out and he didn’t want to leave his brother.

Her eyes scanned the dark walls as they headed further into the labyrinth of tunnels. At this point, she didn’t even know if they were going the correct way, all the hallways looked the same, and for all she knew, they could have been going in circles for the past thirty minutes. The shadows loomed in the corners, water dripping from corners and unseen wind causing old cell doors to sway ominously. Her hand tightened on Naminé’s slightly. She really didn’t like it there.

It made sense then, why there were almost no guards around Ienzo, if he was so important. Who was going to be able to navigate this place on a time crunch to find him? Kairi was pretty sure it was only dumb luck that was keeping them from being caught.

“There!” Naminé hissed, tugging on her hand and Kairi paused, looking down, pulled from her thoughts. Naminé pointed down the hallway and Kairi looked up, squinting her eyes in the gloom, seeing the doorway that Naminé was pointing at. It was made of metal apparently, somehow, and it blended well into the wall. Though, it was at the end of a hallway, so she must have been deeper into her thought than she thought. Internally, she admonished herself. She needed to be more aware, for Naminé’s sake.

“Good job!” She congratulated the younger girl with a gentle smile, walking towards it carefully. It looked heavy enough that no one could slam it open and ambush them, but better safe than sorry. Naminé hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t let go of Kairi’s hand as the two girls approached the door. Kairi reached out and grabbed the handle, shivering at the coldness of it and turning it, blinking in surprise when it gave way easily under her hand, no noise or force. Did no one in this place lock their doors? Not that she was complaining, but that just screamed either of cockiness or forgetfulness.

Naminé squeaked in surprise at the bright light that came from behind the door and Kairi slammed her eyes closed, wincing at the black dots that started to appear in the corners of her eyes. She should have predicted that.

“You okay, Naminé?” She asked, opening her eyes and blinking them rapidly, and Naminé nodded, hand turning to a vice grip around her arm. She didn’t blame her. They still didn’t know what was out there. She pulled the door open more, giving it an extra second or two for her eyes to adjust.

“C’mon,” she murmured softly, taking a step over the threshold, her foot landing on nice wood. Turning around to help Naminé over it and keeping her eyes trained into the gloom so they wouldn’t be surprised by anything, she didn’t look at her surroundings until Naminé made a noise of surprise, dragging her attention back. She twisted as she placed Naminé down on the ground, finally looking around.

They were in a house; Kairi could only guess. Beautiful walls bordered the hallway they were in, and light streamed down from the top of the hallway, from a couple magically lit braziers of some kind.

“Woah,” Naminé muttered, and Kairi agreed with her. The walls were beautiful there, reminding her almost of the Castle back at Scala, though with a different color pallet. She turned back, grabbing the edge of the door and pulling it back into place, blinking slightly at the complete difference of the other side. From damp and dark stone to carefully crafted wood. She never would have guessed that the places would be anywhere near each other, much less sharing a wall. Her hand curled around the edge tightly for a second, before continuing to pull it in. They didn’t need anyone to know they had been here, even if there didn’t seem to be anyone around to know. But there was at least someone, if their near interaction with them outside of Ienzo’s cell was anything to speak of, and that wasn’t a chance Kairi was going to take.

The door slid into place with a soft click, becoming almost invisible against the wall, and Kairi turned back, watching Naminé carefully as the little girl reached out and pressed a hand to the wall.

“Fancy,” Naminé remarked, and Kairi hummed. They were certainly in a different area than before. Was this a house? Did someone live here? What kind of person had a dungeon in their basement?

Walking up to the break in the hallways as quietly as she could, she gestured to Naminé to follow her as she turned left, sneaking down the hallway as best as she could. The house felt strange somehow, like it wasn’t actually true. Almost like an illusion come to life. Of course, that could have also been her anxiety, as it was a lot harder to hide in the wide, brightly lit hallways of the house than down in the dungeon.

Leaving Naminé behind her for a second near a doorway, she moved forward to look at the different hallways.

“Kairi…” Naminé whispered out, sounding strangled and Kairi whipped her head back around.

“What?” She questioned, worse case scenarios running through her head. But Naminé was just peering into the room in front of them, that Kairi had left her by. “What is it?” Naminé turned back to her, her face a pale white color and Kairi hurried forward, allowing Naminé to latch onto her waist again. It seemed to be becoming a gentle soothing measure for the girl. Not that Kairi was complaining. If Naminé was near her, it was harder for the younger girl to get hurt. “What’s wrong?” But Naminé just shook her head and Kairi took the chance, looking around the corner as well.

The room it opened up into was medium sized, great big skylights above in the ceiling covering the room in natural lighting. There was a desk in the middle of the room, sitting abandoned with a stack of books on it. The wood floor continued into the room, a circular carpet underneath the desk, keeping it from scratching the floors.

The walls though, that’s when the natural feeling ended.

“What…?” Kairi murmured as she entered the room, drawn on by a feeling of wrongness, oblivious to the noise of protest Naminé made. Her head swiveled back and forth as she tried to look at both walls at once.

They were… glowing, almost, casting unnatural bright light onto the floor directly in front of them. As her eyes adjusted and focused on the walls, the fuzzy feeling in them usually only brought on by staring at the sun, Kairi noticed that they were… moving?

Taking a few steps forward toward one of them, she tipped her head in confusion at the wall. It almost reminded her of a painting, if a painting could move. The screen depicted a dusty, brown… hallway(?) of some sort, with walls made of stone raising up to bracket a path of dirt. There were a few of the beasts that they had fought in Scala walking down the corridor and once they walked out of frame, Kairi noticed they reappeared on a different one. Dust rolled along the ground and the picture was detailed enough that Kairi could see the indents in every one of the walls, clearly not perfectly smooth.

There were several paintings, over two or three dozen, all showing different views of different stone walls. Beasts roamed over several places and as Kairi walked down the wall of the room she was in, looking at the different paintings(?) there were also people, ducking behind the broken walls and sprinting down halls. While most of the walls seemingly went further up than the painting showed, there were a few smaller ones, settled in between some larger ones. How was this possible? What was it even for?

“Kairi?” Naminé questioned and Kairi turned, seeing Naminé looking at the other wall across the room. Like the one Kairi had been investigating, there were several dozen moving pictures, though those ones depicted places that almost looked exactly like the buildings they had seen on the cliffs. Just much closer up.

There were a few on each side of the room that were blacked out, not showing anything at all.

“What are these?” She questioned quietly, reaching out to touch one of the paintings and shivering at the almost warm feeling she got from it, like there was a torch or candle behind it, unable to feel any texture of the paint or whatever had been used to create the painting.

Pulling her gaze away from the mysterious paintings, she directed her attention to the last wall, the one opposite of the door. This one, at least, was semi normal. It was a wall completely made of windows. Walking forward, Kairi had to stretch her eyes to see anything outside, night having fully taken control of the sky and plunging the outside world into darkness. In the darkness though, some of the buildings glowed, light coming from windows in the other tall buildings. And the ground itself glowed, tracing a path through the world. Kairi shivered, realizing how high up she was. It had to be at least a hundred feet.

“Xion!” Naminé chirped in surprise and Kairi spun around, faster than she ever had, looking towards the door. But there was no one there and she paused in confusion. Looking back to Naminé, she saw that the young girl’s eyes hadn’t left one of the paintings. “Look Kairi!” She turned then, pointing to the painting while looking at Kairi. “It’s Xion!”

Kairi tipped her head in confusion, walking over to Naminé and looking at the painting she was pointing at, feeling surprise ripple through her as she got a good look at the painting. There, in small grainy detail, was Xion, Sora, Terra, Aqua, and someone else, standing on the path and conversing with one another.

“Sora?” She asked quietly, looking at the small, moving version of her oldest friend. “How?” Naminé shrugged, eyes fixed on the painting. As they watched, the group seemed to come to a conclusion before starting to run down the path, turning a corner and disappearing into shadows.

“Sora!” She said again, more panicked now that he was gone from her sight. Scanning the other paintings, she tried to find him again, sighing in relief when she saw him again, coming out of the alley he had gone into from the other side, still surrounded by the others. “How is this possible?” She wondered out loud again. “Is this even real?”

“Maybe,” Naminé whispered. “Magic is capable of wonderful things, after all.” Kairi nodded absentmindedly. She had seen that well enough. Her eyes moved back to the painting. It almost reminded her… of the stories that they had heard of the Capital. Of magical things done that didn’t seem to be explained by any sort of logic. Light that came from candles that didn’t burn, moving pictures, and communication that could be done without letters and were replied to instantly. When she was younger, she and Sora, and later Ven, were captivated by the rumors they sometimes heard of the Capital from the places that were closest to it. People said that was how the King managed to rule over such a large place as theirs, with his strange magic. But they had never asked too deeply about it, due to Aqua’s aversion to the topic.

She wondered if, maybe, these things were similar.

“Then, they’re okay,” she said, and she was going to believe it. She needed Sora to be safe. “We should go find them.” She turned back to the door, starting towards it, twisting her head to keep Naminé in view. “They’re down there somewhere, we should start there.”

Unfortunately, though, due to the fact that she wasn’t watching where she was going, she walked into the desk in the center of the room, jabbing a corner into her side. She hissed in pain and hunched over, one hand moving to wrap around the point of pain, accidentally knocking the pile of books over. One of them hit the floor and sprung open.

“Kairi?” Naminé asked, worry sharpening her tone, and Kairi waved a hand dismissively.

“Fine,” she hissed out, massaging the spot which smarted something fierce and leaned down to pick up the book that had dropped to the ground. The last thing they wanted to do was alert someone that they had been here.

Placing the book back on the desk, she had to shift the pile of books back into place, dislodging a smaller pile of papers. She cursed quietly under her breath, very conscious of the fact that Naminé was in the room, and reached for the papers next. Only to pause.

They looked like little paintings, though not moving like the others. Instead, they were like traditional drawings, though the design of them reminded her of the moving paintings, like they had been copied down straight from the ones of the wall, simply frozen in time.

And they were all of people.

Mostly teenagers, the backgrounds of each picture were either the stone walls from the one side of the room, the city they were in and what it presumably looked like during the day, or a bigger pit like area, also having the floor covered in sand.

Teenagers of all different kinds, some with weapons and some not. A few looked happy, some sad, most just looked tired. A boy with long white hair and a white jacket sitting on a building with a few other kids his age, not looking older than nine or ten. A girl with red hair flying in the wind as she ducked under a beast’s claws. A young boy with brown hair, armed with a knife and scars decorating his arms pinning another kid to the ground, knife raised to strike. Two kids, a girl and boy, that looked striking similar to each other, laying on the roof of a building, looking out to the sunset. A boy with silver hair and green eyes and-

Kairi blinked, brain stuttering to a stop. Was that Riku? She shook the small painting, as if that was going to magically change the drawing, confusion and denial building inside of her. But it was indeed Riku.

Younger than he was now, he crouched on the dusty ground as maze walls circled him, positioned in front of a young girl with short blonde hair, who was laying out on the ground, blood seeping into the ground around them. Way To The Dawn was held in his hand, pointing forward at something out of frame and there were more people in the background, features blurred.

It was Riku. Was this from the missing three years? But what was it doing here?

Turning the picture over, she blinked at the quick scrawl of words written on the back of the picture, hurried and small.

Subject M-328. Physical capabilities low. Eighteenth Bloodline in Area M to summon Keyblade. Longest survivor out of Awakened Bloodlines. Connected to Subjects M-027, M-028, M-236, M-278, and M-279.

Then farther down, written in different ink. GONE.

Kairi shivered, feeling like ice had just been shoved down the back of her dress. Subject M-328. Had Riku been a test subject for something? Had Riku known he was a test subject for something? Was this where Riku had been for the past three years? Did he know he was back?

All these questions swirled in her head, and she jumped when Naminé tapped her on the back, spinning to look at the younger girl, who had a questioning look in her eyes.

“Kairi?” She prompted and Kairi shook herself. Right, focus. They had to find the others.

Making a split-second decision, she folded up the picture and put it in her pocket next to Roxas’s charm, before arranging the rest of them back in the pile. While she would love to take them all, they couldn’t risk that. She just hoped that no one noticed she had taken Riku’s. She could give it to Riku when they saw him again and she could ask all the questions she wanted to.

“Let’s go,” she said, ready to put the creepy room behind them. Naminé nodded quickly and took her hand again. She tried not to think of everything she had just found out as the two of them ran down the hallway. Sora was out there, she knew it. The room that knew too much was behind them, but Kairi could still feel it scratching at the back of her head. They needed to get out of here.

A second later, someone turned the corner in front of them, running right into them.

Chapter Text

“How?” Aqua asked, completely flabbergasted, staring at the ship sitting innocently in the harbor, floating gently on the water like it hadn’t sunk just two hours ago.

Sora didn’t have an answer for her, the breath feeling like it was punched out of his lungs. He had also seen the boat get hit several times by the Heartless, had felt and heard the wood of the ship collapse and break under the strain. How could it be sitting in the harbor, right as rain?

Continuing down the staircase, which was much more secure and better built than the one the three of them had taken up from the cove, Sora didn’t let his gaze stray from The Wayfinder, too worried that if he looked away it would disappear like an illusion.

But his feet touched the dock and The Wayfinder still hadn’t disappeared.

“Terra? Aqua?” He asked, looking towards them. “Do you know why it’s still floating and whole?” It was Aqua’s ship after all. But the older woman shook her head slowly, eyes not leaving the ship. She took a couple of steps forward before stopping and pulling herself back.

“Could it be a trap?” Terra asked and Aqua frowned like she had been thinking the same thing.

“Probably not,” she said slowly, watching the ship carefully, like it was suddenly going to sprout legs and charge them. “That’s an awful lot of effort to go through, not to mention impossible to do.”

“I think we passed the threshold of impossible,” Xion muttered, and Sora nodded absentmindedly. If they had created this as a trap, then it couldn’t be the actual Wayfinder, right? Because if it was that meant they somehow pulled it up from the bottom of the ocean, dragged it here, and fixed it, all in the span of a couple of hours.

But again, if it wasn’t a trap, didn’t mean that the same thing had happened, just without an explanation? The Wayfinder had always been special, but this? This was taking it to another level.

Aqua took a couple more steps forward and when Terra didn’t surge forward to stop her, Sora followed after her, Xion right at his heels. As they got closer to The Wayfinder, it only became more clear that it was indeed the ship it looked like. The scrapes on the sides of it, the smudges in the paint, it all was the same.

“Aqua? Do you have any magical powers we should know about?” Sora asked, only slightly jokingly as the four of them ended at the gangplank. “Anything that could have saved the ship from destruction?” Aqua blinked but shook her head slowly, taking a few steps up the gangway and throwing her arms out for balance when the gangplank shifted to the right. As it always did.

“I think… this is The Wayfinder,” Aqua whispered as she got onto the ship proper and Sora took that as an invitation to join her, hurrying up the gangplank to enter the ship.

“Geeze, Aqua,” Terra chuckled as he entered the ship, turning back to help Xion into it. “Where’d you get this ship? From a wizard?”

Aqua chuckled, though it sounded slightly forced. “Not a wizard, no,” she replied, moving forward to press a hand against the mast, looking up at the rolled-up sails. Somehow, all the items that had been on the deck, the crates and the like, were also all still there, even though Sora had seen several of them fall off the ship during the attack.

Sora moved, spinning in a slow circle as he looked around the ship. He… It really seemed like it was The Wayfinder but… How? He backed up a second and-

-moved, the next impact causing his knees to buckle. He slammed into the wood beneath him, his last second instinct of throwing up his hands being the only things stopping him from slamming his face into the ground. Without a second to breathe, he forced himself back up to his feet. Around him, the sailors cried out in shock and worry, and he bit his tongue in order to stop himself from saying anything.

He twisted around, the Magic that pooled at his fingertips springing forth with reckless abandon. The monsters unspooled from his hand like thread, their wings unfolding as they moved. His emotions projected hurried orders and one was already moving, placing itself between the next blast and the ship. He felt the stab in his chest as it disintegrated, and the answering roars of the other creatures made the sailors shake as much as the wind did.

A sharp cry came from behind him, and he spun around, heart jumping into his throat. His brother, where was his brother? The ship rattled again, and he wondered if they were regretting helping them.

A flash of blonde hair from the boy being carefully held by the man who had found them was his answer and he gritted his teeth, forcing back the instinct to shout, to reach for his brother and hold him close. He had already nearly lost him twice today; he couldn’t risk losing him again. But the ship needed him and if he could defend the ship, it meant that the two of them would get away.

Giving the sailor and his brother a final look to make sure his brother was actually okay, he spun back around to face the side of the ship that still had view of the mainland. The dock was drifting farther and farther away from them, as the ship escaped, but he knew it wasn’t safe. Not until they couldn’t see those cursed mountains again.

Why are you leaving? Come back, stay put. Don’t you trust your-?

He snarled, digging his nails into his palm as the familiar feeling wrapped around his mind and hooked into his thoughts. It was sweet, like a song, like it always had been, but he couldn’t… He couldn’t fall victim to it. Not when doing that meant fates worse than death for him and his brother. Well, for his brother. For him, he suspected, it would just mean death.

Another one of his beasts shrieked in pain as it disintegrated, hit by another shot, and he reached for the power in his Heart, feeling the magic build in his hand. With a word, the Shield expanded in-between them and the dock, catching the next two attacks. He couldn’t help the cynical chuckle that went through him. Bet you’re regretting teaching me magic now, huh?

Indecipherable yells sounded around him as the sailors took advantage of the Shield between them and their enemies and he heard the sound of sails opening. With his other hand, he felt wind twist to his command, adding to the turbulent atmosphere. His headache grew, the use of magic draining him, but he didn’t care. Not if it meant they would get away.

CoMe BaCK. WhERe Are yOU GoINg?

Blood leaked into his mouth from the force of his teeth on his tongue. He couldn’t listen, he couldn’t.

Several sailors screamed and he looked up in shock in time to see the fireball smash into the Shield, shattering it into pieces along with his concentration. He hit the ground, thrown by the shockwave, and the ringing in his ears grew louder. Turning his head back, he looked to the dock, feeling ice slide into his veins as he spotted the man by the dock, he could almost see his yellow eyes and NO-

“Sora?” Xion asked and Sora gasped, jumping backwards as her hand landed on his shoulder. He spun around, nearly tripping over his own feet, and she pulled her hand back, blinking in surprise. “Sora?”

“What?” He asked breathlessly, feeling his heart pounding. What had just… What had he seen?

“You zoned out,” she told him apologetically, worry in her eyes. “I wondered if you were okay.”

“I didn’t… mean to,” he ended up saying, still hearing the ringing of shrieks and sobs in his ears and the yellow eyes that had glared at the boy on the deck. “I just…”

“… Are you sure you didn’t hit your head when you fell off the boat?” Xion asked and Sora shook his head once. No, he didn’t. At least, he didn’t think he did.

Vala’s words drifted back through his head. Magic. Was that what that was?

Behind Xion, Aqua and Terra looked around the ship. Sora blinked. He couldn’t have been out for more than a couple seconds. Xion gave him a final, concerned look, before moving to look around the ship again.

“This ship must have been touched by magic,” she mused, sitting on one the crates and swinging her legs slightly. “How else would it be in such good condition?” Aqua opened her mouth like she was going to say something but eventually decided not to, instead turning and climbing the stairs to the wheel, where she leapt up onto the railing and settled down into a sitting position, watching them. Sora shook his head once, hoping to get the remains of whatever… vision he had just had out of his head.

“So, what now?” Sora asked, swallowing past the feeling of strangeness and looked up at Aqua. Kairi, Riku, Naminé, Vanitas, Ven, and Roxas were still out there and even with Vala searching for them, there was a very good chance one of them would run into the Heartless.

“I’m going to go get Vanitas,” Aqua decided after a second, tapping her fingers against her cheek. “You three are going to stay here.” Just the way Terra stood up from his relaxed position spoke very well about his opinion of the matter. Aqua looked down to him. “Terra, you need to stay here. To protect Sora and Xion.”

Xion raised a hand, hesitant but determined. “We can fight?” She offered shyly, clearly not wanting to get in between Terra and Aqua. “Sora and I are both technically Keybearers. Our weapons are the only thing that will do damage against the Heartless. Shouldn’t one of us go with you?”

“That will only put yourself in more danger,” Aqua dismissed with a wave of her hand and then sighed when she saw the three identical looks shot her way. “Look, the place where I left Vanitas is outside the city. I’ll just walk around it. Vala said the Heartless were in the city.”

“They could also be outside it,” Terra argued and Aqua made a face. “Please Aqua, don’t go alone. If I’m not allowed to go with you, at least take Sora. Or Xion.” Aqua screwed up her face again, clearly not liking the idea of taking one of the teenagers with her.

“Let me go with, Aqua,” Sora asked. “Please?” He needed to find the others. Even if they were just looking for Vanitas, he didn’t like it that they couldn’t find the others. Kairi, Riku, Ven, Roxas, and Naminé were still out there.

Aqua dropped her gaze, looking at him for a second, conflict in her eyes. Sora gazed back, not daring to look away. A second later, Aqua sighed, closing her eyes. Sora felt a smile stretch across his face. He knew he had won.

“Fine,” Aqua gritted out. “Sora will come with me. But you and Xion stay here,” she said to Terra, who nodded. While not happy completely, he was clearly still a little relieved that Aqua wasn’t going alone.

Aqua stood, jumping down from the railing and landing lightly on her feet.

Sora turned to Xion. “I’ll keep an eye out for your siblings and the others,” he told her quietly and she nodded quickly, her blue eyes flicking back towards the city.

“I don’t like it here,” she whispered, and Sora nodded, agreeing with her. Everything about the city just screamed wrong. From the beasts that roamed the street, to the mind twisting magic that had somehow brought them here, everything about it made Sora shiver.

“Come back safe,” she said, turning back to him. “With or without our friends, you have to come back.” He paused for a second, looking at her strangely. The people missing were her siblings and Betrothed. Wouldn’t she care about them more than she would about him? They barely knew each other.

“Why?” He asked, voice barely above a breath and she blinked slowly, gazing at him.

“I recognize your Keyblade, from before,” she revealed after a second, tipping her head to side slightly. “I think you do too.”

“The Keyblade above the Prophecy,” he confirmed, and she nodded, hands curling tighter in her lap.

“There has to be a reason, don’t you think?” She looked to the side, a conflicted look on her face. “And it feels… important. I know you feel it too.” Before he could answer, Aqua spoke up from behind him, having ended her conversation with Terra.

“Sora, ready to go?” He turned to them, nodding once, before looking back to Xion.

“Good luck,” she wished, and he nodded solemnly.

“You too.” He left then, hurrying down the gangplank to follow Aqua, summoning Kingdom Key to his hand with a pull of concentration.

Here, closer to the water, it was colder, and he shivered even more. They still hadn’t dried completely yet, and he felt goosebumps on his arms.

Aqua didn’t say anything as they walked down the dock, eyes fixed on the staircase. The foreboding feeling wasn’t leaving him.

Let’s go find our friends, he thought as he and Aqua started up the staircase. He looked back once, unable to see Xion and Terra in the dark light. Or maybe, they’ll find us.

~

“Hello?” A voice asked him, and he turned on instinct, wishing for his swords or anything to fight with. Or for the headache to go away. Or both.

“Quiet!” Another voice snapped out irritably, but neither of them were being particularly quiet. “Vidar says we’re not supposed to talk to people.” Vidar…?

“In the black coats!” The first voice responded, and it sounded female. “He’s not in a black coat!”

He cleared his throat, trying to get enough energy to talk. “I know you’re there,” he forced out, wincing at the roughness of his own voice. He was in really bad shape.

The two voices went abruptly quiet before a girl stepped out from a shadow about ten feet away from him.

“Sorry,” she said quietly. “Didn’t mean to scare you.” Her silver hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she was about Ven’s age, if he was right.

He was tempted to say you didn’t but didn’t get the chance before the second voice came out into the light, revealing a boy the girl’s age with short, brown hair and a puffy coat. He moved so he was between him and the girl and glared at him. He was tempted to compliment the boy on his good instincts.

“Bragi, stop it,” the girl hissed, and he felt his eyes widen slightly against his will. “Does he look like a threat?” One, ouch. Two, did she call him Bragi? His eyes wandered to her, looking for the choker. And it was there, sparkling in the moonlight.

Oh, moons damn it all.

“I’m Urd and this is Bragi,” she introduced them. “What are you doing in our city?”

He paused, debating whether or not to answer. Neither would really help him. No, this was only making it worse.

“Vanitas,” he eventually replied. “And I just want to get out of it.”

Chapter Text

Riku wasn’t the only one to freeze in shock and fear at the footsteps, his heart rate rocketing up. What were they supposed to do? This place was a cell and, if Riku was correct, built in a way that was supposed to make it very hard for Even to hide anything.

He snapped his gaze to Roxas, whose face was rapidly paling, and Ven had frozen, eyes going wide and breath stuttering in his chest. Even cursed, sharply, under his breath and turned on his heel, grasping the desk by the corner and dragging it several feet until it was mostly positioned behind one of the screens. Roxas turned to look at him in confusion while Ven’s eyes widened and he gazed at the door they had come in from, which was still hanging open.

Riku spun, inspiration hitting him, and hurried to the door, grasping the handle and pushing it closed as quietly as he could before backing up and pointing his Keyblade at it. While he had never locked something before, it couldn’t be too different from unlocking something, right? It had to because they couldn’t be caught here, not now, not when they had a plan, had a realization of what would happen if they failed. As he had done before, he imagined a lock, but instead of opening, he imagined it closing, locking up tightly, imprisoning them all. A small outline of a lock appeared on the door for a split second, accompanied by the sound of something slotting into place, before fading away and Riku took that as a success. He spun back around to see Even gesture at the desk, of which the under part was now mostly obscured by somethings that looked like rope and… metal rope(?).

“Get under and don’t say anything,” he hissed at the three teenagers, who were quick to follow his instructions, ducking down and crawling under the desk. While the screen base didn’t offer as much protection as one of the bookshelves might’ve, it was still enough to mostly obscure the view of them. They just had to hope that whoever it was wasn’t looking for them. Or if they were, that they weren’t looking too hard.

Even then crossed the room, snatching up a book as he went and opened it to a random page, instantly acting as if he was deeply invested in the book. He walked a few steps, unfortunately out of Riku’s sight, so he wasn’t able to keep an eye on him. Riku’s hand curled into a fist, nails digging into his palms. Beat, back pressed against the wall, hand clamped over Rhyme’s mouth as the beast stamped ever closer, the younger girl shaking in fear. Shiki, curled up and pressed into Riku’s side as they laid under the overhand, both trying desperately to not let the sand into their mouths or let the coughs out of their dry throats. Neku, one hand twisted into Joshua’s shirt as he held the other boy back, the two of them balanced precariously on the top of one of the shorter walls, something deep and unknowing in their eyes.

The footsteps only grew louder and closer and Ven, pressed against Riku’s back, went stiff, barely breathing. Riku banished Way To The Dawn after Roxas jabbed him in the shoulder blade and gestured to it. He hadn’t realized he was still holding it. Because it was a bad idea to let it go, to stop being the protector, because no one else could do it.

A second later, the sound of a door unlocking sounded through the room and Riku promptly forgot how to breathe. While he had long become desensitized to fear and the feelings it created, so he said, he wasn’t just afraid for himself. Not that he hadn’t been before. Now, he was worried about Ven and Roxas and Even to some extent. What would happen to them if they were caught?

“Yes, what is it?” Even snapped out, sounding very irritable and the feet that had taken a couple steps into the cell stopped. “It’s not time for anything, so why are you here? You’re interrupting me and my research, which I’ll remind you, is the only reason I’m here in the first place, so say your piece or get out. Or both.” Even did a very good impression of being angry. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t an impression.

“Apologies,” an accented voice responded and Ven nearly banged in head on the bottom of the desk as he jumped in shock. From here, they could see the feet of the person and the black robe that he wore. Both Roxas and Riku turned to Ven in surprise. Why was he so shocked? “But…”

“But what?” Even snapped and it was accompanied by the sound of a book snapping shut. Riku had a feeling Even had just closed the book he had grabbed. “Unless you’re here to take me to my brother, get out.” Something slammed onto a table and Roxas flinched. The beast dragged its claws down the wall, showering Riku and Beat in dust from where they were only just barely hidden.

“There has been a jailbreak,” the accented voice said quickly and the three teenagers under the desk froze. So, they had been noticed.

“Oh?” Even asked and it sounded both angry and intrigued, as if he hadn’t actually known the knowledge beforehand. “If it’s my brother, it was a bad idea to tell the person you’re holding captive that the blackmail just escaped because you don’t want to know what he’d do with that information.” Riku had to hand it to Even. He was a very good actor.

“No not Ienzo,” the other person replied, and a book slammed onto a shelf, making the sound of several books rattling against wooden walls.

“Then why are you here?” Even’s voice had dropped lower, quiet and deadly, and Riku didn’t know how the other person had the ability to still talk straight to him. Neku’s blood dripped, staining the sand red, and they had to just hope the beasts wouldn’t notice it, would just pass by so they could get back to Joshua and Shiki.

“We thought the escapees might have found their way here,” the other person explained, sounding more uncertain, and Even scoffed.

“You think if they did, I’d still be here?” He asked rhetorically, his voice scathing and sarcastic. “I’d be gone, far away from this prison.”

“Not without your brother,” the voice retorted, and footsteps restarted. They weren’t the other person’s however, because Riku could see that they hadn’t moved, so they had to be Even’s.

“Perhaps if I thought I could get to him?” Even hummed, his footsteps circling the room. The three teenagers went even stiller as he walked near and around them, knowing that whoever the other person was probably watching Even. They didn’t want them to notice the three teenagers under the desk. The beast’s footsteps paused in their walking and Riku could feel both Shiki and Beat going still, the three of them not daring to breathe. In the darkness, all they had to tell if the beast was there was the sound and the yellow eyes that they could only rarely see.

“Have you seen anything?” The voice asked instead of continuing the conversation and Even stopped and the sound of something scraping against a table softly before being picked up was heard.

“No, I haven’t,” Even replied and Riku let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Shiki’s hand was tight in his, nearly cutting off circulation, but he didn’t protest. Rhyme’s unconscious body, sprawled carefully underneath them, didn’t make a sound either as the footsteps kicked up dust into their faces.

“Are you certain?” The other person asked and Even didn’t answer, but the person shuffled back a step. Riku got the feeling Even had just given them a look. Riku was abruptly yanked up, Beat’s hand on his wrist nearly dragging his arm from his socket as he pulled the younger boy out of their hiding spot. The beast’s roar from behind them only spurred them on quicker, Beat’s wings sprouting from his back and his grip switching from Riku’s wrist to his waist.

“If you want to check you’re welcome to,” Even continued flippantly, footsteps restarting again. “But you’d be getting in my way.” Even’s voice had taken on a note of warning and there was silence for a second.

“No,” the voice finally responded with an uncertain note in their voice. “I suppose there’s no need for that.” Even hummed again in response as the person turned to leave, footsteps pausing right at the doorway long enough for Riku to start worrying before they continued on, closing the door behind them. The sound of a lock echoed through the room. Neku’s hands reached out and caught him as his legs gave out from under him, the days’ worth of running finally catching up to him. His head lolled to the side, and from under his eyelashes, he could see both Beat and Shiki springing to their feet from around the hearth.

Ven started to move like he was going to crawl out from under the desk, but Riku reached out and grabbed his ankle in a vice grip, causing the younger boy to pause. He looked back in confusion and Riku gestured as quietly as he could upwards with his head, trying to remind Ven of the balcony and its view of the room. Ven’s confusion didn’t wane though, so Roxas leaned over and whispered in Ven’s ear, quietly enough that Riku couldn’t hear what he was saying despite being right there, and Ven relaxed a second later, stopping his attempts to leave.

Riku and the other two sat there for a couple more minutes, waiting for something. Perhaps a sign from Even. Joshua’s hand, or was it Neku’s, ran over his forehead, feeling refreshingly cool even though there probably wasn’t special about it. When he opened his mouth, perhaps to say something, perhaps to cough, the hand fell over his mouth, silencing him. In the air, the screeches of the beasts grew ever closer. Just as his limbs were starting to cramp, something that he had felt before and gotten used to, but still hated, Even’s voice echoed in small space.

“You can come out now,” he said, voice a tad bit lower than it had been before. Riku took that invitation and pushed himself out from under the desk, standing as quickly as he could. He hated small spaces, uncertainty, and the quiet. Too much like before, like hiding, like dying. So that had sucked.

“Apologizes for making you wait so long,” Even told them, leaning against one of the bookshelves and watching them carefully as the other two escaped from under the desk. Ven gave himself a sharp shake, almost like a dog, while Roxas rubbed one of his shoulders. “I can’t see them when they’re up on the balcony from here unless they chose to show themselves, so I didn’t know if Luxord was still there.”

“’Luxord’?” Roxas asked, sounding very put off and Riku gave him a look, only to see the same look on Even’s face.

“I know, it’s weird,” the older man said and Riku was just about to ask why. “But I don’t if that’s his name or just another jab against Scala.” Oh right, X. Titles and all that.

“Another jab?” Roxas questioned and Even shrugged a shoulder.

“The two other Scala natives who were banished with Marluxia took Titles as well, even though one of them wasn’t a Noble and the other had her right of it stripped.” Roxas made a noise and Even nodded. Riku exchanged a glance with Ven, shrugging slightly. He hadn’t ever been near Titles and the like when he was growing up, the closest being Roxas and his friendship with Xion, and even that wasn’t that much. Not like Roxas, who had been swamped in that sort of thing since he was born, or Even, who had lived at the Castle for years.

“The other two,” Ven interjected with a twitch of his hand, and Even glanced to him. “Are they controlled as well?”

Even frowned. “If they are, it’s too a lesser extent than Lauriam is. Much less. Their Hearts feel normal whenever I get the chance to feel them. There’s a chance that they could be controlled but it would have to be less than what it is for Lauriam. I don’t know what it could be then.” The researcher frowned, eyes dropping back down to his desk. “Though, Luxord’s Heart feels the same as theirs and he’s definitely controlled. Perhaps I should look into that. They seem to have a yellow tinge to their eyes. Perhaps…”

Riku looked up, seeing the stars reflected in the windows all the way up in the ceiling. He wondered if that was another jab. Even was able to see the sky, but through a huge glass ceiling and several layers of magic walls. “They’re looking for us,” he murmured and dragged the other three’s attention back to him.

“Which is why you need to leave,” Even said and Ven made a noise of protest. “Don’t argue, just go.” Even cut off whatever he was going to say with a raise of a hand. “I don’t know why they’re after you or why you’re here and frankly, I don’t want to know. But you need to leave before you get caught and killed.” He turned and picked up the book that had the drawing of the Station of Awakening, flipping to a blank page. Picking up a pencil, he scribbled something in it. “There aren’t that many people in the house often, but the edges of the city are crawling with Heartless, I can feel them easier than I can normal hearts. They are full of agony and broken memories. And sometimes they go into the city proper, especially when the controller is looking for something, so keep an eye on that.” He snapped the book closed and offered it to Riku, who took it with a little hesitation.

“That,” Even said seriously, tapping it with a finger. “Has a way that might save Lauriam written in it. Get it to Saïx and he should, if it works, be able to save him. And that might answer more questions than you know.”

“Why?” Ven asked and Even looked to him.

“Because while the Dive to the Heart infects the Mind, Body, and Soul of the trapped person, there’s a good chance that the trapped person, Lauriam in this case, would be able to see, feel, and know the other person’s Heart as well.” Riku’s hands tightened around the book, understanding what Even was saying. “The connection goes both ways.” Even straightened. “Free Lauriam and he should be able to tell you all the answers you’ll need. Most of them at least. About whoever controlled him and what their goals are.” Riku nodded and started for the door, only to be stopped by Ven’s question.

“Why can’t you come with us?” He asked. “You know the most about this, clearly, and you’re a prisoner.” Even sighed, shoulder slumping.

“Because Luxord was right,” he explained. “I will not leave my brother to die here. I won’t. And you can’t get to him, so I won’t leave.” Riku’s eyes fell to the ground. Blackmail. He knew of it.

“We can-” Ven started but Even shook his head, sharply, before gesturing to the door.

“You can’t,” he said bluntly. “You must leave. Take the information, get it back to Scala, save Lauriam, save the rest of us. You need to leave for this to work. Understand?” Ven paused again but Roxas moved, grabbing his shoulder gently and pulling him backwards a few steps until Ven started walking on his own.

“And Ven?” Even said and the three of them paused, looking back as Roxas unlocked the door. Just like before, it made no noise. “Ask your brother about your past. Because if you were here five years ago, there’s a good chance he was as well, if he… is indeed your brother.” And Riku shivered at the phrasing. Because that had never even occurred to him. That Vanitas could be lying more than about their past. “Does he have amnesia too?” Even questioned and, after a moment, Ven shook his head slowly.

“No,” Ven replied quietly. “He doesn’t.” Even didn’t say anything else and Ven was the first one to turn away, running up the spiral staircase quickly followed by Roxas. Riku tightened his hold on the book but didn’t look back as he left the room and pulled the door closed behind him. Roxas aimed Oblivion at it, and it locked, just like it had for Riku.

Riku tried not to feel like a failure as they sprinted up the stairs.

Taking the steps two at a time, he and Roxas burst out of the staircase, seeing Ven already heading for one of the doorways.

“Ven, wait!” Riku hissed at him, but Ven appeared not to hear him and the other two ran after him, not paying as much attention as they should have been.

“Ven,” Riku said as he grabbed Ven’s shoulder, pulling him backwards to a stop. Ven for a second didn’t listen to him, before eventually stopping and twisting his head back to look at Riku. “I know you want to find your brother, but we need to be careful and quiet. There are still people here.” Ven paused for a second before nodding, allowing Riku to take the lead. He summoned Way To The Dawn almost on instinct as he prepared to head down the hallway. Ah yes, creeping down corridors and peering around corners. Thank goodness the walls aren’t fully brown, or this would be hell. He couldn’t… There were already too many memories.

The older boy nodded once at Ven before heading forward, turning the corner, only to run straight into two people.

Chapter Text

Kairi nearly screamed as Riku, Roxas, and Ven rounded the corner, skidding to a stop as fast as she could and clapping a hand over her mouth to muffle any sound coming out of it. Naminé did scream, a yelp coming out of her mouth as she leaped behind Kairi, nearly tripping over her own feet and only managing to save herself by grasping onto Kairi’s waist. Riku, being Riku, didn’t react any more than aiming his Keyblade at them, spell building on the tip of it, which he quickly dropped after he realized who it was. Ven made a squeak of surprise, backpedaling several steps with pinwheeling arms and almost falling over while Roxas summoned Oblivion in a bright flash, ready to attack, only to also relax when he realized who it was.

“Naminé?”

“Ven!”

“Kairi?”

“Riku!”

“Naminé!”

The young girl ran past Kairi, having recovered her footing, leaping up and slamming into Riku, wrapping her hands around him in a hug and burying in her face in his stomach. Way To The Dawn abruptly vanished in a burst of light as Riku was forced to catch her and a book fell to the ground, clattering to the ground, presumably from his hands. Ven hurried forward, eyes lighting up, and Kairi enveloped him in her own hug, holding him tightly.

“You’re okay,” she whispered out, feeling the sting of tears start to build in the back of her eyes and Ven nodded, squeezing her tightly. She buried her face in his shoulder, taking a deep breath and trying to push the tears away. While she had been worried about them, so worried, she hadn’t really allowed herself to be worried because she still had Naminé to take care of. Now, now that there were more there, she allowed herself to shake apart just the tiniest bit until her tears had been successfully stopped. She could feel his hands shaking and her internal alarms went off as it registered, causing her to take a step back and look at him. He looked normal, but there was a sheen to his eyes that wasn’t usually there and his hands were shaking so she didn’t believe him.

“Are you okay?” She asked, anger lighting up in her heart that she had just assumed, and he nodded, but stopped after he noticed her look.

“Mostly,” he replied, rocking on his heels slightly and grasping her hands, keeping the two of them connected. “But this place gives me the creeps and there’s been some… revelations that aren’t that great. But physically, I’m fine.” She watched him carefully, but he only smiled at her. “I promise, I’m okay.”

“Fine,” she finally said, letting his words roll around in her mind. What could he have found out? What had hurt him this badly? But she banished the thoughts. They needed to pay attention to the situation at hand. Plus she and Naminé had also had their own fill of revelations. It seemed this place was just full of secrets. “But we will be talking about this.” He nodded and turned back to look at the others. Riku had set Naminé down, but the little girl still held onto one of his hands as he checked her over, making sure she wasn’t hurt. She was beaming, a couple of tears escaping down her face and Kairi was once again abruptly reminded that she was twelve.

“Riku,” Kairi called, and he looked up at her. “I’m glad you’re okay.” He paused for a second before nodding once, a small smile being directed at her.

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” he replied, before directing his attention to the ground and reaching down to pick up the book he had dropped, grasping it by the spine and quickly flipping the pages to make sure none of them tore.

“Find a library?” Kairi quipped, trying to add some levity to the atmosphere, and something flickered across both Riku’s and Roxas’s faces that said she should not have said that.

“Not really,” Riku admitted before snapping the book shut. “But we can talk about that later. We need to get out right now.”

“Agreed,” Kairi said with a nod, working to reprioritize her thoughts. “Naminé and I saw the others, sans Vanitas, down in the city. That would be the best place to start.”

“Vanitas wasn’t there?” Ven asked, something off in his voice, and Kairi shook her head while appraising Ven quickly. There didn’t seem too much wrong but that could very quickly change.

“No,” she said slowly, wondering if that meant they had seen him and sent him into the city. Or if they knew he had been there. Riku and Roxas had also made a face, albeit a smaller one. What the hell had happened?

“But the rest of them were?” Riku asked and Kairi looked back to him and nodded firmly. “Then that’s where we start.”

“We’ve been trying to get out,” Naminé said quietly, brushing away her remaining tears and doing her best to give her older brother a determined look. “But we can’t find an exit.”

“Window?” Roxas said sarcastically, rolling his wrist and summoning Oblivion to hold, but something grew in Riku’s eyes.

