Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sora, Donald, and Goofy raced through up the spiral staircase, panting as they climbed. So. Many. Stairs. What was that Riku kept muttering about stairs and the Geneva Convention, whatever that was? Because Sora was starting to feel like he was right. Whose idea was it to make giant staircases like this, huh?

Cresting the stairs, Sora stopped in his tracks at the sight of Kairi - his sister - just lying there on the ground. Motionless. “Kairi!!” he shouted, racing over to her prone form. She had to be okay, she had to be! “Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!” Sora begged, shaking his sister.

“It’s no use.” Two voices spoke at the same time, one of which Sora clearly recognized as Riku’s. Sora turned around, glancing all over for any sign of his brother, before finally spotting him sitting on the piping above the Keyhole. He had the wrong keyblade, which was weird, but that was definitely Riku, down to the protruding ribs and disheveled hair. Sora didn’t see anyone else though, so what was up with the other voice? “That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up.”

“Gir- who are you?! And what did you do with Riku?!” Sora demanded. There was no way Riku would refer to their sister so dismissively. This was a fake! One who couldn’t even get the voice right either!

“The Keyhole cannot be completed so long as the last Princess of Heart still sleeps.” The Riku imposter continued, still speaking with what must be his voice intermixed with Riku’s. He jumped down from the piping above the weird keyhole thing where he’d been sitting to gently float down to the ground.

“A princess…Maleficent called Kairi that too, when Destiny Islands fell.” Sora said, before scowling at the imposter. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m not letting anyone hurt either of my siblings anymore! Now where. Is. Riku?!”

“He sleeps, much like she does.” the Riku imposter said, and what? “His heart slumbers in darkness, whereas hers…slumbers in yours.” The imposter whipped his keyblade out to point at Sora, and a strange, crackling pain erupted in his heart in time with a bloom of pale red light above it. Sora fell to his knees with a cry of pain, one hand supporting himself on the ground while the other clutched at his heart.

“Sora?!” Donald shouted.

“What’s- what was that?!” Sora demanded, looking up at the imposter with a snarl on his face.

“Don’t you see? Your sister’s heart is responding to the keyblade. It has been there all along.” the Riku imposter told him. Sora just stared blankly in response, trying to process what it was he’d just heard.

“Kairi’s…inside me?” Sora murmured, before shaking his head. “And just who are you, huh? You’ve told me where Kairi is, now what about Riku?”

“I am Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.” the Riku imposter - who was Ansem apparently, great - said. “As for Riku, I told you before. His heart slumbers in darkness now. It will not wake, not until I allow it.”

“You- then where is he?!” Sora demanded, the Kingdom Key answering his call as he got to his feet. Donald and Goofy were quick to bring out their own weapons behind him, ready for a fight. Ansem gave them all a condescending look, the expression jarring to see on his brother’s face.

“Right here.” he said dryly, and what?

“What do you mean, right here? Where is he? What did you do with him?!” Sora growled, not in the mood to play games. 

“Oh for- must I spell it out for you, you dim-witted boy? What the boy sees in you, I have no idea…” Ansem groaned, before jabbing a thumb at his chest. “He is right here! This is his body!”

Sora froze. His…body…

“Get out of my brother!!” Sora roared, brandishing the Kingdom Key threateningly. “That’s not yours! It’s his!” That was Riku’s body, and Sora wasn’t going to let this loser take it from him. Not when it was the one thing given to his brother when he'd died, so that he could live again! “I won’t let you take it from him!”

“Yeah! Give it back, or we’ll make you!” Donald growled.

Ansem merely raised an eyebrow - Riku’s eyebrow. “Oh? And hurt your brother in the process?” Sora hesitated. Ansem was in Riku’s body, so, so…how was he supposed to get him out without hurting Riku?! “I see you understand. Finally. Now,” Ansem said, pointing his keyblade at Sora, “I shall release you, princess. You will complete the Keyhole with your power, open the door, and lead me into everlasting darkness!”

“Shove off!” Sora snarled. “There’s no way I’m letting you take Kairi’s heart!” Ansem sneered, raising his keyblade, before pausing.

“Defeating you in this form would be…distasteful, at best. No, you will be fighting me.” he decided, and before Sora could figure out what on this green earth Ansem was talking about darkness burst out from around him, transforming Riku’s body into that of an adult man. One with darker skin than Sora or Riku, long silver hair, and amber eyes, who wore a long black jacket unbuttoned at the front, held closed by a clasp in the shape of the emblem all artificial Heartless were tattooed with.

“Riku!” Sora shouted - what had this guy just done to him?!

“He’s fine. It is merely a spell to change his form to mine, he’ll go back to normal once I leave.” Ansem said, Riku's voice no longer intertwined with his as he waved a gloved hand dismissively, before giving Sora a wry look. “Or would you like the last thing you see to be your brother’s face as I finish you off?”

Sora just gritted his teeth. Where did this guy get off, messing with Riku’s body however he liked?! Even if he had to admit it would be easier to bash this guy’s face in now that it was his own and not his brother’s.

“Sorry Riku, but you’re gonna have to deal with a few bruises.” Sora hissed apologetically, before leveling the Kingdom Key at Ansem. “Bring it on, loser! None of us are letting you anywhere near Kairi’s heart!”

~*~

Ansem staggered back, a look of abject disbelief on his face for a fraction of a second before it disappeared.