“That’s… not a bad idea,” he murmured, and she wasn’t the only one giving him a concerned look. Jumping out a window is a bad idea, she thought. No matter what circumstances they were in.

“What do you mean?” Roxas asked, caution in his words and Riku smirked, ever so slightly.

“You know Aero spells, yes?” He asked Roxas and the Keyblade Wielder nodded slowly, raising an eyebrow. “If we find a window, we could break it and get outside that way, using Aero spells to slow down our descent.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Kairi mentioned, brain instantly going to all the things that could go wrong with that, and Riku shrugged.

“A little bit, but we need to get out of here,” he said, a twist to his lips. “Before we get found. This is the quickest way instead of wandering this place more and maybe running into someone.”

“So where would we find windows?” Ven asked, biting his lip. “This place is pretty contained.” Kairi saw Naminé’s eyes flick to her and she knew they were thinking the same thing. The big windows that covered the wall of the room they had found. But at the same time…

It was the room where she had found the picture of Riku and the paintings of the maze that there was a good chance Riku had been in, thanks to the picture’s background. Did she really want to put Riku through seeing that?

“We saw a window!” Naminé chirped out before Kairi got the chance to tell her that it was a bad idea to bring it up and Kairi flinched the tiniest bit, but none of the others had noticed, drawn to Naminé’s words.

“You did?” Riku asked and Naminé nodded vigorously, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Yep,” the little twelve-year-old replied. “We can take you there.” Riku stood from where he had crouched to look into Naminé’s eyes, and Kairi quickly went through plans in her head. She could contradict Naminé but that would just pull the questions of why she was changing the story. She could do nothing and hope that Riku didn’t have any reaction to the screens. Or she could try to help with the fallout.

As the group started moving, it seemed likely that the third option would have to go into effect. She took a deep breath as she walked back through the short hallway into the room. She watched Riku out of the corner of her eyes.

“There,” she said, walking as quickly as she could across the room, until she stopped by the window, trying to keep their attention on her and not the unnatural walls. “Window.” Turning back, she could see that Riku’s eyes had landed on the screens and his face had paled. Damnit. But Naminé was still walking forward, the room not a surprise to her like it was to the others, so Riku was pulled along by her. But Kairi could see the look in his eyes. She had seen it before, in his cabin and on the deck of The Wayfinder in the storm. Ven and Roxas both looked surprised and confused, staring at the room in fascination, but nothing like Riku’s reaction.

“So Riku,” she said, perhaps a little louder than she needed to, trying to drag his attention to her. Don’t get her wrong, there were many things she suspected they would have to talk about after this, but now was not the time. The picture burned a hole in her pocket. “Your plan?”

He blinked for a second, a second too long, before nodding quickly, and Kairi could see him pulling the strands of his mental stability together. She was struck by the sudden urge to give him a hug and resolved to do so, as well as the picture, as soon as they were back and safe. Whenever that would be right.

“Right,” he said, and she was pretty sure she was the only one who heard the slightest tremor in his voice. Naminé and Roxas hadn’t been around him in three years, hadn’t seen him with that same tremor as Kairi had, and Ven had been around, but not for Riku’s bad moments. She remembered that day in the cabin, where he had called her ‘Shiki’ and she had walked him through a panic attack. Where their bond had truly begun to form, but only through trauma and pain.

Way To The Dawn raised up, pointing at the middle window, and Riku was about to say something, only to pause, swallowing harshly and gesturing a little with his Keyblade. “Sh-Kairi, you might not want to stand by the window I’m about to shatter.” She nodded, a little mad at herself for not realizing that and backed up a couple feet. She could see Ven, Naminé, and Roxas doing the same.

Way To The Dawn glowed and that was the only warning Kairi got before Riku whispered something under his breath and the light shot out of the Keyblade, slamming into the glass and shattering it. Petals of glass rained down, ranging in all sizes, but thankfully most of them fell outwards, shooting down towards the ground.

Kairi lifted up a hand, shielding her face on instinct, closing her eyes against the sounds. A small shard of glass impacted the back of her hand, and another sliced her arm, a shallow cut, but it stung. A single bead of blood rolled down her arm.

Dropping her hand after all the sounds of glass hitting the floor faded away, she could see that almost the whole window had shattered from Riku’s blow. The few parts of the glass that hadn’t broken, mostly up in the corners, were covered in spider web cracks and looked a breeze away from joining the rest of the glass on the ground.

Riku had several cuts across his arms and face, but he didn’t flinch at all, simply shaking his arm until the pieces of glass that had embedded themselves there fell out, because he was Riku. Ven had backed up enough that he hadn’t gotten hit at all, and Roxas had crouched and wrapped his body around Naminé’s, shielding the both of them with his back.

“Well,” Roxas said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, as he stood up, eyeing the hole in the window. “That certainly would have gotten their attention.” Riku didn’t answer verbally, instead turning around and watching them. Kairi could see his eyes flicking to the pictures every couple of seconds.

“Roxas, could you take two people with you using an Aero spell?” Riku asked, somehow able to keep the clear unease that he was feeling out of his voice, and Roxas thought it over for a second before nodding.

“I could,” he replied, the smallest edge of caution to his voice, and Riku hummed quietly before turning back to the window, walking close and leaning over the edge, making Kairi’s heartbeat wrack up a notch. He really shouldn’t be standing that close.

“Okay then.” He turned back. “Take Naminé and Ven with you. Kairi and I will be down a second later.” Roxas nodded, leaning down and picking Naminé up, holding her securely against his side and walking the few feet to the edge before turning back to Ven.

“You coming?” He asked and Ven looked slightly nervous as he walked forward, glass crunching under his feet.

“What exactly is an Aero spell?” He asked, looking at the drop and Kairi could see his face pale a few shades.

Riku hummed, twisting Way To The Dawn in his hand, and rolled his shoulder back slightly. “Think of it like a wind breeze,” he explained. “The wind will support you so you don’t fall but will also help lower you to the ground.” Ven paused before nodding again and Roxas summoned Oblivion in his off hand, holding Naminé even more securely.

“Here we go,” he said and waved Oblivion in the air. “Aero,” he whispered out and something appeared in the air around the three of them. A second later, Roxas stepped out of the window and Kairi couldn’t help the instinctive gasp that left her when he did, but Roxas simply floated in the air, slowly descending. “Come on, Ven!” He called, voice already starting to fade slightly. “You have to stay close.” For a second, it looked like Ven wasn’t going to do it before the fifteen-year-old took a deep breath and walked off the ledge, floating much like Roxas had done.

“Ready to go?” Riku asked her and she nodded, albeit a little shakily, and he smiled at her, able to sense her worry. But his hands were also shaking, and he looked like he wanted to turn around again and stare at those moving pictures until they gave him some sort of answer.

But pounding footsteps broke through both of their thoughts and Riku surged forward, wrapping his arm around Kairi and throwing them both out the window, Kairi not screaming like she thought she would. Instead, a gasp was torn from her throat as there was a second of her and Riku falling before Way To The Dawn glowed and Riku muttered a word out and then they were floating together. And for a second, Kairi felt weightless.

But only for a second.

~

Vanitas watched the two kids in front of him carefully as they led him down the roads. It grated on him, just a little, he knew these roads, but he gave up. He was in no shape to take on the beasts himself and this city seemed to be crawling with them, which was strange.

“How’d you end up here?” Urd asked him and he gritted his teeth, biting down on his tongue. On one hand, he really didn’t want to have to interact with them more than he had to. On the other…

“Our ship sunk,” he eventually admitted, feeling the instinctive urge not to ignore them. “I’m trying to find my friends.”

“And you somehow know they’re only the other side of the city?” Bragi asked suspiciously and usually Vanitas would be proud of the wariness. It would keep Bragi alive. But this was an extreme circumstance.

“Yes,” he stressed, having answered the question twice now. “I know where they are.” They had shown him. Bragi gave him a look, but he ignored it. The two fifteen-year-olds knew nothing anyway. And he would be keeping it that way.

“Well, don’t worry,” Urd told him happily. “The city’s almost gone.” I know that. Urd wouldn’t last long, with a disposition like that. He hoped she still had someone, more someones than besides Bragi, to look out for her. She would need them.

More footsteps sounded in the distance and Vanitas snapped himself out of his thoughts, ready to fight back. As much as he didn’t want to.

“Vala!” Urd called and Vanitas froze. “We found a friend!”

Chapter Text

Sora watched the shadows carefully as he and Aqua snuck down the coastline, staying as close as possible to the cliffs. The city glowed thirty feet away and Sora shivered again at the feeling of wrongness that permeated from it. Like they had said before, the two of them managed to avoid most of the Heartless by staying out of the city itself, but Sora still had to take a few of them down.

The wind brushed against their backs, making Sora shiver, and he ran his tongue over his teeth. He didn’t like the quiet, didn’t like the unnatural quiet that the city portrayed. Usually, like he had told Terra and Xion, there would be something. Even in the middle of the ocean and there was no one but them around for miles, there was always the loud, brushing wind. Or seabirds. Here, everything was covered in a thick, stifling wave, like an invisible snowbank.

“Aqua?” Sora eventually asked, unable to take the stifling feeling, careful to keep his voice down. “Are you sure you don’t know why The Wayfinder is still intact?”

“Why are you asking this now, Sora?” Aqua replied, eyes flicking between him and the path in front of them. Sora could hear the sound of the ocean waves crashing against the cliffs beneath them. Even that was muted, like there was a barrier between the sea and them.

“It’s too quiet,” he admitted, pressing his nails into his palm, and could feel Aqua’s look on him. “Yes, I know, we’re sneaking but… It doesn't feel natural.” Aqua hadn’t been there when he had explained after all. Aqua didn’t say anything for a second and Sora chanced a glance at her, seeing a conflicted expression on her face.

After a moment or two, it seemed like Aqua wasn’t going to answer him. Sora blew out a low breath, trying not to wince. Perhaps it was a bad memory. He hadn’t meant to drag anything up-

“I don’t know why the ship is still okay,” Aqua admitted and Sora jumped slightly, looking back to her from where his gaze had drifted off. “The person who gave it to me… was eccentric, yes, but there was nothing too strange about him.” She bit her lip, eyes fading into memories. “I think I would have noticed if something was off about the ship.”

“I mean, I didn’t know about magic until Riku did it,” Sora offered, shrugging a single shoulder. “I knew that some people could do magic, if the stories were to be believed but…”

“It’s a little different if you see it yourself, isn’t it?” Aqua finished and Sora nodded slowly. The second he had seen Riku do magic, watched him heal Kairi of the wounds in her sides…

“He might have been magic,” Aqua said with a little chuckle, eyes dropping her hands. They twitched and she rubbed her forefinger and thumb together, as if imagining a piece of paper between them. They paused in moving forward, Aqua stuttering to a stop, eyes going misty. “He… knew a lot about Keyblade Wielders and their past and the past of the world in general.” Aqua sighed. “He was… different from the world around him, I could tell that, even at eight.”

Eight? Sora wondered. He and Kairi knew shockingly little about Aqua’s and Terra’s lives before they took them in, only getting information from small tidbits or stories Aqua shared with them, sometimes by accident, though she didn’t really seem regretful when she admitted anything. Terra had never revealed anything about his past.

“What… was his name?” He asked, hoping that he wasn’t intruding on anything or poking any wounds. Aqua paused before smiling slightly.

“Yen Sid,” she said, and Sora couldn’t exactly stop the flicker of emotion that flashed across his face. Aqua laughed quietly, having caught it. “Yes, weird name, isn’t it? He used to say it was just an old name, that I wouldn’t understand but…” Her smile faded a little, laughter leaving her eyes. “I miss him.”

“He’s… dead?” Sora asked quietly and Aqua shrugged. The wind pushed her hair to the side, exposing a lost look on her face.

“I don’t know. He just left one day a couple of days after I turned fifteen. He gave me The Wayfinder and a note but that was it. I never… found out what happened to him.” Aqua’s hands curled into fists and her eyes closed. “I always wondered why.” Sora felt awkward and cursed himself slightly.

“Oh,” he said lamely, getting the urge to rock back and forth on his heels slightly. “Sorry… for bringing it up.” Aqua shook her head.

“Don’t be,” she told him, giving him a reassuring look. “It’s been ten years. I’m over it.” The small smile started to return, crawling up the side of her face. “Maybe he was magic, it would be just like him. He always did manage to do the most impossible things.”

“Maybe…” Sora started, swallowing back his own feelings that were starting to fill him. “Maybe he had a reason, for leaving you.”

It was always what Sora liked to think, when he thought of his parents. He knew, he knew that there was a very good chance they were dead. His and Kairi’s parents both. That they were gone. Why else would they have abandoned him and Kairi to the ocean, to wash up in Radiant Garden, alone and afraid. They had to be dead.

But sometimes, the smallest of times, he liked to think that they were alive somewhere. That they were trying to find him, trying to find Kairi. That they had sent them away because they had to. Maybe they were running from some bad guys. Maybe they had to go on a great adventure, and it was just too dangerous for kids to go with. Maybe they were really royalty and were sent away for their own protection after a coup in the palace.

Kairi always said he read too many fantasy books.

He couldn’t help but make up scenarios where his parents were alive and hadn’t just… abandoned him and Kairi to the ocean.

Aqua sighed, dragging Sora out of his thoughts. “Maybe you’re right,” she said, looking at him. “He just… He seemed sad when he came to The C- my home. He seemed sad but after a couple of years, he didn’t seem sad anymore.” Color painted her cheeks, barely visible by the moonlight. “He said a couple of times it was because of me but…” She shrugged. “Why would he leave if he had been happy?”

Sora didn’t know.

They started moving again, keeping to the edges of the cliffs. He held onto the thoughts in his mind, trying not to think too hard about them.

Then the quiet was broken.

An explosion ripped through the air, making the ground shake and sending both Aqua and Sora to their knees. Sora flung out his hands, barely managing to stop himself from hitting his head on the ground while Aqua tumbled, closer to the edge than he was.

His hands stung from where they had slammed into the ground and he panted, ears ringing, and he shook his head. What had just happened? Turning his head, he saw smoke rising from the city, presumably where the explosion had come from.

“What?” He said aloud, looking up to try and find Aqua. Only to see that she was nowhere to be found.

“Aqua?” He called out, confusion racing through him. Where could she have gone?

“Sora!” Aqua yelled and Sora blinked. Aqua sounded close. Her voice had come from behind him, which was nothing but cliffs…

Shoving himself to his feet as fast as he possibly could, he staggered over to the edge, falling to his knees a foot from the edge and leaning over.

Aqua hung from the side of the cliff, a foot or so down.

“Aqua!” He gasped out and she looked up at him. Her right hand was clinging to the cliff, fingers digging into the stone in a way that had to be painful while her other one hung limply at her side. Her feet scrabbled for purchase, trying and failing to dig into the sheer stone. “Hang on!”

He reached down, feeling the earth rumble underneath them, probably coming from the city and whatever fight had just exploded over there. The rumble, however, had the adverse effect of shaking Aqua loose from her grip and he lunged forward, grabbing her wrist just as her hand slipped of the stone, the pull of it sending him flat to the ground as well as feeling like his arm was about to fall out of his socket. Aqua didn’t scream but she did gasp, and she looked more scared than Sora had ever seen her and-

“Easy, I’ve got you,” he murmured out, panic and warmth warring in his voice. Panic because she was a hairsbreadth away from falling to her death. Warmth because… because she had just… she had just…

The girl with white hair looked up at him, her silver eyes filled with tears. A smile stretched across her face though. “Let me go,” she whispered, and he shook his head desperately. “It okay,” she continued, not doing anything to try and pull herself up. Which made sense because she had just…

“C’mon brother,” she said quietly. “Just let me go. I deserve it.” He shook his head again. What could she have possibly done? She didn’t do anything. She was grieving, alone. He should have watched her better.

But it was okay. Because he could hear Vidar behind him, he could hear the others racing towards them. Their Keyblades would be usable, and they could get her back and ask her why and keep her safe until she didn’t want to die anymore.

And she could hear it too, from the way her eyes flashed in panic as she looked up, as if trying to see up and over the cliff face to where the rest of their siblings were coming.

“Please,” he whispered out and she looked at him. “Don’t.” She smiled once more before bracing her foot against the cliff face and shoving. He gripped her hand but felt his shoulder slide out of place and there was nothing he could do but scream-

“Sora!” Aqua snapped out and he blinked rapidly, focusing back down on her. What…? No, not again. “Sora, I know you’re scared but you have to pull me back up, okay?” Aqua said, whatever panic in her eyes having disappeared as she looked at him. Eyes flashed from blue to silver, from encouraging to pain filled. “You can do it; I know you can.” He blinked once before bracing his other hand against the ground, trying to figure out how to drag himself backwards.

Reflexive tears of pain beaded in his eyes as tried to drag her up, shoulder screaming at him in his socket. The ground felt like it was going to fall out from underneath him, like it would crack under the pressure he was putting on it, but it didn’t.

Aqua’s feet pressed into the cliff, trying to help press herself up, not out. Sora briefly wondered why she wasn’t trying to drag herself up with her other arm, but instead forced himself to ignore it, tried to focus on nothing but not letting go of Aqua’s wrist and getting her off the cliff.

Biting his lip so hard he tasted blood, he managed to get his elbow over the edge of the cliff, giving himself a single second to rest with his elbow firmly resting on the ground, not allowing Aqua to slip farther before restarting, now focusing more on dragging his arm backwards instead of up, which was still up for Aqua but less painful for him.

Using both his arm and feet to drag himself backwards, he felt a massive burst of relief when Aqua appeared over the edge, the hand of the arm he was holding futilely trying to grab the ground and help. But being up gave her a better advantage and she managed to get her feet under her, digging into some crack or crevice, abruptly shoving herself forward and onto the ground, sending Sora sprawling back suddenly. Where she promptly rolled a good three times to get away from the edge, making Sora have to scramble quickly to get away. He immediately ran back to her, wrapping his arms around her, shaking as much as she was, tears for real starting to grow in his eyes.

“I’m okay,” she whispered in his ear, but he couldn’t tell if she was speaking to him or herself. “I’m okay.” He shook his head once, refusing to let go of her and she didn’t seem that keen to break the hug either.

For a second, they both sat there, Sora kneeling in the grass while Aqua was half sat up on the ground, before Sora eventually let go, raising one hand to swipe away his tears. Sitting back on his heels, he scanned her body, looking for injuries, and instantly zeroed in on her other arm, which was laying at an awkward angle.

“Aqua, your arm,” he said, and she winced, looking over at it. It looked wrong and reminded him of the time Kairi had fallen from the crow’s nest when she was nine. Most scary moment of his life. Until these past few days.

“Yeah, I think it’s broken,” she said, and he blinked at her.

“How are you not in pain?” He gasped out, remembering the way Kairi had screamed when she landed on her arm with a crack.

“Oh I am,” she reassured him, like that was the problem here. “I’m just good at hiding it.” And that… was another thing that Sora could get into later. He had seen Aqua get hurt before, had seen pain and discomfort cross her face when a sword got past her guard during a dance with pirates or when the strength of waves sent her falling down the stairs, but she had never screamed, never shown too much pain. Sora thought that was just because the injury wasn’t bad. He hadn’t ever gotten stabbed before, he wouldn’t know what it felt like. But Kairi had broken her arm and she had screamed so why wasn’t Aqua?

He shook his thoughts away. Not the time.

Standing up and hurrying around to her other side, his hands hovered over her arm, wanting to help but knowing he couldn’t. What could he do? What would Kairi and Riku do?

“Cura,” Riku whispered out and Sora watched in awe as the light traveled down Kairi’s body, sealing up the tears in her body. How…? He thought. How could Riku do that? Was that… magic? But magic was only in stories.

“Cura,” Sora whispered and Aqua looked up at him.

“What?” She asked and Sora looked at her.

“Something Riku did,” he said, looking back down at her arm. “He healed Kairi. The day with the pirates.” Aqua nodded slowly, clearly remembering the incident and Sora felt the smallest smile curl up his face. Maybe… “I think I could do it?”

“What?” Aqua asked again. “You don’t know magic.” Well actually, the tiniest part of Sora brain snarked as it remembered what Vala had said. But he also remembered that those were two different things and he needed to sit on Riku until he gave him answers.

“Riku mentioned that I could be able to do it with my Keyblade,” he answered, and Kingdom Key flashed into his hand, without even his prompting. Aqua’s eyes flicked from the Keyblade to Sora then down to her arm.

“You sure about this?” She asked and Sora nodded once. There probably wasn’t a way he could make it worse, right?

Gripping his Keyblade in his hand, he thought over the words that Riku had said. Did he just say the words? In his head, something prodded and he listened and the image of Aqua’s healing arm came to view. Holding onto the image, he swallowed.

“Cura,” he said, and nothing happened. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes, and only pictured Aqua’s arm. The bone mending, the pain leaving. Imagined it going straight and regaining functionality.

Something warm swirled in his heart and hands. “Cura,” he whispered out, voice barely above a breath, not daring to move, to think anything other than Aqua’s healing arm, eyes staying closed as the darkness swallowed the image in his head.

Aqua gasped and he opened his eyes.

Aqua’s arm was straight, no blemish or twist out of place. Sora’s eyes slowly raised up to hers, where shock was clear in them.

“Aqua,” he whispered out. “I think I just did magic.”

Chapter Text

Riku banished Way To The Dawn with a shake of his hand, the Keyblade still feeling alien to his hand, even after four months of wielding. But he didn’t regret the Keyblade as there was a very good chance it was the only thing that had kept all of them alive as long as they had been. Well, Neku and Joshua had been there for who knows how long before they found Riku, so they probably would have been fine. Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki on the other hand… Beat could fly yes, but even that couldn’t protect him forever. That much was obvious.

“Everyone okay?” Neku asked the group as the last whisps of the beasts floated away along with the white hearts, doing his usual after-a-fight checkup. “Anyone hurt?” Joshua looked up from where he had collapsed on the ground, hands already glowing slightly in preparation. When it had been discovered that Riku’s Keyblade gifted him the ability to do magic, Joshua had started teaching the younger the spells he knew, but the process was slow going and the sixteen-year-old remained their best healer.

When no one spoke up, Neku nodded once, reaching down a hand to help Joshua to his feet. Rhyme shifted back and forth, watching Beat carefully like he was suddenly going to collapse and reveal a wound he had hidden. Something Beat had done before and had promptly gotten chewed out about it from basically everyone, ending in Neku asking/ordering him to never do that again. The fifteen-year-old had agreed, but they all watched him carefully.

“Was it just me or were there more of them?” Shiki asked and Riku tipped his head. Now that Shiki mentioned it, there had been an unusual amount of them. The number that had been attacking them had been slowly increasing over the past months, but nothing like this. It really was a miracle that they had gotten out of that, unscathed as well.

“You are correct,” Joshua murmured, eyes flicking to Neku as he raised an eyebrow. Neku’s eyes narrowed slightly in response to whatever Joshua had just non-verbally told him and Joshua shifted backwards slightly, responding in kind.

“That was impressive,” a voice from behind them said and Riku jumped in surprise, whipping around to look at Kairi, the floating girl gazing at him in concern. Her hand was resting gently on his arm, hair moving in the wind, and her eyes showed nothing but worry.

“Riku?” She asked, the tone of her voice saying that it wasn’t the first time she had called for him. “I’ve been calling your name. Are you okay?” He blinked, breath hitching shakily, as he tried to remember what had happened. He and Kairi were floating downwards, Roxas, Ven, and Naminé below them. They had leapt through a window, which had been in a room that held…

Shiki and Beat and Rhyme and Neku and Joshua and the others and the beasts and the wallsandthesand

“Riku?” Kairi prodded again, tightening her grip on his arm, and he forced himself from those memories, digging his nailing into his palms. The pain cut through his thoughts, thoroughly grounding him in the present and away from the memories. He turned his head, to look at Kairi, but her face flickered between her and another girl slightly older than she was.

He had entered that room and there had been pictures. Brown walls, brown paths. Dust and sand kicked up every step and monsters around every corner. His home, his torture chamber. The place where his friends had spent their final moments, the place where he had almost joined them.

All he could taste in his mouth was the dust that invaded whenever they spoke, the way water had been religiously guarded for both sustenance and to clean wounds before they were healed because if a single speck of dust got sealed in the wound, infection could spread. He could remember his friends, Neku’s quiet confidence or Joshua’s contemplation and apathy. Shiki’s laughter and Beat’s nicknames, Rhyme always following behind her big brother.

He could feel and taste and remember and Kairi was calling for him and he remembered the way their blood had splashed the ground her other hand reaching out to touch his arm as well, Neku first, placing himself as a barrier between a beast and Shiki when Riku wasn’t good enough. Kairi’s voice was rising. Then Rhyme, killed in the dark, all alone when they thought she was safe. Riku could feel the ground coming up to meet them, the Aero spell slipping from his fingers and concentration as he and Kairi’s descent started to speed up. Then Beat and Shiki and Josh, the beasts carving claws across their hands and face and bodies while Riku was pinned by one of them, one of the ones that always struck him as more intelligent. He writhed and screamed and fought but the beast effortlessly kept his arms pinned beneath him, stopping his use of the Keyblade. His tears mixed with their blood, and he sobbed after their hearts rose to the clouds, joining Neku and Rhyme in death. Kairi’s hand was bruising on his arm now and she was gazing at him, determination filling her gaze. And then they had turned on him, advancing slowly, and for a second, he hadn’t wanted to fight them.

But he had and he had moved, Aero and Shield spinning from his fingers, and he didn’t even know what he was trying to do but there was pain and hurt and grief in every part of his mind and the barrier came into contact with his hand and it s p l i n t e r e d-

Way To The Dawn was abruptly wrenched from his grip, the grip sliding from its familiar spot in his palm. Not completely, that would be disastrous, but enough that he had to scramble to hold onto it, eyes flashing and adrenaline spiking more than anything else had done. Way To The Dawn was everything. Was a lifeline and a protector and he couldn’t lose it. It had almost saved them.

He snapped his gaze up, abruptly thrown into the present again, seeing Kairi with one of her hands wrapped around the neck of the Keyblade, staring at him dead in the eyes and he froze under the scrutiny of her gaze. Her eyes pierced him and gave him the feeling that she knew exactly what he had been thinking about, exactly what was going through his head.

“Riku,” Kairi said calmly, probably more calmly than he had ever heard her. Except maybe that day she was talking him down in the privacy of his own cabin. “Could you enforce the Aero spell somehow? We are falling faster than Roxas, Ven, and Naminé are.” He blinked again, looking down to try and find his little sister and the others. But while they weren’t there, the ground was, rushing up to meet them. He jolted, feeling the last strands of the spell in his mind and reached out to them, yanking hard enough to give himself a small headache in an effort to strengthen them. For a second, it looked like it wasn’t going to work, and he prepared a Shield spell instead, but he and Kairi slowed in their descent, no longer looking like they were going to get seriously injured if they landed on the ground.

Fantastic job, you nearly got another one killed.

He flinched at the thought and could see Kairi’s eyes flick back to him from where they had instead been focused on the ground.

“I’m sorry for grabbing your Keyblade,” she apologized, letting go of it carefully, falling back into the embrace of the Aero spell. “But I didn’t know how else to wake you up.” He paused for a second, thoughts still flashing between here and there and his hands were shaking but he nodded slowly.

“It’s okay,” he said and flinched at the clearness of his voice, expecting it to be choked with dust and dirt and tears and pain. “I shouldn’t have…” He trailed off as their memories assaulted his mind again. Their smiles and their pain.

“We can’t control our flashbacks,” Kairi replied gently as the both of them landed on the ground, rolling through their feet and ending soundlessly on the pavement. Riku shivered, his mind still trapped in the hot summers and cold winters and hot days and cold nights.

“Still,” he muttered, and she shook her head once, firmly.

“It’s not your fault,” she said and reached out, taking one of his hands and squeezing it, like she had done that last time she found him trapped in a flashback. “But I do think we need to talk about it.” He leaned backwards slightly, like his body was trying to escape the idea of talking over what had happened, in there and to him. But Kairi didn’t let go of his hand, instead staring deep into his eyes. “Naminé and I found something you might be interested in,” she confided, giving him a searching look. “In that room. Well, I found it and hid it from Naminé.”

He frowned at her but didn’t get a chance to say anything before Roxas, Ven, and Naminé landed on the ground around them and Kairi let go of his hand, spinning on her heel and smiling like nothing had happened.

“Well, that was fun,” she said to the group, but Roxas frowned at them. More specifically, Riku.

“What happened?” He asked and Riku managed to conceal his flinch this time.

“I wasn’t completely used to Aero spells,” he explained with a shrug, the lie rolling of his tongue like sugar. “Haven’t done them in a while.” Which wasn’t completely false. He had often used them to keep the others safe, retreating to the top of the maze walls if possible on harder nights, for the sliver of a chance that they would sleep peacefully without intrusion. But he hadn’t done them since he had escaped.

Roxas gave him look but Riku didn’t allow his face to change in the slightest. Now was not the time.

“Oh,” Naminé said faintly and Riku turned to her, seeing her looking back up at the building they had just jumped from. He followed her gaze and sucked in a breath in surprise and fear at the shadows that danced in the light of the house, leaning out of the broken window.

“Time to go,” he hissed out, reaching down and picked up Naminé, holding him close to her. Roxas spun, seeing what they were and aimed his Keyblade at the place, whispering something and a thick fog suddenly appeared, obscuring them from vision. Riku took off, hearing Kairi, Ven, and Roxas behind him. Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme behind him.

They were closer to Sora and the others now. Riku could feel it.

~

He had not felt this angry since the brat had escaped.

The three children that had been secured in the dungeon had escaped and two more had somehow gotten into the home before escaping as well.

The glass crunched under his feet as he walked forward, looking out the broken window and down to the ground. The Heartless had been instructed to tear apart the city more than they had been doing before and he spared a single thought to the kids that already lived there. If they stayed inside, they would be safe. If they didn’t, they shouldn’t have gone outside. None of them had been as impressive as the brat had been, unfortunately, so perhaps having another “freak accident” like what happened seven years ago would be beneficial. Perhaps he could collect some of the awakened Bloodlines from the Maze. He didn’t like mixing his experiments, but this might be an exception.

They would be easier to control anyway. A story about someone who had saved them from certain death in the Maze would be enough to control most, if not all, of them. It had worked on the brat and the coward.

He let himself sigh when he thought of the young girl. Calling her coward in his head was the smallest bit disrespectful, especially in the way she had died, but it was better than calling her by her name. Names had power after all.

Thinking back for a second, ignoring everything that was happening around him, he allowed himself the smallest positive emotion when he thought of them. Before everything had happened, they had been his greatest pride and joy. Dare he say it, he had cared about them. They would have been perfect. The perfect catalysts, the perfect summoners. His plan could have been done years ago if everything hadn’t happened.

But he had pushed them too far, he knew that now. He thought her loyalty to him wouldn’t have been something she would ever question, and he thought she would do as he asked her. She hadn’t unfortunately, and it had only caused the actions he had warned her about. Then…

Then the brat was alone and he, he was the best. The true best he had ever trained. Not weak like the girl had been, not struggling like the others, not sentimental like the children. He had done what he was asked, and he had done it without question.

But he had pushed him too far as well and he had done what no one else had done. He had escaped. It seemed to be the theme of the Ones The Prophecy Spoke Of. Three of them had escaped from him, each from a different place. It was inconceivable usually, but only secured his belief that these were the Prophecy Bearers, no matter what Xigbar wondered. Doing the impossible seemed to be a past time of theirs.

He was pulled from his thoughts abruptly when one of the Heartless tugged on the strand connecting him to it. Sinking back into the ability, he watched through its eyes as it stared at the brat and three of his students, walking through the city, hiding in the shadows. He sighed. It looked like he was going to be losing three students tonight.

Wrapping his awareness around more Heartless, he directed them to the group.

Kill the three others. Bring me the brat.

Chapter Text

Kairi decided that she hated the city. She despised it. It made her shake and shiver and gave her a sickening taste in her mouth. Her hands felt clammy, and her legs wanted to give out from under her and she just wanted out. It was like the dungeon but so, so much worse. She could almost hear a voice, in the back of her head, encouraging her to stay.

The good thing was that they hadn’t seen any of the shadows that had previously been staring out at them from the window. They had been running for a couple of minutes now and the only things spotted had been some Heartless, which Roxas had quickly dispatched.

“Does anyone else find this place strange?” Kairi asked after a second, as they took a quick second to pause in the shadows of an alleyway, catching their breaths. Riku had kneeled down in front of Naminé, checking in with her. He had been carrying her, but she could tell that it was slowing him down. Not that having her run would help them be any faster however.

Roxas looked back from where he was peering around the corner. “What do you mean?” He asked, a hint of derision in his voice. “Of course this place is strange.”

“No, I mean…” Kairi twisted her tongue in her mouth, trying to figure out how to convey what she was thinking. She had no doubt that Sora was probably feeling the same as her, as he had the same instincts as she did. Similar experiences and all that. “It’s too… quiet.”

Quiet was one of the only words that came to her mind when she thought about the city they were now running through. It was still, frozen, stale, if she could even go that far. She shivered. It reminded her of the witch’s place, of the dark walls and stained floor. Of the door she had scratched at until her hands were bleeding, of screaming until her throat gave out, always feeling like the air was swallowing up her cries and not allowing them to go far. It reminded her of that, of the panic and pain and fear and-

“Kairi?” Ven questioned, tapping her on the shoulder, and she jumped slightly, spinning to face him and digging her nails into her palms. Had she just…? “You were saying?”

“Did I… trail off?” She asked instead, trying to force her voice to work again. Honestly, what had that been? She hadn’t thought of that witch’s place in… years, at this point.

“Yes,” Ven answered, and she shook herself again. Her eyes dropped, down to the cobbled stone that wasn’t the stained carpet, wasn’t the scratchy wood.

“Sorry,” she said shortly. “This place… reminds me of a place I… visited when I was younger. It’s too quiet. It’s not natural.”

“Not natural how?” Riku asked, standing up and Kairi recognized the protectiveness rising in his voice despite the remaining fogginess as he shot a quick look back at Naminé. He had just got her back after all. It made sense he wouldn’t want to lose her again. Again. And his flashbacks probably weren’t helping either.

“This amount of quiet, even on the most cold, snow stained days in Radiant Garden, isn’t possible,” she replied, rubbing a hand down her arm and wincing slightly at the small trail of blood left on her arm. “Where’s the small animals? The rocks or dust being disturbed? Where’s the wind?” She shot a glance into the city, as if she could see through the buildings to the cliffs beyond. “We’re near the seaside, there should be some form of wind even this far in.” She could tell her words were having an effect on the others, if the way that Naminé shrunk closer to Riku was any indication, and she bit her lip. She hadn’t meant to scare anyone, she had just… noticed it. “The last time I was in a place like this, it was because the place had been specifically creating as a prison, meant to silence and hide the people it was holding.”

“When were you in a place like that?” Ven asked, giving her a concerned look, and she abruptly snapped her mouth shut. Oh, right. She and Sora hadn’t ever… mentioned it.

Perhaps she should check that she’s not concussed after all. Because she usually never would have spilled something like that.

Maybe you just like these people? Her thoughts offered, but she shook them off.

“It’s doesn’t matter, it was a long time ago and Sora saved me,” she dismissed with a wave of her hand. “The point is, this place is so… wrong, in a way that I don’t even know is natural to make.”

“Well, if that doesn’t make me even more interested in getting out of here, I don’t know what does,” Roxas said with a drawl and the two Wayfinder kids looked over at him.

“Are we just going to brush past what Kairi just said?” Ven asked, surprised.

“Yep,” Kairi replied, rolling her shoulders back. Get it together.

A growl decided it for them.

Riku snatched up Naminé and Roxas already was aiming his Keyblade into the darkness. “Time to go,” Riku snapped out and Ven gave Kairi a final look but they both didn’t argue as they started moving again.

They moved down the streets, the stars above them and the light seeping from the ground their only light source.

Kairi turned her head, trying to keep Riku in view as they rounded another corner but that was stopped when an explosion went off a little way away, sending all of them tumbling to the ground. The sound, sudden in the unnatural quietness, shocked all of them badly.

“What was that?!” Kairi yelled in confusion, knees scraping the ground and leaving blood behind. Ven was sprawled across the ground and Roxas was shaking his head in confusion and slight pain as the boy pushed himself up to a sitting position. Riku had curled around Naminé as they fell, shielding her from most of the damage.

“I… don’t know,” Riku said, pushing himself up to his knees and quickly checking Naminé for injuries. Roxas was the first up, eyes scanning the distance.

“There,” he said, pointing. Kairi turned in the direction and saw the smoke starting to rise. She swallowed slightly as she stood on shaking legs, knees and palms stinging.

“Think it’s our friends?” Ven asked as he stood and Kairi bit her lip, not knowing, trying to not let hope build in her.

“Possibly,” Riku murmured, lifting Naminé up again as he rose, eyes looking in the direction of the explosion. “It won’t hurt to check.”

It could, actually, Kairi snarked in her mind, but didn’t argue instead rolling her wrists in an effort to dispel the pain in them. She was glad her thoughts were mostly normal again. No more memories of the place spread into her mind, and she sighed briefly, grateful. Now to just make sure Ven forgot about it as well.

Roxas looked back at Riku, who Kairi was glad to see barely had a fog in his eyes. Explosions were a good thing for snapping people out of flashbacks, apparently.

“C’mon,” Riku muttered, starting in the direction of the explosion. Kairi didn’t run immediately, instead checking in on Ven, who was still staggering slightly. He shook his head sharply, as if trying to dispel a headache and she slipped her arm around his waist, supporting him as he leaned on her.

“Are you okay?” She asked, voice low, and he nodded, not that convincingly. She took a step forward and he followed, steps steadier now that she was helping him.

“Yes,” he said, his arm wrapping around her shoulders. “I just hit my head falling. Everything’s spinning.” She sucked in a quick breath, noticing the blood that was starting to mat in his hair. Head injuries weren’t good.

“Well, you will be okay.” She tried to be encouraging, taking a few more steps forward, dragging Ven along with her. “One, because Riku has magic healing. And two, because Vanitas will kill us if you’re not. And since I don’t fancy dying today when we’re so close to escaping…” While she had been expecting him to smile or laugh, jokes about how protective Vanitas was being commonplace across the ship for years, his lips turned down and his gaze dropped, looking down to the ground.

“Right…” He murmured and she paused for a second, looking at him. This was the second time he had reacted badly at a mention of Vanitas, and it concerned her.

“Ven,” she started as they continued walking in the direction of the explosion, Riku and Roxas long disappeared into the distance. “Did something happen when we were separated?”

For a second it seemed like Ven wasn’t going to answer and she resigned herself to asking later when he opened his mouth. “Nothing really,” he said quietly, eyes dragging on the ground instead of looking at her. “Just… news.”

She gave him a look but didn’t push it. This wasn’t the time nor place to get into it and she would feel back if he told her information because he was addled from the brain injury.

“Well then, tell me your news later,” she instructed him.

“Only if you tell me what you were talking about earlier,” he responded, and she made a face.

“How about we can bounce ideas off each other about how to talk to people we got revelations about,” she stated instead, cursing herself for allowing that bit about their past to slip out. What the hell had she been thinking? There were words in the back of her head.

He twitched slightly in her hold as they entered the alley between two buildings, the shadows crossing their faces and making it slightly hard for Kairi to see the ground. The ground didn’t seem to glow here like it did for the main roads.

“You too?” He asked groggily, presumably to her second sentence, and she frowned in concern at the tone of his voice.

“Ven?” She prodded and he looked up at her, tiredness starting to build in his eyes. “Ven, you can’t fall asleep, okay?” She debated stopping them and setting Ven down but didn’t want to give him any more incentive to fall asleep. “Ven stay awake.” He hummed in response, steps becoming a little stronger as he visibly tried to wake himself up. “That’s right Ven,” she told him encouragingly as they crossed the next street, feet stumbling and bumping into each other.

They were almost there, the sounds of battle growing in the distance. She pulled Ven tighter towards her as they crept through the next alley. She didn’t know what she would be walking into.

Doing her best to hide her and Ven in the shadows, she peered out.

Riku and Roxas were fighting several Heartless, the remains of magic little on the street. Naminé was standing with a couple of others, none of whom Kairi recognized. Until one of them shifted, and Kairi realized it was Vanitas.

She felt relief rush through her. Good, they had found one more member of her family.

Not wanting to draw any attention to her or Ven from the Heartless, she settled herself and Ven on the ground, allowing Ven to lean on her.

“Ven, look!” She told him, trying to make sure his eyes stayed awake on her. “Vanitas.” He followed her pointing and, despite whatever feelings that he had been having about his older brother, relaxed when he saw that Vanitas, seemed at least, was unharmed.

Riku sliced through another Heartless, turning back to say something to the group he was defending. Vanitas said something back and Riku nodded once, focusing back on the Heartless attacking. Vanitas looked around, eyes zeroing in on Kairi and Ven. She waved to him. Placing a hand on an unknown woman’s shoulder, he pointed in their direction, and she nodded, guiding the other two unknown people in their direction while Vanitas led Naminé.

As they drew closer, Kairi could see that it was a woman and two teenagers, about her’s and Ven’s age. The woman’s silver eyes landed on Ven, and they widened as they joined them. She kneeled down next to Ven and reached out, causing Kairi to stiffen and lean away from her, pulling Ven with her.

“Sorry,” the woman apologized, pulling her hand back. “But I can help him.” Kairi paused for a second, eyes drifting from the woman’s hand to Ven then to Vanitas, who was coming their way. Vanitas hadn’t seemed put off or hostile around the woman, which was highly strange, so Kairi relaxed ever so slightly and nodded once at the woman. She must have been trustworthy if she gained even an inch of Vanitas’s trust, something that was even harder to do than gain Kairi’s.

The woman’s hand came to rest on Ven’s head, right over where the blood was and she frowned, concern written across her features. “What happened?” She asked quietly and Kairi grimaced.

“He hit his head when he fell,” she admitted. “We all got thrown off by an explosion.” An expression of guilt slid across one of the teenager’s faces, the one with reddish hair, but it was gone before Kairi could be certain it had indeed been guilt. The woman winced before nodding quietly. Her eyes closed.

“Cura,” she whispered out and Kairi shivered. She had heard those words before; she had felt them and their effects. For a second, it almost felt like it was raining again.

Ven shifted slightly in her grip and Kairi looked down to him in concern. His eyes blinked up at her in confusion, but the pain that had also been reflected in them was vanishing. She sighed in relief just as Vanitas reached them.

“Ven?” He asked as he kneeled down in front of his brother and Ven’s eyes slid to him. He smiled at his older brother, all the hesitance and concern that he had spoken to Kairi gone in an instant. She surrendered him to Vanitas’s hold and stood up.

Now that they didn’t have specific people they were defending, Riku and Roxas were more free to move, using bigger area of effect spells that would have caused harm to the others, has they still been there. But the Heartless didn’t stop coming, their claws tearing and ripping at Riku and Roxas.

“We have to go,” the woman said, and Kairi looked to her in confusion.

“What?” She asked and the woman turned to her.

“My name is Vala,” she said quickly. “I helped Aqua find her friends.” Kairi perked up at Aqua’s name and a small smile crossed her mouth when she realized that ‘her friends’ were probably Sora, Xion, and Terra. “I can take you to them.”

“What about Riku and Roxas?” Naminé asked, the little girl looking back to where her brother and friend were fighting the Heartless.

“They will follow,” Vala said before turning back to the other two teenagers, saying something rapidly and quietly at them. The boy frowned while the girl looked like she was going to argue, but Vala said something else, and the fight drained out of the girl. She nodded sadly and grabbed the boy’s hand. Within a second, they were gone, disappearing back into the city’s depths. When Vala turned back around, she caught Kairi staring at her.

“I was sending them home,” she explained. “It’s too dangerous for them to be out here right now.”

“Wouldn’t it always be too dangerous for them?” Kairi asked, thinking the Heartless that roamed the city, and the silence, but Vala shook her head.

“The Heartless barely come this far often,” Vala said. “This is a safe place for them, for all of us.” But the look in her eyes said she didn’t believe it and Kairi frowned, looking at Vala in confusion. Why stay here if it was dangerous?

But Vanitas stood, Ven held tightly in his grip and Kairi reached out, taking Naminé’s hand in hers like she had done many times that night already and Vala nodded, starting to walk down the road, carefully staying in the shadows.

“I sent them to the docks,” Vala explained. “I will take you there as well.” Kairi nodded, watching the fight between Riku, Roxas, and the Heartless carefully. It looked like Riku and Roxas were winning but she couldn’t be sure. More and more Heartless were always coming, replacing ones who they felled.

Kairi looked back forward, to make sure she didn’t run into anything. Vala led them, eyes watching all the shadows closely while Vanitas followed her, Ven held carefully in his arms. The younger boy had fallen asleep, something that both didn’t surprise Kairi and worried her. But Vala had healed his injury, so it couldn’t be that bad, right?

Kairi suddenly had to yank Naminé backwards when a Heartless emerged from the shadows, swiping at the both of them. She backed up several steps, hiding Naminé behind her as the creature advanced on her, separating her from Vala and Vanitas.

Opening her mouth to yell for help, she was cut off when another person emerged from the shadows, swinging his Keyblade into the creature and banishing it in a second.

She smiled. “Sora!”

Chapter Text

Sora turned back, flashing a smile to Kairi. He scanned her quickly, checking for injuries. She had been gone, she had been missing, anything could have happened to her. There were a couple of scrapes on her, all in different places, but nothing that was profusely bleeding. She didn’t appear too tired or worried either, so nothing too extreme had to have happened to her, right?

“Hi Kairi!” He chirped out, pushing joy and reassurance into his tone, and her eyes flashed in slight amusement as well as relief. Naminé peered out from behind her legs, her hand holding onto Kairi’s skirt like she had often done to Riku’s shirt. Seemed like they had gotten close in the past couple of hours.

He turned around, looking for others, and waved to Vanitas, who was talking very quickly with Aqua, who had paused when he moved forward to take care of the Heartless. Ven was curled up in his arms, and while worry shot through him as he gazed at the boy, he forced his thoughts back on track. He could worry about Ven later. They had magical healing, after all.

“Sora,” Kairi breathed out again and he spun back around to her. Banishing Kingdom Key, he hugged her, feeling her hug back just as tightly. She was shaking just as badly as he was. They hadn’t been separated in years, they had always been there for each other and now…

It had been so nerve-wracking, having her gone.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his previous happiness and joy at seeing her retreating for a second as he worried about her. She could be hiding an injury. Or it could just be hard to see. But she shook her head and he relaxed slightly.

“I’m okay,” she said, pulling out of their hug, and looking him over. She looked like she wanted to say something else but restrained herself. He frowned gently at her. What would have she needed to say to him? “Are you?” She eventually settled on. For a second, he was tempted to tell her about Aqua and the tense moments of trying to save Aqua, and the visions he had been getting, but shook his head. He would tell her later. Right now, they needed to get out of here.

“Go, follow Vala,” he told her, and she frowned at him. “She’ll lead you to The Wayfinder. I need to get Roxas and Riku.”

Kairi blinked in surprise, mouth falling open slightly. “The Wayfinder sank,” she said blankly, and he shook his head, feeling the happiness come back as he thought of their home.

“It got better,” was all he said in return, all his mouth was able to make, and he had the feeling that didn’t dissuade her feelings of concern at all. He switched their positions, so he was closer to the fighting and gently nudged her towards Aqua and the others, who were waiting. “Go,” he repeated, and she gave him a look, seemingly fighting wither herself before she managed to push it away.

“Don’t die,” she responded, giving him a final concerned look, before turning and hurrying after the others.

“I won’t!” He called before resummoning Kingdom Key and spinning around.

Running forward, he swiped the Keyblade downward, shattering the first Heartless it came into contact with and brushed past it, seeing the white heart fly upward in the corner of his eye. Two more Heartless appeared from the shadows and he took care of them just as quickly. When Vala had said that the Heartless rarely came this far, he found it hard to believe that because the Heartless looked perfectly fine with appearing out of the shadows. Now he hoped she was indeed correct because he couldn’t imagine what life would be like if they constantly had to fight off the Heartless.

“Riku!” He yelled in greeting as he entered the street proper, spotting the other two Keyblade Wielders, and the older boy spun around, silver hair being shoved out of his eyes.

“Sora!” He called back, shock in his voice, and Sora smiled, shooting forward until he was close to Riku, turning on his heel and stabbing another Heartless with his Keyblade. He couldn’t help but be glad that his Keyblade was a lot like his sword. It made fighting with it easier.

“You’re okay!” Riku said, scanning Sora for injuries. Sora did the same, glad to see that there were only small, surface level scratches on the older boy. He was holding a book, however, and Sora took a quick second to frown at it in confusion before dismissing it.

Sora shrugged in response to Riku’s exclamation. “Mostly,” he replied and could instantly tell that it was the wrong thing to say as Riku’s gaze became filled with concern. “Hey Riku, I promise, I’m okay.” He turned and sliced through another one of the Heartless, watching Riku out of the corner of his eye. “I’m fine.” Riku gave him a look but had to stop watching him a second later in order to take down a couple more Heartless.

“Blizzard!” Roxas yelled from behind him, and Sora instinctively ducked down, rolling over his shoulder to see the spell go through the place he had just been standing, freezing several Heartless. He looked back at the other Keyblade Wielder. “Sorry,” Roxas said but Sora shook his head.

“No harm done,” he replied, used to Kairi’s or Ven’s similar shenanigans the times they would fight pirates, before shooting forward, nearly hitting Roxas but going past him a hairsbreadth distance to slash another Heartless. Roxas made a quick noise of surprise but adapted quickly, nearly pressing his back against Sora as the two of them fended off Heartless in a circle.

Riku spun on his heel, pointing his Keyblade at the two of them in a way that could be considered a threat, but Sora knew that Riku would never hurt them. “Thunder Rain!” The older boy cried, and lightning flashed down on the both of them, creating a spherical circle of falling lightning around them. But neither faltered, almost instinctively fighting the few Heartless that wouldn’t get hit by the lightning. The second the lightning faded, Roxas moved, throwing a wave of wind fixed with fire at the next couple of Heartless.

Riku moved forward, he and Sora meeting in the middle as they both swiped at a Heartless off the other’s shoulder. Riku’s arm bumped with Sora’s, causing Sora to pause for a second, flashing a smile at Riku, who returned it, albeit smaller. Roxas ended up near them again, a Cure spell floating down on all of them like a light set of armor, the person who cast it unable to be guessed. A roar sounded and the three of them turned to see one of the huge ones that had nearly killed him and Kairi rise up from the shadows. They froze.

“Can we fight it?” Sora asked but Riku shook his head. “Should we fight it?

“I don’t think we have a choice,” the older boy said, backing up a hairsbreadth and the air around him crackled with building up magic. “It’s blocking the path out of here.” Sora grit his teeth but didn’t argue and the three of them split off without even having to talk. Sora raced forward, managing to smack one of the creature’s massive hands with Kingdom Key while the two more experienced Keyblade Wielders each took a different side.

The Heartless roared at Sora, attempting to smush him with its other hand and Sora ran around the side of it, ducking out of the way as both Riku and Roxas aimed at it.

“Fireball!”

“Thundaga!”

Sora shivered as the magic washed over him but almost had his hearing blown out at the sound the large creature made, kneeling over and slamming its hands onto the ground with enough force that it caused Sora to stumble and fall to the ground. He let the movement push him, rolling over his shoulder to sprawl on the ground further from the beast.

A flash later, Riku was there, grabbing Sora by the upper arm and pulling him up, supporting him silently as Roxas ran up one of the creature’s arms, stabbing it in the back of its neck, powered by some magic spell. It snarled again, snapping its head backwards and flinging Roxas off of it, sending him careening through the air until slamming into one of the buildings.

Sora gasped, freeing himself from Riku’s hold and raced over, ducking under one of the Heartless’s reaching hands, leaning over Roxas, whose Keyblade had vanished and was breathing heavily. Sora paused, trying to remember the feeling that he had gotten when he healed Aqua.

“Cura,” he whispered out and Roxas’s breathing became less labored, the teenager opening his eyes and staring at Sora in surprise. “Cool right?” Sora asked, slightly awkwardly. He didn’t know what else to say. Behind them, reflected off the shiny buildings, magic flashed as Riku took another shot at the beast. “Can you stand?” Roxas’s eyebrows furrowed before nodding once, pressing one of his hands into the ground in an effort to shove himself up.

Sora reached out a hand, banishing Kingdom Key and Roxas stared at him for a second before slowly taking it, allowing Sora to help him stand. A second later, Riku appeared next to them, frowning at Roxas for a second.

“What?” Sora asked, worried that he had messed something up, but Riku slowly turned his gaze to him.

“Did you heal him?” The older boy asked, and Sora nodded hesitantly, not knowing how to take the look on Riku’s face.

“Huh,” Riku muttered before turning back to Roxas. “Curaga,” he whispered out and Sora could feel the energy returning to Roxas as the other boy pushed him away, standing on his own two feet. “Time to go.”

“What about the creature?” Roxas asked and Riku shook his head.

“We’re on the other side of him now, aren’t we?” Riku questioned and Sora blinked, looking around in surprise. They were. He hadn’t noticed. “We just needed to get around him.”

“Do you know where the others are?” Roxas asked and Sora piped up.

“I do.” He gestured to the way the others had gone. “Follow me.” He started running, hearing Riku and Roxas follow him. They ducked into one of the numerous alleys, the space large enough for them to fit through, but not for the monster attacking them. The Heartless behind them continued to below but couldn’t hit them now.

He burst out of the city a few minutes later, Riku and Roxas at his heels. A few more Heartless took swipes at them, chittering and chattering in anger, but they were dispersed easily. “This way!” He called, leading them to the staircase that went to the docks. Stopping for a second at the top, he relaxed the smallest bit when he saw that Kairi and the others were at the dock. He had thought they would be, but it had still been a small worry.

Going down the stairs as fast as possible, he landed on the dock below and kept running, hearing Roxas and Riku behind him. He just wanted to get out of this city as soon as possible. There were roars in the distance and he didn’t dare look back, only paying attention to Riku’s and Roxas’s breaths behind him, a silent reminder that they were still there.

Turning on his heel, he raced up the gangplank, throwing his arms out for balance when it shifted and basically collapsed on the deck a few feet from the mast, all of the adrenaline that had been fueling disappearing in a flash. Kairi settled down next to him, hands hovering around him and checking for injuries. He heard the sound of someone, probably Terra dragging the gangplank up, before Riku’s shout of “Aero!” had the ship lurching backwards quickly, causing Kairi to basically fall on the deck next to him.

She huffed in playful anger and surprise, and he couldn’t help the small giggles that burst out of him at that, clapping a hand to his mouth immediately after, but Kairi had already heard him. She turned her glare down to him and he laughed again, something that was quickly copied by Kairi as their fear and adrenaline made them slightly hysterical.

Looking up while still swallowing hiccups, he could see Aqua already guiding the ship away from the city, Terra at her side. Riku’s Keyblade was still aimed at the sails, still keeping up his spell and sending them rocketing away from the city, the wind whipping his hair but not causing him to stumble. Ven was leaned up against the railing, Vanitas standing near him, keeping a close eye on his slumbering little brother. The older man’s hands were tight in fists and he was stock still, eyes flickering up to the mast of all things every couple of seconds. He looked like he was forcing himself not to look back at the city as they fled. Naminé was curled up in Xion’s embrace, Roxas standing next to her.

They had made it. They were out of the city.

~

He… could salvage this.

The Ones The Prophecy Spoke Of had escaped, again, this time helped by his own students. They were only continuing to prove their uselessness. But what had he expected? They had only been barely useful when the Brat and Coward were alive, as incentive and training partners. Now, they were useless, constantly questioning everything.

The Prophecy Bearers on the other hand, were continuing to prove their worth. They were the Prophecy Bearers, they had to be. How else could they have escaped not only his attack on Scala, but somehow escaped The City That Never Was, his own home?

But this past night, even as infuriating as this was, wasn’t useless. It had taught him a great amount.

They were good warriors. He had watched them take down Heartless after Heartless, fighting side by side with each other as if they had done it for years, when he knew they hadn’t. M-328 had been in the Maze until a couple of months ago, the one with a prophesized Keyblade had been living an anonymous life on the sea, and the one that held a Title had lived in Scala, according to Xigbar at least. And yet… this cooperation, this bond, had only been seen once before. Hundreds of years before, when the young Keybearers who Refused To Bow To Destiny reigned.

Why must Destiny always be involved?

Closing his eyes, he reached out with his senses, with his power, and returned to the Heartless in Scala. They roamed the streets and the Castle, finally able to stay in the Keybearer Capital now that he had circumvented that infuriating curse. Choosing one as his vessel, he circled around the Castle. While the main point of attacking Scala hadn’t worked, it had presented other opportunities.

The main thing being it neutralized the Partial Reality-Wielder and his husband, one to capture, one to death. That was enough that the Partial Reality-Wielder wouldn’t be able to guide and support the Prophecy Bearers. It also gave his Puppet a chance to continue the experiments from before. For unlocking the secrets of the Heart.

So many things had been sacrificed for this, so many things done. His whole purpose was to discover this. So maybe he could manipulate Kingdom Hearts the same way.

Switching his consciousness from the Heartless to his Puppet, he easily pushed down the instinctive attack against him. Even after fourteen years…

He sighed, barely bothered by the Keybearer’s attempts. Honestly, he should have given up by now. Shaking his head slowly, he focused back on what the Puppet could see and do.

While he needed to find the Prophecy Bearers, he had other things he could do in their absence.

Chapter Text

Riku felt his knees lose strength a second before they actually collapsed out from underneath him. Way To The Dawn slipped from his grasp and hit the ground before vanishing in a burst of light, a movement that felt unnaturally slow as he watched it happen almost in slow motion. His hands reached out, trying to stop his descent but every part of him was exhausted and he only managed to turn his body, so he landed on his side instead of his front. It… hurt, but in a dull, suppressed way. The adrenaline was probably catching up with him.

“Riku!” Sora shouted and Riku’s view was abruptly full of Sora’s shoes and then Sora himself as the younger boy landed beside him and turned him, so he was laying on his back. “Riku, what wrong? Where are you hurt?” He saw Sora’s hands hover over him, and he sighed.

“Nothing,” he said. Or tried to, but his voice was barely over a breath. “I just… used to much energy.” At Sora’s look of confusion, he elaborated. “Magic takes a lot of energy.” Sora face paled and Riku chuckled slightly, forcing one of his hands to move until he could pat Sora’s arm reassuringly. Sora shouldn’t be worrying like that, not for him. “I’ll be fine,” he explained. “I just need a second to rest.”

“You need more than a second,” Xion mentioned, settling down next to him and placing a hand on his forehead, as if checking for a fever. He winced at the movement, knowing that the most extreme cases of Magic Exhaustion had caused fevers before, Joshua had scared the hell out of all of them when he had gotten sick after healing both Shiki and Rhyme for three days straight following the surprise attack, scaring Neku the most because Riku remembered the older boy almost being surprised that Joshua was able to get sick at all, and her tone also was very… strong. How could she sound so scolding even when she wasn’t? “You were holding that Aero spell for at least fifteen minutes. Not to mention all the fighting you had done before. Reckless.” Ah. Now she was scolding him.

He nodded tiredly to her, trying to sit up, but knowing that his arms didn’t have the energy. Xion realized what he was doing however, and he felt her arms wrap around him, helping him to sit up until he was up against the wall under the wheel.

“Are you okay, Riku?” Terra asked and Riku looked up to see Terra leaning over the side of the railing near the wheel, watching him carefully. He smiled breathlessly.

“Yep,” he croaked out, feeling his voice crack and getting the urge to cough, but not having the energy to. “Just need… to rest.” Against his will, he could already feel his eyes starting to slip closed. He cursed internally and forced his eyes back open, something Xion noticed.

“It’s okay, Riku,” she told him as Naminé came over, settling into the crook of Riku’s arm. He tightened it around her. “I don’t think you’re the only one who will end up sleeping.” He nodded once more before finally allowing his eyes to slip closed, surrendering to sleep. And the dreams that would come.

Riku shivered as he laid on the ground. It was freezing, something that often happened as the sun went down and plunged the place he was into cold, clear nights. The stars shone above him, and he tried to hold back a sob as he searched the sky. He couldn’t see the Spectral Keyblade anywhere.

The thirteen-year-old shivered again, hands spasming on the ground. He knew he shouldn’t do this, shouldn’t be leaving himself vulnerable like this. But he hadn’t had anything to drink in days, food longer, and his feet hurt from the amount of running he had been forced to do. The beasts, whatever they were, had been chasing him for months now, ever since he had woken up in this place. Three months later, or at least he guessed three months, and they still didn’t leave him alone.

Stars, he hated it here. Sometimes he wished that the creatures would catch him, would end his suffering and allow him to return to Kingdom Hearts, where he would see his mothers and father again.

But whenever he thought that, he couldn’t help the way that Noi’s or Naminé’s faces would flash in his mind. Remembering the ways they would laugh, remembering Naminé’s drawings, Noi’s skill in dance. His beautiful little sisters.

He wondered if they were mourning him.

His disappearance would be unexplainable. There was no way for him to leave Scala, even if he wanted to. And entering and leaving Scala was almost impossible to do without drawing some sort of attention, so it wasn’t like some vandal had stolen him away in the middle of the night, ignoring the fact that he had been living in a Noble’s house and it was top to bottom covered in protections. Not that protections could stop a living shadow, apparently.

He twitched on the ground again, feeling his headache spark another wave of pain across his head. He had left one of the only pools of water the morning before and had meant to return to it that night but had gotten lost in the maze again. Four months, and he still got lost. It was his personal belief that the maze moved when people weren’t looking, but he had no way to prove that.

Footsteps sounded in the distance. He flinched.

He hadn’t had that many encounters with others in the maze, but the ones he did left him scarred. In this place, it was everyone for themselves. Kill or be killed. The weak were supposed to be sacrificed in order for the strong to survive. His throat twinged as he remembered the way that the one boy had held him down, tried to strangle him. None of them had any weapons, so they would make do. Though he could have sworn it almost looked like one of the girls he had seen through the one dust storm had a Keyblade, but that was impossible, wasn’t it?

The footsteps were coming his way. He tried to find it in him to care, but he couldn’t. Send me to Kingdom Hearts, he prayed. If Kingdom Hearts was still open to him.

He was dreaming of a Station of Awakening, something strange on its own, but he wasn’t anywhere near Scala. Would his Heart still be able to find its resting place?

The footsteps grew to their loudest before stopping. Riku knew they had seen him.

“Oh,” someone said, and he flinched again. Finish it quickly, he thought. Please.

“Oh, it’s a kid,” came the next words, and the footsteps picked up, this time hurrying. On a split-second decision, he slid his eyes closed. He didn’t want to look at his killers.

“They’re all kids,” a different voice said and Riku couldn’t help the slice of confusion. There were two of them? But… everyone Riku had ever met had been solo. You never knew who could betray you, after all, for perhaps a piece of food or water or a safe place to sleep.

“Yes, but he’s young,” the first voice said and Riku could feel them, him perhaps, leaning over him. He tried not to shake. Why are you dragging it out?

“They’re all young,” the second voice said apathetically, a second set of footsteps walking towards him. Two people definitely. “Are they dead? They don’t look dead.” The person above them huffed.

“No, they’re not dead, their body would be gone.” A hand touched his chest and Riku was very proud of himself for not flinching. “No, I think they’re asleep.”

“In the middle of the path?” The second voice snorted, a strange tone in their voice. “What? Are they trying to die?”

“Possibly,” the first voice whispered and whatever slight brevity that had taken the air from the second voice’s remarks disappeared. The hand left his chest and instead cupped his face, a thumb sliding down his lips, and Riku was really close to revealing he was awake. Everyone here had just seemed like people forced into bad situations but if there was an actual bad person here, of course it was just his luck to get found by them.

“Dehydrated,” the first voice muttered and released his face. “Perhaps they just collapsed from strain. It’s always the youngest who does that first.”

“So? What are you going to do about it?” Silence. Something shifted and then… “No, don’t you dare get that look in your eyes. We’re not taking them with us. Are you crazy?”

“Josh, they’re a kid,” the first voice said and the second voice, Josh(?), scoffed again. “If we don’t do something, they’ll going to die.”

“Everyone dies here,” Josh hissed back. “It’s just dumb luck that you and I have survived for as long as we have, with the stupid Reality shielding stopping us from leaving, and you want to take care of a kid as well? Our luck will run out if we do that.” The person above them sighed and there was more shifting. It sounded like they had sat down next to Riku.

“Joshua, I know that’s not you talking.” The first voice sounded a mix between scolding and fond, which was… a unique combination, to be sure. Especially in circumstances like these.

“Yes, it’s me,” Joshua snapped. “Who knows what they’re even like? They could be a horrible person. People can be horrible that young, I know that for a fact.” The first voice huffed again.

“Well, why don’t we ask them?” They asked and that was the only warning Riku got before a hand landed on his shoulder and shook him, lightly at first, but in growing intensity.

“Neku, stop it-” Josh started but Riku opened his eyes slowly, like he was just waking up and Josh fell silent. The person leaning over him had spiky, reddish-orange hair and blue eyes. He smiled down at Riku.

“Hello,” he greeted and Riku threw himself away. Stars, he hadn’t realized he was that close to him. His hands stung on the ground as he pushed himself away and Neku leaned backwards on his heels, hands held up in surrender. He was older than Riku. Still a teenager, but older. A couple of feet away, another teenager stood, with blond hair and a white shirt that somehow wasn’t stained by the sand around them. “I’m Neku. What’s your name?”

Riku panted slightly, looking back and forth between them. One of them was clearly interested in helping him, if he was sincere, and the other was all for leaving him to die.

“Riku,” he eventually answered and Neku nodded, smile still on his face.

“Well Riku, Joshua and I were just walking down the path when we noticed you passed out on the ground. Struggling with water?” He asked, as if he hadn’t just diagnosed Riku with dehydration. But Riku technically wasn’t supposed to know that, and he watched the two of them with suspicion. If he hadn’t heard their conversation before, he would be a lot more freaked out than he was. He nodded once, when he realized Neku was still waiting for an answer and Neku’s smile widened, in a way that would be scary on anyone else’s face.

“In that case, Josh and I know a good stash of water,” Neku stood up, brushing the sand off himself, as ineffective as it was. “Want to come with?”

Riku blinked and suddenly the dream changed.

“Neku,” Riku hissed out, landing back down in their current camp from his perch on one of the lower walls and Neku opened a single eye from where he had been “sleeping” on the ground. Riku knew that the teenager never actually slept whenever Joshua was out, which was now, and that was why Riku felt comfortable interrupting him.

“What is it?” The sixteen-year-old asked and Riku looked back.

“There’s someone coming,” he admitted and all playful tiredness that had taken over Neku’s body was gone in a heartbeat, hand finding the carved rock spear that he could only use against other people, eyes hardening. Riku hadn’t ever seen him kill another person, but he knew he had. People tended to think Joshua was an easy target, due to him clearly not being a warrior, and Neku would defend Joshua to his death. That much, Riku knew. He didn’t know that much more about them though.

“Are they a threat?” He asked and Riku paused.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “They’re bleeding, I think.” Neku relaxed in a second, dropping the spear back down and standing up, brushing the sand off himself. A strange tic he seemed to have. That and reaching for his ears sometimes, when someone was trying to say something. Like he thought the hardness of hearing was from something on his head than the winds that sometimes whipped through the passages.

“Are they close?” Riku nodded and Neku ventured off with a vague order of “stay there”, which yes, normally Riku would do without hesitation but if Joshua came back and realized that Neku had walked off in order to presumably help another person, Riku would get blamed. He knew Joshua never meant it, but the other boy was as protective over Neku as Neku was to him. And they also both seemed oblivious to that fact.

But he didn’t leave, because that’s what Neku asked him to do and instead paced around the camp, circling the burning embers of their fire.

A couple of minutes later, Neku returned, carrying a young girl in a bridal carry. He placed her down near the fire and leaned over her, trying to see her leg in the light of the fire. It was unfortunately a new moon tonight, meaning there was no moonlight. Riku, realizing the problem, summoned his Keyblade, something he was still in shock over having and summoned the smallest amount of fire to his hand, settled down next to Neku and giving him light to work by. Neku smiled at the thirteen-year-old before looking back down to the girl. Specifically, her leg, which looked like one of the beasts had attempted to take a bite out of it.

Footsteps sounded behind them, and they both turned around, only to see Joshua returning to the camp. He raised an eyebrow at them and Neku waved a hand, gesturing him over.

“Josh, we need your help,” he said quickly and Riku watched the realization cross Joshua’s face, trying not to laugh at him. Another addition to their family, it seemed.

Blink. Scene change.

Shiki ducked under yet another creature, hand reaching up to hold onto her hat. Riku sliced through a creature, two years with the Keyblade working wonders to help his control over it. Joshua sat up on one of the short walls, watching their group carefully, but he had never been a fighter. Beat grabbed his sister around the waist, dragging her backwards as a creature tried to eat her. Neku moved, smacking it with the spear, not doing anything other than making it mad. But it was enough to distract it until Riku could stab it through the back, forcing it to disappear in a puff of wind.

Shiki screamed suddenly and they turned, seeing the fifteen-year-old trip as she was trying to back away from a creature. Riku moved to intervene but was abruptly bowled over by another beast trying to kill him. He tried to slash it, but the angle was wrong, and he only managed to stab it after a second of trying. Rolling onto his side, he prepared one of his spells that he had been working on, only to freeze in shock when Neku threw himself in-between Shiki and the creature, the beast’s claws driving into his chest and Joshua screamed and Shiki screamed and Riku couldn’t breathe and-

“Riku?”

He sat up with a gasp, instinctively pushing away the hands that were on him, causing a thumping noise. His eyes couldn’t see anything and all he could feel was sand and blood and loss and-

“Riku!” The voice was more incessant this time and Riku finally managed to open his eyes, seeing Sora crouched in front of him, hands out to try and touch him. “Riku breathe,” he instructed and Riku felt the hysterical urge to laugh. That was all he ever told himself, breathing being incredibly difficult back in the Maze on bad days. “It was just a dream. You were having a nightmare.”

Except it had actually happened.

Riku took in the requested breath, pushing back the feeling of choking that had always coated his throat for three years. Now that he was slightly more calm, he was able to see that it had transitioned from night to very early morning. The sun just barely peeked out from behind the ocean and cast a multitude of colors across the sky. He felt himself relax further. He had found he loved the dawn, now that he had fully been able to see it in its entirety.

“Riku?” Sora asked again and Riku looked up at him, seeing the concerned look in his eyes.

“I’m okay,” he replied to Sora’s unasked question. “Just… bad memories.” Sora nodded slowly and Riku stood, limbs feeling refreshed from their quick brush with Magic exhaustion the night before. All around him, the other teenagers were in various positions of sleep. Two nights in a row now they had slept out on the deck. As he walked across the deck, he spotted Vanitas’s eyes flash in the sunlight, the man watching him from his position curled around Ven. Riku couldn’t help but remember Ven and Even’s conversation and a curl of unease built in his chest. What are you hiding from your little brother?

Leaning on the railing, he took a deep breath of the sea air, allowing the saltiness to sting his eyes and coat his tongue. He wasn’t in the Maze anymore. He wasn’t with his family.

A noise came from beside him and Sora settled down on the railing next to him. In the morning light, his eyes sparkled and Riku found himself admiring the younger boy for a second.

“Are you okay?” He asked after a second and Sora made an inquisitive noise, turning to look at him. “I never got a chance to ask you. I just… fell asleep.”

“Oh, I’m fine, promise,” Sora told him, flashing a smile. “A little sore, a few injuries, I unlocked some magic! But mostly it was fine.”

“Magic?” Riku asked and Sora nodded excitedly, looking like he was going to explain, but was instead dragged away by noise.

 Behind them, Riku could hear noises of people waking up. Giving one last look to the dawn, he turned back, scanning the deck and seeing everyone start to wake up.

“I think,” he said, dragging everyone’s attention to him. “We have a lot to talk about.”

No one argued with him.

Chapter Text

Silence reigned on The Wayfinder after each group had gone in turn and given a very condensed version of what had happened to them. There had been several gasps, several aborted movements to check for injuries, but nothing too extreme. Just enough that no one’s heart stopped racing until after the stories were done.

Aqua befriending Vala and her near fall to her death was met with worry from The Wayfinder group, for Aqua and for Vala, who had remained in the city. Sora’s group finding The Wayfinder intact, and his awakening magic abilities was glossed over, mostly because they didn’t have an explanation for half of it. Riku’s group meeting Even and learning about Marluxia had gotten the appropriate reaction of oh, we don’t know anything. And Kairi and Naminé’s conversation with Ienzo had been heartbreaking enough when she had gone through it the first time, but now knowing that there could have been an actual chance to save the two brothers, it made her feel worse than ever. She hadn’t brought up Riku’s picture she still had shoved in her pocket, though Roxas had gotten his necklace charm back to clear happiness, and she got the feeling there were certain things that all of them were hiding, but she didn’t want to get into it. Not now.

“I mean,” Sora started after the silence had gone on for several minutes, each of them lost in their own worlds. They were kind of just drifting through the water as they went, Aqua long having abandoned steering in favor of paying attention to all the stories told. “We have to go back to Scala now, right? We have to tell somebody. About Marluxia, about Even and Ienzo, about everything.” Aqua made a face from her place near the wheel and Vanitas’s hand tightened on Ven’s shoulder, something Ven winced at, but none of them made any objections. Because all of them knew Sora was right. They couldn’t just sit on the knowledge that someone had been controlled for fourteen years, on the knowledge of where Even and Ienzo were being kept.

“But Axel sent us away,” Xion mentioned, shifting from where she sat on the deck next to Naminé, and bit her lip. “He didn’t want us coming back.”

“But that was before we learned all of this stuff,” Riku said, leaning against the railing and crossing his arms. His eyes had remained downcast and dark, growing even darker somehow as the stories went on. Strangely, it didn’t make Kairi afraid. Perhaps because it was Riku. “Don’t you think he’d want to know?” No one spoke again as they all thought and pondered.

“What about the prophecy?” Naminé asked quietly after a few more minutes of silence, something they clearly needed, and they turned to her. “The prophecy is about some people fighting a great evil, Axel confirmed some of you were at least a little connected to it, if what you told me about your last conversation with him was right, and it’s centered around Scala and Keyblades. What if this is it?”

“We don’t… know that for certain?” Roxas tried but it was obvious that he didn’t truly believe it.

“Prophecy or not, we still should go,” Sora said again. “We can’t just… not. Plus, can we really leave Scala to be destroyed or controlled for the rest of its life?” Several people looked down at that. Kairi bit her lip, turning away. She didn’t… If this had been six years ago, if this had been six months ago, I would have not given it a second thought, she murmured in her head. Everyone I love is here with me, safe. Why should we go and risk our lives for people who might not do the same thing for us. She looked up, her eyes moving across the deck.

“But what could we do against them?” Riku asked. “You saw. The number of Heartless they have, and we still don’t really know anything about the people who had attacked. Their capabilities or anything.” But now… When had she started to care about other than just her family?

“But don’t we have to try?” Sora implored and Riku gritted his teeth and looked away.

“I agree with Sora,” Kairi said quietly, finally managing to get her voice to work, looking up to meet the eyes of everyone. “What about the people that live there? Hayner, Pence, Olette?” She looked to Xion and Roxas. “Or your parents? Or Axel and Saïx?” She dropped her gaze back down to her hands, curling them tightly together. They might not do the same for us, but… isn’t it worth it to try? To attempt to save them? Her eyes moved to Sora, remembering how he had looked that day, in his five-year-old glory, the spiky-haired boy next to him as the light from the hallway illuminated the cell. Didn’t someone attempt to save us once?

“We have four Keyblade Wielders against an army of Heartless,” Riku said. “Impossible odds.”

Sora looked at him, smiling slightly. “So?”

And no one really could argue with that.

~

“Thanks for supporting me,” Sora told her, an hour later. She was sitting on the railing of the ship, hands twisted in rope as she stared out. Sora leaned on the railing next to her.

“It’s no problem,” she replied, the words finally feeling right in her mouth like they probably never would have before then. “It was the right thing to do. This is the right thing to do.” Sora looked over at her in surprise, but she simply stared back at him, projecting as much conviction into her eyes as she could. He raised a single eyebrow in her direction but didn’t stop the small smile from curling up in face or the relief in his eyes. He sighed after a second, eyes dropping to stare at his hands.

“I know,” he murmured, rubbing his thumbs together. “I just can’t help but… worry. That I’m going to get all of us killed.” Kairi hummed in consideration, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

“It’s a valid worry, yes, but not something that we should let stop us.” Her eyes trailed along the ocean, watching the place where the sky met the sea. That feeling… that had been pulling her the whole time through the city. “Plus… I think you can feel it, can’t you?” Sora shifted next to her, and Kairi had her answer. “The pull?”

“Yeah,” Sora eventually admitted. “This feeling that we need to go back to Scala. That we need to be there.” He sighed again. “It feels like the one that drew us to the city but different. Which is a big relief but also… I don’t really like that feeling, you know? That we’re just being pulled along by this… string of destiny.”

“It’s comforting to me,” Kairi revealed, tipping her head to the side, soaking up the rays of the sun. “That there’s some other power, helping us along our journey. Guiding us. It makes me feel like we’re doing the right thing.”

“I’m… not the only one?” Xion asked from behind them, and the two teenagers turned to see the Scala native looking unsure. “Who feels the pull?” She clarified. Kairi nodded.

“Not alone,” she told Xion, who relaxed. She walked a couple more steps forward and settled down, leaning on the railing like Sora was, on the other side of Kairi.

“It’s strange,” the Scala native murmured. “It’s only been three days and yet… it feels like it’s been months since I’ve seen Scala.”

“A lot has happened in the past couple of days,” Kairi responded with a small smile and shrug of her shoulder.

“A lot,” Riku muttered, appearing behind them and looking out. His green eyes flicked between them. “Are you sure about this?” He asked Sora, who nodded again. Riku sighed but didn’t argue. For a while the four of them stayed in silence, the ocean waves crashing against the sides of The Wayfinder being the only sound heard. And then…

“Oh!” Sora suddenly exclaimed, causing both Xion and Kairi to jump in surprise, the redhaired girl having to scrabble slightly for a renewed grip on the rope before she slid off the ship. “Riku, I have something to ask you.” The older boy tipped his head inquisitively and Sora shifted his position, so he was facing Riku better.

“What’s Magic and what’s the different between it and magic?” Kairi gave Sora a weird look. Didn’t he just say the same thing?

“Oh,” Riku muttered quietly. “Where’d you hear about it?”

“From the girl who helped us, Vala,” Sora explained, rocking on his heels slightly like he did whenever he was nervous, and Kairi narrowed her eyes. Why was he nervous? “She said I might have Magic and when I asked what that was, she didn’t have time to explain it.” Riku made a face and Sora wilted slightly. “You do know what it is, right? I thought you might, you know a bunch of other stuff, but if you don’t that’s okay.”

Riku shook his head. “No, I know what it is, I don’t…” He trailed off and Kairi took the time to interject.

“Would you like to share with the class?” She asked and Sora turned to her. “I wasn’t there for whatever you’re talking about.”

“Well,” Xion started. “In the most basic sense, there is magic, which is something everyone can do, under certain circumstances. And then there is Magic, which can’t be done by everyone.” And Kairi’s look, she continued. “I know, I don’t like the naming system either. It weird but no one knows who created it and no one has changed it, so…” She shrugged, mouth twisting into a displeased frown.

“For instance, the healing spells that Sora and I have done are magic,” Riku explained. “Something that can be learned through practice and takes the power of someone’s Heart to do it. The other spells, Thunder, Fire, those types of things, are magic as well.”

“I suppose the biggest difference between magic and Magic is that magic is learned while Magic is not.” Riku reached out and summoned a small ball of fire in his hand. “I learned to do this through watching and knowledge given to me by my Keyblade. Magic takes energy out of someone, and magic cannot be done by someone who has a Bound Heart.”

“Knowledge given to you by your Keyblade?” Sora repeated and Riku nodded.

“I don’t know how it works, but Keyblades help people learn magic.” He closed his fist and the fire disappeared. “It’s why a lot of Keybearers are magic users and not a lot of magic wielders aren’t Keybearers.”

“It’s mostly thought because Keyblades unlock portions of your own Heart when you use it,” Xion said. “Magic is connected to Hearts, thus magic.” Riku gave her a look and she shrugged. “I have access to the Castle library, and I use it.”

Riku smirked before looking back to Sora and Kairi. “Magic, on the other hand, cannot be learned. It is something that people are born with. And not that many people are. Perhaps 1 in 100 people have Magic. I don’t. Neither does Xion, Naminé, or Roxas.

“And Magic isn’t connected to Keyblades at all. Magic is just a part of someone, and someone can have and use Magic without even being touched by a Keyblade.” Riku’s gaze dropped at this, and he broke off his explanation for a second. “I… had a friend who had Magic. He could sprout wings from his back. Never was even interested in a Keyblade and never gave any indication that he might have one.”

“Axel has Magic,” Xion said, playing with the end of her shirt. “He can use Fire to a degree that no one, even the most accomplished magic user could. It doesn’t hurt him, and he doesn’t suffer from other things that fire inflicts on people, like breathing problems from smoke.”

“Saïx’s ability to see through time,” Kairi murmured, remembering the conversation had in the Gallery. “Would that be classified as Magic?” Riku blinked for a second before nodding.

“Yes, but that’s… weird,” he admitted. “Magic doesn’t pass through blood. In fact, it had been specifically proven not to.”

“What Even could do,” Ven said as he walked up, proving that he was in fact listening in on their conversation. “With sensing Hearts. That’s Magic?” Riku nodded and Ven furrowed his brow. Riku gave him a look and Kairi got the feeling she was missing something, a feeling displayed on Sora’s face as well.

“So, Sora,” Riku said, and Sora looked to him. “Why’d you ask?” Sora’s face paled slightly, and he looked down, hunching his shoulders. Kairi felt a spike of unease at that and reached down, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Sora?” She asked quietly and Sora looked up at her, eyes searching. “What’s wrong?” He swallowed and focused on her.

“You know my dreams?” He asked and she nodded uncertainly, remembering the night terrors that would plague Sora most of the time, all the pictures drawn in his book. “According to Vala, they might be… Magic.”

“Magic?” She asked in shock, and he nodded slowly.

“Dreams?” Riku asked and Sora turned to him. “Like, your dreams of your Station of Awakening? Those are normal-”

“Different dreams than those,” Sora murmured and Riku stopped talking. “They started years and years ago, but only got worse once I started dreaming of my Station of Awakening,” Sora explained with a sigh. “They are of places, people.” He dropped his gaze again and Kairi didn’t remove her hand from his shoulder. She knew how taxing the dreams could be on him.

“The city, and Vala specifically, have appeared in my dreams,” he admitted finally, and Kairi felt her eyes widen in time with the others. “Several times.”

“Really?” Xion asked and Sora nodded.

“I think… I think Scala had appeared in them as well,” he whispered.

“What are they like?” Riku asked and Sora looked up.

“Never clear,” he said. “Short, choppy. Most times,” he corrected. “I’ve had a few longer ones but those are few and far between.” Riku’s face turned contemplative, and Sora stood. “Wait here,” he instructed them, before turning and running below deck.

“What’s he doing?” Ven asked and Kairi had a feeling she knew.

“Sora draws his dreams sometimes,” she admitted. “I think he’s going to get that.”

“Riku?” Xion asked and Kairi turned to look at the older boy. He shook his head slowly.

“I… don’t know,” he admitted. “Honestly, this whole conversation might be better to have with someone like Axel.” Kairi hummed.

“Well, we don’t have Axel right now, so it has to be you,” she stated, and Sora reappeared before Riku could respond.

“Here,” Sora said, settling down onto the deck with a journal Kairi recognized. Looked like she had been right. Xion, Riku, and Ven sat down around Sora while Kairi swung her legs around, so she was facing inwards instead of out to the water. Sora flipped through a few pages before opening the book further. “Look,” he whispered, and Kairi wasn’t the only one to freeze in shock. There, sketched out in hurried pencil strokes was the view of the city as it would have been from The Wayfinder, a mile or away. A view all of them had seen.