“You do realize your sister will never wake up unless her heart leaves yours, correct?” the man asked. Then out of nowhere he tossed his own keyblade towards Sora, the weapon clattering on the ground in front of him.

“Wha…?” Sora gaped, just as stunned as Goofy and Donald were at Ansem’s abrupt decision to disarm himself.

“Not only that, but you cannot close a Keyhole that is incomplete.” Ansem continued, before smirking at Sora. “So, you must choose. Either let the Heartless flood into the worlds from an incomplete Keyhole…or finish it yourself.”

“What are you talking-?” Donald started, only to cut himself off as Sora picked up Ansem’s discarded keyblade, flipping the blade around so that it pointed at his own heart. “Waaak?!”

“Sora! What are ya doin’?!” Goofy yelped, a look of horror on his face at the action. Sora turned his head to glare at Ansem, who was looking at him with an expression of sadistic amusement, that Sora was willingly doing what he’d just been fighting Ansem to stop from doing to him.

“Donald, Goofy…sorry.” Sora said, giving his friends a bittersweet smile. “And, Riku most of all. I guess I can’t keep my promise.”

“I just…what if, after I fall asleep and open my eyes again, everyone and everything I love has disappeared? I know it’s not true, I know I’m not dying again, I just, I can’t get it out of my mind. I can’t.”

“Then I’ll make you a promise! When you wake up in the morning, I’ll still be here! I’ll never disappear on you, not ever!”

“Sorry, Riku. Looks like Kairi will be the only one left to remember.” Sora murmured, before stabbing the keyblade into his own heart. He felt the weapon dissolve under his hands, the hearts it had been made of flying back to their own bodies. And, he felt Kairi’s heart, flying out from his own, returning to where her body lay behind him.

And then…he was falling. Falling, falling, down into the dark. There was only darkness; not a shred of light to be seen. Was this what Riku had felt, when he died? This endless abyss, with no light to be found? He didn’t know. But, he guessed…soon he would.

Chapter Text

Ansem watched Donald and Goofy panic as Sora unlocked his heart with the Keyblade of People’s Hearts, completing the Final Keyhole and setting the seven princesses’ hearts free: both those that made up the keyblade he held and the one trapped in his own heart. Kairi’s eyes opened just in time to see her brother falling backward, glowing with the heart’s light, and just as she tried to catch him- he was gone. Consumed by the darkness.

“Sora! Come back, Sora!” Donald wailed, shouting fruitlessly up at the sparkles of light that were all that remained of the boy.

“Sora…are you really-?” Kairi’s voice cracked, before the Princess of Heart shook her head. “No. He can’t be. I won’t let him go!” she shouted angrily. “Do you hear me, Sora? You don’t get to disappear that easily!”

A boy who disappeared so easily wasn’t worth her time - hers or Riku’s. Ansem cleared his throat, abruptly reminding a startled Donald and Goofy that yes, he was in fact still standing here. Imbeciles. Of course Riku’s fool of a brother would pick equally foolish companions. 

“You! This is all your fault!” Donald shouted, leveling his staff at Ansem, which the Heartless treated as the non-threat it was.

“I see you have awakened.” Ansem said, ignoring the duck in favor of addressing the princess. He raised his hand, gesturing to the Final Keyhole beside them. “The Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose.” Ansem continued, before narrowing his eyes at the motley crew before him. “But now it’s over.”

“Don’t make another move!” Donald shouted in a panic as Ansem began to walk toward where the two imbeciles and the pajama-clad princess stood. They were in the way, and needed to be rem-

A surge of blind terror, a wordless scream in the back of Ansem’s mind, and suddenly every muscle in the Heartless’s borrowed body seized up, leaving him unable to move. Golden light materialized into Riku’s form, standing in front of Ansem as though to block his path. The boy craned his head back, looking at Ansem with a mix of shock and confusion, as though even he didn’t know how he was doing this or what was going on. 

“Y-you...how are you…?” Ansem managed to say, pure shock coursing through his veins at what he was seeing. Riku however was already turning back to the others, the panic he felt echoing back to Ansem, carried by the boy’s heart. A heart that still remained in his body, for all that Riku had somehow managed to project himself out here. 

“What are you doing, run!” Riku yelled at the top of his lungs, his panic only escalating the longer the three stood frozen. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this! So go! Go go go!!”

For a moment, Ansem thought they were going to continue gaping like idiots, but then with a nod from the princess they turned and ran. Heartless answered Ansem’s call - that, it seemed, he was still able to do - and he sent them forth in silent command to occupy the castle. Whether they caught up to the group or not was of no consequence. He just needed a barrier between any interlopers and the Final Keyhole. It was his passageway, and no other’s.

A wave of pure relief washed over Riku’s heart, bringing Ansem’s attention back to more important things. Such as the boy who should not be awake. 

“Riku…” Ansem breathed.

“Wait, how the heck- no, Sora.” Riku cut himself off, before shaking his head. “Doesn’t matter, I won’t let you touch them! I- you used me!” Betrayal, frustration, and helpless anger all lanced through the boy’s heart, and Ansem internally winced. “I thought- but it was all just a lie, wasn’t it? Just a way to bring my guard down! I should’ve known better - did know better - but that won’t be an issue anymore. I won’t make the same mistake of trusting you ever again!!”

No, no that wasn’t- “It...wasn’t...a mistake.” Ansem forced out. A myriad of emotions echoed back from Riku’s heart, a sense of bitter anguish prime among them as the boy let out a sardonic laugh.