Sora picked up the book again, switching pages until he showed another drawing, this one of the Castle in Scala, sunbeams caught by lead pencil. None of them said anything.

“Woah,” Xion breathed out and Kairi agreed with her. Sora’s hands shook on the book as he changed pages again.

“I can’t draw people as well, but…” He dropped the book on the deck again and it was a drawing of one of the streets of the city. Three figures stood on the path, no features on their faces, but one had a skirt with an X across their shirt. It had to be Vala. “I’ve also started to see these when I’m… awake,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “Though that only started after my dreams of my Station of Awakening.” No one said anything for a couple of seconds and Sora got visibly more and more nervous as the silence reigned.

“Riku?” Sora asked and Riku reached down, picking up the journal.

“This is the same one I saw before, right? The journal?” Riku asked and Sora nodded shakily. Kairi frowned. When would Riku have seen it? She wasn’t even allowed to see it. “The one with your drawing of your Station of Awakening.”

“What do you think?” Xion asked Riku and the older boy frowned.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Naminé asked, the little girl coming up to them. She peered over Riku’s shoulder, looking down at a picture that was of a castle surrounded by carefully carved bushes. She smiled at their confused expressions.

“Sora can see things in other parts of the world as they’re happening. Or, more specifically, he has visions of the world around him.”

~

The boy ran down the darkened street. He could feel the beasts getting closer.

Turning abruptly, he slid under a gate, climbing the wall. They had practiced this. They were managing to evade the Heartless so far. As well as destroying a couple of them. Well, he and his friends hadn’t been the ones to destroy them, as they lacked Keyblades. But their… friend had managed to. He was their friend, right? He had been helping them, despite his general… distaste for people it seemed.

He paused on the roof, looking across the Towers to the Castle. Everyone knew the rumors of what had happened there. Dead Leaders, a fallen Castle.

“You’re okay,” a voice said from behind him, and he turned to see a girl walking towards him, arm held securely in a sling.

“What are you doing out?” He hissed at her, taking a few quick steps to close the distance. “You’re still healing.” The girl shook her head.

“I’m fine,” she replied, and he frowned at her. “I mean it. Plus, Cloud said that there wasn’t going to be as many beasts out.” He wrinkled his nose. “I know you don’t trust him, but he’s the best chance we have now. Until Roxas and the others get back.” She gave him a look. “You know this.”

He thought about arguing but gave up eventually. “Let’s just get back,” he told her. “We won’t be any help if we’re dead before they return.”

Chapter Text

Naminé had refused to elaborate past that, despite their many questions, Sora got the feeling she didn’t really know more than that, so the conversation about Magic fizzled out. Sora now had a basic idea of what he was doing, if Naminé was correct, but he still didn’t know what that meant or even how to take it.

Seeing other places? Sora pondered that night, looking up at the stars through his window. Because the day had been normal enough, they had ended up managing to sleep in actual rooms that night, giving the extra ones to Roxas, Xion, and Naminé. But Sora hadn’t been able to sleep and had instead found himself pacing quietly in his and Kairi’s room. The moonlight filtered in through the window and he kept looking at it. Perhaps he was looking for the Spectral Keyblade, a sign that they had reached Scala. He wanted to go up to the deck, but Aqua was up there, steering the boat, and she’d ask questions. As well-meaning as her intentions would be, he wasn’t really in any mood to try and talk through his thoughts.

What does that even mean? He sat down on his bed with a thump, gaze falling to the floor. Seeing through other places. Seeing through space perhaps? Did that mean he could see places he would go to or had been to, through his dreams? But… what did they mean? And why? He had seen Scala and the city before, yes, and the people that lived in the city had visited his dreams before but was that it? What was even the point?

He sighed and his gaze slipped to his journal against his will, sitting innocently on his nightstand. He debated for a few seconds before picking it up, sitting down on the ground in the patch of moonlight to see. He didn’t actually tend to look at his drawings after he drew them, so he had forgotten a great many of them.

Skipping past the few pages that were just different copies of his Station of Awakening, he paused at the first “different” drawing, a rough outline of the Castle at Scala. It was three fourths done and wasn’t perfect, but it got the idea across. He paused, staring down at it.

He hadn’t really had the chance to think about it, but he wondered how Scala was doing. Was it destroyed? Or was it okay? It had only been a couple of days, but they had no idea what they were sailing back into.

Sora frowned. Were Axel and Saïx still alive? Had they been taken down by a horde of Heartless? Were they fine? None of them had really considered that they could be racing back to Scala only to find it well and good, having stopped the invasion days ago. Not that that would be bad, but… The lack of information grated on him, especially when it pertained to so many lives.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he turned the page, hiding it and his thoughts. The next drawing was of the city or at least, a view of it. He shivered and skipped past it. He never wanted to return to that city.

He paused at the next drawing. It was a castle, yes, but not one that he had ever seen before. Balanced on what could be considered stilts, it towered over an empty expanse. Four indistinguishable figures stood in the courtyard of it, one significantly smaller than the other three. He frowned at it. He had seen Scala and the city. Was this a place he was going to visit someday?

His hand hovered over the figures drawn on it, barely more than silhouettes. He tipped his head to the side slightly. Had he… seen them before? At least two of them looked familiar. While he was sure he hadn’t ever met someone who looked as small as one of the people, unless they were a child, two of the figures looked familiar. Like he had met them before.

Continued to flip through the book, he froze as Kairi shifted in her bed, mumbling something under her breath and rolling over. He didn’t want to wake her up.

Another drawing of Scala caught his attention, although this one was of the top of the Eight Tower. Five outlines of people were there, three sitting and two standing. He blinked before staring hard at the page. It looked like… Xion and Roxas. And the other three. What were their names again?

Pressing on, he continued to flip through the pages, watching the places skim past him. Now that he had been to some of them, it was easy to see repeated places, just at different angles. Or people.

On the pages, Riku ducked under a blow from something, a few scribbled lines of information detailing that there had been someone else in the dream. An unknown boy reached out for a piece of… something, the picture barely more than a few scratches into the paper. The next page was just a list of information, his nine-year-old handwriting just as difficult to decipher as it always had been.

He bit his lip so hard, he felt like it would bleed. The journal shook in his hands and he got the fleeting urge to throw it against the wall. Were all these visions he had seen of the world as they were happening? Had he seen the past? Seen the future? Could he had changed something, had he been able to get to a situation he had seen? Would he cause these things? The questions swirled around and around in his head, and he just wanted it to stop.

Closing the book quickly, he sighed. He didn’t want to think about this right now, but all that was left to think about was their upcoming journey to Scala. He stood and placed the book on his nightstand, climbing into bed. His eyes drifted to the books on his nightstand, their titles clear in the moonlight.

The Children of Daybreak Town.

The Lost Continent.

Without truly thinking about it, Sora reached out, pulling the top book closer to him. Maybe he was just seeking comfort.

His hands opened the book robotically, the break in the spine causing it to open to a page that had become familiar in the past couple of weeks.

The moonlight filtered down on his face and Era looked away, wondering. The question, it had echoed in his own head, but he didn’t… he didn’t want to think about it.

“I know you’re thinking about it,” Xeha said carefully, his silver eyes flashing in the light as his face shifted ever so slightly in Era’s direction.

“Perhaps I don’t want to,” Era responded, crossing his arms and looking away. In the distance, the lights of Daybreak Town glimmered, a constant reminder of what they were going to leave behind.

“Are you sure about that?” Xeha asked and Era turned back, giving him a look.

“If you’re so certain, what would we do?” Era asked, huffing slightly and resisting the urge to settle on the ground next to Xeha. He was mad at the other boy, he was. “We either take them all with us or let them all die. There can be no in-between.”

“None at all?” Xeha’s voice was… not shaken, but clearly off tilt. “Why not just let the better ones live, let them pass on their Keyblades to bloodlines that would be better than their predecessors?”

“There are no good ones,” Era hissed, eyes narrowing. “They’ve all done the same, committed the same crimes. The best thing would be to let Sing control them, if we let them live.”

“Have they?” At that, Xeha stood up, looking out at the town. “But, if that is what you all decide on, I’ll go along. But just know, if you commit to that, you realize that would mean she would die as well.”

In the book, the characters were debating whether or not to let a town, Daybreak Town to be precise, die in the incoming war. Most of the book revolved around that conflict, with the five main protagonists having the power to stop the deaths if they wanted to.

But in the end, the five choose to leave, to abandon the town to its fate. At the time it was released, it was seen as a very controversial topic, as the five protagonists, all Keyblade Wielders, weren’t treated as completely good and virtuous, like many works before had depicted them as. Instead, they were human, capable of being selfish and greedy, dealing with loss and mourning. It was the most realistic view of the Keyblade Wielders ever written, before and since, and it was a reason why Sora liked the story so much.

He looked back down at the book. It was so… obvious now.

Era. Eraqus.

Xeha. Xehanort.

Sing. Sigrun.

The book lined up with what Riku had told them about the Keyblade Wielders who escaped the war shockingly well, despite the fact that the character’s fates after abandoning the town were left up to interpretation in the book.

Again, he had to wonder who had written it. How had they known? About this lost history?

Could they have been Magical like him? Had they been able to control their visions? Would he learn to control them?

With a shake of his head, he closed the book and placed it back in its spot, slumping back in his bed. Thinking the same things over and over again would do nothing to help him.

Trying to force away thoughts about visions and Scala and their missing friends, he closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.

“How… disappointing. Of all the things I thought I would discover today, learning that some of my own students were traitors was not one of them.”

“You can’t blame them!” Vala stood up, eyes narrowing as she strode forward a couple of feet, blocking the older man’s view of a couple of teenagers. “They don’t know anything about the outside world or what you do. How were they supposed to know that they weren’t allowed to help them?” The older man glared at her, but Vala stared back. Behind her a few teenagers watched with wide eyes while two people Vala’s age watched apathetically.

“You should have known though,” he said as he turned to her. Her eyes flashed.

“Maybe I knew what I was doing.” For a second, silence reigned in the room, the younger teenagers’ eyes flicking back and forth between Vala and the older man. Then the older man scowled, and his hand lit up and something formed in it. Vala shouted and the younger teens cringed backwards and one of the watching people surged forward, grabbing Vala and yanking her backwards while the other ushered the younger kids out quickly, all but shoving them from the room. More lights lit up the room and he couldn’t do anything but watch and worry and-

F A L L I N G

S E A R C H I N G

“Now?” Hayner asked, leaning on the wall of a small, rundown building. Part of the wall was crumbling off, but it still provided adequate coverage. Moonlight was the only light in the room, casting most of it into darkness.

“Yes, now,” Cloud responded, looking up from where he sat at the table. Olette, sitting in a chair across from his, flicked her eyes between him and Hayner. “Your friends are on their way back to Scala. I guess they will be back tomorrow.”

“And… your Magic told you this?” Pence asked, spinning a pencil anxiously between his fingers. Cloud nodded once and Pence slumped backwards. “Not that I’m not glad that they’re coming back, I am,” he explained at Hayner and Olette’s look. “It’s just that… we have to tell them then.” The other two teenagers winced while Cloud watched apathetically.

“That’s going to be hard,” Olette murmured. “But we need them. Just because the beasts and Marluxia haven’t done anything doesn’t mean they won’t eventually.” Hayner nodded at this, as did Pence. Cloud sighed again.

“They should be arriving tomorrow morning, around the same place they left. Would you like to make sure they don’t die?” He asked Hayner, who nodded. “Find them and bring them here. We could plan our next moves then.” The three teenagers nodded and Hayner walked over to where Olette and Pence were sitting, talking quietly to them.

Cloud closed his eyes for a quick second before opening them and turning his head to the side. He narrowed his eyes. For a second it almost seemed like he could see him. Cloud tipped his head, eyes focused on the spot, and he froze because this had never happenedbeforeand-

“Sora?” Kairi asked and Sora shot upwards with a gasp, nearly hitting Kairi with his head. She yelped and jumped back as Sora panted looking around the room. For a second it had almost felt like he had been somewhere else.

“Sora?” Kairi asked again. “You okay?” He blinked, swallowing and working to calm down his breathing before nodding shakily at her.

“I’m okay,” he told her. Another vision, he thought. “What’s up?”

She looked at him, unusually grave.

“We’re here.”

Chapter Text

There wasn’t really a way to unlock Scala quietly. Yes, it wasn’t actually that loud, but it was still noticeable, especially if they were watching for it.

Roxas and Xion were the ones to cast the Aero spells this time around, helping Aqua guide the boat in. Xion had point blank refused to let Riku do it, much to his displeasure, but he had realized that he would lose that fight, so he accepted it. He instead stood up by the front, Way To The Dawn held securely in his grip, ready to blast away any of the water Heartless if they ended up being here as well. Around him, the others were in different positions of readiness. He could feel the anxiety in the air, and he knew he wasn’t the only one.

Thanks to the mountains, even though the sun was rising for the outside world, the only thing you could see from it was the small lightening of the sky color. Due to the tallness of the mountains, the sun wouldn’t actually touch the city for at least another hour. Helpful to them because they could use everything they had.

“Where should we dock?” Aqua asked and Riku made a face, turning back to where Xion and Roxas stood.

“I don’t think there’s actually another dock but the one by the First Tower,” he admitted, grimacing. The First Tower, where the Heartless had first attacked. “Unless that’s changed?” He directed the question at Xion and Roxas, both who shook their heads. He looked apologetically at Aqua, who nodded firmly. They all knew it would exponentially more dangerous on the First Tower, but if that was the only place with a dock, that’s what they would have to do. Not many people left Scala after all, Cloud being the only person Riku could think of who did it regularly, so it made sense their would only be one dock. As much as they needed another one.

“So, what’s the plan?” Kairi asked and Riku frowned. There were several things they had to do, finding Saïx and Axel being the top priority, but they couldn’t do that without a safe place first.

“Head to Roxas’s home,” Riku decided. “We can find out what’s been going on from the people in his house and go from there. See if anyone knows about Saïx and Axel.”

“Look!” Ven hissed out and Riku turned, looking out to Scala. His heart dropped as he recognized the outline of one of the big Heartless positioned up on the top of the Second Tower, waving its fists. He had a feeling it would have been on the First Tower but there was a castle in the way.

“Well, I guess we know that the place is still hostile,” he muttered sarcastically, and he immediately winced at his own words, seeing both Roxas and Xion flinch. Well done, Riku, he scolded himself.

“Are we ready for this?” Riku asked the boat drifted closer to the dock. No one said anything but they could all feel it. There was no turning back now.

The boat glided quietly up to the dock, sliding silently into place. Terra roped the ship into place, securing them to the dock.

“Good luck,” Naminé whispered from next to him and he crouched down for a second to hug her tightly. They had all been in agreement that it was too dangerous for Naminé to go out when they didn’t have a confirmed safe space to be, and thus she had been told to stay on the boat. While he hadn’t been happy about it, Vanitas had agreed to stay with her, just in case something happened. Riku knew he wanted to stay with Ven, but… given everything Ven had found out, and still not confronted Vanitas about, Riku knew that Ven wouldn’t argue too hard against it.

“Listen to everything Vanitas says, okay?” He told her, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.” She nodded slowly, tears beading in her eyes, and he brushed them away, smiling at her. “We’ll be fine.”

He stood up, giving her one final hug, before resummoning Way To The Dawn and jumped from the ship, landing on the dock. His eyes scanned the area. No sign of any Heartless.

“So dramatic,” Xion muttered playfully from next to him once the rest of them had left the ship via the gangplank. He flicked her in the ear, and she laughed quietly, summoning Oathkeeper in a flash of light.

“What’s the quickest way to your home?” Sora asked Roxas and the teenager turned from where he had been looking in the direction of the Castle. Riku could see indecision and worry in his eyes and hoped that it wouldn’t sabotage them too badly.

“This way,” he said and started off in the direction of his home. The rest of them followed quietly. Xion and Riku took to the sides of the group while Sora brought up the rear, the three Keybearers protecting the rest of them that couldn’t wield Keyblades.

A couple of minutes later, Roxas pulled backwards with a hiss of shock, hiding himself in the shadows, which the rest of them wordlessly copied. Riku moved forward a couple of steps in order to see out and felt his eyes widen when he saw the few Heartless standing in the street, swiveling their heads backwards and forwards. Their yellow eyes swept the street.

“Heartless,” Xion breathed out. Riku knew how she felt. Just because they had seen that Heartless on the top of the Second Tower, didn’t mean they were prepared to just see a bunch of them casually roaming the streets. “And the rest of Scala is just allowing this?” She sounded slightly incredulous. “We’re a nation of Keyblade Wielders. Why haven’t they done something?”

“Don’t be too mad at them,” Sora requested, watching the Heartless carefully, shifting back and forth on his feet. He looked… apprehensive, like he was waiting for something to happen. Riku resolved to ask about it later. Maybe it had something to do with his Magic. “We don’t know what has happened in the past couple of days. Perhaps something happened that scared them into not fighting back.” Xion scrunched up her nose but didn’t argue, instead simply tightening her grip on her Keyblade.

“Don’t fight them,” Riku instructed. “We don’t want to bring more of them down on us or alert them to the fact that we’re here if they don’t yet know.” Xion looked like she was going to argue for a second, Roxas as well, but the two teenagers eventually gave in, simply glaring at the Heartless like their gazes could destroy them. “Roxas?” He prompted and the other teenager nodded, backing up.

“We’ll take the long way,” he murmured, turning and going down a different road with one final glance down the road at the Heartless. Riku could see the tension in his shoulders.

There weren’t as many Heartless down the different way and their footsteps were the only sound to drift through the air. Riku couldn’t help but shiver. Scala had always been a place of life, of sound, of joy. Seeing it dark and quiet, even with the burgeoning sunlight, just didn’t make sense in his brain.

“There,” Roxas whispered as they exited the road. His home stood there, as dark and quiet as the rest of Scala. Riku started to get a bad feeling. Clearly, so did Xion.

“’Xas, wait,” she hissed out, but Roxas was already hurrying forward. His footsteps pounded on the concrete and Riku looked around, wanting to make sure the sound didn’t attract any Heartless. “Roxas!” Xion snapped out again, running forward a couple of feet only to stop with a gasp. Riku turned around, wanting to see what scared Xion so badly and paused when he noticed what she did. Roxas stopped on the first step up to the front door.

The front door that was smashed in and barely hanging on by its hinges.

“Roxas,” Xion whispered out, but the other boy didn’t answer her, gaze not leaving from the hanging door. A second later, he raced inside and Xion cursed, running after him. Riku took a step forward, wanting to follow but knowing that he had to keep watch.

“Riku,” Sora said, bringing the older teenager’s attention to him. “Go. We’ll keep an eye out.” He paused for a second, biting his lip before nodding. Sora was the only Keybearer out there but the three of them were just a shout away. He turned on his heel and hurried towards the building, racing up the steps and inside. He could see the flowers that surrounded the house, that Xion had so much pride in when she showed them to him, torn and ripped to shreds. They looked like they had been trampled on, over and over again.

And the inside of the house wasn’t much better.

It looked like a storm had come through the house. Paintings were yanked off the wall and strewn on the floor, sculptures and vases smashed along the ground, and there were gouges in the floor and walls, like an animal had raked its claws down it.

An animal or a Heartless.

Neither Roxas nor Xion were in the foyer, so he continued deeper into the house, passing the spiral staircase. He would check upstairs in a second. He gripped Way to the Dawn a little tighter.

Advancing into the sitting room, the room was in a similar state of destruction. The cushions and couches were torn into, feathers and fluff spread across the floor. The low table was smashed, the glass surface of it in pieces, spread along the carpet. Several of the windows were broken, their glass scattered over the floor of the room, almost like something had broken in, not out.

Riku foot nudged a broken glass that was laying on the floor, sending it rolling forward as best it could with half of its side gone. It wavered for a second but stopped moving. Riku looked closer at the place where it had paused, before recoiling.

It was a pool of blood.

He backed up quickly, the bad feeling that had taken his heart only growing the longer he stayed there and the more he learned.

Roxas’s parents probably weren’t alive still.

Circling the rest of the ground floor, trying to ignore the evidence of destruction and the bloodstains, he ended up back in the foyer with still no sight of Xion or Roxas.

“Roxas!” He called out quietly, taking a few steps up the staircase. “Xion!” No reply came, so he gritted his teeth and hurried up the staircase, unable to grasp the crystal banister due to it being in pieces across both the steps and the floor below.

The second floor had gotten the same treatment as the first one. More destruction was thrown across the ground, more blood pools stained the floor. He grimaced. He wasn’t unused to blood and its implications, but it was different when he saw it in a battle maze where death was expected and a house that had been ransacked and destroyed.

“Xion, Roxas!” He tried to keep his voice down as much as he could, not wanting to attract any Heartless that might possibly still be roaming the house, but he needed to find them.

Turning the corner into another hallway, he swallowed at the influx of blood painting the walls. He crept down it, eyes flicking back and forth. Low murmuring came from the room in front of him, the door broken and left ajar, and he headed toward it, stepping through and being careful not to step on any wood shards.

Roxas was kneeling in the center of the room, Xion crouching beside him with a hand on his shoulder. She looked up when he entered the room and there were tears tracks down her face. Roxas was shaking slightly.

He walked deeper into the room. It looked like a small sitting room, smashed chair pieces thrown across the room. Deeper in, there was a door that was also broken, revealing a bedroom.

Oh, he thought. This was Roxas’s parents’ room.

“Roxas,” he said quietly, watching the two kneeling teenagers. “I’m sorry for what happened here. But we have to go.” Xion glared at him, pain on her face and tears brimming in her eyes, and he gave an apologetic look while wincing. He hadn’t ever really known Roxas’s parents. He had met them a couple of times, especially once Xion’s and Roxas’s Betrothal had been finalized but he had been kidnapped quickly after that, so he hadn’t ever bonded with them. Not like Xion had. “I’m sorry, but we do. It isn’t safe here.” Xion twisted her face in a way that said that she wasn’t happy about it but stood, gently tugging on Roxas’s hand until he stood as well. Riku swallowed at the look in his eyes. This would need… time.

“C’mon,” he said quietly, turning and starting to head out of the door. Only to freeze when he heard shouting coming from outside. “Oh no,” he whispered out and raced down the hallway. Leaning over the balcony, that had its barrier somewhat intact, he could see that Kairi and Aqua had come inside and were looking outwards. “What happened?” He called down, summoning an Aero spell to soften his landing as he jumped over the railing, landing on the ground with barely a thump. He had gotten a lot of practice jumping from maze walls.

“Some Heartless showed up,” Kairi explained and Riku hurried forward, getting past the door and throwing a Fire spell at the first Heartless he saw. Ven and Terra had backed up closer to the door but hadn’t gone in and Sora was fighting a few of the Heartless. But he was badly outnumbered and Riku shot forward, slicing a Heartless that was about to hit Sora. Sora shot him a grateful look and turned back to the fighting.

“Roxas’s family?” Sora asked as he destroyed another Heartless and Riku shook his head.

“Gone,” he admitted quietly, and Sora’s face fell. “Probably the day the Heartless attacked.”

“I’m sorry,” Sora offered, before turning back to look into the house as best he could. “But we could really use their help.” The Heartless advanced on them and Riku found himself agreeing with Sora. They were badly outnumbered.

He curled his hand tighter around Way To The Dawn, ready to fight.

Only for a small object to suddenly be flung into the area, hitting the ground with a dull thump, immediately causing a huge dust cloud to rise up, covering the immediate area. Riku instinctively covered his mouth with one hand, his memories of horrible dust storms that would clog throats, eyes, and ears coming to mind, but the dust barely bothered him, simply passing past them. It felt… light and airy, clearly more used for distraction then for attack. He blinked in surprise, turning to Sora, who looked just as confused. A figure appeared in the smoke.

“You’re back!”

~

He cracked his eyes open just a little. Could it be…?

He knew there was something special in the air, something Magical that was keeping him barely awake and cut off from his Magic. He didn’t know how many days it had been, how long it had been since…

The Strings yanked at him. “Wake up,” they almost seemed to be saying.

“It’s not over yet.”

Chapter Text

“Hayner?” Roxas wondered quietly as the smoke continued to clear and the other teenager looked back, an expression of determination melting into relief. Kairi hurried forward, moving to Sora’s side as the smoke twisted around them. Roxas and Xion came out of the house following her, Aqua following them. It was clear that the older woman was keeping a close eye on them. Kairi didn’t blame her; they both had seen the destruction that covered the house.

“Roxas,” he breathed, and the Heir moved forward, basically stumbling over the ground to wrap Hayner in a hug. The other boy froze for a second, looking at Roxas in concern before hugging back. “You’re alive.” The words were so quiet, Kairi almost didn’t hear them but as the others were walking forward, they just filtered into Kairi’s range.

“You’re alive,” Roxas responded, and he was shaking. Kairi knew why. She had seen the bloodstains painting Roxas’s home when she had ducked inside it for a second. She knew what they meant. “When we left… We had no idea…” Roxas released him, backing up a few steps as the light fully filtered in, highlighting the dark circles under Hayner’s eyes and the healing scratch that was down his arm. Roxas’s eyes immediately spotted it. “Hayner…” His hands were still shaking and Xion hurried forward, pressing a hand to his shoulder. Hayner’s eyes drifted up to the house behind them, a shadow passing over his face before they landed back on Roxas, and he forced a smile.

“Easy, Rox,” Hayner said, patting Roxas on the shoulder as he passed him to give Xion a hug in greeting as well. “I barely got hit. They almost took Olette’s arm off.” All of them stiffened at this. “Which might not have been the best thing to say…” Hayner muttered as he looked at them, taking in all of their expressions.

“Hayner, I’m so sor-” Roxas started but was cut off when Hayner held up a hand.

“It’s okay, Roxas,” he said. “You have nothing to apologize for. We know you had to leave.”

“You do?” Xion asked and Hayner nodded.

“Cloud explained it all to us, but we can discuss this later.” He turned, missing Riku’s look to Roxas and muttered “Cloud?” Hayner took a few steps backwards, looking around the ground around them. They could still hear the Heartless and Hayner made a face.

“We should get going before these ones get their bearings back,” Hayner told them, looking back. “There are less of them during the day usually but when something happens, they can really come out of the woodwork. They must have a hive mind or something of the sort.” He took a few steps out onto the street. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked like a pouch or a packet. Kairi assumed it might have been similar to what he had thrown before, but she didn’t know for sure. “C’mon, I’ll show you where we’ve been hanging.”

Kairi briefly turned back to Aqua and Terra at the same time Sora and Ven did, both who shrugged. “If Hayner says it’s a good idea,” Aqua started, despite never having met Hayner before and the others nodded, Roxas being the first one to follow the other teenager, Xion sticking close to him. The nine of them weren’t that unnoticeable but thankfully there weren’t that many beasts and the ones that did show up were quickly dispatched by Sora or Riku. Hayner didn’t seem that concerned about hiding from the Heartless. He was clearly more focused on speed and getting them to wherever they had been staying.

“Did you say Cloud?” Riku asked after a couple of minutes as they headed over the bridge from the Fifth Tower to the Seventh. Hayner looked back.

“Yep,” he said, shrugging one of his shoulders. “He’s been a big help in trying to fight these things.” Riku made a face but didn’t question it.

“Why are we heading to the Seventh Tower?” Xion questioned as they slowed down once they had crossed the bridge and Hayner turned to her.

“It’s been our hideout,” he admitted, rolling the packet between his hands and picking at one of the ties that held it together. “While the beasts haven’t hurt anyone outside of that first day, it’s still safer here, especially now that we’ve made ourselves targets by fighting the beasts.” Roxas made a face at this and Hayner smiled, giving him a slightly challenging look. They started heading down one of the streets, that looked as broken down and dilapidated as before. “What? It wasn’t like we were going to just sit down and let them control our world.” Roxas looked like he was going to say something but was cut off by noise in the distance. All of the Keyblade Wielders instantly went on guard, but a second later it was revealed to be Pence, who popped up from behind a wall.

“Roxas!” He called, smile splitting his face, and waved. “Xion!” Xion made a noise of happiness and waved back while Roxas smiled, albeit shakily, back.

“So, the Prophesized return,” a low voice said, and Cloud emerged from the shadows, Keyblade loose in his grip. Kairi paused when he entered, remembering his last and only encounter with the other Keyblade Wielder and he could see the others doing the same. But Hayner didn’t seem against his presence, didn’t make any indication that he was upset at Cloud’s appearance, despite also being there that morning, so Kairi decided he couldn’t be that bad. “I thought you had died.”

Ouch, Kairi thought, seeing similar looks dance over the faces of the others.

“Follow,” Cloud said and swept off, leaving the others with no option but to follow, Pence hopping down from his perch to join them, giving Xion and Roxas greetings. Exchanging a glance with Sora, who shrugged, Kairi walked with the rest of them, ducking into a side street, which eventually revealed a hidden door that Cloud slipped through, followed by Hayner.

The room that they entered into had several hallways branching out, shadows hiding what was down them. The walls were covered in cracks and there was rubble pushed up against the sides of the walls, creating a walkable path down the center. Hayner walked down the center hallways while Cloud disappeared down a different one and when they paused in confusion, Hayner gestured to them to follow him and Pence.

The room there was a bigger one, with a higher ceiling that had partially collapsed in the corner. There were two beds pushed together in a corner and a big table in the center, with multiple chairs around it. Olette sat in one of the chairs.

“You found them!” She exclaimed, standing up and revealing the bandages wrapped around her left arm, holding her arm and securing it to her chest. There was a smudge of something, perhaps dust, on her cheek, and she shared the same tired look that Hayner and Pence did.

“Olette?” Xion asked, hurrying over to hug the girl. Roxas seemed to be shutting down again and Riku managed to guide him over to a chair to sit. “What happened to your arm?”

“One of the beasts,” Olette explained waving her other hand dismissively. “I’m fine.” Hayner gave her a look and she stared back. “I am.” Kairi got the feeling this was a conversation they’d had before. Hayner rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything.

“So,” Riku started, leaning on the table. His fingers tapped a beat down the surface, but he had finally let Way to the Dawn vanish, so he had to be at least a little relaxed. “What have we missed?” Xion walked over and took a seat next to Roxas while Kairi pulled Sora down into two other chairs to sit. Ven settled down on her other side while Aqua and Terra stayed by the door.

All three of the Scala natives winced. “A lot,” Olette said sadly. “And… not a lot of it is good.” Her eyes flicked to Roxas, who still had tear tracks stained on his face.

“Step by step,” Riku prompted, and Kairi was close to snapping at him, but she knew that he was just trying to figure out what to do next.

“The Heartless attacked four days ago,” Hayner started, settling down in a chair next to Olette. “Beginning in the First Tower, they quickly spread to the Second through Sixth Towers. While they did a lot of damage and caused many deaths during that first day, they retreated that night and not only really attack if anyone is caught outside. Whoever’s controlling them just seems content to basically hold all of Scala hostage. And for a couple more days, it should be fine, but people will start to run out of food soon.”

“Why isn’t anyone fighting back?” Xion asked and Hayner grimaced, Olette’s eyes dropped to the ground, and Pence flinched.

“They tried,” Hayner explained, tone sad and remorseful. “The second day, a lot of Keybearers tried. The Heartless retaliated by killing those who were fighting and then…” He looked up at Roxas. “And then slaughtering all the Noble Houses, even if they hadn’t been fighting.” Roxas flinched, eyes dropping to the ground and Xion leaned closer, holding his hands in hers. “It was a warning. And it worked.”

“All of the Noble Houses?” Riku asked and Hayner nodded.

“The First Tower is basically empty now. And somehow, they knew exactly who was a Noble. Even those who weren’t on the First Tower were killed. The only Tower that was avoided was Seventh and Eighth, and Fourth for some reason.”

“What about the Kings?” Riku pressed and Hayner’s eyes closed.

“No one knows what happened to Saïx. The few people that were there that day and managed to escape, mostly people who worked in the Castle, reported that he and his husband were fighting but now that the Heartless roam the Castle freely, no one knows what that means for Saïx specifically but…” He looked away and Olette flinched.

“But Axel is dead. That’s been confirmed.”

Silence rang through the room. Kairi sat back with a thud.

It was one thing to learn that a lot of people were dead. She didn’t have names for those people, she didn’t have their faces. She didn’t know their skill level or their power ability.

But she had seen Axel fighting. He had taken down those Heartless like it was nothing. He hadn’t even seemed tired.

So, who could be powerful enough to kill him?

“Dead?” Xion asked shakily, Roxas having gone even paler, and Hayner nodded slowly. Her gaze dropped and it looked like she was going to start crying.

“How?” Riku asked and Kairi realized he also looked shellshocked, eyes wide and searching. Was this one of the first times she had ever seen him truly surprised? Hayner shrugged.

“Unknown, but it was spread around the Towers after the slaughter of the Noble Houses and confirmed by several people, Cloud included.” Hayner’s eyes slid up to Pence, who looked away. “None of us took it well. Not too long after that, we met Cloud and started helping him. Just because we can’t bear Keyblades doesn’t mean we’re useless.”

“You’re not,” Riku murmured quietly and sat down at the remaining chair, burying his face in one of his hands. Roxas stood and left the room through the crumbled down side, disappearing quickly from view. Xion stood as if going to follow him but didn’t, sitting back down and closing her eyes, one tear after another trailing down her face. Olette moved to sit next to her and let her lean on her shoulder, wrapping her good arm around Xion’s shoulders. Aqua and Terra both looked lost, having not spent as much time in Scala and hadn’t gotten to know Axel or the others. But they didn’t leave, instead watching the teenagers in the room carefully, their “parent eyes” as Sora liked to call them, clearly fully on.

None of them said anything, succumbing to silence. Kairi leaned close to Sora, shivering. It all of sudden felt real. It had been dangerous before, but no one had died, no one had suffered. And now Axel was dead, Saïx was missing, Scala was under the control of some madman, and there wasn’t that much they could do about it.

“What about your parents?” Xion asked after a couple of seconds, reaching up and scrubbing at her eyes, before looking to her friends. “Are they okay?” All three of them looked away.

“We… have to assume so,” Pence replied after a second, looking down at his hands. “But we haven’t seen them. Not since we started helping Cloud. We couldn’t risk them being killed for our actions.”

“They shouldn’t be your actions in the first place,” Terra murmured, but Kairi knew it came out of place of love.

“We couldn’t just do nothing,” Olette repeated, gazing at him in determination. “And we had the least to lose, and we were the least likely to get traced back to this. We don’t know how but it’s obvious that whoever’s doing this has a lot of information on how Scala operates.”

“Still,” Xion said weakly and Olette turned to her.

“You would have done it,” she refuted, and Kairi could tell that Xion didn’t really have a response to that.

“Where’s Naminé?” Hayner asked, clearly getting a look around the room.

“Safe on the ship,” Sora responded. “We didn’t want her coming here quite yet. Not until it’s safer.” Whatever was going to be said next was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps.

Cloud entered the room. “Have you been told what’s going on?” He asked to the silent room who had turned to look at him, his voice breaking the fragile calmness that had descended on it. Xion and Sora both flinched in surprise and Hayner’s gaze rose, landing on Cloud.

“Yes,” Riku responded, clearly making an effort to sit up straighter. His hand landed on the table. “A lot’s happened here, hasn’t it?” Cloud nodded once in reply, moving forward to the table to look down at the papers on it. Kairi raised her head, finally looking at the things covering the table.

They looked like… maps almost. Maps of Scala. She nudged Sora off her shoulder so she could stand up and look at them better. She saw Riku doing the same thing.

“Are these… of Scala?” Riku asked. “Where’d you get them?”

“I drew them,” Cloud said offhandedly and didn’t notice the strange looks being sent at him from all five Scala natives.

“You what?” Olette asked blankly and Kairi guessed they had never bothered to ask where Cloud had gotten them. “How?”

“I knew the landscape,” Cloud answered and didn’t elaborate, causing the teenagers and Aqua and Terra to exchange weird looks. “And anyways, if we’re going to take back Scala, we’re going to need them.”

Chapter Text

Sora would admit, most of the planning went over his head.

It wasn’t like he didn’t understand any of it. He knew his part and Riku’s, but the more nuanced parts of it, like the apparent secret passages that Scala just happened to have, he didn’t pay that much attention to. He knew others were. He instead paid attention to the people around him.

Roxas had reappeared when Cloud and Riku had started planning, hovering by the back and a slightly foggy look in his eyes. His hands were shaking but he had refused to be left behind, citing both his ability to use a Keyblade and his want to make them pay as enough reason for them to let him go. Xion hadn’t approached him but looked like she’d wanted to the entire time. Her eyes flicked between Roxas and the floor, only looking up to confirm her part in the plan. It was clear that she was affected by the loss of Roxas’s parents just as much as he was.

Terra, Aqua, Ven, and Kairi had watched the planning and had contributed a few times, but none of them were going, their inability to use the Keyblade the main reason. Unfortunately, they would just be a liability, unable to destroy the monsters that could very easily kill them. None of them argued but Sora could tell that Kairi was upset about it. He took her hand and squeezed it when she looked down, her hand tightening back around his. The last time they had been separated was still heavy on all their minds.

Cloud wasn’t going either, despite his ability to use the Keyblade, but Hayner was, mostly to guide the four of them who were going. The people who had stayed at Scala had been using the secret passages to get around the past couple of days, so he knew the route well.

“It’s just a surveillance run,” Cloud cautioned as the five of them prepared to leave. “Don’t do anything that could get you caught and don’t take any unnecessary risks. Just figure out what the situation is in the Castle and come back.” Riku nodded at that, a movement copied by both Xion and Sora. Roxas was still not completely there, which was slightly worrying but Sora knew that he wasn’t really the person to decide whether or not he should go. That was left to Riku and Xion and they both seemed okay with him going.

“Good luck,” Kairi told him, and Sora nodded.

“We’ll be back in a couple of hours,” he promised, and she tried to smile back at him, but it came out as more of a grimace. He wanted her to come with him, they hadn’t been separated in years and the first time they did, it had been in a creepy city with things that tried to kill them. And now, Sora was walking back into that same circumstance. But he couldn’t ask her to come with him, not if it meant she was in danger. She was his best friend after all.

“I’ll be back,” he repeated, and she nodded shakily.

“You better,” she responded. “Or I’ll come get you.”

He released her hand at that and turned, seeing Riku waiting for him. He hurried over.

“Ready?” Riku asked the younger boy and Sora nodded firmly.

“Of course,” he replied. Riku turned and led the way out, Xion, Roxas, and Hayner already outside and waiting for them.

The three teenagers looked to them as they exited.

“Lead the way, Hayner,” Riku said and Hayner nodded.

While it was just as quiet as before as the five of them crossed the bridge to the Fifth Tower, it didn’t seem as foreboding like it had an hour earlier. Perhaps it is because the sun has risen, Sora pondered, eyes flicking up to the burning spot in the sky that had just passed the mountains, casting all of Scala in a warm glow that didn’t reflect the atmosphere of the place at all. It made Sora shiver slightly. Scala looked pretty and inviting, hiding the depths of the terror that had clearly taken over the place in the past few days.

“Stop!” Riku hissed out and the five of them froze, just barely avoiding being seen by a couple of Heartless that were walking down the road. They backed up several feet, and Sora watched them carefully as they ambled down the road.

“What are they doing?” Sora wondered, watching as they would walk a couple of feet, look around, and then keep going. “Patrolling?”

Hayner hummed quietly, keeping a sharp eye on the beasts. “Cloud thinks they’re searching for something,” he admitted. “He won’t tell us what though. It’s a possibility he doesn’t know either.”

“What could they possibly be searching for?” Xion wondered and Hayner shrugged.

“We don’t know,” he repeated. “But they’ve searched every single Tower for it, even the Seventh and Eighth Towers. But they clearly haven’t found it yet.”

“A weapon?” Sora theorized. “But what weapon would they need? And why would it be at Scala?” Hayner shrugged again.

“More Nobles?” Xion asked, looking over to Roxas.

“Though, it is strange,” Hayner mentioned as they continued. “They seem… confused, if you can call it that. They check certain places over and over again, while leaving certain ones alone no matter what. It’s almost like… there’s two different sets of orders.” The four of them exchanged glances at that and Riku got a look on his face like he had figured something out.

“This way,” he said instead, and the conversation was quickly forgotten as they moved on, running down the road.

A couple minutes later, they crossed to the First Tower and any want for a conversation quickly dropped even further. The Tower had clearly seen a lot of fighting, more than the other ones that they had seen.

Chunks were carved out of walls and roads, there was residue from magic spells, such as shriveling vines or melting unnatural ice, and the white roads were stained with brownish splotches. Sora knew what they were, and his eyes flicked to Roxas, who had an unreadable look on his face. Xion stayed at his side, concern written across her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. None of them said anything.

“Here,” Hayner murmured a couple minutes later, slowing to a stop in front of a seemingly blank wall. They were in the Middle Ring, carefully hidden under an archway that was carved into the center of the Tower. Sora wondered briefly what was in the center of the Tower, if there was anything at all, but the thought was quickly banished when Hayner took a few steps forward, resting his hand on the wall.

He moved it to the side slightly, tapping on the wall until a hollow sound rung through the air and he pushed in, moving the brick out of place and causing the whole wall to start to move apart, revealing a dark tunnel.

“There,” Hayner said, motioning inwards. “This tunnel will lead you directly to the Castle. I don’t know where, Cloud was the one to tell us about these passages and we’ve never used it, but somewhere in the Castle.”

“Thanks,” Riku told him, walking forward a few steps. Impossible wind coming from inside the tunnel blew his hair back slightly as the passage finished opening. “Will it just close behind us?”

“Push the discolored brick on the inside,” Hayner instructed. “It’s also how you open it from the other side.” Riku nodded and moved inside the tunnel, turning back to look at the three of them. “Ready?”

Sora moved forward first, shivering slightly as the air changed from outside to inside. Outside it was warm and just starting to become humid. Inside the air was cold and damp.

“Get back to the others safely,” Sora heard Roxas tell Hayner quietly. As he turned back, Hayner was already disappearing into the shadows. Xion walked forward, taking Roxas’s hand and pulling him along with them.

Sparks flew from Riku’s hand, and a small ball of flame appeared in them, illuminating the inside of the tunnel.

It was small, barely wider than a meter and a half, and had a low, sloping upwards ceiling. At the highest point, the ceiling was only seven feet tall, perhaps.

Two more fires flared into view as Xion and Roxas both summoned magic to their own hands and Sora grumbled. “You have to teach me how to do that,” he told Riku and Riku nodded, a small smile crossing his lips.

“Of course,” he responded, reaching out and tapping the miscolored brick, causing the passage to start to close behind them. “I’ll teach you any magic you want to learn, once this is all over.” The passage slid shut with a thump and Sora wasn’t the only one to flinch.

“Well,” Xion murmured. “One way forward.”

Riku went first, flame held up high as he started walking, Sora hurrying quickly behind him. The flame danced on the walls, creating uniquely shaped shadows but also revealing art and carvings on the wall.

“I don’t think we’re the first people to be here,” Sora muttered as he stared at one of the drawings, a tree with five-pointed fruit hanging from it. He blinked past the déjà vu.

“It would be strange if we were,” Xion responded, fire casting light on two symbols on the wall. “If these passages have been here as long as Scala has, that’s centuries of people. It would be impossible to be the first people to find them.”

“Flores,” Roxas said quietly, staring at one of the symbols that Xion had revealed. His face was unreadable. “And… unknown.” It looked like a hat to Sora but maybe it was a House Symbol. He wouldn’t know.

“So, people found them and… decorated them?” Sora asked and Xion shrugged.

“Well, wouldn’t you like to tell the world that you found one of the secrets of Scala?” Xion retorted. Sore shrugged and turned back to-

-face Lauriam, pressing a hand to his mouth to stifle his giggles. Lauriam had the most offended look on his face, and he couldn’t help the laughter that made its way past his lips.

“So, you find an ancient secret of Scala’s,” Lauriam started, placing one of his hands on his hip and staring at him. “And the first thing that goes through your head is, ‘how can I vandalize this’?”

“Lauriam!” He laughed, reaching over and shoving his friend slightly. “How dare you say that about me!” The other ten-year-old was now close to laughter as well and he decided to lean into it. “You make me sound like a common criminal. Or like a kid in my school.” That was enough to push Lauriam into laughter as well and the two of them stood there giggling like idiots for a couple of seconds.

The sounds of bells interrupted the two of them and they both paused, tipping their heads up as if they could actually see the clock tower instead of being in an underground passage. The sound rang through the air, almost seeming to shake the very walls around them and he felt the smile cross his face, much more sincere and gentle than before.

“Happy birthday,” he murmured to Lauriam, moving to wrap him in a hug, the ten- eleven-year-old returning it easily.

“Why thank you,” he replied. “But I didn’t realize you remembered the exact hour of my birth.”

He laughed again, releasing Lauriam to back up and give him a look.

“You told me about it,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You really thought I’d forget?”

“I mean, not really,” Lauriam admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “But I didn’t think you’d remember something that specific.” He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“Betrayal,” he said, forcing down another round of giggles. “How dare you even imply that I would have forgotten something about you, how dare you.”

“C’mon,” Lauriam laughed. “Really Bra-”

“Sora?” Riku asked and Sora nearly yelped in surprise, resisting the urge to backpedal away from Riku, who had suddenly appeared in front of him. The older boy blinked in surprise and moved his hands away from where they had rested on Sora’s shoulders.

“What happened?” Sora questioned, looking around. Xion and Roxas were giving him concerned looks and he turned back to Riku. Had he…?

“You just stopped walking,” Riku explained slowly. “You worried us. Is this a… Magic thing?”

Sora sighed, rubbing one of his arms. “I think so,” he admitted. “I just… saw something. But I can’t really… remember it.”

“Well,” Xion started, looking uncertain. “Maybe, once this is all done, we can get someone to talk to you about it? Maybe get them to stop happening so often?”

“Perhaps,” Sora muttered, looking down at the ground. What had he seen? The boy… He felt… important. He shook himself slightly and moved his gaze back to Riku. “We can head on now.”

“Are you sure?” Roxas asked and Sora nodded firmly.

“Okay,” Riku replied, starting to turn back to the tunnel. “But, if anything happens and you can, tell us.”

The path started sloping upwards and the amount of artwork slowly dipped, less and less until there were just smooth, untouched walls. The air in the passage also grew warmer as they walked through it, leaving behind the cold, dark feeling.

They came to a stop in front of another blank wall and Xion hummed in consideration.

“We never asked Hayner how to open up the second side,” she mentioned, staring at the wall, and placed a hand on her hip. “Do you think it’s like the first one?” Riku didn’t say anything, instead started to search the walls around the blank one. Xion and Roxas moved to the other side, so Sora followed after Riku.

“Here,” Roxas said, accompanied by the sound of brick being slid out of place. A second later, the wall in front of them started to shift much like the other had done, and Sora had to slam his eyes closed against the bright light that was sliding through the cracks. He blinked several times once the noise of the wall moving had stopped and looked out. Riku extinguished the fire in his hand and stepped forward.

Sora followed him, looking around. The walls were white, covered in designs, and there was a wooden floor.

They had reached the Castle.

~

The Heartless’s eyes tracked the four Keybearers as they disappeared into the passage. Its antennae twitched and it shifted back and forth on its feet, a reaction to the presence in its head.

He sighed as he released the Heartless, returning his consciousness back to his Puppet.

Of course, he thought. They’ve been back for an hour and are already creating headaches. He flicked his mind through several different Heartless, trying to get eyes back on them. Not that it truly mattered.

The only place that passage goes to is the Castle, he mused. They have to be on their way. Against his will, a spark of joy and excitement flashed through his mind, making the second heart flinch and press backwards in the mindscape. As annoying as they were, the Keybearers on their way were the first true challenge he’d had in years. Their actions in the City had proven that.

We should prepare to greet them, he hummed as he called out to the others around the Castle. The two other thralls replied to his summon and he was already moving to send one of them away. He was new and would be a good bargaining chip against the Partial Reality-Wielder if need be. His third thrall, whom he really couldn’t call that because there was no presence of him in her mind, was contacted by the remaining thrall. They would be alert just in case he needed them.

Recovering from its bout of fear, the other presence shoved back against him, trying to cut his connection to the Heartless, if he guessed right. An action he had repeated over and over again and unfortunately, had started to seemingly work, if only in small increments. The other Heart had given up years ago trying to remove his presence from the body. Now he just tried to interfere when he could.

He shoved the other Heart back with barely a hint of power. Quiet, he thought to it, feeling the Heart shrink back in surprise as he spoke to it for the first time in years.

You’ll ruin the surprise.

Chapter Text

Riku felt out of place the second they entered the crystal walls of the Castle. Just the way that the light reflected off the walls and onto the four of them, the pristine floors with not a single speck of dust on them, or the way that some of the ceilings curved so much that the tops of them were cast into shadow. All of it just made him shiver and cringe. He was used to dusty and cracked walls, uneven floors, and shadows in corners, with no roof over his head unless you counted the barrier.

“We’re here,” Xion said quietly, voice uncertain, and Riku turned back to her as she let go of the fire in her hand and looked around. “It almost looks normal.” She looked back to the passage. “How do we close it?”

“There,” Sora said, pointing at a small part of the wall that was a shade off. The younger boy reached out and touched it, pushing it in and the wall slid closed with barely a noise, much like the first side. Not for the first time, Riku wondered how and why they had been developed. Had they been created by Sigrun, all those years ago? Perhaps because of what had happened with the war and everything following it? Or had it been one of her descendants, adding to the Castle for some reason?

“Okay,” Riku started once he pushed back his thoughts, dragging the attention of the three younger teenagers to him. “Remember where this is. This is our way out. If anything happens, anything at all, come back here and get out. Understand?” The three nodded at him and he took a deep breath, turning back around to face the hallway. They weren’t Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme, who had to grow up quickly in the Maze, whose skills at sneaking were only passed by Neku and Joshua. They hadn’t done this countless times before, they hadn’t dodged death every night before dinner, they hadn’t known what it was like to spend hours in the same spot because one of the beasts was stalking them. They couldn’t-

He gritted his teeth and shoved his thoughts back into their box. Now was not the time.

“So, left or right?” Sora asked and Riku paused, taken aback for a second. He hadn’t expected Sora to ask him.

“Roxas, do you recognize where we are?” He asked, knowing that the younger boy had been to the Castle several times in the past.

“Maybe?” Roxas said and he took a couple of steps forward until he was next to Riku. He looked down both hallways. “I think we’re near the back of the Castle? So right won’t take us anywhere.”

Riku nodded to him and started down the left hallways, summoning Way To The Dawn into his hand. He heard three sounds that confirmed that the others had summoned their Keyblades as well.

The hallway was quiet as they walked down it, their footsteps being the only sound in the room. While this usually would have been a good thing, as it meant that they didn’t have to fight anything and risk injury, it just made him feel uneasy. There should have been Heartless, there should have been some sort of obstacle. Based on what Hayner and Cloud had said, the First Tower and the Castle specifically seemed to be their base of operations. So, there should have been something to stop them. And there wasn’t. And it was setting him on edge.

“I would have thought there would have been more Heartless,” Sora whispered out as they turned another corner and there was nothing there, speaking Riku’s thoughts aloud. “You know?”

“It’s definitely strange,” Riku murmured, feeling the adrenaline sing through his bones that had been dragged forth by both the uneasiness that he was feeling and the memories starting to build in the back of his head. Shiki moved with him, their feet in time after all their years of practice as they both ducked behind another boulder, watching a beast go past.

“Maybe they’re all busy in Scala?” Xion offered but Riku could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

“There seems to be an unlimited amount of them though,” Roxas spoke up, Oblivion rattling in his hand. “Couldn’t whoever it is just… conjure more?”

“If that’s even how it works,” Riku responded. “We unfortunately don’t know much about the Heartless and how they are created or controlled.” The four of them fell silent at that, all lost in their own thoughts. Riku continued to lead them forward, doing his best to stay calm and collected. If he let his memories overwhelm him now, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.

He and Roxas heard it at the same time.

“Footsteps,” Roxas hissed out just as Riku opened his mouth to say the same thing. He backed up several steps, pressing himself against the wall near the corner. Looking back, he could see that the others had done the same. He gritted his teeth. It was a lot harder to hide here than it had been at the city. There were no shadows to use to hide their presence here.

The footsteps grew louder and Riku tightened his grip on Way To The Dawn, ready to fight just in case it was needed.

The person who came around the corner was a woman, with blonde hair. Riku paused at the sight of the coat she was wearing, which was eerily similar to the coats that the people in the city had worn. Any small doubts that he had been having about the city and the attack on Scala being connected were banished. Somehow the two were connected and Riku wanted to find out how. Even had told them much, true, but there was still more to discover. And Riku hated that he didn’t know.

Riku pressed himself back against the wall as she got closer, hoping that she would just pass them without seeing them. Looking over at the other three, he could see them in similar positions. Sora looked like he was barely breathing.

Thankfully, however, she didn’t seem to notice them as she walked past them, further into the Castle.

Riku relaxed slowly, the longer she was gone giving him more relief. She hadn’t seen them.

Who had that been anyway? It was the first non-Heartless he had seen in Scala, not counting those who were fighting back. She also looked like she was part of the group who was attacked. Not Marluxia, but someone else.

“Who was that?” Sora asked, gazing down the hallway she had disappeared into, worry and confusion in his eyes. “That wasn’t a Heartless.”

“Elrena?” Xion offered, turning to Roxas with a questioning look. He hummed in response, a thoughtful look crossing his face, and Riku raised an eyebrow.

“The Noble who was exiled with Marluxia?” He clarified and Roxas tipped his head.

“Perhaps,” Roxas muttered. “You think she was controlled too?”

“She had to be, right?” Sora asked, a concerned look on his face. “Why else would she be helping them?” Riku grimaced. As bad as it sounded…

“She could just be wanting to do it,” he offered, and Sora turned to him. “She could just be evil.” Sora made a face at that and Riku felt bad for bringing it up, but they had to take that into consideration.

“Could…” Xion started but she trailed off and the three of them turned to her. An uncertain look crossed her face and her hands twisted together.

“What is it?” Riku prompted and Xion closed her eyes very quickly before reopening them.

“Even confirmed at Marluxia got controlled while he was out of Scala, right?” Xion asked and both Riku and Roxas nodded. “So… If Elrena is controlled just like Marluxia is… When did that happen? Elrena was exiled when Marluxia was. So, either she was just evil and just chose to go along with it or…”

“Or whoever it is doesn’t have to be near them to infect them,” Roxas finished and the four of them fell into silence. Well, that was a scary thought.

“I guess… Stay away from Marluxia until we know more?” Sora volunteered and Riku nodded quickly. They had to get back on track.

“I mean, stay away from Marluxia anyways, he’s going to try and kill us, but yeah,” Roxas snarked and Xion smacked him lightly on the shoulder. Riku smiled slightly. It was nice to see Roxas at least attempting to push past his grief, at least a little bit, and joke. Not that it wasn’t clear that Roxas wasn’t processing it at all, but they couldn’t exactly spare time to process right now. Once they had everything sorted out again, Roxas needed to take time and grieve. Man, he really was a hypocrite, wasn’t he?

“Moving on?” Xion prompted and Riku nodded, turning and starting down the hallway Elrena had come from. At least they had confirmation that one person wasn’t down that way.

As they moved, Riku couldn’t stop his mind from wandering a little. Maybe it was because he was used to sneaking down halls, protecting those with him. In his mind’s eye, he could see the carvings they had discovered. His thoughts were fixed on one.

Flores, he thought. He knew that symbol even though he had just been born when the House fell apart. All the symbols of the Houses were well known, even those that had died. But now… Was that Marluxia? He couldn’t help the thought that went through him. Had they just walked through passages that a young Marluxia had, back when he was young and innocent? Of course, there was nothing stopping it from just being another member of the House Flores, it was one of the oldest Houses, and a Great one at that, but… Nothing so far has been coincidence or accident.

“Huh,” Roxas murmured after they had been sneaking for a few minutes and Riku paused, looking back at him. “I think we’re heading towards the throne room.”

“Should we go a different way then, or…?” Xion trailed off, watching her Betrothed carefully. “I mean, would it be more dangerous there?” Roxas thought about it for a second and then shrugged.

“It could be classified as just another room?” He offered with a shrug. “There’s nothing really special about it. Axel hates it, though he never tells-” He stopped short and the easy atmosphere that had been building dissipated. “He never told us why,” Roxas finished with a frown and downcast eyes. Riku winced.

It was hard to imagine anything being able to take Axel down, especially to the point of death.

“Let’s go,” Riku said softly when it became clear Roxas wasn’t going to say anything else. “The sooner we look, the sooner we can leave.” Xion nodded to him, placing a hand on Roxas’s shoulder for a second before letting go and Riku turned, continuing to head in the same direction as before. It wasn’t long before they came upon a set of double doors.

“Here?” He asked Roxas, gesturing to the doors with his head. Roxas nodded once and Riku pushed them open, stepping into the room. The doors made barely any sound as they moved over the ground and Riku couldn’t help but by glad for it.

It already felt grander, even at a passing glance; the walls and floor replaced from wood to marble. The high ceiling sloped upwards with different patterns etched into it. It also felt a lot… colder in a way. It made Riku shiver. Maybe it was the all-white room or the lack of any sort of furniture or decorations besides the thrones that made Riku so wary. He couldn’t tell.

“So, this is the throne room?” Sora asked as he walked in behind them. Riku turned to look at the younger boy, happy to put his back to most of the room, seeing Sora spin in place, trying to look at everything at once.

“Yeah,” Roxas said, gesturing to the two thrones that sat up on the dais. “Nobles used to come here to have meetings with the rulers about how Scala was doing. And commoners used to come to ask for support or inform about a problem. Though, this place had almost never been used in the past ten years. It’s the dead center of the Castle.”

“Seems like a lot of things have changed ‘in the past ten years’,” Sora muttered and Riku found himself agreeing with him. The actions of the massacre had changed a lot.

“Guys?” Xion asked, voice quiet and shaking and the three of them whipped around to look at her. She was staring at the floor a couple of feet in front of her, eyes wide and face pale.

“Xion?” Roxas asked, heading over. “What’s wrong?” The girl didn’t answer, instead simply pointing forward at the floor. Riku leaned forward, trying to get a good look at it, seeing it a second after Roxas and Sora did, if their reactions were anything to go by. He wondered how he hadn’t seen it before.

On a marble floor, blood would usually have been easier to see.

Riku sucked in a breath at the washed-out stain of blood that decorated the ground. It was big and spattered the ground, looking like someone had dumped a gallon of paint on the ground. There was no way someone could lose that much blood and live. Riku would know.

Now, seeing this, he backed up a couple of steps, able to see each and every stain that was on the ground, carefully washed out to the point where it wouldn’t be the first thing you noticed. There had been a battle there, it was obvious. But who had fought here? And who had lost?

“Oh, what have we here?” The voice seemed to come from everywhere and they all jumped, all of them still on edge. Riku reached out, grabbing Sora’s arm and dragging the other boy closer to him. Both Xion and Roxas froze, pressing their backs to each other almost on instinct. “A few errant Keybearers. Sneaking where they should not go.”

A pool of almost liquid darkness it looked like, appeared on the wall and out from it stepped…

Riku’s breath caught in his throat, panic starting to rise. Both Roxas and Xion flinched backwards, stumbling back several steps while Sora made an inquisitive noise, craning his neck to see over Riku’s arm that he had thrown out in front of Sora.

Out of the pool stepped Marluxia, scythe loose at his side, yellow eyes flashing and a bloodthirsty smile set into his face.

“Tell me, young Keybearers.” He stopped after exiting the pool, which disappeared behind him. “What are you doing in the Castle?”

Chapter Text

Seven steps, turn. Seven steps, turn.

Kairi paced back and forth across the meeting room again. Her hands twitched and twisted, switching between clasping each other and curling into fists. If that action wasn’t taken, she would probably be tugging on her hair.

It was unnaturally quiet. All the others had abandoned the room once it became clear that they wouldn’t be able to calm Kairi down, no matter what they did, so they had instead simply left her to tire herself out.

Seven steps, turn. Seven steps, turn.

“You’re not accomplishing anything by making yourself exhausted.” She looked up at the intrusion, her pattern of steps being thrown off as she stuttered to a stop. Cloud leaned on the door frame, watching her carefully. His eyes stared into hers and she felt herself wanting to take a step back. Something about him was… off and she had never had a chance to fully think about it, but it was undeniable.

“I’m not trying to tire myself out,” she snapped after a second, finishing up the four steps to make it to a wall. “I just can’t sit still and do nothing. Not while they’re out there.”

“You’re doing something,” Cloud corrected, and she looked back to him, seeing his expression take on a more… gentle side, if that was possible. “You’re waiting.” She scoffed and turned, taking seven steps to the other walls.

Seven steps, turn.

“I mean it,” Cloud insisted. “Waiting is a valid thing to do. Waiting is meant to conserve strength.”

“For what?” She shot back, wanting to walk the length of the room again but finding her feet glued to the floor. She crossed her arms and glared at Cloud. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere or that she could help if anything happened. She wasn’t a Keyblade Wielder, she was useless.

“In case Sora needs you, in case the others need you,” Cloud pushed off the wall and took a step into the room. “If they end up needing your help, being exhausted because you spent hours pacing will help no one.” Kairi tried to glare at him more but found herself unable to, instead looking down at her arms.

“And if they end up not needing our help?” She questioned, looking back up at him, and Cloud shrugged.

“Then you are ready and waiting for the next fight. Or ready to help them when they return, perhaps injured.”

She gritted her teeth. “They won’t get injured, right?” She said, both to herself and to Cloud. Half asking for reassurance, half trying to prove it true, trying to speak it into existence. “This was a recon run.”

“Anything can happen.” Cloud’s eyes hadn’t left hers. “Be prepared.” She snarled internally and paced along the length of the room again.

Stars, she didn’t like being separated from Sora. Only bad things had happened.

“Kairi,” Cloud said, and she turned, only to jump back when she realized that he had crossed the room without her hearing and was now a foot away from her. “Rest. Sit. Relax.” She didn’t answer him, and he reached forward, placing a hand on her shoulder, regardless of her attempts to back out of his reach. “Sleep,” he whispered, and she had a second to realize that his tone of voice sounded a lot like when Riku was casting a spell, before her eyes slipped closed and her knees collapsed, Cloud’s hold on her the only thing stopping her from crumpling to the ground.

“Kairi?” Sora asked quietly and Kairi opened her eyes, rolling over in bed to look at the other ten-year-old. Sora was sitting up in his bed, legs crossed in front of him and looking down at his hands. His journal, which had been a gift from Terra once he realized the young boy liked drawing things, especially the dreams that Kairi knew he had. When they had been on the street, they hadn’t had anything like that, and it was clear that it had been helping Sora slightly. Not that the dreams were that common. The bad ones, anyway.

“What?” She asked, slightly grumpy because he was waking her up and they were supposed to be asleep. Through the window, she could just see the tip of one of the buildings in Radiant Garden, most of it hidden by shadow and viewpoint.

Sora opened his mouth, but nothing came out before he closed it again. His blue eyes flicked from her back down to his hands and she sighed, shoving off her own covers and sitting up. Due to the fact that winter was approaching, they both had more covers than usual, and they bunched at the ends of their beds.

“Is this about Ven and Vanitas?” She asked him, hoping she got the names right of the two people that had joined their crew that morning. She hadn’t talked to them that much, mostly hiding in her room and avoiding them. Yes, they were supposed to be their new crewmates, but they were other people. How was Kairi supposed to know what they were like? Perhaps they were tricking them, like she had done. Maybe they were going to hurt them.

Okay, maybe not Ven. He was their age and seemed kinda… out of it? When she had met them, he had barely spoken a word. But Vanitas was so much older than she was, and he had barely spoken to her, barely looked at her. He could be planning to hurt them! Ven could be his unwitting accomplice and she didn’t want her family to get hurt again.

“A little?” Sora said and she yanked her attention back to him. She moved closer, swinging her legs over the side of her bed and resting her hands on either side of them, leaning forward.

“Spill,” she ordered, and Sora giggled, just a little, before the somberness retook him.

“Vanitas said that Ven was his younger brother,” Sora muttered, and Kairi blinked. Of all the problems she had with Vanitas, that wasn’t one of them.

“So?” She asked, tipping her head to the side slightly. “What’s wrong with that?” Sora flinched slightly, ducking his head down and she sat up in worry. Whatever this was, it was bothering Sora badly. Huffing a little, she jumped off her bed and walked to his, not that long of a journey, and hopped up onto his, leaning into his side like they used to do when they slept curled up next to each other in alleys.

“Why’s that bothering you so much?” She asked quietly and Sora didn’t answer for a second, simply pressing his head to hers. Just as she thought he wasn’t going to answer and she would have to press further herself, he sighed.

“It’s just…” He trailed off, hands curling deeper into themselves. “Do you… Do you think we had siblings?”

Ah, that made sense. Sora was constantly thinking about what their life could have possibly been before they ended up on the streets. Before they lost their parents in whatever took them away.

“I don’t know,” she replied softly. While she had no interest in trying to figure out what their life could have been once, more than happy to just live in the present and look to the future, she knew Sora liked thinking about it. So, she indulged him when she was feeling up to it. “Maybe. But you would think they would be with us, if we did have siblings. We wouldn’t have let them go and they wouldn’t have let us go. That’s not how siblings work.”

Case in point being Ven and Vanitas. Even though they had been told that Ven had lost his memory, Vanitas hadn’t left him. Even though Ven didn’t have the same connection to Vanitas that Vanitas had to Ven, Vanitas had stayed and taken care of him before Leon had found them. He hadn’t needed to do that, especially because Ven didn’t remember him. But he had.

“I think we have siblings,” Sora admitted, and Kairi frowned at that, turning to face him.

“Why’s that?” She questioned and he hummed slightly, relaxing more than he had been, allowing his hands to unclench.

“Because I dream of them,” he told her. “Some nights. Not often but… some.”

“What are they like?” She asked, confusion running through her. If Sora remembered them, why didn’t she? And why hadn’t Sora mentioned them before?

“Well, they live in a very nice place,” he started, voice taking on a tone of importance. “It’s always sunny there and there’s a lot of water.”

“They live on a boat like us?” Kairi wondered and Sora paused, before shrugging.

“If they do, it’s a very slow boat. They never seem to leave the mountains they’re sailing near. One of them, the boy, has blonde hair and looks a lot like Ven, now that I think about it. The girl has black hair and doesn’t live with him but spends a lot of time with him. They’re both very loved.”

“If they’re our siblings, why do they live separately?” She asked and Sora shrugged again.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe whoever took them in could only take one.” Kairi grimaced slightly at that. She couldn’t imagine being separated from Sora, even if it was just for the night.

“There’s a younger girl too,” Sora continued. “With pale hair and likes white dresses. She’s younger than the rest of them. And a final one…” Sora screwed up his face, closing his eyes like he was trying to remember. “But… he feels different from the others. Not like them, but different.”

“And these are our siblings?” Kairi asked, unable to keep the slightly dubiousness from her voice. Sora paused, eyes opening.

“I don’t know,” he admitted in a quiet voice. “I only see them in my dreams but… But sometimes I’m worried that I’m making them up. That they don’t exist.” His gaze dipped back down to his hands and Kairi scrambled for something.

“Well,” Kairi said, wanting to cheer up Sora. “They exist in your mind, right? That means they exist somehow.” Sora looked to her.

“Really?” He asked and she nodded.

“Yes,” she proclaimed, reaching out to take one of his hands. “Yes, they do.” He smiled at her, and she smiled back, squeezing his hand gently.

A slow rumbling interrupted them, and Kairi turned, blinking in confusion. What was that?

She didn’t remember this part.

“Sora?” She called out as she turned back and saw him gone. “Where’d you go?” She jumped off the bed only for the floor to give way and sent her falling and suddenly she wasn’t ten anymore instead she was fifteen and falling through the ground and-

She landed with a thud, knees and legs screaming at her in pain as she hit the ground, crumpling to a sitting position.

“What?” She thought blankly, looking out to see the colorful ground beneath her. It was cold and hard, and she shook her head, trying to focus on the design.

It looked like a stained-glass picture.

She forced herself to her feet, wobbling slightly and she threw out her hands for balance. She didn’t fall over, thankfully, and instead backed up several feet, trying not to trip over anything. The thing beneath her almost seemed to glow and she was transfixed for a second, staring at the lights that trickled up from below it.

Different shades of pink and black painted her hands as she reached out towards the glass panel, the lights coloring her hands. Underneath her, Aqua’s face stared up and she backed up even more, only to realize she was stepping on Vanitas. She jumped slightly when she saw Terra and Ven and kept backing up until she had to stop, or she would fall off the edge.

“What… What is this place?” She asked. Or tried to but not noise echoed through the air, even when she opened her mouth and tried to speak. “Where am I?”

But she got no answer, except for a light starting to glow in the center of the platform.

Would you like to unlock your Heart?

~

“Kairi?” She awoke with a start at the sound of her name, jumping slightly at the hand on her shoulder, which pulled back quickly as she sat up. Sat up? When had she sat down?

“What?” She asked blurrily, not really registering what was going on.

“You were having a nightmare,” the voice replied, and Kairi blinked, registering the voice as Vanitas’s.

“Vanitas?” She slurred, finally managing to make her eyes open and focus on the older man who was leaning over her. She was sitting in one of the chairs around the table, arms and back aching. As she sat up, her arms unfolded, apparently having been trapped under her head as she slept bent over on the table. “What are you doing here?” She asked, her train of thought struggling to catch up to her. Hadn’t he and Naminé been left on The Wayfinder?

“Cloud and Aqua got us,” Vanitas explained as he took a seat next to her. Kairi realized he was holding the book Riku had come back from the city with. She had wondered what had happened to it. “It wasn’t safe for Naminé and I to stay on the ship, apparently.” His tone of voice told Kairi all she needed to know about how he felt about it. “Sora and Riku are back?”

“They are?” She asked, ready to stand and hurry over to them. Why hadn’t they woken her? When had she fallen asleep?

“Well, I was asking you,” Vanitas told her. “I didn’t think you would be able to relax, much less sleep, if they were gone.” She blinked, settling back into her chair as the excitement drained out of her. Vanitas was right, of course he was, but…

“I don’t remember falling asleep,” she said, puzzled. “I don’t remember even sitting down.” Vanitas gave her a look and she understood, she did, but… something must have happened. “You said I was having a nightmare?”

Vanitas nodded. “Normal things?”

“I… don’t remember,” she admitted, trying to think back. “Nothing at all.”

~

The Strings twined and twisted around their Partial Wielder, trying to tell him everything. Everything was happening. Destiny was colliding, futures were settling into place, and they couldn’t do anything!

They yanked harder on their Partial Wielder, but the Reality-Manipulator had done something and their Partial Wielder could barely hear them or even stay awake.

They twirled around, tugging on the rest of them. Who was out there that could do something? All the Strings checked those who were connected but they were all doing their thing, keeping their Destiny. The true Reality-Wielder couldn’t even help, even though this had been his fault in the first place.

But maybe…

A few of the Strings split off, reaching down the connection between their Wielder and the other, the Death Defier. The Death Defier had been there for their Wielder for everything he had gone through. The Death Defier wasn’t doing anything. It was perfect.

Maybe he could help.

And his Destiny was coming up anyway, as early as it was.

The Strings twisted again, yanking different connections closer, ignoring the way they were slightly prodded by the ones connected to them, all uncertain about why the Strings were moving. But they had been helping to build the web for years. It was time for it to work.

Chapter Text

That had to be Marluxia. There was no other explanation for why Riku, Roxas, and Xion were acting the way they were.

Sora wanted to step forward, wanted to stand at Riku’s side, to defend him, but the older boy had stopped that, an arm flung out in front of him in an almost protective way. Sora instead quickly settled for grasping the back of Riku’s shirt, able to yank him back at a moment’s notice if needed. He didn’t want to risk distracting Riku at this pivotal time by shoving past him.

Marluxia chuckled when none of them responded, stepping forward a couple more steps, scythe twirling in his grip. He almost seemed to float over the ground, his steps making no noise.

“Come now, there’s no reason not to answer,” he told them, only stopping moving forward when Riku and Roxas both stepped backwards, dragging their others with them. “Aren’t we just… having a conversation?” His eyes moved to each of them in turn and Sora couldn’t help the way that he shivered when Marluxia’s yellow eyes landed on him. They were deep, dark pits, spiraling thickly with tainted Magic.

Sora’s eyes flicked up to Riku’s face, as best they could. Riku’s face was a picture of apathy as he stared at the corrupted Keyblade Wielder, but Sora could hear the hitch in his breathing and see the shaking of his hands.

“Really? No one’s going to answer?” Marluxia sighed, as if he had been personally hurt. The blade of the scythe scraped across the ground when he spun it again, causing all four of them to flinch. “I come home after ten years away and the first people I meet try to kill me and then you four won’t even say anything.” He shook his head slowly, as if in dismay. “Truly, things have changed here in Scala.”

“Stop it.” The interruption came from Xion of all people and Sora wasn’t the only one to turn to look at her, Riku doing the same. Roxas stepped in front of her, as if to shield her from Marluxia when the older man’s gaze rested on her, but she nudged him aside, making sure she was in full view of Marluxia. “Stop using his voice, stop acting like him.” She raised her chin in a challenging manner, her body language looking nothing like her soft voice. “We know you’re not.”

Sora blinked in surprise, the memory of Riku’s words on the deck of The Wayfinder coming back to him. And… the conversation that they had just had in the corridor. Right… Marluxia was controlled by someone else. He felt a brief flash of embarrassment that he had forgotten that. Though, from Riku and Roxas’s expressions, they had clearly forgotten as well.

Marluxia’s face, however, showed nothing but shock. The scythe stopped spinning as he paused in his advance forward, eyes widening and blinking. “How…?” He whispered out, barely audible. For a second, it almost looked like his eyes had flashed blue but that could have just been the lighting.

That was all the confirmation that Sora needed. If he had been doubting Riku and what he had been told, which he hadn’t been, that would have sold him.

Riku took this in stride, raising Way To The Dawn to point it at Marluxia. “He was right,” he muttered, quietly but his voice rose when he addressed Marluxia. “You aren’t Lauriam. Who are you?” Marluxia took a step back, suddenly much more guarded and tense than he had been a second ago. His grip tightened on the scythe and Sora worried even more about their chances of escape. Because they probably would not survive if they had to fight the older Keybearer.

“How could you have possibly figured it out?” Marluxia spat, yellow eyes flashing brighter as several Heartless melted in from the walls, clinging to the sides and watching them with similar colored eyes. Riku didn’t answer, simply gazed at him and Marluxia face twisted more as he made a sound of recognition. “Even,” he hissed out and Sora felt his blood turn to ice. Even was still a prisoner in the city, wouldn’t be able to protect himself or his brother. No, we didn’t want anyone to get hurt!

“I don’t know who this Even is,” Riku said, voice steady, eye contact not breaking. “People just need to be more careful where they leave out books.” Sora felt himself relaxing against his will when Riku spoke. Hopefully Marluxia would believe them. They couldn’t put Even or his brother in danger.

Marluxia’s gaze flickered for a second, as if trying to figure out if Riku was lying. Roxas and Xion were keeping quiet, eyes going back and forth between Riku and Marluxia.

“Who are you?” Roxas repeated when no one else said anything and Marluxia’s eyes snapped to him. Within a second, Marluxia had composed himself, leaning backwards with an almost casual air and waving one hand dismissively.

“Who I am does not matter,” Marluxia responded, and Sora couldn’t help the way he shivered and shrunk backwards the slightest bit, Riku turning slightly to look at him in concern. Because it was so strange to hear those words coming from Marluxia’s mouth. The confirmation that someone else was the driver of the body. That Lauriam had been trapped for years.

“I think it does,” Riku asserted, turning back to the other Keyblade Wielder, and Marluxia laughed, a dancing sound that made them all flinch.

“No, it really doesn’t,” Marluxia hummed out once his laughter had died, his eyes moving to rest on his scythe, the blade glinting in the light. “Because you won’t be alive to tell anyone.”

Several things happened at once.

Roxas raised Oblivion, light glowing at the tip of it and shooting in a beam towards Marluxia.

Xion’s Keyblade was raised as well, but there were no clear effects spiraling from it.

Marluxia shot forward, eyes glowing an unnatural color.

And Riku’s hand circled around Sora’s upper arm, throwing him backwards.

Sora landed with a grunt, rolling over once, before he managed to plant his left hand on the floor and stop himself. Kingdom Key disappeared in a flash as his attention scattered to the winds. He wrenched his gaze up, seeing Riku barely fending off Marluxia’s strikes, stumbling backwards. Both Xion and Roxas were racing forward, the wall behind where Marluxia had been covered in a thin sheet of ice no doubt from Roxas’s blow.

Sora forced himself to his feet, resummoning Kingdom Key and racing forward, slicing his blade into a Heartless that had been trying to take a swipe at Riku’s unprotected back. Xion fell into step next to him, Oathkeeper stabbing through another Heartless. They took down a couple more Heartless, the beasts continuing to spawn from the shadows.

A grunt from behind Sora dragged his attention back and he turned around, only to see Riku thrown into the wall, smacking his head against the marble and slumping to the ground. Way To The Dawn vanished in a blink.

“Riku!” Sora shouted and ran over, sliding to a kneel in from of his. He reached out and cupped Riku’s face, lifting his head up to look at his face. “Riku!” The older boy was out cold. Behind him, the sounds of blades clashing rung through the air, and he flinched slightly at the brush of air that hit him. He hated putting his back to the fight, but he needed to look at Riku.

“Cura,” he whispered out, pulling at the feeling in his chest again and feeling it well up in response. “Cura.” He flinched again as the tail end of ice spell spattered the wall above him and he looked back for a second, seeing Xion and Roxas, both tag teaming Marluxia while also trying to keep the Heartless off of them. They were losing and losing quickly. Roxas was already bleeding.

Sora spun-

-to look at Lea at a moment of rest, seeing the blood puddle beneath him with every passing second. His wounds stung him, warning him of blood loss and lack of reaction time, but he couldn’t feel anything truly. His best friend was dead, he was gone, and he had no way of fixing it. He could try…

No, he can’t, could he?

He didn’t know how to; he hadn’t ever been taught it. After what Marluxia had done, his parents had been so hesitant to even tell him that there was a possibility that he could do the same. He knew it wasn’t just his parents, that he wasn’t the only Noble to be denied the knowledge of their heritage due to them being presented with a clear example of what happens when someone uses that ability for evil.

But still, Lea was dead. He had to… He had to.

He turned again, swiping his Keyblade against Marluxia’s scythe. He hadn’t expected his Keyblade to change forms, as usually that was something learned, and he hadn’t even begun to start touching that yet. Marluxia smiled, something sharp and mocking, and he let lightning spark from his fingers, throwing the older man back again, and he took in a deep breath, turning again-

 -back to Riku, helplessness welling up in him when he noticed that Riku wasn’t waking up. “C’mon, please,” he hissed out, feeling the sting of tears start to build in his eyes as his brain registered what had just happened and firmly shoved it away into the later category. “Please, Cura, Cura.”

It wasn’t working. A yell came from behind him, accompanied by the sound of something shattering, and he flinched again. He had to save Riku. Please, let him. He didn’t know who he was asking.

“Cura,” he whispered for a final time, feeling exhausted. Riku’s hands twitched against the floor, but he didn’t wake. Please, help me save him.

“Sora, look out!”

Curaga.

“Curaga.”

The words barely left his lips before he ripped his hands from Riku’s face, summoning Kingdom Key on instinct, and spun around, catching Marluxia’s scythe an inch away from his neck. Riku gasped awake behind him.

Fire

“Fire,” he hissed out and Marluxia was pushed back several feet by the fire ball that had just erupted from Sora’s Keyblade, somehow not injuring him. Marluxia snarled at him, smoke wreathing his face, but he had to spin to smack Xion away from where she saw attempting to hit him. Sora ran forward, trusting Riku to get up on his own, and sliced down, getting stopped by the handle of Marluxia’s scythe, which he twisted so Sora had to back up in order to avoid being hit by it.

Roxas shot forward then, ducking under Marluxia’s scythe but was thrown backwards by a Shield spell, knocking him into a pile of Heartless. Marluxia turned but had to throw up his scythe in order to block Riku, who had regained Way To The Dawn. Xion and Sora both advanced on Marluxia. Roxas sliced through the Heartless that had surrounded him and brushed away the flying hearts as he moved to fall into place next to Xion. Sora grinned slightly at that, twisting his footwork so he wouldn’t be going faster than them. None of them were strong enough to take on Marluxia alone, that was sure, but together maybe they could-

“Enough!” Marluxia yelled and slammed his hand into the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Sora flying back, the feeling of something slamming into him shoving him backwards. He didn’t hit the wall, but rolled several times to the ground, much less gently than when Riku had thrown him. He could already feel the bruises that had started to form on his arms and back.

Looking up, he managed to right his gaze long enough to see Marluxia’s scythe slice through Xion’s front as she threw a spell at him.

He wasn’t the only one to scream.

“NOI!” Riku shrieked, sounding like the word had been torn out of him. Roxas screamed as well and Sora would have himself, he bet, but the air had been punched out of his gut, both from the throw and from what he had witnessed.

“And then, you fail,” Marluxia said slowly, watching Xion crumble to the ground. Her Keyblade vanished in a flash of light and blood spilled out across the floor, adding yet another stain to the marble floor. “As all will, if they try to stand up to this.” He walked forward from where he had been pushed back from Xion’s last ditch spell. “Examples must be made.”

“Xion!” Roxas cried again, trying to stand up to reach her, but was immediately knocked back down by another one of the Heartless. Sora tried to push past the Heartless attacking him after he had scrambled to his feet, but there were too many of them. It seemed like they had been waiting for a moment to attack when Sora and his friends were weaker. Marluxia loomed over her prone form, scythe starting to descend.

No, Sora thought. Not Xion.

Marluxia’s scythe dropped faster, blade inches from Xion’s neck when a spinning something shot through the air, smacking into Marluxia’s scythe and knocking it and its wielder back a few steps, saving Xion from death. It landed harmlessly on the ground a few feet from Xion, spinning to stop and revealing a… metal ring with spikes outlined in red?

“Impossible,” Marluxia breathed out, staring at the thing. “I killed you!” His gaze snapped up, resting on the wall it had come from, where another one of the inky portals was forming.

“You certainly tried,” a voice responded, and Sora wasn’t the only one to suck in a breath. Even the Heartless had stopped pushing back, as if also distracted by this new development.

“What?” Roxas sounded more shocked than Sora had ever heard him as a figure stepped out of the portal, raising a hand and the ring near Xion vanished in a flash of light.

Then again, Sora wasn’t much better. Because the person that had come out of the portal…

Was Axel.

Chapter Text

Riku could count on one hand the times he had been truly, truly shocked about something. Neku choosing to take care of him and Kairi’s insistence that the crew wanted to take him back to Scala being the top two things. But it seemed like there was going to be third thing in that list soon.

Because Axel had just appeared, alive and unscathed despite the fact that he had apparently been dead. Not presumed dead, as if he had actually been captured, but he had been truly dead. Even Marluxia seemed surprised at his survival.

The Second King fully stepped through the portal, closing it behind him with a gesture of his hand. His green eyes swept across the room, taking stock of the situation before landing back on Marluxia.

“What? Bad timing?” He asked sarcastically, a smile alight on his face and spinning one of the metal rings on his finger. The other had reappeared in his hand as it vanished from the floor. Part of Riku’s brain had clocked that, but he couldn’t find it in him to focus on it. “You had your perfect little script but you kinda forgot to write the sequel.” He grabbed the metal ring he was swinging, and, in a flash, it transformed into his Keyblade. Ah, that hyper focused, always aware part of Riku’s brain thought. That’s what it was. Riku attempted to shut off that part of his brain. “Now, let’s find out what happens!”