“Oh, you bet it was! The cherry on top of this entire dumpster fire! My brother’s gone because of me! If I hadn’t come to my senses in time, I would have lost my sister, too!!” Riku screamed at him. 

“Riku, no...it is not…” Ansem struggled to get the words out, to reassure the boy that was not the case - that what happened to Sora was unavoidable, that he’d had no intention of destroying Kairi, just getting her out of the way - before growling in frustration. “You...fail to...understand…”

“I don’t see what part about this I’m failing to understand here! I understand the fact that I’m just another body to you just fine!” Riku shouted.

“No!” Ansem yelled, shock cutting through the tumultuous emotions in Riku’s heart. The boy just stood there, staring at Ansem in stunned disbelief. Like he couldn’t understand that Ansem cared about him, and that, that hit Ansem the hardest. “Riku...stand down. Go...back to...your slumber...in the darkness…”

“Are y- what is wrong with you?! You’re- all of this, and you’re telling me to go back to sleep?!” Riku demanded incredulously. He wasn’t going to stop, Ansem realized. He wasn’t going to be able to convince him to stop, and that left Ansem no choice but to make him stop. Just as he’d had to do with Terra. 

“You...if you...will not...cease this...then you...you leave me...no choice.” Ansem managed, upset and furious with himself. This is exactly what he’d been trying to avoid, putting Riku to sleep for the duration of the possession! He didn’t want to hurt the boy but he was leaving him with no other options!

Reluctantly, Ansem tore Riku’s heart from his body, closing his eyes at the boy’s pained scream. Given that the Dark Figure was occupied and Ansem was introducing Riku’s heart to Terra’s over his dead body, he instead cast it into the Realm of Darkness. With instructions for any and all Heartless to leave him alone or else, Ansem wasn’t stupid. He’d return to collect Riku once this was over. Stubborn boy, Ansem had tried to make this as painless as possible! What had possibly woken him up from his- oh. 

Ansem had miscalculated. This was the same boy who waited on a broken world for almost a year for a brother he was absolutely sure would come for him, despite having every reason to believe otherwise. Riku’s heart must have sensed the disappearance of his brother, however ill-advised the appellation was, and wrongly perceived his sister as being threatened with the same. No wonder he’d woken up. 

What a fool Ansem had been. He would have to start all over again with Riku when he picked him back up from the Realm of Darkness, wouldn’t he?

But first, he had a mission to complete. Now that the boy’s bumbling brother had completed the Final Keyhole, Ansem was free to use it to traverse the connection within to the Door to Darkness, behind which awaited Kingdom Hearts. He was almost there now. Soon, soon, the powerful darkness of Kingdom Hearts he sought would be within his grasp. 

And yet…a memory nagged at his mind, of a simpler time. Of a boy questioning Kingdom Hearts’s true nature in the dark. 

Ansem shook his head. Light may have been a gift from Kingdom Hearts, yes, but what was left behind when that light had departed?

Darkness. And it was that powerful, all-encompassing darkness that would soon be his to command. 

Chapter Text

Sora stepped out of the memory world, back in the white, identical hallways of Castle Oblivion. Actually hold on, was that-?!

“Riku!” Sora cried, rushing over to his brother in all but blood as he descended the stairs, walking steadily toward him. He was dressed in something weird but that was fine, Riku’s old clothes had been pretty much toast anyway. It wasn’t surprising he’d changed out of them. Or cleaned himself up, he had been such a mess before. 

“Wha- let go of me!” Riku protested, shoving Sora back as he’d moved in for a hug.

“Riku, what’s wrong?” Sora asked, confused. “Actually, how are you here - last time we saw you, you were trapped on the other side of the Door to Darkness, along with the king!” Riku scowled.

“What? Not happy to see me?” He asked, and what?

“Of course I’m happy to see you!” Sora protested. Riku simply scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“Let me know if I’m getting in the way - you know, of something that’s more important.” he said scathingly, shooting Sora a dirty look at the second half.

“Huh? Wait, I didn’t mean it like that.” Sora backpedaled.

“Hmph. Spare me the excuses. I bet that you had all but forgotten about me.” Riku retorted.

“Never!” Sora howled, aghast. “How could you SAY that? After everything?” His death, their promise, their friendship- “I came all this way looking for you!”

“But you’re not anymore, right?” Riku cut in. “Now it’s only…Naminé that you’re looking for.” he said quietly, clenching his fists as he averted his eyes. “You don’t care about how I feel. Just like you never cared - at all - about her feelings.”

“What…what are you talking about, Riku?” Sora asked helplessly. His older brother simply sneered at him in response.

“Hmph. I knew it. Never even gave it a thought, did you?” he asked. “Just because you want to see Naminé doesn’t mean it goes both ways. Naminé doesn’t even want to look at your face again.”

“Why not?!” Sora demanded.

“You should ask your memories…why Naminé disappeared from the islands.” Riku said, gritting his teeth.

“I…Riku, this place, I can’t remember. I know you must’ve tried to explain it to me when it happened, but…what happened?” Sora asked, feeling helpless in the face of it all. Riku just made a noise of contempt, before turning around. “Riku?”

“Just go home, Sora. I’ll care for Naminé.” Riku said over his shoulder. “Anyone who goes near her…” Riku’s keyblade materialized, the sleek blue weapon raised high in his hand as he spun on his heel, holding it threateningly at Sora. At his brother. “Goes through me!” Riku lunged, slamming Midnight Blue against the Kingdom Key Sora had only just barely gotten up in time to block.

“What’s- what’s wrong with you! We’re brothers!” Sora said, straining to hold Riku back.

“Oh please.” Riku scoffed. “Brothers? Yeah right. Naminé’s not the only one who’s sick of looking at your face - so am I!” With a shout, Riku pressed forward, Sora only just finding the strength to push him back, forcing him to disengage. 

“Did…did you forget why you, Kairi, and I became siblings?” Sora asked, horror and dread pooling in his heart. Riku was silent. “You did, didn’t you?!”

“Enough, Sora!” Riku snapped, leveling Midnight Blue at him again. “Go home or I’ll make you go home!”

“Riku, please! You’re still not okay, I don’t want to hurt you!” Sora cried. He was still weak from Hollow Bastion, why was he trying to pick a fight?! That weird outfit he was wearing might not show it but Sora’d been able to see every one of his ribs back on Hollow Bastion!

“Not okay? I’m more okay than I’ve ever been!” Riku snarled, charging in to swing Midnight Blue at Sora, who jumped back out of the way.

~*~

Riku and Sora panted, exhausted from their bout. They glared at each other, each frustrated for their own reasons. After a moment, Riku let out a growl of frustration before he spun on his heel and took off, running back down the hallway where he’d come from.

“Wait, Riku!” Sora yelled, chasing after him. He couldn’t just let him leave like this! “Wait!” Riku didn’t stop, just kept running, sprinting up the stairs before taking off further down the hallway out of sight. By the time Sora caught up, there was no sign of him - just the doors to the next memory world.

“I…I…” Sora swallowed heavily. 

“Sora, are you okay?” Goofy asked.

“Don’t worry about me.” Sora said, before looking back at the doors. “Riku…what happened?” Sora felt Jiminy hop up onto his shoulder, making a contemplative noise.

“Hmm…sure was strange. Almost like Ansem was back controlling Riku again.” he mused. Sora shook his head.

“No, Ansem was a lot more dismissive than that. He looked at me like I was scum on the bottom of his shoe.” Sora said. “Besides, we got rid of that loser for good. No way could it be him.”

“Then I wonder what is wrong with Riku.” Goofy said.

“Hold on…the king!” Donald yelped. “If he’s with Riku, he might be in danger!” Sora didn’t even react. Just continued staring at the floor, heartbroken.

What had even happened? This didn’t make any sense. Riku…even if it had been Sora’s fault Naminé had to leave Destiny Islands, he never would have reacted like this. He’d’ve told Sora, he knew he would have. So then…why? Why now, when Riku had never been like this in all the years after Naminé left?

“Sora?” Donald called tentatively. Jiminy jumped off his shoulder, landing lightly on the ground.

“I know…you’re thinking Riku’s stopped wanting to be your brother. But that’s just not true!” Jiminy told him. “I know he said some awful things to you back there, but you gotta remember - we are in Castle Oblivion. Why, folks lose their memory here a little bit at a time. Riku’s probably just forgotten that the two of you became so close. That’s all.”

“But…we’ve always been brothers.” Sora said, tears welling up in his eyes. “Ever since we were small.” First Sora, and later Kairi; two four year olds who had taken one look at the broken, grieving five year old that was their friend and knew they had to help. 

Friends who sat there one after the other, listening to Riku when the story of his death and rebirth came out among a multitude of tears. Who together took him by the hands and told him that it was okay to be happy on the islands, that the friends and family left behind would want him to be happy, not sad forever. That they would be the brother and sister Riku never had before, so that he’d have family who knew his name on both sides. Siblings Riku had accepted wholeheartedly, who refused to leave their brother alone through the nightmares and sleepless nights, or whenever his grasp on reality wavered and he was no longer sure if any of this was real. Who were always by his side, and he theirs. Now and forever. 

“There’s no way he would throw that away. Not a chance.” Sora said, clenching his fists. “Something must have happened to him here, beyond forgetting.” Forgetting was bad enough, Sora knew just how important memory was to Riku. But this? Forgetting everything that had led up to the three of them becoming siblings?

The idea had Sora reeling in horror. What state of mind would that have put Riku in, with that gone from his memory?! No wonder he was acting so strange, Riku needed help!

“If we all work together, why, we’re sure to get you through this.” Jiminy said.

“Jiminy’s right! We’ve got your back!” Goofy agreed, Donald nodding next to him. Sora smiled at his friends, touched beyond belief.

“Donald…Goofy…Jiminy…” he said, wiping at his eyes. “Thank you. Now come on, let’s hurry! Both Riku and Naminé need our help now!”

~*~

There, up ahead! There was Riku, walking down the hallway between memory worlds again!

“Riku!”

“Take the hint!” Riku growled, looking over his shoulder to glare at Sora. “I told you to go home.”

“Not until I rescue you and Naminé!” Sora said. Riku just gritted his teeth.

“I don’t remember ever asking you to rescue me.” he snapped.

“Riku, did you forget? Our sister’s waiting for us - waiting for us to both come home.” Sora told him.

“Oh? And what about you? Were you just going to leave her hanging on whether or not you were still in one piece?” Riku demanded, rounding on Sora.