Within a second, Axel had moved, faster than any normal person could hope to do and his Keyblade crashed down against Marluxia’s scythe, sending him skidding back several steps. The Heartless surged forward, spurred back into action as Marluxia started to duel with Axel, and Riku was forced to stop watching in order to defend himself.

Roxas managed to free himself from the Heartless that had stopped him before and ran forward, kneeling by Xion’s body, defending the both of them from the Heartless coming after them and attempting to heal Xion’s wounds. Casting Haste on himself, Riku raced after him, slicing through another one of the Heartless that would have hit Xion. He positioned himself over Xion’s body, taking over defending duties while Roxas tried to heal her. He couldn’t lose her, couldn’t lose her, not his sister, not when he had already lost so many, so many-

“Sora!” Riku called and the younger boy looked up, Kingdom Key flashing through the air as he deflected another Heartless. “Come over here!” It was better if they were also close together, that made it easier for them to defend each other. Sora nodded and hurried over, the two of them circling Xion’s body, keeping her, Roxas, and themselves safe from the Heartless while Axel and Marluxia continued to fight.

“Roxas, how is she?” Riku asked, wanting to look down and help her as much as Roxas was. Roxas sucked in a breath.

“Alive.” His voice was clipped and Riku’s heart stuttered at the tone. He had heard it from Joshua numerous times, almost always ending in the death of the child he had been leaning over. But now we’re in Scala, where there’s more than one healer and there isn’t that big of a chance of the wound getting infected. Right? She’ll be fine. “Barely.” She has to be fine.

A crash sounded behind them and Riku whipped around to see Axel throw Marluxia into a wall. The Second King turned back, blinking in surprise when he noticed them.

“Good, you’re all together,” he said, hurrying over. Behind him, Marluxia shook his head, blood dripping from it. Axel dismissed his Keyblade, and his eyes landed on Xion.

“Is she alive?” He asked and Roxas nodded. “Okay.” With a flick of his hand, a shadow portal bloomed to life a foot away from them. “Everyone in.” Kneeling down, he carefully picked up Xion’s body, holding her close. “Now!” He snapped and Riku backed up a foot, looking at the portal.

“It’s safe?” He checked and Axel nodded, looking back as Marluxia rose to his feet.

“Yes, now just go!” Riku grabbed Sora’s arm and raced through, tugging the younger boy with him. He heard a shout come from behind him, but he couldn’t stop.

For a second, it was cold. Cold and everything was black, and it felt like everything was pressing down on him.

Then he and Sora stumbled out into sunlight, Riku’s feet tripping over the suddenly uneven ground and sending both him and Sora tumbling to the ground. The cobblestone scraped over his arms and his head hit the ground, causing a ripple of pain through his brain.

Sitting up, he turned back to the portal, narrowing his eyes against the sun. A second later, Roxas came stumbling out of the portal, managing to stay upright. Axel followed, hunched over Xion slightly and the portal closed behind him.

“Where are we?”  Roxas asked, looking around. Now, in the sunlight, Riku could see the injuries that dotted the other boy, blood staining part of his jacket, and he had a feeling that he and Sora didn’t look much better. The adrenaline of fighting Marluxia was starting to fade and it instead left him shaky, uncertain, and exhausted. He could feel the magic residue pulling at his heart. Not as much to send him to sleep again, but he definitely needed to rest soon or he would end up on the ground.

“Second Tower,” Axel replied, scanning the area around them quickly before looking back to them. “Where’s the rest of you?”

“Seventh Tower,” Riku answered, standing up and offering a hand to Sora. The younger boy took it and pulled himself up, but his eyes looked to Xion.

“Is she going to be okay?” Sora asked and Axel closed his eyes briefly, before opening them and looking down at the girl in his arms. Another Cura spell flowed over the girl from Axel, but Riku knew it wouldn’t be enough.

“She should be,” he replied. “But we should get her somewhere she can rest and recover.” Riku nodded and turned, pulling Sora with him as they started down the path. Footsteps from behind them said that Roxas and Axel were following.

“They’re in a frenzy,” Sora observed as a group of Heartless ran down the street in front of them, causing the group to stop.

“Well, you must have drawn their attention when you attacked Marluxia,” Axel said, green eyes narrowed as he watched the Heartless.

“We didn’t attack Marluxia,” Roxas corrected. “He attacked us.”

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t really matter who struck the first blow.” Axel gritted his teeth before shifting his hold on Xion to get one arm free. “Let’s do this instead.” He held it out and another portal appeared. “This should take us to the Seventh Tower.” Riku nodded, stepping into the portal and pulling Sora with him. The portal still felt strange and weird, but he didn’t fall when coming out of it, something he had to be grateful for.

“Oh wow,” Sora hummed, looking around to see themselves at the end of the bridge connecting the Seventh Tower to the Fourth. “Did you know Axel could do this?”

“That, I think, is a question for Roxas,” Riku responded, leading himself and Sora away from the portal so the others could come through. “Though, no I didn’t.” Roxas and Axel exited the portal, and it swirled closed behind them. “This way.”

As Riku lead the way, he heard Roxas murmured something again, quiet enough that Riku couldn’t make out what it was, but he felt the wave of magic that washed out from Roxas. It was probably another healing spell. Still, Riku knew they were only delaying Xion bleeding out. They couldn’t use a Curaga, as it had a chance of sealing the wound completely, not counting the fact that they were exhausted and couldn’t do it anyway, and they hadn’t managed to make sure that Xion’s wound was clean before they did that.

“Cloud!” Riku called once they were closer to the hideout. He didn’t know if Hayner had gotten back yet. “Pence!” He doubted the others would have let Olette outside with her injury.

A scuffle, followed by a couple of rocks falling down into the path drew Riku’s attention and he looked up to see Pence and Kairi appear over the side, staring down at them from the roof of a dilapidated building. Pence looked at them in shock, only falling deeper into it when his gaze drifted behind him to where Axel was standing, Xion cradled in his arms.

“Wha-” Pence started but Riku cut him off. There was no time.

“Not now Pence, she’s injured.” He hurried forward at the same time that Kairi leapt down from the building quickly followed by Pence. “Can Cloud heal?” Because the rest of them were exhausted because they had just fought Marluxia and Cloud was the only other Keyblade Wielder here besides Axel, and it made him itch and burn because he couldn’t protect them-. Pence blinked for a second before forcing his gaze to Riku, clearing trying to ignore Axel and all the implications that went with him.

“Yes,” Pence stuttered out. “He healed Olette the best he could.” Pence turned away at that, leading their little group back up to the safe house. Riku was glad for it. He didn’t completely remember where the place was. Kairi fell into step with Sora as they hurried along, voice lowering to a volume that Riku was barely able to make out what she was saying.

“Cloud!” Pence called as he entered the house, leading them to the same room as before. Aqua and Terra both sprang out of their seats when the group came through, relaxing slightly at the sight of Sora safe before stiffening again as Axel swept through with Xion in his grip. Naminé looked distraught and Ven reached out, grasping her shoulder gently to pull her backwards so she wouldn’t be in the way. Riku blankly wondered when she had gotten there. Hadn’t he left her with Vanitas on The Wayfinder?

Cloud, Hayner, and Olette appeared from another hallway, answering Pence’s call, and Riku felt relief at the confirmation that Hayner had gotten back safely.

For a second, it almost looked like Cloud was shocked by Axel’s appearance, steps pausing for the quickest second as his eyes widened, but then he noticed Xion, who was being gently set down on one of the cots and he moved forward, able to put his shock aside for the time.

“What happened?” He asked, nudging both Roxas and Axel aside to look at Xion better. Her blood started to stain the cot beneath her.

“Cut across the chest by Marluxia,” Riku said, feeling everyone who wasn’t there turn to him.

“Marluxia?” Olette gasped out and Hayner went rigid next to her.

“Deeper than the chest,” Cloud corrected almost absentmindedly as he leaned closer. Riku had to look away when Cloud stepped back and the teenager got a good look at Xion, the blood coating her shirt, arms, and neck. “Hayner, get the bandages. Pence, water and the solution from under the sink. Olette, show them where it is. Kairi, help Pence, he’ll need a second set of hands. Riku, console your younger sister.”

As the teenagers scattered to fulfil the requests, Riku whipped around, gaze finding Naminé, who was shaking in Ven’s hold, the younger boy having dropped to his knees and pulled the younger girl in a hug, carefully turning her gaze away from where Xion lay. Riku surged forward, Ven releasing Naminé as he stepped closer, and swept her up in a hug, feeling her arms and legs wrap around him like she used to do when she was younger. She buried her face in his neck, and he wrapped one arm around her, rubbing her back comfortingly as he felt her tears against his neck. He cursed himself silently for not realizing.

He looked back to the cot, seeing magic wrap around Cloud’s hands and Xion’s body. The scent of blood was starting to suffocate the air.

Pence and Kairi burst through the door, holding items that they hurriedly passed over to Cloud, quickly followed by Hayner and Olette, who looked like she was cursing herself for her inability to help. Riku knew how she felt.

Cloud grabbed rags from one of the buckets, soaking them in something that looked like water but was cloudy to be it completely.

“Everyone not family or close friends, out,” he ordered, not turning away from Xion. “I can feel your gazes.” For a second it looked like no one was going to move before Olette started, grabbing Hayner with her good hand and gesturing to Pence with her head, leading the two of them out of the room. Aqua walked over to Sora and Kairi, gently guiding the two of them out of the room. Sora twisted his head and looked back, like he wanted to stay and keep an eye on Xion but didn’t fight Aqua when they left the room, Terra and Ven following behind them. Neither Roxas nor Axel moved to leave, though they did back up a little, so they weren’t as close to Cloud. Riku was tempted to send Naminé out with the others, but she tightened her arms around him, as if she could sense what he was thinking and decided to respond. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“Riku, I need your help,” Cloud instructed and Riku walked forward, carefully passing Naminé over to Roxas as he went. The smell of blood and disinfectant assaulted his senses, and he slammed his eyes closed for the briefest second, willing the room to go back to the dark walls of the safe house instead of the Maze.

“Take this.” Cloud handed him a soaked rag, too warm and soapy for it to be soaked in water. “Wash the wound.” Riku moved closer, Xion’s face flickering in-between hers and Shiki’s, Cloud and Joshua both taking turns by his side, and started by her neck, swiping gently down. She twitched and moaned in her sleep, eyelids flickering and Riku pulled back for the quickest second. “It’s supposed to be uncomfortable,” Cloud told him, taking his own rag and starting on Xion’s side. “It’s cleaning the wound.”

Riku washed around her neck and collarbone, wincing every time Xion did and trying not to focus on the wound that was still sluggishly weeping blood. It was smaller than it had to have been when she was initially injured, probably thanks to both Roxas’s and Cloud’s healing spells, but it wasn’t gone completely. He wished for a second that there was a more powerful healing spell than Curaga but as far as he was aware, there was not. Because even Curaga couldn’t fix this fully, now that he was looking at it.

Xion gasped in her sleep as Cloud cleaned the wound proper and Axel appeared from almost nowhere, hands gently landing on her good shoulder and side to gently hold her down. Cloud had stripped away most of Xion’s shirt, already shredded into two big pieces thanks to the weapon, leaving Xion in just her bra and exposing the wound in all its glory. Riku had to look away, flashbacks slamming into his head of all the times he watched Joshua drag one of them back from death after Riku couldn’t protect them enough or they had found a barely alive child in the pathways and there was nothing they could do except make their passing as peaceful as possible. But even with averting his eyes, he still got looks at it.

The skin around it was red and inflamed, not just from the blood, and Riku could feel heat coming from the wound whenever his hand got close to a particularly bad part. The wound itself was long and curved, arcing down from the top of her body, right above the collarbone, and slicing down her body, curving around once it reached her stomach area, nearly cutting her in half. She probably would have lost her arm if the wound had been a little deeper.

Cloud pushed away Riku’s hands, pulling out bandages to wrap around her side and stomach once the wound was clean enough. Riku dropped the rag in the empty bucket with Cloud’s, trying not to look at the red staining his hands.

Xion’s body turned into Shiki’s which turned into Rhyme’s and then turned into Neku’s which was funny because neither of them had a body to bury and all Riku could hear was the quiet that always came after a death and the smell of blood, old and new, and the sand clogging his throat, making him want to cough and throw up, but that wouldn’t help anything and-

“Here,” Cloud said gently and Riku blinked as he was suddenly thrown from his thoughts at the feeling of a wet, cold cloth being pressed into his hands. He looked up and Cloud looked back at him, hands clean of blood, and what was perhaps concern in his eyes. Riku grasped the cloth with a shaking hand and looked down, seeing Xion sleeping quietly, bandages wrapping her body and blanket pulled up to cover most of her. “Are you okay?” Riku’s eyes went back to Cloud as his hands wiped themselves clean of blood on instinct.

“I didn’t get hit,” he said. Nothing that wouldn’t be healed with a quick Cura.

“Not what I’m asking,” Cloud corrected and Riku frowned at him in confusion. But Cloud didn’t say anything else, simply turning away and letting Riku finish cleaning himself up. His gaze fell back down to Xion, and he calmed himself slightly by counting her breaths, counting the signs that she was alive.

Behind him, he could hear voices, people returning into the room now that Xion was mostly stable. He took a deep breath, reaching out one hand to wrap it around Xion’s, feeling her heartbeat through her wrist, feeling the warmth of a human body that still lived.

Xion was okay. She would live.

Now to get answers.

~

How did they know? How could they have known?

He had left his Puppet behind, his mind returning all the way to his original body as he thought, pacing through the home. The Heartless had felt his mental state and had fled, the city nearly clean of Heartless.

His pacing ended up taking him to the edge of Even’s cell and he remembered the boy’s words. They hadn’t gotten the information from Even, according to him, but the boy could have been lying. Would Even had even risked that? He must have known that if it came to light that he had helped the Prophecy Bearers, it would have meant that his little brother’s life was forfeit.

His hands, clasped behind his back, clenched and unclenched in thought.

He knew what people would do if a loved one was threatened. He had seen it again and again. With his family friends, with the Coward and the Brat, with the group of experiments in the Maze that had grown attached to each other, even with some of the expendables in the Arena. Put a group of connected people in a bad situation and they would even surprise themselves with what they could accomplish.

But would Even have risked it? And when?

Luxord had reported that there had been no one in the cell, but his thrall on the man had always been lighter, just like it was with the others. He had grown too close with Ienzo, and he couldn’t put as much focus on the thrall on him, due to the Puppet taking up most of his energy. And now even more, with the two more he now had under his control.

He hated not knowing.

Perhaps he could ask Xigbar. If anything, the man would be able to give him a straight answer about what it was not.

Chapter Text

Kairi crept back into the room with Sora at her side, watching the area where Xion slept carefully. They had been invited back in by Cloud as he left, confirming that Xion would be fine, but she still felt out of place. Roxas was holding Naminé carefully and Axel was leaning against the wall, eyes resting on Xion. Riku was standing at her side, one of his hands holding one of Xion’s and she walked forward toward him, touching him gently on the shoulder. He started, enough to give Kairi pause, and turned to her. Kairi saw the flickering fogginess of his eyes and made a decision, reaching out with her hand to wrap around one of his arms. She didn’t know if it was better or worse that he didn’t fight her as she guided him over to one of the chairs, causing him to have to let go of Xion as he went, settling him down in it. She looked over his hands and wrists and was glad that if there had been any blood there, it had been cleaned up. Sora settled down in the chair next to Riku, reaching out to take one of his hands tentatively, fully holding onto his hand when Riku didn’t pull his hand away.

It didn’t matter that so much had changed in past couple of days, it didn’t matter that Riku was more powerful than them, it didn’t matter that he was stronger than them in ways they couldn’t even imagine. Riku was theirs, had been hers since that day in the cabin, had been Sora’s from some point in time she didn’t know. He was theirs, so they’d be there for him.

“So.” Olette was the one to speak up, taking a seat with Hayner standing next to her. “What happened?” Her eyes flickered past Kairi to where Xion rested, and Kairi resisted the urge to turn and look again. There was no way Xion had changed in the thirty seconds between now and when Kairi had glanced at her.

Roxas sighed and set Naminé down on one of the chairs when it became clear that neither Riku nor Sora was going to say anything. “We made it to the Castle safely and used the secret passage to get in. We mostly just scouted some of the hallways. There was no Heartless inside the walls of the Castle and we were planning to leave when we came upon the throne room. We went inside and Marluxia appeared from a portal, somehow knowing that we were there. We talked, getting confirmation of what Riku had told us, about it not actually being Lauriam in there, then fought. We… barely stood a chance.” Roxas’s hands curled into fists, and he shot a look at Xion’s resting form. “Then… Axel appeared out of one of the same portals.”

“Wait, the same portals that Marluxia used?” Hayner asked and Roxas nodded.

“There’s nothing nefarious about the portals,” Axel interjected, making several of them jump who had forgotten that Axel was there. Kairi turned at his voice, seeing him leaning against the wall near Xion, green eyes flicking around the room. He watched them, taking a few steps forward and sitting down in an empty chair. “They’re just a tool.”

“How are you alive?” Cloud asked, one of the only other adults in the room watching Axel with an extreme amount of suspicion. Aqua and Terra simply seemed confused. Kairi blinked quietly, turning to look at the other adult. She hadn’t noticed when he came in. “They left your body in the Center of the Second Tower.”

“They did what?!” Roxas sounded furious and scared, something that he probably hadn’t meant to sound like, but Kairi found herself agreeing with him. Even if Axel had truly been dead and not just not dead(?) that would be… damaging, to a lot of people to simply just see the body of someone they had trusted to protect them strewn out on the cobblestones. Olette, Hayner, and Pence were staring at Cloud in shock as well, so they clearly hadn’t known.

Axel winced. “So that’s why I was on the ground,” he muttered, and Kairi wasn’t the only one staring at him in disbelief.

“I think,” Riku started, making everyone else jump as they hadn’t realized he had snapped out of whatever mood he had been in. Riku had sat up, Sora shooting him a careful look, and turned, watching Axel with a deadly gaze. “You have some explaining to do.” The Second King looked back at him, green eyes searching for something before eventually nodding.

“Seriously Axel, what is going on?” Roxas snapped out, pacing back and forth. Kairi hoped he was just worried and not… angry, was the only emotion she could put her finger on, but she bet there was more than that. “We get back, learn that the Castle had fallen, learned that you were dead, and suddenly, when we’re in the middle of fighting Marluxia, you pop back up, wielding… whatever freaky… shadow portals that only the villains have wielded! You throw us through them and just appear, like nothing’s changed?!” Through Roxas’s whole spiel, Axel didn’t attempt to interrupt, simply watching Roxas until the boy ran out of steam. But Kairi could tell that Axel was hurt by what Roxas was saying.

“Please, Axel?” Xion asked quietly, sitting up from the bed she was laying on, despite Cloud’s attempts to make her lie back down. Roxas froze before shooting over to her, resting a hand on hers and helping her sit up, ignoring Cloud’s look. In the dying light, Kairi almost couldn’t see the bandages wrapped around her chest.

“You’re awake,” Riku breathed and stood. Xion smiled at him.

“Don’t let me interrupt,” she told him and Riku paused for a second before nodding and turning back to Axel. Kairi, before she turned back, could see magic spiral from Cloud’s hands to Xion.

Axel’s gaze rested on Xion, relief in his eyes, before slumping down in his chair with a sigh, leaning his head on one of his hands. Kairi blinked. For a second, the Second King almost looked human before he straightened back up.

“You know the stories about ten years ago, right?” He asked rhetorically, eyes flicking around to each different teenager that was watching. Which… was a lot, Kairi was just realizing. Perhaps they actually had a chance, she thought with an internal burst of glee that probably leaned a little bit into hysterical. “How Saïx and I confronted Marluxia, driving him from the Castle but not without great injury to myself?” Roxas and Xion had shared the story with them. Kairi wasn’t the only one nodding.

Roxas nodded slowly, eyes narrowing. “Yeah, it’s pretty well known,” he said, hand resting on Xion’s shoulder, and Axel sighed.

“Well, that’s not the full truth.” He paused for a second, looking down at one of his hands, flexing it a lot like what Riku would do when he was tempted to summon his Keyblade. Perhaps it was a tic all Keybearers shared, Kairi wondered. “The truth is… I didn’t get hurt that night.” A muscle in Axel’s jaw twitched and he closed his eyes. “I died.”

For a second, there was quiet. Then…

“What?” Roxas asked, sounding more flabbergasted than anything. “What? How? What are you talking about? You clearly aren’t dead; you’re standing right in front of us.” Axel hummed at this, an almost humorous uptick to the side of his mouth.

“Yes, I’m alive now,” he said. “Though that’s also technically up for debate,” he muttered as an aside, but Kairi heard it. “Just because I’m alive now does not mean I was always alive.”

“I mean…” Kairi started, eyes wide and disbelieving, mind rapidly trying to make sense of what Axel was telling them. “It kinda does?”

Axel shook his head, finally opening his eyes. “No, it doesn’t. Not when Magic gets mixed up in it.” Kairi couldn’t help the way she straightened slightly when she heard the capital letter in Axel’s words. Just like how Riku had described it. Magic. Axel’s or Saïx’s though? Or someone else’s entirely?

“What?” Roxas asked again and Axel looked to him, smiling in a way that was probably meant to be reassuring.

“Saïx’s Magic,” he murmured slowly. “Doesn’t just Know the future. It can also… bring people back from the dead. He unlocked it… the day I died.” And an oppressive silence fell over the room. Because Axel wouldn’t joke about this. Wouldn’t lie. Not to Roxas and Xion.

“How?” Sora asked, the first to snap out of it. “How does no one know? People have to know, right?” Axel smiled at him, slightly indulgently.

“Not many,” Axel admitted. “Aeleus knows but mostly because he’s been such a big presence in our lives for the past ten years. Saïx and I know.” He paused then. “That’s pretty much it. No one was able to push and discover during the couple days I was dead, due to the chaotic nature of those days following the first attack and after that, after Saïx brought me back, it was too easy to lie and just say I was greatly injured, which why I was resting and hurting that much. Because, let me tell you, returning from the dead is not nice or painless.

“As for how other people don’t know, nothing really changes for the person brought back. The only big things are that the person doesn’t need to breath, eat, or drink and there is always some little cosmetic change.” His hand rose up and tapped the marking under his cheek. “No one knows why a little change is there. A running joke is that it is Kingdom Hearts marking the people it gave back so everyone remembers and is thankful but…” He trailed off, shrugging again.

“Also, whenever I get a wound that could be classified as “life-ending” it just sends me into a sleep for a couple of days while my body recovers. That’s probably why they thought I was dead. I don’t need to breath, and I wouldn’t react to anything they were doing.”

Xion moved suddenly, pushing herself off the cot, ignoring Cloud’s hissed warnings, and walked forward, seizing one of Axel’s hands despite her slight stumble in the beginning that caused Roxas to reach out and steady her, concern in his eyes. Axel made an inquisitive sound, but didn’t pull out of her grip, especially once he realized what she was doing. Her fingers found the point in his wrist, where a pulse could always be felt in a person and she pressed down, probably trying to find one. The way her face collapsed a second later was enough answer.

“I’m sorry Xion,” he told her quietly as she looked up at him, tears beading in her eyes. “I’m sorry Roxas.” Roxas shook his head in denial, backing up a couple of steps, and didn’t say anything.

“So Saïx can just… bring people back from the dead?” Sora asked and Axel grimaced.

“Yes?” He said, though the answer sounded slightly like a question. Like he didn’t know the whole truth himself. “But that’s not the full… story. The ability to bring people back to life is an ability… that all Noble Houses have. It’s the true reason Marluxia was banished.” Axel looked away, hand curling into a fist. “Marluxia was… experimenting on people using the ability he had, to manipulate someone’s Heart. Since it was a Magic that was unlocked, Binding his Heart did stop his ability to use it, unlike normal Magic, but… it didn’t undo all the damage he had done.”

“All Noble Houses?” Roxas asked shakily and Axel looked up at him. He nodded once.

“Even you Roxas,” he said gently. “You could do it to.” Roxas blinked at him for another second before turning on his heel and leaving the room. Xion raced after him, apparently having recovered at least enough that her wound wasn’t stopping her from moving. Axel sighed, eyes sliding closed.

“Speaking of Marluxia,” Riku eventually said after a few minutes of silence. “There’s… something we need to share with you. Something we found out.”

Axel looked to him and Riku grimaced. Kairi felt the same. This wouldn’t be easy to explain.

~

“Roxas?” Kairi called quietly as she slid down the rocks. “Xion?” They couldn’t have gone far, right?

“Kairi?” Xion asked and Kairi jumped slightly as she twisted her head up to look at where Xion’s voice had come from. “What is it?” The two teenagers were sitting up on the remainder of a ledge.

“I think the others have a plan,” she told them and Xion nodded, turning back to Roxas. The other girl placed a hand on Roxas’s knee and whispered something to him before pushing herself off the ledge, landing near Kairi. Kairi instinctively reached out to catch her. “Are you okay?” She asked, hands hovering around where she knew Xion had gotten injured.

Xion smiled at her. “Yes, I’m fine. These bandages are mostly for show now. The spells have taken effect.” Kairi felt the slightest bit of suspicion at that, it couldn’t really have been possible for Xion to heal from wounds like that in just an hour, but she had also experienced the effects of the healing spells. Even though Xion’s wound had been really bad.

Roxas landed on the ground next to them. “A plan?” He questioned and Kairi nodded.

“I believe so.” Kairi led the two of them back into the room, where Axel was back leaning on the wall, reading the book that Riku had brought from the city. The rest of them, minus Cloud for some reason, were in different positions across the room.

“So, what’s the plan?” Roxas asked, leaning on the table and gazing down at the maps. Riku looked up from his conversation with Naminé and Vanitas and Axel snapped the book shut, face falling into a more determined expression.

“Well, with the knowledge that Marluxia has been controlled for fourteen years, things have to change.” Axel tipped his head in Riku’s direction. “Thanks for that, by the way.” Kairi got the strangest feeling that the knowledge was affecting him more than he was showing, but she didn’t have a chance to truly think on it. Axel pushed himself off the wall and walked over to the table, looking down at the maps strewn across it. “I may have a way to save him.”

“You do?” Sora asked, eyes lighting up and Axel nodded, before pausing.

“Well, I know that Saïx can save him. The same way he saved me.” Xion made a face.

“You’ll have to kill Marluxia?” She asked and Kairi shivered, not being the only one who was clearly upset about that course of action.

“Yes,” Axel admitted, eyes dropping down. “But it’s the only way. Marluxia is controlled through his Heart and only his Heart. When Saïx revived me, he basically tore out my old Heart and replaced it with one made of Magic.”

“What?” Roxas snapped out and Axel raised his eyes to look at him in surprise. Roxas immediately looked away with a frown and Axel’s eyes dimmed slightly. Kairi sighed. Roxas was clearly still upset about Axel not telling him he had died ten years prior, which… Kairi could understand. She would be upset if Sora kept a secret that big for all of their friendship, which is what Axel had done to Roxas.

“So, doing the same to Marluxia should remove the control over him?” Riku clarified and Axel nodded.

“But to do that, we need to find where they’re holding Saïx.” Axel’s eyes skittered down the map before landing on the map of the Fourth Tower. “We also need one more person.”

“Who is it?” Hayner asked, leaning forward over the table. “We can go get them. Pence and I know the secret passages the best.”

Axel shook his head. “You wouldn’t get close,” he told Hayner. “The ones who are with him are far too protective of him to let him go with just anyone. I’ll have to go.”

“Why him?” Riku asked and Axel held up the book.

“According to Even’s notes, the control on the Heart slips if the Heart is placed in familiar situations or meets people that mean a lot to it. It will be difficult to get close enough to Marluxia for Saïx to work his Magic so, hopefully adding in some more factors will make it easier for us.” And it didn’t seem like Axel was going to elaborate passed that, so they let it go.

“So, if you all free Marluxia, then what?” Vanitas asked. “What about the beasts that roam around Scala? They’re the main problem.” Several of them sighed at that, having not thought about the beasts and how to get rid of them. There was an unlimited amount of them, after all.

“If you free Marluxia, the Heartless will leave,” Cloud said, walking into the room. Kairi blinked in shock.

“Wait really?” Ven asked, staring at Cloud. “How do you know?”

“I’ve discovered many things in my travels,” Cloud answered, answering nothing at all. “They need Marluxia’s Heart as an anchor. They can’t get here if Marluxia is no longer under the control of their summoner.”

“And you just happen to know this?” Axel asked, sounding skeptical and Cloud gazed forward, not a single emotion in his eyes. “Why didn’t you say it before?”

“We had no hope of saving Marluxia before,” Cloud replied. “If I were to tell you this, the only option would have been to kill Marluxia permanently and I didn’t think any of them had it in them.”

“You’d be surprised,” Riku muttered, glaring at Cloud, and Kairi’s eyes slid to Riku, checking for the foggy look in his eyes. When she saw nothing, she turned back to the conversation.

“Let’s say you’re right,” Hayner said, managing to focus on the planning and not the information that Cloud had just dropped. “We infiltrate the Castle, find Saïx, have Saïx replace Marluxia’s Heart with his Magic, and that not only saves Marluxia, but it also banishes all the Heartless from Scala. So… a win.”

“If everything goes right and Cloud is correct,” Terra murmured, standing in the back with Aqua. “There are still many things that could go wrong.”

“Saïx could be dead,” Roxas said, and Axel gritted his teeth.

“He’s not,” he snapped. “I would know.”

“All of Scala would know,” Cloud continued, and Axel shot him a look.

“Xion,” Riku cut in. “How are you feeling?”

“Ready to fight,” she answered and Riku pursed his lips, gazing at the map of the First Tower.

“Axel, how many portals can you create?” Axel hummed in consideration, fingers rapping over the table in a melodic pattern.

“At once, two max. It’s hard to do simultaneously,” he replied. “One after another? As many as needed. They aren’t too taxing to make.” Riku nodded and moved around the table, pulling the map of the First and Second Towers closer to him.

“Tomorrow perhaps,” he mused. “If Axel can find Saïx and whoever else it is can help…” He trailed off, eyes flicking around the maps. The rest of them shared glances.

“Riku?” Sora asked and Riku looked up. “You going to fill us in?”

“I have… a plan,” Riku announced with a nod. “It should work, hopefully.”

“Tell us,” Cloud asked and Riku looked up.

“It requires all the Keybearers,” he admitted, before looking around the table to all of them. “You all up for it?”

No one argued.

“Here’s how it goes…”

Chapter Text

Axel sighed as the Dark Corridor swirled closed behind him. “Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?” He mused quietly, careful of the Heartless he still knew were roaming around. He knew that he was the one to assign this job to himself, but it would still be difficult. He didn’t want to do this, but he knew he had to.

The Fourth Tower was smaller than all the others for reasons no one knew why and thus, it was the least populated. Despite that fact, there were still many Heartless guarding the streets of the place. Axel couldn’t help but wonder if Marluxia somehow knew. The kids had said that it seemed like the Heartless were searching for something and he agreed with them. What they didn’t know was that Marluxia was probably searching for a someone instead. At least subconsciously, perhaps through whatever remains of Lauriam’s will there was. Even’s notes hadn’t been too specific about that. And Axel didn’t want to think about what would happen to him if the Heartless did find him. Not that his friends would let him be stolen so easily.

Then again, it could be a huge coincidence. But he was paranoid like that.

Turning up the street, Axel kept to the shadows, his acquired affinity for them hiding him from the Heartless that walked up and down the Tower, searching. But they were looking in the wrong places. Axel allowed himself a moment to wonder if that was the last piece of Lauriam fighting back, keeping them from the most populated places. Though, he had heard of the massacres that had happened while he was recovering, so clearly Lauriam couldn’t do much.

Another patrol of the Heartless passed him and he sneered slightly. It burned at him, as much as he chided the kids to stay in the dark and stay away from the beasts, to let them roam around the place. It was Saïx’s place, it was his place. It belonged to the Keyblade Wielders, who had fought and bled and created this place with their bare hands and a little bit of Magic. And while the puppeteer behind this was apparently a Keyblade Wielder, it didn’t give them a right to be there. To desecrate this place that Saïx, that he, that Saïx’s parents, that Sigrun and her friends all those years ago had created. But it was okay, because they would send them all packing soon. If Cloud was to be believed.

Still, he hated walking past the Heartless, letting them go.

Luckily though, Axel knew exactly where to go so he didn’t have to watch them for long.

The house was nice, of course it was. It was a Noble’s house. Situated in the middle ring of the Tower, it overlooked the ocean, facing away from the other Towers. Axel couldn’t help but wonder if that is why he chose it. So, he wouldn’t have had to be reminded of mistakes and actions of the past.

Walking up to the door, he paused to look at the garden. Bunches of strelitzias grew from every pot and patch of dirt.

The knock he gave was quiet enough that they wouldn’t think it was a Heartless trying to break the door down, but loud enough that they would hear it. Now if they would answer it, that would be a different question.

Not that Axel blamed them. He knew that he had fled here ten years ago after… everything and the other two had followed him, still grieving from their own loss and sworn to protect the last of their family, even if it was from himself.

The door swung open.

Skuld was different than he remembered, but it had been ten years. Older now, thirty instead of twenty, and the still bleeding wound he had seen her with last time, when they were both running through bloodstained streets and fighting the beasts they didn’t know were summoned by an old friend, had faded until it was just a faint line on her cheek. There were no bags under her eyes like there had been for the four years he had known her for in the wake of the betrayal, and her hair was longer, pulled back into an elaborate hair style.

“Axel,” she breathed out in surprise before her face went through a complicated mess of emotions. Again, he didn’t blame her. “Inside,” she hissed out, ushering him in and closing the door behind him. Axel caught the sight of a shadow disappearing down the main hall. That would be her partner, he’d assume.

“What are you doing here?” She spat as she spun back around to face him, and he would be more offended if he didn’t know why she was so scared. Ten years ago, a lot of people who knew had wanted him to pay for what Marluxia had done, despite the fact that neither had seen each other since Marluxia was banished. “He hasn’t done anything and-”

“I’m not here about anything like that,” he interrupted, allowing himself a slight moment to gaze around the entrance hall. It was beautiful in a homely sort of way, small lights dotted around the room. “But I do need to speak with him.” Skuld got the look on her face that said she would much rather throw him out to the Heartless herself, let no one say that Skuld wasn’t protective to a fault, but was cut off when her partner returned.

“He says that he’ll talk to Axel.” Ephemer had changed just about as much as Skuld had, perhaps a little less, though he still carried around a grieving aura more than Skuld did. Chirithy, their late partner’s cat, twined around his ankles. Axel spared a second to wonder how the cat was still alive as it probably was almost fifteen at this point before nodding to Ephemer.

“I’m not here to hurt him,” he promised and Skuld made a noise of derision in the back of her throat but walked off, back through the hallway the Ephemer had disappeared down before. As Axel moved to follow Ephemer through the hallway, he paused for one second to look back to the portrait hung on the wall, in a place of pride almost.

Lauriam stood on the left, Strelitzia hanging off one of his arms. Elrena leaned on her other side, smiling at whatever the young girl had said. Ephemer and Skuld mirrored Lauriam, their late partner squeezed between the two of them, Chirithy balancing on their shoulders. And in the center, hand intertwined with Lauriam’s was the person he had come see. His eyes weren’t on wherever the others were looking, but instead on Lauriam.

Axel felt the pain in his heart. Possessed, dead, evil, grieving, protecting, dead, and alone. Their group, once a symbol of love, hope, and the future, was scattered by far more than space. Axel couldn’t help the thought of why they kept the painting there. It was probably one of the only paintings left that had Strelitzia in it and probably the only one in existence of Ephemer and Skuld’s late partner.

As he moved to follow Ephemer, the smallest part of his heart twinged at the blatant reminder of time. They were no longer the ‘troublemakers’ that challenged social roles, and he and Isa weren’t the young kids who followed their heels in the shadows, watching wide eyed as they lived life shamelessly.

The hallway was moderately painted, a dark, unassuming green that couldn’t have been farther from the colors of the first home they had all shared, and opened into a beautiful sitting room with a wall of windows. In the fading twilight sun, the room glowed with no help. Axel’s eyes fell to the man sitting in the chair, a book abandoned in his lap.

Brain looked… tired, in the most simplest of terms. While Skuld and Ephemer had clearly taken the past ten years to finally get some sleep, Brain looked like he hadn’t had a good night sleep since the fateful night. Not that Axel could blame him. He didn’t even want to think about what he would be like if Isa ever betrayed him like that. Or supposedly betrayed him.

“Brain,” Axel greeted softly, walking over to take a seat at the couch across from Brain. Skuld stood at the side of the chair, keeping a careful eye on both Axel and Brain, and Ephemer settled down near the door, leaning on the wall as Chirithy climbed up to rest on his shoulders.

“Axel,” Brain responded, folding the book closed and placing it gingerly on the side table. Axel noticed his hat was missing. He wondered if Brain had ever worn it since that day. Lauriam was the one to get it for him after all. “I would never-”

“I know,” Axel interrupted as gently as he could. He had a feeling what Brain was going to say, as it was something that had been thrown around the Castle numerous times in the aftermath of the first attack and there was no way the three of them hadn’t heard the rumor of it at least, even as removed as they were. “I know you would never side with him… but Marluxia is the reason I’m here right now.” Brain stiffened, eyes snapping closed while both Skuld and Ephemer shifted, ready to intervene if they deemed it necessary. Again, Axel wasn’t surprised that they managed to realize that Marluxia was behind the attack. While there was no clear information out there, he bet that a lot of people had seen the similarities to the Massacre from ten years prior.

“Why?” Brain eventually asked, eyes dropping to his lap. “What does he have to do with me?” Axel swallowed. This would be the hardest part, not because of what he had to say, but because of how it was going to affect Brain. Probably horribly.

“Well,” he started, trying to figure out how to give the information the most gently. “During the past couple of weeks, we’ve come into the knowledge of some new information regarding Marluxia and the events that happened ten years, even fourteen years ago, and…” Axel took a deep breath. Ephemer’s eyes watched them all carefully and Skuld’s fingers wrapped a beat on her hip. “It has come to our attention that Lauriam might have been… controlled during that time.” Brain blinked dumbly at him for a second, the words seemingly not computing. Skuld had frozen once Axel had used Marluxia’s given name and had gone even stiffer when Axel had continued. Ephemer had abandoned his spot by the wall and taken several steps forward.

“What do you mean… ‘controlled’?” Brain asked shakily after a second, eyes finally making contact with Axel’s. And Axel could see the emotions in there. Most of them broken down pain and regret, but also a small smidgen of hope. Hope that Axel was saying what he thought he was saying. Hope that would die quickly if Axel didn’t reassure him.

“I mean that someone had the ability to use a Dive to the Heart to take control of that heart and puppet the body it resided in.” Skuld’s arm slipped off the chair she was leaning on in shock. They all knew what a Dive to the Heart was, Skuld and Ephemer were Masters after all, and it had been a technique used on their late partner once or twice when they were stuck deeply in flashbacks. “And we think that’s what happened to Lauriam,” Axel continued. “In fact, we’re sure of it.”

Brain’s mouth parted slightly in shock, color draining from his face. Ephemer staggered forward until he was leaning on the chair Skuld had just been leaning on, and Skuld’s knees buckled, causing her to kneel on the ground, with one hand wrapped in a deadly grip around the arm of Brain’s chair. Chirithy clearly didn’t know what was happening specifically, they were a cat, but they had been an emotional support cat before they lost their human, and they moved to Brain’s lap, rubbing at his chest in an effort to get him to remove himself from whatever memory was attempting to ensnare him.

“You’re… ‘sure of it’?” Brain whispered out, hands slack in his lap. He didn’t even seem to register Chirithy at all. Axel nodded slowly.

“We have confirmation from… Even, if you could believe it. He’s discovered much during his ten years and one of them was Lauriam’s condition and-” He cut himself off as Brain stood abruptly, shakily, sending Chirithy leaping less than gracefully to the floor, and walked over to the window, hands falling onto the windowsill and head leaning forward until it rested on the glass.

Axel sighed. He knew this would be hard for Brain. He couldn’t imagine what the other man was feeling.

“H-how?” Brain stuttered out, hands curling into fists on the windowsill. “Who? Why? Wha-?”

“We don’t know,” Axel admitted, closing his eyes for a second. That was the part that bugged him the most. They still didn’t know who did it. Who had controlled Lauriam, using him as a pawn for fourteen years. They didn’t know. How had this person become so powerful, especially outside of Scala?

“You don’t know?” Skuld asked, a hint of anger in her voice and she stood, eyes flashing dangerously. “Our friend’s been controlled for fourteen years, and you don’t know who did it?” Axel shook his head, not saying anything. What was there to say?

“Why did you tell us?” Ephemer asked, more recovered than the other two were. He reached out for Chirithy, and the cat reacted, rubbing against his hand. Axel could see unshed tears hanging carefully in his eyes. Scratch that about being more recovered. “What was the point?”

“We may have a way to save Lauriam,” Axel told them and Skuld raised her head from where she had dropped it to look at the ground. Brain didn’t react outside of another shaky exhale. “But… We need Brain.” Both Ephemer and Skuld’s faces shuttered at that, denials no doubt at the tips of their tongues but they were stopped by Brain.

“What do I have to do?” He asked, turned around from the window, stumbling slightly but ultimately being able to hold himself up. There were silent tears creating tracks down his face.

“Be there,” Axel said as encouragingly as he could. “Let him see you, distract him. The method of controlling relies on the Heart and if the Heart could be distracted or woken again, in some cases, by someone who meant a lot to them, it would make saving him easier.” Something flickered in Brain’s eyes. “You are the one who means the most to him, you know it too. You’re probably the only one who can do this.”

Brain’s hand spasmed as he looked away, another tear sliding down his cheek. Axel knew he was thinking of arrangements and friendships of past decades.

“That didn’t mean anything,” Brain whispered, and Axel winced. “We didn’t even choose it.”