“I-”

“Give it up. I’m not going back to the islands - for anything.” Riku insisted.

“But Kairi’s waiting for us!!” Sora shouted. “Does that mean nothing to you?! And what about your parents? Our other friends? They’re waiting for us too!!”

“Our friends? You can have those losers. Already forgot about ‘em.” Riku scoffed, and then everything went still. So very, very still.

“...You’re not Riku.” Sora snarled softly, the Kingdom Key materializing in his hands. “Memory is sacred to Riku! He would never say that!!” he roared. 

“What, just because I-”

“Haaargh!!” Sora lunged forward with an angry shout, slamming the Kingdom Key down onto Midnight Blue, lashing out with a flurry of strikes. “Where is the real Riku? What did you do with him?!”

“I am the real Riku!” The Riku imposter snapped, and what was with people and pretending they were Riku?! This was getting ridiculous!

“Liar!” Sora shouted, lashing out with the Kingdom Key. This time he hit, the Riku imposter stumbling, and he followed up on that mercilessly, whacking the fraud as many times as he could get away with before the imposter jumped back out of range. “Where is my brother?! Where is he?!”

“Shut up! If you really cared about me, you wouldn’t be saying I wasn’t Riku just because you don’t like what I have to say!” Said imposter retorted, but Sora was done listening to him.

“I know you’re an imposter because you are one! The real Riku would never be okay with forgetting! Not for even a second!” Sora yelled, before casting, “Fire!” 

The imposter yelped at the hit, before lashing out with Midnight Blue, Sora just a second too late to dodge.

“That suit- that’s just to cover up the fact that you’re too healthy to be Riku, isn’t it!” Sora snapped, the imposter looking startled at the accusation. “Riku’s a malnourished, half-starved stick right now! You can see every one of his ribs! He’s not okay and he needs my help AND YOU’RE IN MY WAY!!”

The Riku imposter’s eyes widened as Sora lunged forward, chaining together a flurry of attacks that knocked him to the floor. He lifted his head before rolling sideways with a yelp, just in time to avoid Sora stabbing the Kingdom Key into his face. 

“This isn’t over!” The Riku imposter snarled as he jumped to his feet, before turning and fleeing deeper into the castle. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Sora shouted, chasing after him. He still had to get the imposter to tell him where his brother was, even if he had to beat it out of him!

Unfortunately, just like before, when Sora reached the end of the hallway the Riku imposter had already vanished, leaving nothing but the memory doors ahead. Sora screamed in frustration, the Kingdom Key dematerializing as he turned and slammed his fist into the wall. 

“Sora!” Donald and Goofy yelped, running over to him. Sora hit the wall again, and again, until Goofy was pulling him back, Donald examining his bruised and bloodied hand. 

“Cure!” Donald cast, wiping away the injury like it had never existed. “You can’t be doing this, Sora. You’re just hurting yourself!”

“Donald’s right. Gawrsh, I bet wherever they’re keeping Riku, it’s further in the castle! We’ll just have to keep moving until we find him.” Goofy pointed out. Sora took a deep breath, wrestling down his frustration, before nodding at his friend. 

“You’re right. And…sorry for worrying you guys.” Sora apologized, a regretful expression on his face. “I was just so mad…”

“It’s okay to be mad! Just put that energy into finding Riku!” Donald said. “We’ll find him in no time, you’ll see.”

“Yeah. Let’s get moving.” Sora said, before holding up the next card. The doors to the next world slowly parted, and Sora marched determinedly inside. Nothing was going to stop him from rescuing Riku - not memory loss, not these weird guys in the black coats, nothing! He’d find Naminé, save his brother, and bring them both home. 

Chapter Text

“May I look at your keyblade?” Ansem asked the boy, curiosity finally overruling his restraint. The boy looked startled, and then suspicious, eying him warily. 

“Why?” He asked. 

“I am merely curious. You do not have to if you are uncomfortable with the idea.” Ansem reassured him, because the seeds of burgeoning trust he could see sprouting in the boy’s heart was far more valuable than any curiosity over his weapon. “You can always simply take it from me with but a thought should you wish.” Ansem added. 

The boy frowned, looking from Ansem to his own hand and back again, clearly deliberating. After a few moments of silence, the ringing sound indicative of a weapon being summoned cut through the air. 

“Here. Look.” The boy said, holding out his keyblade even as he looked uncomfortable with the action. That was promising, that he would overrule his own comfort in Ansem’s favor. It was certainly more than he would have done when Ansem first began accompanying him. 

Ansem reached out, taking Midnight Blue from the boy’s hand and looking it over. It had an unfortunate resemblance to that annoyance Mickey’s keyblade, but the color and parts of the design were different. Where Mickey’s keyblade was purple, the boy’s was blue, and where the teeth of Star Seeker had a yellow moon supporting a large star, Midnight Blue had silver. Nowhere could the tacky stars plastered all over Mickey’s keyblade be seen, but instead a rather tasteful dusting of miniscule white glitter decorated the entire body save for the hilt, hand guard, and teeth in an imitation of a starry night sky. 

In all honesty, outside of the Kingdom Keys Ansem had never seen two keyblades so similar to each other, and the former were a rather special exception. What intrigued him further was the difference in symbols held in the shooting stars that made up the hand guard of the keyblades. Once again Mickey’s held yet more stars, but the boy’s…the circle closest to the teeth held a thin circle of white, while the other held an X, the symbols almost seeming to glow even though Ansem knew they weren’t. 