“You didn’t choose it, but you did choose to keep it,” Axel said, and he could hear Ephemer and Skuld shifting to the side of him, probably wanting to intervene. “That meant something. To you and to him. And you chose your friendship, didn’t you? You were very vocal about that, once upon a time.” He sighed again, before standing up. “I can’t make you do this. I can only tell you what we’re doing. We might have a chance to save him without you, but it would be better with.” He didn’t want to get Brain involved, not when he was suffering so much from the mere thought of Lauriam being controlled, who knew how he would react when he actually saw it, but Brain was their best bet at putting Marluxia in a position where the control on him would slip.

He turned and started walking off, leaning down to pet Chirithy on the way out. He paused just before he left the room and turned back. Brain was still looking away, with Skuld having come up to him and was standing in front of him, looking him in the eyes and talking quietly, while Ephemer stood a few feet away.

“Just, think about it. We’re attacking tomorrow morning,” he said finally, before turning and walking out.

He hoped Brain would choose to help. He was needed if they were going to save Lauriam with as little pain as possible. And the remains of the group that once represented hope, life, and the future needed to get out of this place. It couldn’t have been good for them.

He paused for a final second, looking back. He knew Brain and Lauriam cared for each other. Their love had literally shattered all the social barriers and ranks.

Because while people would like to believe that the story of the Noble boy reaching out his hand in friendship to a commoner, destroying the divide between the social levels, was the story of Saïx and Axel, the truth was the story started before either of them was born. When the commoner boy known as Brain made friends with his future betrothed, the noble boy of House Flores, Lauriam, who would later be known by his Title, Marluxia.

Chapter Text

When Brain was five, he met the person who would become his everything by running into him. Literally.

The boy hadn’t been paying attention because he had been explaining something to his then three-year-old sister and Brain had his face buried in a book as he headed towards the office his mother was coming out of, his mother never wanting him to come with her when she visited her work. Which had been a normal occurrence. The book and the office thing, not the running into each other.

The two ran into each other, sending both of them down to the ground. Brain managed to catch himself on his hands, losing his book in process, so he didn’t smack his face into the ground. The girl let out a surprised shriek.

“Ow,” Brain mumbled as he pushed himself to a sitting position. His knees and palms were smarting from the cobblestone, and he could see miniscule cuts on his hands, little beads of blood appearing.

“Lauriam!” The little girl exclaimed, leaning over her downed brother.

“I’m fine,” the boy said softly to her. Brain rubbed his shoulder, which had taken most of the damage from running into the other boy. “Are you okay?”

Brain looked up, blinking in surprise at the pink haired boy, who was looking at him in concern. “Um, yes,” he managed. The other nodded, reaching down and picking up Brain’s book, brushing dirt off of it, before handing it back. “Thanks,” Brain muttered, wanting to get away. Their tumble had drawn the eyes of many people in the square. Brain could see his mother coming over, as she had been who Brain was heading to, as well as, who Brain would assume, were the boy’s parents.

“I’m Lauriam,” the boy, Lauriam apparently, told him, standing up and offering a hand to him. Brain was still trying to compute what had just happened. Lauriam was clearly well off, if his outfit was anything to show, and, something Brain noticed a second later, he wore the crest of the Flores Family. Brain was certain he was going to get himself or his mother in trouble. But Lauriam made no mention of the fact that Brain had just ran into him and instead offered his hand. Brain took it shakily, as it would probably be worse to refuse, and allowed Lauriam to pull him up.

“Blaine!” He heard his mother snap out. He felt her hands dig into his shoulders, dragging him backwards, behind her. He stumbled and clutched his book harder as to not drop it again. He could see Lauriam frown and look down at one of his hands, the one he had used to help Brain up, but that was cut off with the arrival of the other set of grownups.

“Lauriam! Are you alright?” The woman who had rushed over asked him, hands hovering over him as if she wanted to check him for injuries but was too afraid to. The five-year-old sighed patiently.

“Yes, I’m okay.”

“Madam, I’m so sorry,” Brain could hear his mother apologizing for him but didn’t dare look up from the ground. “Blaine doesn’t pay attention when he gets a book and I’ve tried to talk to him, but he doesn’t listen.”

“It’s okay.” That was Lauriam. “It was an accident and neither of us were hurt.” Well actually, Brain could feel the blood still seeping from his hands stain the book he was holding, but it wasn’t like he was going to mention it.

“Are you sure?” His mother asked and Brain had to wince. Why was his mother continuing to bring it up?

“My son is correct,” the father of Lauriam said. Brain still didn’t risk raising his head and instead was working to continue breathing steadily. “They’re both just kids. Kids can take a couple hits.”

“Just, perhaps, talk to your son about being more aware?” The woman said and Brain tightened his hold even more on his book, swallowing back the slowly building burning in the back of his eyes and throat.

“Of course,” his mother replied, and she grabbed one of his bloodstained hands, not reacting to his wince that he couldn’t contain, dragging him off back to their house.

But as they left, Brain couldn’t help but turn his head slightly backwards, trying to spot Lauriam one more time. He saw the pink haired boy in a position much like him, twisting backwards to try and get one last look as his parents shuffled him off. They held each other’s gazes for a second, grey eyes meeting blue, before Brain was tugged away, turning his head back to the front so he didn’t trip over anything on the way back home.

~

He wouldn’t see Lauriam for months after that. He honestly never thought he would see him again. But he had never stopped thinking of him, laying up at night, trying to wrap his five-year-old brain around the fact that Lauriam wasn’t like what he had expected from a noble house. His mother had given him an hour-long lecture about everything he had just done wrong in that encounter and a small part of him was hoping he never saw him again so he wouldn’t get berated again.

But, as fate would have it, he met the boy again, under a tree in a different park. He was sitting on a bench, now six, engrossed in yet another book, tapping his fingers along the spine before a shadow fell over him.

He looked up, blinking in confusion before his eyes focused and he realized who was standing in front of him.

“Hello again,” Lauriam said, smiling at him. Brain’s mind blanked, stuttering over his thoughts. He was…back? “It has been a while.” Brain’s hands nearly dropped his book, but Lauriam simply stood there, all gracefulness and poise of his social class.

Brain choked slightly when he realized Lauriam was still talking to him after his mind wandered. “It- It has,” he replied.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to properly introduce myself last time,” Lauriam said, taking a seat next to him. Brain’s, well brain, continued to flash warning signs and he was sure he was blinking dumbly at him. “I’m Lauriam. And you are… Blaine, correct?”

“I go by Brain,” he corrected absentmindedly as was habit and his mind was still functioning on autopilot. It was a nickname Skuld had bestowed on him after their second meeting and her four-year-old mind had decided that Blaine was a name too hard to remember. And well, it wasn’t like Brain was going to argue with her. He liked Brain much better. Honestly, Blaine, what had his mother been thinking?

“Oh, Brain then,” Lauriam continued. “I-”

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off when Brain finally realized what was happening and he sat up sharply, snapping his book shut and twisting to face the other boy on the bench. “Wait, why are you still talking to me?” He asked incredulously. Of course, then his face immediately heated up in embarrassment and he debated hiding his face behind his book.

But instead of Lauriam standing up and declaring that yes he was right, why was he talking to some low life rabble like him, the other boy blinked in confusion, tilting his head like an owl.

“Because our meeting a few months ago was cut off abruptly and I still wanted to talk to you?” He responded, sounding unsure.

“I- I ran into you,” Brain said, frowning at him in disbelief, shock making his words much more shaky than he would usually ever allow. “I caused you to fall.”

“I ran into you as well,” Lauriam stated back with a shrug, tugging on one of the strands of his hair with a small grimace. “I should have been paying attention as well and nothing bad happened. You take all sorts of scrapes in life. Plus, I didn’t get hurt. I saw the blood on your hands.”

“It’s nothing, I’m fine,” Brain quickly sputtered out when he realized that Lauriam was actually concerned about him. What was happening?

“Are you sure?” The boy pressed, reaching out as if to take Brain’s hand in his own and check it and that’s where Brain finally panicked enough.

He stood, backing away quickly, dropping his book in the process(again!) as he stumbled slightly, but he couldn’t care. “I’m fine, I’m sorry for running into you, for both our sakes you shouldn’t seek me out again!” With that he turned on his heel and ran off, ignoring Lauriam’s cry of his name. He was a little upset that his book had been lost, but he had plenty more at home and it wasn’t worth the risk to go back for it.

This unfortunate meeting seemed to spark something in Lauriam. All of a sudden, Brain couldn’t go out in public without Lauriam showing up to try and talk to him.

He continued to evade him for months, ducking around corners, avoiding the First Tower for all its worth even though that as well didn’t seem to stop the other boy, or choosing to read in the comfort of his home, even if that subjected him to the remarks of his mother. His thoughts ran in circles about why this noble child was following him around and his mind, which usually could answer anything, had no answer for him. In the end, it ended up being Skuld who dragged him out of his funk.

“Just ask him!” The seven-year-old exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. Ephemer nodded in agreement from next to her, but he had always agreed with Skuld, so that meant nothing. Brain scowled at her, but unfortunately, there was nothing logical in his mind that told him it was a bad idea. Sure, it could lead to… many things, but hopefully he might be able to extract a promise from Lauriam to stop following him.

Which led Brain to sitting out on the lawn of the park they had met at, rubbing his hands up and down the spine of his book. Yet another one. He wondered if he would somehow drop this one as well. He started to wonder if the one time he wanted to find Lauriam, the boy wouldn’t show.

“Hello,” came from behind him and Brain took a deep breath before turning around to face Lauriam. Grey eyes met blue.

“Why are you following me?” Brain asked at once as he stood, wanting an answer badly.

“What do you mean?” The noble boy asked, tipping his head to the side slightly. “I thought I already explained.” Brain shook his head frustrated.

“No, you haven’t!” He huffed in confusion and anger, feeling the urge to stomp his foot slightly, as immature as that was. “You’re a noble child and I’m not. You’re from a Noble House and I’m not. You will get a title and Magic and I won’t. So why are you following me and wanting to be my friend?”

Lauriam frowned at him, the expression that looked very out of place on the six-year-old’s face. “Why should that matter?”

Brain paused in shock. That… wasn’t how this worked. It was only after Lauriam made a noise of anger that Brain realized he had said that out loud.

“Well, it’s stupid that it works the way it is.” And for a second, Lauriam sounded and acted like the child he was, kicking his right foot through the dirt. “You’re intriguing so I want to spend more time with you. Why should it matter to whom you were born?”

Brain blinked at him before collapsing back to a seat on the grass in shock. Lauriam took this as an invitation and followed him down, folding into a sitting position much more gracefully than Brain would ever be.

“You do realize that the rest of the world won’t see it like that, right?” Brain asked, mind whirling. He was young, not stupid. He knew how the social rankings worked. If the Crests and the Rings and everything weren’t enough of an indicator. If they truly became friends, Lauriam could lose any social standing he had and that could reflect badly on his family, who could in turn be mad at him. Lauriam could lose his family, lose his sister over this. The borders of the social hierarchy were not meant to be crossed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let them hurt you or your mother if they’re angry,” Lauriam said sincerely, looking in Brain’s eyes. Oh, Brain thought, yet again shocked by the Noble child who sat across from him. He was worried about the repercussions for me and my mother. While I was worried about the repercussions for him and his family.

“I wasn’t worried about me,” he blurted out, immediately cursing his own words. “I was… worried about you.” Lauriam’s face melted into shock, before something else. Something… softer.

“I was worried about you as well,” Lauriam said quietly. “And I brought your book back.” Brain was thrown off slightly by that non-sequitur but took the book when Lauriam gave it. Brain wondered how he had missed that Lauriam had it.

“Have you just been carrying this around?” His dumbfounded mind asked. Lauriam nodded.

“In case I saw you and was able to talk to you long enough to give it back.”

And well, screw it. Brain always liked other people who had a respect for books.

“Fine,” he grumbled out. Lauriam looked at him in confusion. “Let’s try this whole ‘friends’ thing.”

~

Their friendship wasn’t conventional by any means. From the fact that they were from different social circles, but also, they weren’t conventional people. Young as they were, both of them were much more focused on reading books in Brain’s case or watching over his sister or just watching in general in Lauriam’s case. Much more mature than almost anyone their age.

Within a few months, Brain could already see the effects of their friendship. When the two of them sat together, people stared and whispered. When they ran down the streets together, people leapt out of their way, stumbling away from them as if they were infected. When their parents caught them together, there was either fear in their eyes (Brain’s mother) or disapproval (Lauriam’s parents).

This would lead to times when they would hide away, not wanting to deal with the world’s judgment, finding all the secret passages Scala Ad Caelum had to offer. Their seventh through eleventh birthdays were spent hiding in corners and up on the top of Towers, watching the sun and stars, though as they grew older, it became more by choice than necessity.

~

“Has this always been here?” He questioned, spinning in a small circle to look at the tunnel he and Lauriam had just discovered. His friend was looking just as shocked as him, blinking in surprise and gazing down at the hand that had pushed in the brick to cause the wall to move.

“I… assume?” Lauriam offered, his voice sounding weak, and Brain chuckled once as he moved deeper into the tunnel. The ten-year-old wasn’t scared in the slightest, not when he wasn’t alone, and it wasn’t like this was their first passage they explored.

“I wonder who made it,” he murmured, running a hand along the stone. It wasn’t rough enough to be natural and these Towers had been created by hand anyway. These tunnels had to have been placed on purpose. But why?

He and Lauriam had found more of them, mostly around the Third, Fifth, and Seventh Towers but this was the first one they found on the First Tower.

“The Royals?” Lauriam offered and Brain could hear him moving to follow Brain deeper into the dark. A whispered word and there was a gentle ball of fire in Lauriam’s hand. The Noble boy had attempted to teach the magic to Brain in the past, but since neither of them had Keyblades, and Brain suspected he never would, it was a fruitless endeavor. The fact that Lauriam could do it all at his age and with his Keyblade not yet summoned was enough of a feat.

“But why?” Brain questioned and he heard Lauriam stifle a laugh. He rolled his eyes. He was well aware of his habit to question everything. He just wanted to know everything. The libraries were already running low on things for him to read in his own Tower. Maybe he could get Lauriam to take him to the one in the First Tower?

“Well, the ‘why’ ignored, they are very well made,” Lauriam noted, and Brain hummed, feeling the stone beneath his hand. The rest of the tunnels had been made in the midst of tough stone, no chance of impact but maybe…

“I bet we could carve into them,” he muttered and heard Lauriam stop behind him. “Leave something.”

Lauriam made a noise in the back of his throat and Brain turned to face Lauriam, pressing a hand to his mouth to stifle his giggles. Lauriam had the most offended look on his face, and he couldn’t help the laughter that made its way past his lips.

“So, you find an ancient secret of Scala’s,” Lauriam started, placing one of his hands on his hip and staring at him. “And the first thing that goes through your head is, ‘how can I vandalize this’?”

“Lauriam!” He laughed, reaching over and shoving his friend slightly. “How dare you say that about me!” The other ten-year-old was now close to laughter as well and he decided to lean into it. “You make me sound like a common criminal. Or like a kid in my school.” That was enough to push Lauriam into laughter as well and the two of them stood there giggling like idiots for a couple of seconds.

The sounds of bells interrupted the two of them and they both paused, tipping their heads up as if they could actually see the clock tower instead of being in an underground passage. The sound rang through the air, almost seeming to shake the very walls around them and he felt the smile cross his face, much more sincere and gentle than before.

“Happy birthday,” he murmured to Lauriam, moving to wrap him in a hug, the ten- eleven-year-old returning it easily.

“Why thank you,” he replied. “But I didn’t realize you remembered the exact hour of my birth.”

He laughed again, releasing Lauriam to back up and give him a look.

“You told me about it,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You really thought I’d forget?”

“I mean, not really,” Lauriam admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “But I didn’t think you’d remember something that specific.” He rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“Betrayal,” he said, forcing down another round of giggles. “How dare you even imply that I would have forgotten something about you, how dare you.”

“C’mon,” Lauriam laughed. “Really Brain?” Brain laughed, ducking under his grasping hand and ran deeper into the tunnel.

“Hah!” He exclaimed a second later, pointing out a carving that Lauriam’s light had illuminated. “See? At least I’m not the first one to come up with that idea.”

“Unbelievable,” Lauriam muttered, rubbing his temple with one hand but Brain could hear the laughter in his voice.

~

But they weren’t alone, not usually. While they liked to joke that they only became friends with Lauriam to make sure he was good for Brain, Brain knew that Ephemer and Skuld were just as lonely as he had been despite their blooming friendship with another of their classmates. And through Lauriam, Strelitzia, as young as she was, started to do her best to keep up with them, and another young Noble named Elrena became their friends, breaking the borders even more. And the one who would become Ephemer and Skuld’s partner became their friend both for protection and because Ephemer and Skuld were their friends. Their group became infamous.

And perhaps, it had been a good thing. With the quickly dwindling number of Noble Houses, the social borders were already starting to blur. The group of kids only added to the fire. And the young prince finding a friend in a commoner at the age of five cemented the change in borders, permanently. Lauriam had joked more than once that Isa was following his lead.

~

“And that’s Pinocchio,” Brain said, pointing the star out. “It connects with Geppetto to make the eyes of Monstro.” Next to him, Lauriam hummed in interest.

The two twelve-year-olds were laying on the grass at the top of the Eighth Tower, the sun having long since set. Once the stars came out, Brain had started to catalogue them, mostly out of instinct, and Lauriam had questioned him.

“Peter Pan and Wendy create the top of Neverland,” he continued, moving his hand to gesture to the twin stars that made up the top of the constellation. “People say that it’s an impossible constellation because Peter and Wendy are too close to each other, but they could just be at different spots in space, seemingly close to each other even if they’re hundreds of miles apart.

“And Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather create-”

“How do you know all this?” Lauriam asked with a small laugh, cutting off his explanation and Brain blinked in surprise.

“Books,” he replied, turning his head so he could look at Lauriam, pausing for a quick second when he saw that Lauriam was already looking at him. “I thought you knew that I liked to read.”

“I mean, yes I know that,” Lauriam said with a quick eyeroll. “But how do you remember it all? How do you point them out?”

“I just… do?” He answered, feeling his lips twist up into a confused smile. “I’ve never had trouble forgetting something I read.”

“Lucky,” Lauriam huffed, his blue eyes showing the reflection of Brain’s in them. “The only constellation I can remember is the Spectral Keyblade and that’s only because I’ve had it drilled into my since I was born.”

“Well duh,” Brain teased, his eyes moving back to the sky and said constellation, which hovered over them. “How would one even forget that? It’s right there!” Lauriam laughed again, louder this time, and Brain felt his gaze being pulled back to the other boy.

“A familiar conversation?” Lauriam asked and Brain rolled his eyes.

“Some of the people in my school… aren’t as proficient as I am in books,” he replied, remembering the arguments he would get into with his classmates when he decided to talk to them, knowledge that was obvious to him not really making it to their brains.

“Why are you still in that grade anyway?” Lauriam’s voice was strong, and Brain paused. They’d had this conversation before. “You could easily move up grades, hell you might be out of that school!”

“My mother thinks it would stunt my social skills, as nonexistent as they are.” Brain’s words weren’t a surprise, the same thing he had said everything time this topic was brought up.

“Your knowledge is being stunted right now!” Lauriam’s hands twitched like he wanted to move them, and his gaze moved back to the sky. Brain felt a smile cross his face. Lauriam aways got so worked up when they had this conversation. “Just think about it. If you went ahead and transferred out of the school, you could be focusing on things you actually want to do. If you wanted to research something, I bet it would be sponsored by the Crown.”

“What would I even study?” Brain asked, enraptured with the starlight as it danced over Lauriam’s hair and eyes.

“Well, what do you want to?” Lauriam said, looking back to him. Blue eyes met grey. “It’s your choice.”

Brain moved his head to lay back down on the grass, looking back up at the sky. What would he study, if he could?

There weren’t many limits on it. Advancements in magic were always needed, with people who truly focused on it being able to discover new spells. Magic study was also a good thing, but it was harder for someone who didn’t have Magic, like him. There were scholars and archivists, who tried to puzzle out the older works from the Empire in the Library in the Fifth Tower. Or there were those who worked with electricity, trying to find uses for it, like for lighting and such. There wasn’t as much focus or improvement in that area, but Brain had a feeling Elrena was planning to help in that area once she was old enough. Already, her Magic was powerful enough to simulate a storm.

“If I could,” he started slowly, tracking the different constellations with his eyes. A long forgotten dream came back to him, tapping on the back of his mind. “I would study Destiny.”

“Destiny?” Lauriam asked, sounding confused, and Brain couldn’t blame him. The idea of it…

“If everything is predicted,” he explained, waving one hand slightly to the sky, as if to visualize his point. “If everything is destined to happen.”

“I… don’t think that’s something that could be studied,” Lauriam said dubiously, and Brain wilted slightly at the tone of his voice. He knew it wasn’t…

“I mean, there are rumors that some Noble Houses can see into the future,” Brain replied, trying to fit his thoughts into coherent sentences. “I would like to see if what they see is set in stone or if it could be changed.”

“Well, I hate to tell you this but as far as I’m aware, only the Royal House can see the future,” Lauriam mentioned offhand, and Brain sat up shock. “So, unless-”

“Wait, really?” He asked, twisting to look down at Lauriam. “That’s real? They really can see the future?” Lauriam blinked up at him, as if confused why he was asking.

“Yeah?” He responded. “Or, at least the Queen can.”

“I thought that was just a rumor!” Brain spluttered and Lauriam raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe for you,” he said. “But’s it’s pretty common knowledge around the Noble Houses. It’s how she keeps Scala safe, allegedly. Though it seems that it’s really hard to look into the future. She can’t control it, apparently.”

“Still!” Brain breathed out. “Is it passed through bloodlines or is just Magic?”

Lauriam paused before shrugging. “Unfortunately, I do not know.” Brain sighed, his mind still slightly reeling from the shock of it. It had been a joke. Well, maybe not a joke but mostly just speculation. An offhand comment.

But it was real?

“I wonder if Destiny is real then,” he murmured. “If everything always goes as she sees.” Lauriam looked like he was going to answer but his eyes shifted to behind Brain’s head, and they widened.

“Brain,” he whispered out. “Look.” Brain paused but turned around.

Dozens of stars streaked across the sky in silver trails.

“Oh,” he whispered out, feeling his arms collapse from underneath him, sending him back to the ground.

“A star shower?” Lauriam said, voice turning into a question at the end.

“A meteor shower,” Brain corrected, eyes wide. “I’ve never seen one myself.”

“Maybe it’s destiny then,” Lauriam jabbed, and Brain gave him a look before turning back to the shower.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, and he heard Lauriam hum. There was shifting, like Lauriam had turned to look at him again.

“It is,” he replied, voice soft, and Brain felt his lips turn into a smile.

“The others are going to be so mad they missed this,” he mentioned and Lauriam’s laughter echoed across the empty space.

~

The attack on Skuld’s and Ephemer’s friend changed some things but not everything. Ephemer and Skuld were scarce from their meetups for the weeks following it, mostly spending their time with them. Lauriam, Strelitzia, and Elrena had lobbied their parents, having them bring the full pressure of the Noble Houses down on the attackers, their families who did nothing to correct their behavior, and the school that hadn’t done anything to stop it before it got to that point. Brain could really do nothing but worry, relying on the updates from Ephemer and Skuld to learn about what was going on. It was apparently a small miracle that the two of them were still able to visit their friend, as they had spent most of their time in their room since then.

But a couple weeks later and one therapy cat acquired, they had slowly started to come join them again. It was clear that they weren’t the same as they used to be, not that any of them were going to get mad at them for being so. Their voice was rarely heard anymore, and Brain had spent many an afternoon sitting on the roof of Lauriam’s house with him and Strelitzia, learning sign in order to communicate with them.

And of course, it wasn’t long after that did Ephemer and Skuld get officially Betrothed to each other. While it had confused Brain in the beginning, the very next day the three of them had announced that they were now in a relationship together and everything became clear. Polyamory wasn’t a bad thing; it simply wasn’t that common. But he highly doubted that anything was going to happen to them because of it. Why they hadn’t added their partner into their Betrothal to make it official, Brain didn’t ask.

He found himself thinking about Betrothals that night.

Ephemer and Skuld were fourteen, a year older than himself and Lauriam. While there wasn’t technically a limit on how young a child could be to be in a Betrothal, if it wasn’t for combining Houses or to help children with no parents, usually it wasn’t done with kids younger than fifteen. And even the Nobles respected that.

Though, it had been Ephemer’s and Skuld’s choice.

He couldn’t help but think about the possibilities.

Lauriam would be put into a Betrothal someday. That was just how it was done in the Noble Houses. Even if now a days it was more ceremonial after two people have fallen in love and less… “marry this person or else” as it had been centuries ago. He has spent enough time with Lauriam, Elrena, and Strelitzia to find out more about the intricacies of the Noble Houses than any commoner probably knew. Besides what Lea would know eventually. Brain hadn’t actually ever met the young boy who had befriended the prince, but he knew Lauriam had.

But anyways, Betrothals.

If Lauriam found someone who made him happy, happy enough to go into a Betrothal, he would be happy for him. Lauriam was his best friend of course he would be happy for him. But at the same time…

He wanted to spend his whole life with Lauriam. Maybe it was selfish of him.

~

He hadn’t ever imagined his life would be like this. This beautiful mix of euphoria and friendship and late nights and laughter and Lauriam. His life was… perfect.

None of this changed once Lauriam got his Keyblade, to Brain’s unspoken relief. It was expected that Lauriam would get one, it was in his blood, and while he did spend time getting to know how to use it, he didn’t try for mastery like Skuld and Ephemer were trying to. He just didn’t have the interest. And neither did Brain, to be honest.

The day he had summoned Master Defender had been one of the biggest shocks of his life, just below realizing that Lauriam had actually wanted to be his friend. He knew there was a chance he would get a Keyblade, there was a chance for everyone in Scala, but he had come from a long line of non-Keybearers on his mother’s side and he knew nothing of his father, so maybe he had gotten it from him. Or in Lauriam’s words, he was just good enough that Kingdom Hearts decided to bestow a Keyblade on him.

He and Lauriam sparred often when they could, dancing around each other in all their fourteen-year-old happiness.

And Brain was happy. He thought nothing of the future because the present was good. There was no reason to worry about what came next. He spent time with his friends, got to know the young prince and his friend through Lauriam, even if their interactions were small and far between, and read all the books he could get his hands on. But then… But then.

Brain didn’t know whose parents brought up the Betrothal. Once they realized that there was no way to stop Brain and Lauriam and that the world wasn’t going to reject them, their parents had met and at least become cordial with each other. It wasn’t until Brain was told by his mother that he was Betrothed to Lauriam that he realized they had even been meeting with each other.

His thoughts… weren’t coherent to say the least.

The biggest part of him was confused. Why had they done this? Why now? He and Lauriam were fifteen, yes, but… had they just been waiting for them to be old enough? But why?

The smallest part of him was happy. Now he would spend his life with Lauriam.

He told that part of him to be quiet.

~

He found Lauriam up at the top of the First Tower that night. Brain could tell he had been told as well.

“Does this change anything between us?” Brain asked quietly, not moving to sit next to Lauriam like he would’ve done on any other night. Lauriam was sitting ramrod straight, nothing like the kind, relaxed boy Brain had made friends with the past ten years. He didn’t look at Brain.

“Do you want it to?” Lauriam asked evenly, voice cold and sullen. Brain wanted to sit next to him until he melted like the few other times Lauriam had gotten like this, usually due to something his parents had done, but he couldn’t do that now. Not when he was part of the problem.

“No,” Brain said, the word bursting from him instantly. And it was true. Lauriam was his friend. His oldest, first, and most treasured friend. “No, I don’t want anything to change.”

“Neither do I,” Lauriam responded, tipping his head up to look to the stars, still facing away from Brain. The Spectral Keyblade gazed down at them. Brain relaxed at his admission. “But I’m afraid that’s inevitable now.” Brain flinched. Yes, it was.

If they had both been commoner, it wouldn’t have mattered. If they had both been normal, no one would care. Ephemer and Skuld were the only commoners that Brain knew that had even gotten Betrothed, it just wasn’t a thing done between commoners unless it was life or death circumstances. And Ephemer and Skuld had only gotten Betrothed to each other so their parents would stop pestering them about their future and allowing them to have more time with their third partner without people wondering about them.

But they weren’t. Lauriam was a Noble and Brain was a commoner. Not only had this never been happened before, but it also meant that Brain’s whole life would be uprooted and moved. And Brain knew that was what was bothering Lauriam. Because Brain had only ever thought of Lauriam and Lauriam had only ever thought of Brain.

“Are you… mad about what my mother did?” Brain asked, watching Lauriam’s back for any change, any tell.

“What your mother did?” Lauriam sounded confused and finally turned to face Brain. He could see the barely remaining tear tracks. “It was my parents who arranged this.”

“Oh,” Brain said lamely. He shouldn’t have assumed his mother had done this. Though she had agreed to it. “I thought they hated me.”

Lauriam groaned. “They didn’t hate you they just…” He trailed off, dropping his gaze so he didn’t look Brain in the eyes. Brain sighed, shifting back and forth on his feet before eventually pushing forward and taking a seat. Not next to Lauriam like they used to have, but only a couple of feet away, so he was still close.

“Strelitzia seemed happy about it,” Lauriam commented, and Brain couldn’t help the huff of laughter that slipped through him. That sounded like Strelitzia. “I yelled at her that she had no idea what this meant and no right to have any opinion on it.” Lauriam hunched his shoulders. “I should apologize to her.” Brain opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. This whole situation was… messy and the two fifteen-year-olds were not equipped to handle it.

“I don’t… mind being Betrothed to you,” Brain said. “It’s not ideal but it means they can’t force you into a different marriage.” Lauriam nodded once in understanding but didn’t say anything else. The two of them sat quietly, together but apart, both dealing in their own ways.

“I don’t mind being Betrothed to you either,” Lauriam eventually admitted, eyes dropping down to his lap where his hands fiddled. “You’re right when you said that this would mean I won’t have to worry about interference from the other Noble Houses and I don’t have to worry about you.” Brain didn’t say anything. He could tell Lauriam wasn’t done. “But… I don’t understand why they did this. It can’t be from the goodness of their hearts; they’ve never done anything from that before.” Brain couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped him. Lauriam respected his parents, but he wasn’t blind to their selfishness or social climbing nature. Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were part of the second highest ranked ring of social status, as disappearing as it was, or maybe they had always been like that.

“I don’t know why my mother agreed to it either,” Brain responded. “But all we can do now is make the best of it, right?”

Lauriam finally turned and looked to him again, his blue eyes meeting Brain’s grey. “Right,” the other Keybearer agreed.

~

Lauriam had fully sealed it when he gave Brain a black fedora with a pink ribbon which had the symbol of House Flores on it. It was not only a nice gift and replacement for his old one, which was close to falling apart, it was also a formal acceptance on both their parts about the betrothal. Brain now wore the symbol of the House he would be marrying into and by accepting it, he accepted Lauriam.

And maybe, Lauriam’s parents had done it for a good reason. Maybe they had the premonition that was long whispered that the Noble Houses had, even though only the Throne had it for sure. Maybe they had known that the two of them would need each other.

Because a month later, a week after Strelitzia’s thirteenth birthday, the first reports of the sickness occurred. Three weeks after that, the plague had taken its toll on the world, sweeping across the Towers like wildfire. Brain’s mother was dead. As was Lauriam’s entire family.

~

No one really knew how to react. The plague had come out of nowhere and killed a quarter of the population. Rich and poor, young and old, male, female, it didn’t matter. It killed them all the same.

Skuld’s brothers. Ephemer’s mother. Their partner’s parents. The Heirs to Houses Spes, Tempus, Quattor. The entire House Legere. Six of the servants that Brain knew worked in Lauriam’s house. It had destroyed two thirds of the population of the Seventh Tower.

Brain’s mother. Lauriam’s parents. Strelitzia.

No one knew how to handle it.

He found himself at Lauriam’s house a week after the plague had mostly died out. It had hit people and then vanished. No one knew why.

He could already see the signs of destruction. The bushes were untrimmed.

Forcing himself to walk up the stairs and not shake against the pressure of memories, he reached out and knocked on the door.

Someone he didn’t know answered it.

“I’m here to see Lauriam,” he told them, and he could see that they were very close to sending him away if not for the ribbon attached to his hat. They knew who he was. They let him in.

Brain already knew where to go. Up the stairs, down the hallway, passing Lauriam’s room and broken-looking people. He knew where Lauriam would be.

Strelitzia’s room didn’t look like someone had died in there. It looked normal. Her bookshelf of plant books, the different carvings Elrena had made and given to her sitting on top of shelves and windowsills. Brain even spotted one book open on the floor, a set of notes written on a page on top of it. It looked like Strelitzia could just come back one day. But she wasn’t going to.

Lauriam was lying on his side on the bed, looking to the wall instead of the window. Brain approached and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Hi,” he said softly, not knowing how to start. He hadn’t seen Lauriam in weeks, having been also infected, but not killed, by the plague. They couldn’t risk it getting to Lauriam, even though it made its way to his house anyway. He hadn’t been there when Strelitzia passed.

Lauriam shifted on the bed, letting Brain know he was awake, and he sighed, pulling his hat off and resting it on one of the poles of the bed before lying down as well, facing Lauriam. His Betrothed had tear tracks staining his cheeks and bloodshot eyes. Brain wondered if he had gotten any sleep since Strelitzia passed away the week earlier. There was about a foot of space between them.

“Hi,” Brain said again, not knowing what else to say. What else could he say? He had also lost his whole family, but he hadn’t been nearly as close to his mother as Lauriam had been to Strelitzia.

“They…” Lauriam started, swallowing past the voice crack. “They let you in here?” Brain nodded softly.

“I’ve been declared sickness free,” he said, wincing when Lauriam’s eyes shuddered again. He wanted to reach out and hold his hand like they had done countless times before.

“Who else died?” Lauriam asked and Brain closed his eyes for a second before reopening them.

“Are you sure you want to know?” He asked and Lauriam nodded jerkily. “My mother, Ephemer’s mother, Skuld’s brothers, their partner’s parents, Elrena’s uncle. Of our group.” Lauriam’s face twisted up again and a single tear managed to force its way out and slid down his face.

“I’m sorry for your mother,” Lauriam whispered, and Brain nodded, not knowing how to reply. He was pretty sure the rational part of his brain was firmly in the denial portion of grieving, not completely realizing what this would mean for him. Maybe he was still expecting his mother to be around like he was expecting Strelitzia to be.

“I’m sorry about Strelitzia,” he replied, and another tear escaped Lauriam’s eyes.

“I want her back,” he whispered out, his voice stuck between anger and grief. “I want her back.” Brain finally reached out, wrapping his left hand in Lauriam’s hand and the other around Lauriam’s body, pulling the two of them close, pressing their foreheads together. Blue eyes meeting grey.

“I want all of them back,” Lauriam said again, and he wasn’t the only one crying by then. Neither of them left Strelitzia’s room that night.

~

Everything changed after that. Nothing was the same.

Many Noble Houses were gone forever, their Bloodlines wiped out along with their Magic. Even more were crippled in ways that would stop their Bloodlines from continuing, Heirs or partners dead before their time.

Brain was moved into Lauriam’s house by Lauriam’s insistence, using both the fact that Brain was still a teenager alone and that he was Lauriam’s Betrothed to get him to agree. Ephemer, Skuld, and their partner visited more and… Elrena less visited and more escaped from the hellhole that was quickly becoming her house and spent days at a time at Lauriam’s, refusing to talk about what was happening. From the gossip that the servants spread around, Brain could guess it had something to do with an affair that her mother had been having, which had come to light in the aftereffects of the plague.

Lauriam was the Head of House Flores now, despite the fact that he was just fifteen and had spent several nights at the Castle for reasons he refused to tell Brain, so Brain mostly spent time with the others and trying to bring normalcy back to House Flores. Which was his house now, officially.

But this slight break in communication between Brain and Lauriam had come to head one morning, two months after Strelitzia’s death.

“What do you mean, ‘you’re leaving’?” Brain asked Lauriam in shock after his friend had said it. Elrena looked up from the book she was reading and Skuld and Ephemer exchanged glances.

“I could have phrased that better,” Lauriam muttered to himself before looking back to Brain. “I mean, I’m leaving Scala. Just for a few months,” he continued. “And I won’t be going far. Just a couple days boat ride away.”

“Why?” Brain inquired, trying to look at it from a logical standpoint instead of an emotional one.

Lauriam sighed. “I need… time,” he said, looking down at his hands on the table. “Everywhere I turn, I see reminders of them, memories constantly haunt me. I just need space, I think. To process. Something I haven’t gotten.”

Brain could feel the fight drain out of him at Lauriam’s words. Because he understood it. He had gotten the space and time he needed, away from his old home, to think and process and realize oh, his mother wasn’t coming back. No matter how strained their relationship had been, he missed her. But Lauriam hadn’t gotten that. Instead, he lived in the house where his family had died and saw remainders of them everywhere.

“Don’t be gone for too long,” he told him, warmth filling him at the small smile on Lauriam’s face. “I can’t live without you, remember?” He poked fun at the phrase the two of them had tossed back and forth in their childhoods. Lauriam looked up to him, blue eyes meeting grey.

“Of course. Three months and then you’ll never lose me again.”

~

The three months seemed longer than Brain knew them to be. He could feel Lauriam’s absence in everything he did, every corner he turned. Ephemer, Skuld, their partner, and Elrena worked tirelessly to make sure he didn’t feel alone.

They stayed at the house, dragged him out on trips or just sat out in the sun. And even though it helped, it truly did, he still waited for the day when Lauriam would return. Waited for his… friend to come back. Lauriam was just only his friend after all. Their Betrothal didn’t mean anything about romantic feelings. Right?

And it was on a beautiful summer day that Lauriam did return, the symbol of House Flores lighting up the sky and causing Brain an unbridled amount of happiness. He left the house on his own volition for the first time in the three months and raced down to the docks. Lauriam had taken a small, one manned boat out, wanting to be alone, and it was this boat that Brain scanned the docks for.

“Lauriam!” He shouted in happiness when he saw the little boat painted in the colors of House Flores and the teenager on the boat looked up to see him. Maybe that should have been Brain’s first sign. What should have been Brain’s first sign? How could he have not noticed?

Hurrying down the dock, he watched as his friend left the boat. His hair was longer but other than that, there seemed to be no change.

“You’re back,” he said, smiling wide only to pause in shock when he saw Lauriam’s face. “Lauriam, your eyes.” What had once been blue eyes the same color of the sky was now yellow, the same color as sunflowers or strelitzias.

“I discovered many things when I was out,” Lauriam told him with a grin. He waved a hand over his eyes. “This is an unfortunate side effect.”

“Oh,” Brain said, one hand twitching up as if he was going to touch Lauriam’s eyes but managing to stop himself. “Does it… hurt?”

Lauriam laughed and the smallest part of Brain said the laughter was off, that it sounded weird. But he shoved that part of him down. It was just because he had been gone for three months. Anyone was bound to change a little in that amount of time.

“No, it doesn’t hurt,” Lauriam said, smiling at Brain, and he relaxed. The smile was still all Lauriam. “It’s just a cosmetic change. Nothing more.”

“I suppose I can get used to it then,” Brain mused, smiling back to Lauriam. His Betrothed smiled at the banter and Brain reached out, grabbing Lauriam’s hand, shivering slightly at the coldness of it. “C’mon, everyone’s been waiting for you.” He dragged Lauriam forward and the Head of House Flores laughed as he allowed himself to be moved, stepping forward after a few moments to walk beside Brain, their hands snug in each other’s.

Brain looked at Lauriam, smiling again. Yellow eyes met grey, light reflecting off of them in unfamiliar patterns. Lauriam had promised that he wasn’t going to leave after this. He was looking forward to it.

~

Two weeks into Lauriam being back, and Brain had to admit that something was off. Lauriam, while still being there for meals and to sleep, was gone most other times.

He disappeared as soon as breakfast was done and wouldn’t come back until it was dinner time. He carefully danced around Brain’s questions, keeping all answers of what he was doing a secret, and it was starting to grate on Brain’s nerves. Lauriam had promised once he came back, Brain wasn’t going to lose him again. But he was keeping things from Brain and staying away. In a way, Brain was losing him all over again.

He sighed, curled up in the chair in the library. There was a book in his lap that he had attempted to read, but his mind wouldn’t focus on it. It just continued to spin in circles about Lauriam.

“Oh no, he’s in his depression chair,” Skuld remarked as the sixteen-year-old walked in, Ephemer and their partner following closely behind. Brain scoffed ever so slightly at the name, closing the book and holding it in his lap.

Skuld had taken to calling the chair in the library his “depression chair” because it was the place he had spent most of his time while waiting for Lauriam to come back.

“What’s wrong Brain?” Ephemer asked and Brain sighed, looking down at his book. It was the same book Lauriam had returned to him all those years ago when they agreed to try and become friends.

“Is Lauriam acting… off to any of you?” He asked and the three of them made faces, taking seats on the couch across from the chair. Their partner’s therapy cat jumped into their lap, curling up and sleeping.

“Well, isn’t it normal?” Skuld asked and Brain tipped his head in confusion.

“What do you mean, ‘it’s normal’?” He asked her and Skuld pursed her lips before leaning forward slightly, resting her elbows on her knees.

“I mean, Lauriam went through something traumatic. He lost his entire family and didn’t get a chance to mourn them, truly mourn them, for a couple months. You don’t go through something like that and come out unchanged, it’s not how it works,” Skuld told him, smiling briefly at her partner at the second half, who smiled back just as gently, petting Chirithy on the head, as the cat rubbed its head into their hand. “I know that well.” Her smile was a little bittersweet and Brain knew that while he had been mourning during those two months, the others had as well. Skuld had lost her brothers, Ephemer had lost his mother, and their partner had lost their parents. None of them were unscathed from this.

Brain dropped his eyes down at that, focusing on his hands. He knew that Lauriam was going to be different, there was no way he was going to be the same with everything that happened five months ago but at the same time…

It didn’t feel like a normal change. It felt off and strange and just wrong. From his eye color change to the way he spent his days, it just felt wrong.

“Listen,” Ephemer interjected, and Brain lifted his eyes to see him. Ephemer reached out and took one of Brain’s hands, holding it gently. “If this is really bothering you so much, talk to him. Tell him how you’re feeling and work something out between the two of you.” He smiled wryly. “I don’t know if you’ve forgotten this but you’re going to spend the rest of your lives together, unless one of you breaks off the Betrothal. Figure it out or you’re going to be miserable the rest of your life.”

Brain clenched his jaw when he thought about it.

Why did part of his mind tell him that this was going to go horribly wrong?

~

“We need to talk,” he told Lauriam that night, sitting in the sitting room and waiting for his friend to return from whatever he had done that day.

“We do?” Lauriam asked, yellow eyes flashing in surprise and Brain sighed and nodded. Lauriam took a few unsure steps forward before sitting down across from Brain. “About what?”

“This,” Brain said, gesturing to Lauriam. “You keep leaving and you’re not telling me what you’re doing. You don’t talk to me anymore; you don’t spend any time with me anymore. You promised I wouldn’t lose you once you got back but I haven’t really gotten you back. You’re still leaving.” Lauriam stared at him for a second, something unreadable swirling in his yellow eyes before he sighed and dropped his gaze, pressing his palms together between his knees. His pink hair was almost long enough to create a curtain between him and Brain.

“I don’t… mean to,” Lauriam admitted, not looking up at Brain. “It’s just that…” He trailed off and Brain leaned forward slightly, reaching out one hand to place it on Lauriam’s knee, causing his Betrothed to look up at him. For a second, it seemed like his yellow eyes flickered back to blue, but it was probably just a trick of the light.

“I learned some things, when I was out there,” Lauriam continued, voice still quiet and shaky. “And I don’t… That and being here… I can’t…” Brain closed his eyes as Lauriam stuttered, sighing. Perhaps Skuld had been right. He couldn’t really expect Lauriam to be the same as he used to be, not after everything that had happened. He didn’t know much about the outside world, but he knew it was different than Scala. He didn't know how much different.

“Look Lauriam,” he said, drawing Lauriam’s attention back to him. “I understand that you’re different and going to act differently. All I’m asking is that you try to spend a little more time with me. You mean the world to me and it’s sad that I can’t help you and you don’t what to tell me where you’re going, but if wherever you’re going does help you, I’m happy about that, okay?”

Lauriam smiled gently at him and moved to sit next to him, pulling him into a side hug. Brain relaxed into it, closing his eyes and leaning his head on Lauriam’s chest. He could hear Lauriam’s heart from here, the rhythmic noises reminding him that Lauriam was alive and well.

Lauriam shifted slightly, hand twitching like he was going to do something with it, but it only ended up resting on one of Brain’s.

“I can do that,” Lauriam told him, and Brain smiled.

~

Lauriam kept his promise, mostly. He still disappeared for most of the day, but he didn’t leave as early or come back as late. They spent time like they used to, curled up together reading a book or laying on the roof under the stars, not speaking but hands entwined, taking comfort in each other’s presence. Lauriam laughed more at the things that Skuld or Ephemer would say, despite his laugh still sounding off, and he would lounge in the sitting room with them, Skuld and Ephemer’s partner telling some new story they heard from around the Towers.

And while Strelitzia’s absence was still breathtakingly clear some days, like when Elrena would turn to an empty space next to her to say a quip or Lauriam would still sometimes check her room on instinct at night, but those moments were becoming easier to process and deal with.

Brain couldn’t help but feel like he got his Lauriam back, who he had been missing for months.

~

And then the guards from the Castle came.

~

Ephemer was the one to open the door. Brain and Ephemer’s partner were laying on the floor, working on a puzzle together, while Skuld was sitting on the windowsill with Chirithy in her lap, sketching something.

“Can I-” Ephemer started only to stop himself rather abruptly. Brain raised his head to look at the other teenager. He was across the hall and even from where he was, Brain could see the tension that had flooded into Ephemer’s frame. “Aeleus,” Ephemer said, and Brain paused, Skuld raising her head at the note of concern in Ephemer’s voice.

Brain had met Aeleus once or twice, mostly just had him pointed out to him by Lauriam during the times they would be near the Castle in their youth. The older man had been already training to be a guardsman by the time Brain had seen him and last Brain checked, Aeleus had achieved his goal. So, why was he here?

“I’m here to talk to the Head’s Betrothed,” Aeleus said, and Brain felt the two gazes of the other two in the room land on him. Confusion raced through him. Why was Aeleus here to talk to him? He stood on slightly shaking feet.

“I’m here,” he called out, moving to instead sit on the couch. “You can let him in, Eph.” Ephemer turned back to him, worry still written across his face.

“Okay… but it’s not just him,” Ephemer told him as he back away from the door and allowed Aeleus in. Brain tipped his head in confusion but as Aeleus moved to the side to allow Ephemer to close the door, Brain got a glance of several more guards standing in the garden area and his blood ran cold. What the hell had happened?

Skuld’s partner stood as Aeleus entered, backing up until they were sitting by Skuld. Chirithy crossed from her lap into theirs and Brain raised an eyebrow at them. Did they need to leave? He knew they still didn’t do too well with groups of people, especially with people they didn’t know, despite almost eight years between now and their attack. But they shook their head slowly and Skuld wrapped an arm around their waist, pulling them closer to her and nearly into her lap, so Brain directed his attention back to Aeleus.

“Aeleus,” Brain greeted quietly, curling his hands together to try and stop them from shaking. A sinking pit in his stomach. Aeleus scrutinized him for a second and Ephemer crossed behind him towards his partners, keeping a close eye on what was happening.

“Are you aware of what Lauriam has been doing?” Aeleus asked suddenly and Brain’s mind blanked. What… Lauriam had been… doing…?

“What?” He asked, pure confusion fueling the question and Aeleus relaxed slightly before nodding.

“Good,” he muttered before raising his voice to a normal level. “The Leaders said you didn’t, but I had to check.”

The Leaders… of Scala Ad Caelum… had told Aeleus that Brain didn’t know what…

Lauriam had been doing.

He felt like he was floating for a second before everything hit him like a ton of bricks.

“What has Lauriam done?” He asked, his mouth feeling dry and sticky and all he could think about was the fact that Lauriam’s laugh had been off and he had been disappearing with Elrena and his eyes were yellow and he didn’t get amused by the same things he used to and-

“You should come with us,” Aeleus said gently, and Brain felt like his world was crashing down around him.

~

Ephemer and Skuld had come with him. He hadn’t insisted on it, but they had, refusing to leave his side despite their own clear confusion. The other guards had disappeared into Brain’s home while Ephemer and Skuld’s partner went home. Aeleus led them to the Castle. Brain distantly thought that the walk to the Castle used to take longer.

It was loud, in the Castle, louder than it should have been and there were more guards running around than Brain had ever seen and he could see the Heirs to Noble Houses Concentio and Poena were sitting close to each other in an alcove, chattering quietly, but they stopped when Brain passed them. The servants of the Castle threw themselves out of the way and Ephemer’s hand tightened on his while Skuld stayed close behind them. Aeleus didn’t say anything.

The noise was coming from the throne room and as Aeleus threw open the doors to it, the noise grew to its loudest before abruptly becoming quiet as everyone turned to see who had entered. And if it was possible, it became quieter.

Brain felt like everyone was staring at him. Ephemer’s hand grew to a bruising grip on his own.

The Leaders both looked up when Brain walked further into the room and while her husband looked away, the technical Queen of Scala got a concerned or pained expression on her face and walked off the dais, hurrying over to Brain.

“I’m sorry we asked you to come,” she told him quietly, but it was still heard by everyone. “But I think you deserve to know from us instead of other ways.”

“Know what?” Brain asked, resisting the urge to step back and hide behind Skuld. He didn’t like this. Not at all.

A low laugh interrupted them before the Leader could say anything else and Brain froze. Because he knew that laugh. It had been haunting his mind late at night as he worried about the changes to his Betrothed. It had echoed down the nearly empty hallways of the house and Brain had heard it curled up on an armchair, watching his friends interact through half lidded eyes hidden under the rim of his hat.

He knew that laugh.

“Are you aware of what Lauriam has been doing?”

The technical Queen’s eyes closed quickly before opening slowly. “I’m sorry we couldn’t give you more warning,” she told him gently before turning and walking back to the dais. And when Brain followed her more on instinct then anything, he saw Lauriam.

His Betrothed was down on the ground, forced to his knees as two guards restrained his hands behind him. His yellow eyes flashed with malice and his mouth was twisted into a cruel smirk.

“Lauriam?” Brain’s voice was barely a whisper, but it was heard all the same. Lauriam’s eyes flicked to him and for a second, the look on his face faded away and Lauriam instead looked at Brain in shock, but that quickly disappeared with the smirk returning to Lauriam’s face.

“What’s going on?” Brain asked, turning his gaze towards the Leaders while his body remained facing Lauriam once it became clear that no one was going to say anything without prompting.

The technical Queen sighed quietly, closing her eyes for a second, as if stealing herself, before opening them and staring directly at Brain while her voice traveled around the room. While she was speaking to Brain, her words were clearly meant for everyone.

“At the early hours of the morning today, the guard were alerted when a nearly dead man appeared on the steps of palace, speaking of being kidnapped and experiments that were apparently run on him. He was brought before us and we… were able to confirm that something unnatural had indeed been done to him,” the technical Queen stated. Brain felt that one: he was being kept in the dark about something, if her tone and the way she danced around the words were true, and two: he saw where this was going and wanted to yell “Stop!” He didn’t want to know this.

“Using the man’s descriptions of places and people he could remember; we were able to find where he had been kept. And who had been keeping him.” The technical Queen’s eyes dropped down to Lauriam. Brain had to remind himself how to breathe.

“The three people responsible for it were the Heir to the Noble House Fulgur, Elrena, the guardsman known as Dilan, and the Head of the Noble House Flores, Marluxia.” Brain flinched at that. He knew that Lauriam had taken a Title after he had returned from his journey, of course he knew. It would have been expected of Lauriam, with him being the Head of the House, and he knew that technically he would’ve been expected to take one soon but…

But…

Lauriam had done this? His Lauriam had kidnapped people, experimented on them? And Elrena was also a part of it?

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

Brain’s eyes left the Queen’s and instead found their way to Lauriam. He stared into Lauriam’s eyes, trying to ask him with his eyes to tell him it wasn’t true. There was no way it could be true. Lauriam wouldn’t…

Lauriam promised once not to lie to you either.

“You… did this?” Brain asked in a shaking voice and Lauriam almost seemed to… relax at Brain’s question, no longer fighting as much against the guards holding him. He shrugged one shoulder, a slow, calculated movement that Brain had never seen Lauriam do before.

“I wanted answers,” Lauriam said, eyes not leaving Brain’s. “What better way to get them? Why should it matter anyway? All in the name of discovery.”

That… That wasn’t his Lauriam. It couldn’t be. His Lauriam would never, ever think of someone like that. It just… wasn’t possible.

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

The technical Queen switched from looking at Lauriam to instead looking behind Brain and nodded quickly. A second later, Brain felt Ephemer’s hands circle around his upper arms, starting to gently pull him backwards. He was still dealing with the shock of everything that had just happened, so his legs stumbled easily backwards, following Ephemer’s prompting. Skuld reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to turn him away. He resisted then.

Twisting his head back, he attempted to keep Lauriam in view. He couldn’t just leave him, even with what he had done. But shock made him weak and Skuld was able to circle around him, forcing him to look away in order to keep his balance as Ephemer continued to pull him out of the room.

Noise was already starting to pick up again as different Nobles started to speak on what Lauriam said, so Brain’s denials and attempts to stop his friends went unheard. Or ignored.

Ephemer’s hand tightened further as he led Brain out and Brain only managed to look back once.

Yellow eyes met grey. There were no remnants of their old selves in their eyes.

Skuld slid between the two of them and Ephemer made it to the door. That was the last time Brain would ever see Lauriam again.

~

Lauriam was banished a week later. Brain found out two days after that. He stopped speaking.

~

Hazy. Alone. Cold nights and colder days. His voice was gone, piles of books thrown to the floor as denial and anger went through him.

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

Lauriam was gone, he couldn’t even ask him what the hell he had been thinking.

Shattering glasses and plants left to wither.

Lea and Isa, trying to help, trying to be a friend because they had been there apparently and had seen everything, but belief was gone for Isa.

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

Lea offered comforting words. He didn’t believe Lauriam could do it either.

He couldn’t be gone, he couldn’t be.

Pacing up and down hallways, blood spilling from nail shaped wounds.

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

Staring out of windows, standing in the rain on a balcony.

Their rooms, once filled with life and joy, a broken reflection of what was.

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

Lauriam, what happened? What happened?

Watching eyes of friends who meant well.

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

~

“Brain?” Skuld asked quietly as she leaned on the doorway, looking into the library. Brain was sitting on the “depression chair” as Skuld called it, and his eyes were blank. Not looking at anything. Not at books, not even something that he could only see in his mind. He was just sitting there.

Inside him, his thoughts always swirled in circles. Lauriam, why did you do that? Did you even do that? It couldn’t have been you, it just couldn’t have.

“Brain?” Skuld asked again and he finally blinked and looked at her.

In the four years since Lauriam was banished, Brain hadn’t ever gotten angry. Never lashed out at Skuld, Ephemer, or their partner, who were the only people who still interacted with him normally. Lea and Isa had visited once or twice, both having had a friendship with Lauriam when he was still around, but even their attempted conversations weren’t enough to pull him from the silence he had fallen into and while Lea had confided in him privately that he didn’t believe that Lauriam could have done what they said he did either, it did nothing to bring his voice back. Though it had brough smiles, as miniscule as they were.

His mind scoffed more than once that he was firmly still stuck in the denial phase of grief, but he pushed back against it. What did he have to grieve? It wasn’t like Lauriam was dead. Or that he even had a right or reason to grieve Lauriam. Lauriam had betrayed him, had used his love for him to keep secrets and hurt people and lie and kidnap and-

He didn’t, he couldn’t have. They were wrong, they had to be wrong. Lauriam wouldn’t… His Lauriam wouldn’t…

“Brain?” He blinked again and Skuld was in front of him suddenly, her hands holding his own. Her eyes gazed into his and he saw what he always did. Foolish hope in her eyes that maybe today would be the day he started speaking and dull resignation in his.

A scream split the air from outside and Skuld’s hands turned vice-like on his before she abruptly ripped them away from him with a panicked expression on her face and turned and ran out. He paused for a second, his heart still pounding without his permission at the scream. It had sounded… horrible. Like someone was dying.

Pushing himself to his feet, he hurried out of the library and down the hallway, stopping at the top of the stairs to stare at the three twenty-year-olds below him.

He tapped on the banister as he headed down the stairs as quickly as his neglected body could handle and the three others turned to him.

“Scala’s under attack,” Ephemer said seriously, and Brain felt the blood drain from his face as another scream ripped through the air. With barely a glance between them, the three partners turned and threw open the doors. Their Keyblades flashed into their hands and as Brain walked to the doorway and looked out, he watched Skuld slash through some… beast with Dream’s Knowledge. Ephemer attacked another with Truth Seeker while their partner faced down a third with Voiceless held in their grip.

Brain debated going out to join them. He wanted to, very badly, but he hadn’t done anything in the past four years. He hadn’t summoned Master’s Defender since Lauriam had been banished, mostly due to the memories associated with it. And most of the powerful spells required the use of voices.

So he stayed hovering in the open door, one hand gripped on the door frame as he watched his friends fight beast after beast. And when the guards came, they brought news.

Devastating news.

It’s not possible.

Because Lau- Marluxia couldn’t just leave him alone, could he?

How could it be possible?

How dare it be possible.

The knowledge that this was Marluxia’s doing seemed to ignite something in his heart, the shaking, broken, shattered thing, and Master’s Defender flashed to life, slicing through another beast as it tried to skewer one of the guards. Not that it mattered anyway. The same guard went down a minute to another beast as they tried to evacuate the First Tower.

But Skuld pressed her back to his, Dream’s Knowledge knowing how to fight next to Master’s Defender after so long, and for a second it felt right. Not perfect, there were still missing pieces, broken holes in his heart, but at least he knew that all of his friends weren’t gone.

Then one of the beasts carved its claws into Ephemer and Skuld’s partner’s throat and everything fell apart again.

~

The Leaders were dead, killed by Marluxia in the throne room. The prince and his friend, Lea, whom he was so enamored with, had gone to confront Marluxia, with Isa now an orphan and Lea’s status unknown. Even and Ienzo, two children the Leaders were fostering, were missing, kidnapped by Marluxia and his group. Isa was the new Leader, put there by Marluxia’s actions taking away his parents.

Marluxia, who got away.

It was possible.

Brain left that very night, everything he wanted packed into a small bag and everything else left in the big house that had been Lauriam’s, then theirs, then his, and then no ones. He knew where he could go, Lauriam had shown him the house once, a nearly abandoned thing that everyone had forgotten about in the Fourth Tower. If he was feeling better, he would leave Scala all together. But that also ran the risk of finding Marluxia one day.

So, he ran, ignoring the smallest part of him that wailed and raged about why Marluxia had done this, why he had betrayed, not just them, but everyone. The hat that had the Crest of House Flores on it was left abandoned on the floor, doomed to collect dust.

He got to the house and placed the bag on the floor and finally allowed himself to collapse, knees buckling and ending with him kneeling in the entrance hall, the closed door the only defense between him and the outside world. What was the world thinking of him now?

A whole day went by, he tracked it by the sun that streamed in, then out of the windows by the door. His head and stomach hurt from lack of water and food, and he was close to falling asleep, but he couldn’t. Because all the actions of Marluxia were running through his head, making his hands shake and his mind spat words of poison at him.

Dissociation wasn’t a new feeling to him. He had spent weeks in the past simply watching the world go by.

Then, as the middle of the day had just passed, and the sun was beginning to start its decline again the door opened and swung open with a click. He didn’t look up to check. He didn’t care.

“Oh, Brain,” Skuld whispered out and hands were on his shoulders in a second, wrapping him in a hug, making his body move and his head pound. He heard Ephemer’s footsteps as they walked around him and suddenly his throat unstuck like it hadn’t been able to do in the past four years.

“Why are you here?” He asked quietly and he could feel Skuld freeze up in shock at his voice. It’s husky and rough from disuse, but it’s still his voice. The hug tightened even further around him.

“We’re here because you are,” Skuld told him and there was an answering hum from Ephemer. Brain heard the bag he had dropped get picked up. “And we won’t leave.” Brain didn’t answer, instead he leaned back further into her embrace.

“You promise?” He asked, the people he’d lost, willingly and unwillingly, flashing through his mind.

“I promise,” she said, and he blinked again, feeling all his tiredness hit him at once.

“What about… your partner?” He questioned quietly and Skuld swallowed briefly.

“We’ll get by,” she whispered out and Brain heard Ephemer take a seat next to her. “We’ll figure it out together.”

~

The first night he slept in the house, he had a nightmare of Lauriam stabbing the Leaders of Scala, their blood arcing through the air and staining Brain’s clothes red. He woke screaming and Ephemer came and slept with him that night, a hand on his shoulder to keep him grounded.

~

Marluxia blinked quietly as he moved, robotically going through the motions.

Lauriam fell to the glass on his Station of Awakening, the darkness once again dragging his limbs down and smothering his movements. Brain, his mind told him. You have to escape for Brain.

~

Ephemer burned candles every year for their missing partner.

Skuld threw herself into Keyblade training, soon able to match wits with even the most skilled of fighters.

Brain pretended not to notice the hat that Ephemer had placed in the closet, the broken missing piece.

Skuld hung the painting that they had gotten done on Strelitzia’s thirteenth birthday, a week before everything fell apart the first time.

Ephemer hadn’t ever proposed to Skuld, not in the conventional way, but they came home one day after a conversation, tied by all the legal means. It felt wrong, without a third name on the dotted line.

Brain never stayed out late to chart the stars.

Ephemer and Skuld were named Keyblade Masters on the eve of Skuld’s twenty-sixth birthday.

Brain’s Keyblade never came when he called, though he never did.

Ten years passed, missing half of their hearts.

~

A decade later, Brain was still having nightmares. He still dreamt of Lauriam and nights under the stars, of bloodstained paths and bodies that didn’t stay, of sparring together and not caring who won, of Lauriam’s eyes and the way they flashed in anger and triumph as he was pinned to the ground of the throne room, of the races the seven of them used to do as they ran up and down Scala’s Towers, of not so right laughs and placating lies.

Every night he woke up in a cold sweat or panting or screaming or quietly and the nights where he woke quietly were the worst nights. The nights where he woke naturally after a dream of leaning on Lauriam’s side as they shared a book between them or Lauriam’s hands in his as they danced together under the light of the moon the day that Brain turned thirteen or the time Brain convinced Lauriam to try spicy food and laughed for hours at Lauriam’s reaction.

Those were the worst nights because instead of waking up from a nightmare, he woke up to one.

Ephemer and Skuld had made good on their promise. By the end of the first week, they had fully moved into the house. When Brain’s nightmares tormented him, one of them would come curl up in bed with him, hands holding his, guarding him from his own mind. They refused to let him lie in bed or sit in a chair all day. Skuld brought him food and waited until he’d eaten the whole thing. Ephemer dragged him into the garden to show him the flowers he had planted or the insects that crawled over the leaves. Both of them brought back books they knew Brain used to love, piled shelves full of puzzles, and spent uncountable hours sitting quietly with Brain, watching him carefully.

Brain wasn’t exaggerating when he said they saved his life. He wouldn’t still be here if not for them. Whether by dehydration or starvation or works by his own hand.

And he wasn’t… content by any means, but he was resigned. To live in his hollow life that lost all its color the day blood spattered the streets, and all peace of mind fled with Brain’s Betrothed. He never was able to summon Master’s Defender again after that day.

The days he wanted to torture himself the most, he thought about what he could’ve done. How he could have changed the outcome. He could have gone with Lauriam when he left Scala, could have kept him on the right path. He could have refused to let Lauriam leave, could have told him to stay at a different Tower instead of a different world where Brain couldn’t reach.

Or maybe it was always destined to happen. Brain could have noticed the changes better, could have insisted on bringing attention to it. Could have gone to confront Lauriam the day he slaughtered all those people, could have stopped him before he escaped with the Leaders’ blood on his hands.

I want to study Destiny, he had said to Lauriam that night. If I had done that, had done what Lauriam said I should, could I have stopped it? Could I have saved him from himself?

Those were the days that Skuld and Ephemer had to work their hardest to drag him out of his depression, to try and keep him out of his own head.

And it seemed like those days would never end.

Until Axel showed up on their doorstep, with news that shattered their whole lives.

Brain knew that something was happening at the First Tower. He had seen the beasts, heard the whispers that the Leaders were dead or missing, had watched the people of Scala retreat into their homes. But he did his best not to think about it because he knew what would happen if he did.

He recognized the beasts, of course he did. He would never forget them. They had been there when Marluxia had been, had killed people under Marluxia’s orders. He knew that meant that Marluxia had returned.

He couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t want to think about it. He would destroy himself if he did.

And then Axel appeared with the information that Lauriam had been controlled for fourteen years and hadn’t done anything that they had accused him of.

Brain had broken down as soon as Axel had left, falling to the ground as his mind whirled. His Lauriam… had been controlled? He hadn’t done anything?

It’s not possible, it’s not possible, it’s not possible.

He could distantly hear Skuld and Ephemer as they tried to talk to him, tried to get him to come back to them, to leave his head. But he couldn’t.

His Lauriam. Was alive. Was still there.

His Lauriam had been controlled for fourteen years.

Axel needn’t’ve asked. He would do anything to save his Lauriam. Even if Lauriam wasn’t his Lauriam anymore. He didn’t deserve to call him that anymore. Not after missing all the signs, not once but twice.

He swallowed, finally looking up at Skuld and Ephemer. The two looked back at him with panic for him and shock about the news in their eyes.

“I’m going,” he told them and saw Skuld’s eyes close slowly before they opened again.

“I thought you might,” she said. “We’re coming too.” Brain nodded quietly and reached up a hand, allowing Ephemer to help him stand.

Hang on, Lauriam. We’re coming.

Lauriam’s blue eyes flickered in his mind again and he felt Master’s Defender flash into his hand.

The hat hiding in the back of his closet seemed to call for him.

We’re coming.

Chapter Text

Sora took a deep breath in as he emerged from the portal, dropping into a crouch instantly, following Riku’s approach. The shadows from the ledge of the Castle they crouched on hid both of their bodies from the prying eyes of the Heartless but let them look out into the courtyard of the Castle.

The sun burned down on them, the normal lack of clouds not really surprising but Sora knew that he wasn’t the only one who had hoped futilely that maybe it would be cloudy and dark to give them more cover. Oh well.

The last set of footsteps sounded behind them, and Kairi knelt down next to him.

“I’m coming too,” Kairi announced as Riku mapped out the parts of the Keybearers, hands moving across the maps. “I’m not letting you walk off again.”

“Kairi,” Riku started, looking up to her. “You realize how dangerous it will be for you to go, right? You don’t have a Keyblade, meaning you can’t attack or destroy the Heartless.”

“I don’t care,” she said, stubbornly, her hands curling into fists at her side. “I don’t want to be separated from Sora or you again.” Sora frowned and turned to her.

“Kairi, Riku’s right,” he told her, reaching out to take her hand, feeling it relax slightly in his grip. He gave her a smile, which she did return but didn’t look swayed. “It would be much safer for you to stay with Aqua and Terra.” She shook her head once, a familiar glint in her eye that spoke of determination that Sora knew he wouldn’t be able to undo. But he had to try.

“Kairi,” Riku said again but was cut off by Cloud.

“Let her go,” Cloud said, and Sora turned to him in surprise. Didn’t he realize that letting Kairi go would hurt her? “If she doesn’t go with you, she’ll just go after you. And that could put her in even more danger.” Riku sighed and Kairi smiled, probably realizing that she had won the argument.

“You’d just follow us?” Sora checked, mostly unneeded because he knew the truth, and Kairi nodded firmly.

“Not being separated from you again,” she confirmed, and Sora gritted his teeth. It would be very nice to have Kairi close to him, he wasn’t going to doubt that. He wouldn’t be as worried about her if she was close by, but at the same time…

“Fine,” Riku said and that was that.

“Can you see the others?” Riku asked and Sora leaned forward the slightest bit just as the portal behind them disappeared in a flash. In the ledge across from them, another shadow portal swirled to life and Xion and Roxas fell out of it, dropping into crouches much like he and Riku had done.

“They’re here,” Sora replied and Riku nodded once.

“The distraction should be happening any second now.”

If we timed it right, Sora thought.

“What about the Heartless?” Hayner asked, watching Riku’s finger skate across the map as he tracked his and the other Keybearers path through the Castle. “Won’t they just stop you?”

“That’s where the rest of you come in,” Riku said, looking back up to them. “The rest of you can’t come with because you aren’t Keybearers. But, like Hayner said, there’s still the secret passages. You can use them to get to different places and get around the Towers. We just need you to make distractions, something to drag the Heartless’s attentions away from the Castle.”

“Like what?” Olette asked and Riku smirked.

“Axel, how quickly can you teach them about fire safety?”

Sora gazed off into the distance. While most of the distraction was, unfortunately, not going to be visible to those in the First Tower, the signal was, and that was what Sora was watching for.

Kairi shifted beside him, and Sora focused on her while keeping his eyes on the sky. “Nervous?” He questioned quietly and she paused in her movements.

“Kinda?” She admitted. “I’m not nervous for us, I’m just wondering where the people that Axel went for are.”

“He went and talked to them yesterday,” Sora reminded her, and she nodded, biting her lip again.

“He did, but we never learned how that went.” Sora tipped his head in agreement at that statement and bit the inside of his cheek. While Axel had talked about the person he had met as being a good thing if they wanted to save Marluxia, he hadn’t ever really insisted that the person was important. Or elaborated on anything he did while he was gone or even if they would show up.

“We can probably do this without them, if they don’t show up?” He tried and Kairi furrowed her eyebrows, about to say something, but was cut off when an explosion of sparks went off in the distance, almost like a combination of a firework and the symbol that Riku had done when he first returned to Scala. Sora felt his breath get stolen from his chest for the quickest second. Here we go.

“Signal,” Riku murmured out and leaned forward, a familiar glint in his eye that reminded Sora of the look in Riku’s eyes that day in the storm or facing down the Heartless while attempting to escape the city. It reassured him. “Ready?” Both Sora and Kairi nodded and Riku cast an Aero spell on them at the same time that Axel appeared out of a portal in the courtyard, taking a slash through the remaining Heartless down there.

The three of them leaped off the ledge, mirroring Xion and Roxas who did the same thing, and landed safely on the ground. Riku shot forward, helping to get rid of the last Heartless while Sora stayed back, carefully guarding Kairi.

A quick Haste spell had Xion rocketing over to their side while Roxas fell into step with Riku, taking care of the Heartless. “Hopefully, having multiple attacks going from multiple places will rattle them,” Xion mentioned to them, but Sora could see that she was just as nervous as them. Her hand came up and rubbed at her chest slightly, something she didn’t even seem to notice she was doing. Sora winced when he saw that.

Cloud and Axel had both said that Xion was ready for combat again as she had been practically doused in Curaga spells all of yesterday and a little of today, in order to not get Magic Exhaustion, and was healed. While Sora would probably argue with that, he wasn’t the one who grew up with healing spells, so he simply let it happen.

Xion’s words were seemingly proven false however, as several more Heartless sprouted from the ground. Sora tightened his grip on Kingdom Key and shot forward, trusting Kairi’s protection to Xion. He sliced through a Heartless, landing next to Riku, who had fire sparking from his hand and two Heartless facing him down.

“So, we underestimated the amount of Heartless,” he muttered to Riku whose eyes narrowed in frustration. “Now what?” Riku was about to answer as a Heartless forced them apart but both of them paused as the feeling of a powerful amount of magic settled into the air, a second before the words were uttered. What-?

“Thundaza!” Sora was thrown backwards by the amount of force that the spell expelled, feeling his back slam into the wall of the building behind him. Kairi and Xion hit the ground with as much force as him next to him and, raising his head, he could see Riku slide backwards from the blow, in the opposite direction that Sora had been flung, catching Roxas before he hit the wall. Even Axel had been thrown backwards, the Second King frowning but there was a spark of recognition in his eyes.

As the smoke cleared and revealed the decimated ground nearly clean of the Heartless, Sora was able to see who had thrown the spell.

It was a woman, long, black hair flowing behind her from the wind. Her Keyblade, which was a mix of gold and blue, was sparking by her side, having been used as a conduit for the spell. Next to her, a man with white hair and a red scarf held his own Keyblade and there was a cat balanced on his shoulders. Behind both of them, walking forward, there was a man with black hair wearing a fedora. He didn’t have a Keyblade.

“Skuld,” Axel said, looking towards the woman. “Ephemer. I didn’t know if you were coming.”

“Lauriam is our friend,” Skuld responded, swiping the last of the smoke away with her Keyblade. “We couldn’t not be here.” The man without a Keyblade walked past her, eyes raising to look up to the Castle. Sora could see his hands twitching.

“Axel’s friends,” he said softly, and Kairi nodded.

“Have to be.” Xion scooted close to them and placed a quick Cure spell on them, causing the slight aches and pains from being thrown into the wall to disappear.

“Brain,” Axel greeted softly, and the man turned back, grey eyes cold and unflinching. A roar sounded from behind them and the three turned around to see one of the big ones rising from the ground, pounding its huge fists on the cobblestone. Sora winced at the motion and looked over to Kairi, whose eyes were wide. For a second, Sora could almost feel the rain again.

The sound of a Keyblade summoning rung through the air and Sora looked back in time to see Brain summon his Keyblade in a flash of light, leaping into the air in a jump that had to be supported by magic and aiming his Keyblade at the Heartless. A ball of light exploded from the tip and shot the creature, impacting and sending waves of light dancing down the creature. It reeled backwards, roaring in pain and agony before kneeling over and vanishing.

Holy-! Sora watched as Brain landed back on the ground, reaching one hand up to steady his hat. He could see the same shock written across everyone’s face, including Axel’s. All except for the two who came with him, smiles stretching across their faces.

“Go into the Castle,” Skuld instructed, pushing her hair out of her eyes and giving them a grim smile. “Stop this.” She turned to look to Ephemer, who nodded once, his grip on his own Keyblade tightening slightly. “We will make sure nothing interferes with you.” Axel paused for a second before nodding, gazing at them with an unreadable expression.

Riku hurried over and grabbed Sora’s arm, helping him to his feet. He stumbled slightly but managed to right himself. Kairi looked at him.

“You sure you want to come with us?” He asked her and she nodded again.

“Of course,” she said, reaching out to grasp his hand, squeezing it gently. “You’re not going anywhere without me.” He nodded again and the three of them followed Axel, Xion, and Roxas into the Castle.

The Second King turned back to them once they hit the foyer. Sora could see the way he was carefully avoiding looking at the walls and he wondered why. Was it something from his last fight with Marluxia, when Scala fell a couple of days ago? “Take care of any of the Heartless you find in the Castle, but don’t interact with any of the people. Not until I return with Saïx.” The teenagers nodded, this part of the plan already carefully ironed out, and the Keyblade Master disappeared into a Dark Corridor.

The five teenagers exchanged glances before falling into a position without talking at all. They crept through the hallways, Riku leading the way with Sora at the back, Roxas and Xion taking the sides, carefully boxing Kairi in the middle of them.

Sora paused as they passed a window, which showed the rest of the Towers. Aqua, Terra, Vanitas, Ven, you better be okay, he thought, biting his tongue to stop the words from slipping out of his mouth. You can’t die on me, not after everything. We’re all getting out of this.

“It’s too quiet,” Roxas said after a minute as the group of them turned down another hallway. Both Sora and Kairi jumped slightly at his voice, and Sora could see that the others had had similar reactions. All of them were on edge.

“Wasn’t that the point?” Sora asked, Kingdom Key held in a tight grip as his gaze flicked from the hallways to Kairi. “We wanted the Heartless away from the Castle. So, they wouldn’t interfere too much with the plan.”

“Maybe,” Roxas muttered out. “But it just feels… unnatural.” Like the city, Sora’s thoughts whispered, and he shoved those away instantly. They weren’t in the city, they weren’t anywhere near the city. It just felt off for… other reasons. But he looked over and could see Kairi with a similar look to Roxas and he gritted his teeth. He knew Kairi had felt off in the city, she had told him, but… why would this place feel like the city?

Riku made a noise in the back of his throat and the rest of them fell silent as Riku paused in walking forward, eyes flicking around the room.

“What is it, Riku?” Xion asked quietly after a second and Riku turned back to her, opening his mouth only to stop and shoot forward, tackling her to the ground just as a scythe sliced through the air where she had been standing. The portal it had come from grew bigger as the others shouted, Sora racing forward and placing himself between Kairi and the portal.

Marluxia emerged from the portal, eyes flashing and scythe spinning at his side.

“Back so soon?”

~

“Isa!” His eyes slid open at the familiar voice, the Strings tugging at his consciousness. Get up, it’s time. “Isa!”

“Lea?” He forced out, voice cracking from the strain of it and he heard the footsteps pause before picking up again.

“Isa? Where are you?” His husband… was here? The Strings yanked again, and he closed his eyes, falling back into them, despite the headache that gripped him when he did that. Where are you? He reached out, feeling them race across the Castle and Scala, weaving and wrapping around the Prophecy Bearers. “It’s started,” they whispered. “It has begun.”

Dragging their attention away from Destiny, they focused back on what their Wielder wanted. Wrapping around the Death-Defier they tugged at his feet, at his mind. “This way.”

His eyes slid back open as he let go of the Strings, feeling like he had just fought for days on end. His limbs felt heavier, and he spared a single thought to what could possibly be suppressing his Magics like that, before Lea rounded the corner, burning through the bars with little effort.

“Isa!” Lea kneeled down next to his husband, hands resting on his shoulders and pulling him until Isa’s head rested in his lap. “Are you okay?”

“Maybe,” Isa croaked out, watching all of the tension bleed out of Lea’s shoulders at his words. “Something here is… wrong.”

“Wrong? How wrong?” Isa shook his head against Lea’s questions, the Strings continuing to pull at him.

“Help me leave,” he requested. “I’ll be fine then.” Lea looked like he was going to argue but didn’t, instead helping Isa sit up.

“About that…” Lea started, and Isa’s eyes looked him over, Magic instinctively latching onto the remnants of it that swirled in Lea’s chest, settling his few worries. He knew, he knew that Lea couldn’t die from conventional means but… watching Marluxia’s scythe cut through him just like it had ten years prior… His other Magic hadn’t been able to comprehend it.

“What’s wrong?” He asked as Lea helped him to his feet, having to lean heavily on his husband. “What’s changed?”

Lea sucked in a breath, and, in the firelight of the dungeon, his eyes looked sad. “A lot.”

Isa looked to him. There wasn’t much that Lea could know that Isa wouldn’t Know, but… “Tell me.”

Chapter Text

Riku felt his shoulders slam into the wall as he wrapped around Xion and yanked her down and backwards, clearly nearly tripping up Roxas as they slid backwards. Pandemonium erupted around them as Roxas, Sora, and Kairi shouted in surprise as Marluxia appeared and Riku tightened his arms briefly around Xion. He wasn’t going to lose her, not when he almost did the day before.

“Back so soon?” Marluxia asked, smile clear in his voice, and Riku growled as he sat up, Xion leaning on his side, and pressed a hand against the wall, ready to shove himself up. Sora had thrown himself between Kairi and Marluxia, Kingdom Key flashing to life in his hands and Roxas had backed up, Oblivion held at the ready.

For a second, none of them moved, all silently watching the other. They were not prepared for this, they hadn’t counted on it without Axel or Saïx being there, they were idiots, they were fools, how were they going to face Marluxia again?

Then Marluxia swirled his scythe into a ready position and Riku shoved himself to his feet, Way To The Dawn flashing into his hand as he surged forward, slamming his Keyblade into Marluxia’s weapon. Better him than the others.

Marluxia pushed back, heat expanding from his fingertips as he aimed a Fira at Xion, and Riku twisted his grip, trying to shove their weapons into Marluxia’s hand, to knock off his aim. But the older man was ready for it and used the opportunity to break the blade lock with Riku, sending him staggering away and the Fira shot towards Xion, only barely being stopped by a Shield spell. Sora moved forward then, trying to push Marluxia down the hallway and away from Kairi, who had backed up into the wall, eyes skating between the different combatants. This was why he didn’t want to bring her. Xion pushed herself to her feet, Oathkeeper appearing in a flash of light.

“Move Sora,” she snapped out, the words making their way to the boy, and Sora dove out of the way just in time to avoid the Blizzara that she sent back in return. Marluxia ducked, making most of the spell miss its mark, but miniscule icicles clung to his hair and clothes. Xion screwed up her face in disappointment but moved forward, tag teaming with Roxas in an effort to get a hit in.

Riku pushed himself back into the fight, slicing away one of the Heartless that had appeared from the wall. Unfortunately, it seemed their plan to distract all of the Heartless hadn’t worked the way they wanted it to, but there were at least less Heartless than before. There had to be less Heartless than before.

Sora retreated back to protect Kairi from the few Heartless in the hallway and Xion was pushed backwards by another spell from Marluxia. Riku moved into her empty spot, almost managing to get a strike in on Marluxia’s side, only to be stopped at the last second. A Shield spell expanded between them, making Riku take several steps backwards and he gritted his teeth, waiting for it to flicker and fade. At least now that they knew that someone else was puppeting his body, specifically through the Heart, it made sense why he was able to do spells, even with a Bound Heart.

He took the opportunity to look around. Fighting in a hallway wasn’t the best situation for them to be in. It was cramped, too much like the maze corridors, and there wasn’t anywhere to hide if need be.

Roxas attacked Marluxia next, from behind, taking advantage of Marluxia’s temporary distraction of the Shield spell to get in a hit on his shoulder. Marluxia snarled and pushed back, allowing the Shield spell to disintegrate. Riku shot forward but Marluxia turned, seemingly expecting it.

Riku saw the kick a second before it connected with him and he did his best to brace himself as it impacted his chest, knocking the breath out of him and sending him soaring backwards. He heard both Xion and Sora cry out and he felt Way To The Dawn slip from his hand, falling to the ground and vanishing. Then his back hit the wall and everything else whited out.

Impacts hit his shoulders, back, and arms as he hit the floor, rolling several feet, head smacking into the ground and causing a ringing noise to start in his ears. He slumped to the ground with no energy to push himself up, feeling like he had just gotten hit by several huge Heartless all at once. He rolled to the ground, coughing and choking on the dust that had been disturbed from his impact. Rhyme shrieked in surprise, the beasts coming out of nowhere and he heard Beat’s yell of worry.

“Riku!” Someone shouted and all of sudden there were hands on him, pressing into his shoulders and shaking, turning him onto his back. A face with red hair popped into his line of vision and he squinted his eyes in confusion, trying to fix his vision slightly. She looked different.

“Shiki?” He asked and Shiki looked down at him, worry written in every line on her face. What was Shiki doing? When he was hit, she needed to keep moving. If the beasts hit him, they could hit her. “Keep… moving, Shiki,” he advised her. Joshua would be there in a second anyway, he always was, and then he would be up and moving soon. He rolled back slightly to get a little more comfortable, even if he was in pain from every part of his body. The ground felt… different.

“It’s Kairi, Riku,” Shiki told him, placing her hands on the sides of his head. “And I hope this works.” She leaned closer and Riku furrowed his brows. The longer he looked at her, the less like Shiki she looked. “Cura,” she breathed out and Riku took in a huge gasp of air, feeling the fogginess and ringing in his head fade instantly.

Kairi leaned down over him, worry in her eyes, and the sound of fighting rung over the both of them.

“Kairi?” He croaked out and she slumped over, hands grabbing his wrists and squeezing. She whispered out another Cura and he blinked at her. “When… did you learn… to heal?”

She laughed shortly, quiet and bitterly. “Cloud taught me,” she told him. “Last night. I assume that’s why he let me go with you.” Her hands wavered over him, like she wanted to grab him. “Where are you still hurting?” That’s a quick amount of time for someone to learn healing spells, especially if that person didn’t have a Keyblade. Riku shook his head to dislodge the thoughts, trying to focus on what Kairi had asked of him.