Turning it over, Ansem found to his shock that the symbols in the circles of the shooting stars were different. This time, one side bore a cube, and the other a triangle. Fascinating. Every single keyblade Ansem had seen had been symmetrical. Each and every one looked the same no matter which side you viewed it from. But not here. Not with Midnight Blue. 

The fact that the shooting stars that made up the hand guard bore geometrical shapes was another interesting design choice. Just like with Midnight Blue’s asymmetry, Ansem had never seen anything like it on any other keyblade, and though he had seen but a few in his time - or rather, his original self’s - Master Ansem’s friend Mickey did so love to talk when presented with the facade of curious innocence. Patterns and symbols, yes, but geometrical shapes? No. As contradictory as its wielder, it seemed. 

After a moment, Ansem handed Midnight Blue back over to the boy, who gripped his weapon in what seemed like a bid for comfort, a reassurance that it was still there. 

“Thank you, for indulging me in this.” Ansem said honestly, and the boy nodded. 

“…What did you think? You’ve seen other keyblades before, right? Is there anything different about mine, or is it just the same?” The boy asked, a reluctant curiosity in his eyes. 

“Each keyblade is unique to its wielder. Though there exist special keyblades that are the exception, and one can willingly hand over their keyblade to another’s keeping, the fact remains that each summoned keyblade is different from the rest.” Ansem began, and the boy nodded. “As for yours, I have seen one other keyblade similar to it, but it is but a superficial resemblance.” A lie - Star Seeker and Midnight Blue had far more than a superficial resemblance. One he would have said was impossible outside of the Kingdom Keys had evidence to the contrary not been staring him in the face. 

“I see.” The boy said, giving his keyblade an assessing look before dematerializing it, Midnight Blue returning to his heart where it belonged. “Do you know what it was called?”

“Star Seeker. The names of keyblades are known instinctually. Why, no one knows, but they are.” Ansem explained. Surprise flashed across the boy’s face, before he looked thoughtful. 

“Star Seeker…even the name kinda fits the same theme.” He mused. Ansem nodded reluctantly. Thankfully the boy did not ask who the wielder of it was, instead content to go back to munching on the bag of pretzels they had discovered but a few minutes before. 

Once again, Ansem’s mind was drawn to the unnerving similarity between Midnight Blue and Star Seeker. They weren’t the near carbon copies that the Kingdom Keys were, not to mention the two wielders were nothing alike, and yet…Ansem could admit, it was a puzzle that troubled him. One he knew he would find no answers to. 

Such were the secrets of the keyblade.

Chapter Text

Secret Ansem Report 9

I should have expected nothing less from those who bear the keyblade.

Sora and his friends defied the machinations of Organization XIII and rescued Naminé.

Naminé is a special entity, a Nobody who controls the memories of others.

Perhaps this has something to do with the process in which she was born.

Naminé is a Nobody, created when a young girl’s heart left her body.

Yet she has no corresponding Heartless.

This is because the ‘young girl’ in this case was a Princess of Heart. One of seven who hold no darkness in their hearts, only purest light.

With no darkness in her heart, Kairi produced no Heartless, and instead of vanishing, her body remained in the Realm of Light.

In other words, the Nobody known as Naminé is an extremely unstable being, with no true body of her own. She is a ‘non-being’ in the truest sense of the word; having not even become a Nobody, she is but the most fleeting of shadows.

One reason for this is perhaps because Kairi’s heart did not return to the darkness when separated from her body, but rather migrated to another vessel: Sora’s heart.

That is, Naminé was created from the Kairi who directly interfered with Sora’s heart. Could this be why Sora and those hearts that are connected to him were able to have their memories controlled?

And yet, this hypothesis falls apart when taking Riku into account.

Riku’s memories prior to those of Destiny Islands are beyond her reach. Even those that come after continue to trouble her, as the many holes scattered across the memories implanted in Riku’s replica can attest to.

It is a conundrum I have yet to solve.

Especially since both Sora and Naminé confirm that he was born on Destiny Islands.

Could the memories of these unidentifiable worlds not be his? Could they have been implanted, like Naminé did to his replica?

It is clear that Riku has at one point been experimented on - that terrible scar on his torso leaves no doubt there.

And yet Naminé herself says that these shrouded memories are, in fact, his. That much, it seems she is able to tell.

Perhaps that was the point of the experiments conducted on Riku, to see if it was possible to shield the chain of memories from outside interference.

I do not ask. I have caused enough pain already with my own experiments on children; some things should be left well enough alone.

~*~

Secret Ansem Report 10

Riku destroyed the last remnants of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.

And Sora has gone to sleep in order to recover the memories he had lost in Castle Oblivion.

It will take months in order to bring back all the memories he had created in his lifetime.

But Organization XIII held sway over Castle Oblivion. Sora, Donald, and Goofy would need to be kept someplace more secure.

I persuaded Naminé, Riku, and his replica to move the slumbering trio to Twilight Town for safekeeping.

Naminé. Riku.

As I have written before, they are most unusual beings.

Naminé, born of the same process of a Nobody, but lacking virtually all the elements of a Nobody.

And Riku, whose heart balances precariously upon the razor’s edge of light and dark…and refuses to budge.

Even when I tempered the darkness within his heart to a greater degree than my dear friend had empowered his light, his heart simply moved to make up the difference. Just as it did when my friend’s interference had unbalanced it in favor of light.

Returning it once more to being split exactly down the middle.

Almost as though it were his natural state of being.

The concept unnerves me for reasons I cannot put into words, else I would record them here.

Sora’s recovery continues to go well. As does Riku’s, though his is in a very different manner. While Sora’s recovery is of the mind, Riku’s is of the body; Hollow Bastion was hardly a suitable place for one to live.

When Riku first arrived at Castle Oblivion, he was gaunt and skinny, and each rib protruded visibly under his skin.

He has been gaining weight, and eating more. This is good. Riku and Sora are indispensable if I am to achieve my goal.

I require keyblade-wielding heroes to fly through the Realm of Light and defeat Organization XIII.

And yet, Riku insists that Nobodies can grow replacements for their discarded hearts. That Naminé is a unique being in that she was born a Nobody, and was never a shade of Kairi to begin with.

And, even more bizarrely, he speaks of a concept he calls recompletion. That upon the death of both Heartless and Nobody the individual would return to the spot where they’d been parted heart from body, once again a whole person.

This he claims he learned from another human Nobody, one hunted by the Organization for this supposed truth that he knew.

Nonsense. I have observed Organization XIII for years; never have they shown even the barest scrap of true emotion.

For without a heart to produce them, they cannot be felt.

Riku's insistence otherwise and his fancy of recompletion is but the ignorance of children and the lies of Nobodies, and no more.

~*~

Secret Ansem Report 11

I was reunited with an old friend at Castle Oblivion, the same who had empowered Riku’s light at the beginning of his journey within, but I could not disclose my identity.

If he knew the situation, he would likely try to stop me from carrying out my revenge.

As much as I would dearly love to converse with him as in the old days…that is now but a hopeless dream.

My friend has been fighting in the Realm of Darkness. Most likely he found his way there through Traverse Town.

Like Castle Oblivion, that village also rests in the cleft between light and dark. It consists of the remnants of worlds whose hearts have been stolen by the Heartless.

It is there where those who have barely escaped the destruction of their worlds eventually find themselves.

Or, most of them.

Riku arrived on Hollow Bastion instead, left to fend for himself in a broken world overrun by Heartless.

It was here that he met Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, and the two began to travel together.

But I digress. The key here is that the Realm Between is quite unstable, with Corridors of Darkness appearing from time to time.

Whenever a world disappears, some of its inhabitants must arrive there through these Corridors. Surely Sora did the same when he first came to Traverse Town, as Riku has confirmed he himself did when he landed on Hollow Bastion.

It seems my friend, fighting in the Realm of Darkness, appeared in Castle Oblivion through a Corridor of Darkness constructed by Organization XIII.

Riku, too, came to the castle by Corridor, his heart drawn to that of the one he calls ‘brother’.

It seems the connections between hearts are stronger than even I believed.

~*~

Secret Ansem Report 12

Riku and his replica arrived with two surprise guests; Roxas and Xion, the youngest members of Organization XIII. It seems they too know what must be done, if Sora is ever to wake up again.

It appears Riku has convinced these children that not only can Nobodies in fact regrow hearts, but that Roxas, like Naminé, was born a Nobody. That he had never been Sora to begin with. 

Only himself.

And so they forsook the Organization to return to Twilight Town with him.

To return to Sora’s heart, albeit temporarily.

Apparently one of the traitors eliminated in Castle Oblivion, Vexen, had not only been creating living replicas such as Branwen and Xion, but had been tasked with the creation of empty vessels as well.

Heartless bodies, with no mind or soul.

Simply…vessels.

For what purpose, neither Riku nor I know, but he plans to take advantage, aiming to steal the research Vexen made in order to create replica bodies to house the hearts of Roxas, Xion, and Naminé, and thus return them to the worlds. 

A meaningless promise, or so I thought.

Three children broke into the mansion: teenagers by the name of Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

And as I see the replicas and Nobodies play and laugh with them, I feel…strange.

Riku continues to insist that Nobodies regrow hearts, and it is only now, when I look at these children, that I am starting to believe him.

Empty husks, whose bodies know what they lack and seek to replace it at every opportunity.

Riku has told me that the leaders of the Organization have been hiding this fact from the rest, making them believe they are the same hollow shades of existence I had once thought them.

But, watching the children…their affection is real. Their friendship, true. And not only the Nobodies’, but the replicas’ too.

The theories proposed by myself and Organization XIII, blown out of the water in but a couple months’ time.

What fools we all were. What ignorant, ignorant fools.

~*~

Secret Ansem Report 13

When I questioned Riku further on the source of his knowledge regarding Nobodies, he was more than willing to share the tale.

The tale of his encounter with the human Nobody who had known the truth of their existence, and was pursued relentlessly by the leaders of Organization XIII for it.

Hunted, for the secrets he knew.

Secrets he then passed on to Riku, out of terror that the truth would die with him.

A not unfounded terror. In all my years of observing the Organization, never once did I see them in pursuit of this enigma.

Indeed, this would have to have predated my escape from the Realm of Darkness.

Riku was seven when he encountered this human Nobody. That would put this event two years after the destruction of Radiant Garden.

I myself did not emerge from the Realm of Darkness until many years later.

It seems the leaders of the Organization did indeed catch up with him.

And, as he feared, destroyed him.

Both as a Nobody and at the place where he had been split heart from body. Where he had recompleted, a whole being once more.

Right where the leaders of Organization XIII knew to wait for him.

While it galls me to know the destruction of the Organization’s Nobodies will bring them no lasting harm, I can simply do what they did, and finish the job where it began.

At last, my long and drawn-out revenge is nearing its end.

Xehanort, who took everything from me. Though as a Heartless he is no more, as the leader of Organization XIII his ambition once again is to capture Kingdom Hearts, the most colossal heart of all.

His Heartless had attempted to draw out the great darkness of Kingdom Hearts, created from the hearts of all worlds. His Nobody, however, seeks to gather human hearts to be assimilated into Kingdom Hearts as well.

The fool!

When all this is over, it is my fervent hope that the children will succeed in their plans to restore Roxas, Xion, and Naminé to the worlds.

If I can, I should like to return to Radiant Garden, to look once more upon the beautiful water, the lovely flowers, and the hopeful smiles of my people.

But alas, that world is long since gone.

Dear King, my friend!

I believe that, at some point in time, you will come across these, my truthful accounts.

How I wish I could have chatted with you again.

I was a fool, obsessed with revenge.

Forgive me.

Chapter Text

Riku pushed open the doors, returning to the room where Lexaeus, Zexion, and his creator were waiting for him. Riku paid no attention to the doors swinging closed behind him as all three Nobodies turned to give him their attention.

“So? How was the real thing?” Vexen asked. Riku hesitated. “Well?”

“He’s…confusing.” Riku admitted. “He’s nothing like I thought he’d be.”

“Neither of us are the ‘real’ one!” 

“You’re not me. And I’m not you. You’re only yourself. That’s all anyone can be.”

“He said…he said neither of us were the real one. The real Riku.” Riku continued, a look of shock flashing across Vexen’s face.

“He what?” Zexion asked, equally as floored.

“He didn’t even care that you named me Riku either.” Riku said, directing this at his creator. “He wasn’t even bothered at all. Not that I looked like him, or had the same name as him, nothing. Nothing at all.”

“And how was he in battle?” Zexion asked. Riku paused, and then his eyes widened.

“I, I forgot.” he whispered, horrified.

“You forgot?” Lexaeus asked incredulously. Riku flinched.

“I’m sorry, he was just, just- he said we were identical twins!” Riku blurted out, much to the shock of everyone else in the room. Riku himself was much too horrified to care - his first mission from his creator, and he’d forgotten. “He, he said I was my own self, not just a copy of him. And he meant it.” Riku added helplessly. “He even said it was nice to meet me.”

All three Nobodies just stared incredulously at Riku. He wanted to flinch, to shy away from the sudden attention, but he didn’t. He had to be strong - his creator wanted him to be strong, and cowering under the weight of their combined gaze wasn’t strong.

“...Identical twins, you say?” Vexen asked, and Riku nodded.

“Yeah. He said that’s what clones basically were. And, he didn’t call me one, after that. Just by my name.” Riku told him. 

“Intriguing…” Zexion murmured, and Riku could practically see him turning this new information over in his head. “To declare there was no ‘real’ or ‘fake’ between the two of you…how unexpected, that he would consider you your own person, distinct from himself.”

“Perhaps he simply recognized the superiority of my own creation.” Vexen bragged, the frown Zexion’s words brought Riku turning into a smile at the praise from his creator. “Did you give him the card at least?”

“Yeah, of course. He used it right before I left.” Riku said. He hadn’t forgotten that part thankfully - he didn’t want Vexen to think he was unreliable. “The card world was a forest, but, it was weird. It was all black and white, and everything was kinda hazy at the edges.” Riku reported, hoping that would help.

“Yet another broken memory world…” Lexaeus murmured. 

“That’s three times now this has happened. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and three times is a pattern. Hollow Bastion was fine, but these unknown worlds…I must study this phenomenon, yes. To think there are worlds yet remaining that we have yet to find, worlds Naminé can only barely recreate from Riku’s memories - how fascinating!” Vexen said excitedly, green eyes burning with passion. 

Studying the original Riku…Riku liked that idea. That would mean Vexen would bring him here, and they could talk again. 

“How strange. I would have said it was impossible for there to be any more worlds out there that we didn’t know about, but the proof is staring us right in the face.” Zexion mused, and oh, speaking of strange-!

“Wait! Before he left, Riku said he used light and darkness in a fight. If we fought, he would’ve done that.” Riku said. He’d almost forgotten that in the wake of everything else but at least this sort of somewhat fulfilled his mission, right? Of seeing how Riku was in a fight?

“Yes, he said the same to me when I was collecting his data to create you.” Vexen told him, and oh. 

“Light and dark…to wield both is impossible. Riku continuing to waver indecisively between the two is nothing more than proof of a weak heart.” Lexaeus said scornfully. “And a weak heart is nothing but prey to the darkness.”

Was that…really true? Riku looked at Vexen for confirmation, and when Vexen didn’t speak up Riku took that as a yes. 

“Light and dark are both strong. But together? They’re even stronger.” the original Riku said, pressing his hand to his heart. “It’s called synergy. Together, they create something that is more than the sum of their parts.”

The other Riku, he’d been so sure, but. Vexen was never wrong. And since he hadn’t corrected Lexaeus, that really did mean he had a weak heart. 

The idea sat wrong with Riku somehow. He couldn’t explain why, but it did. 

“Well, we shall have to see for ourselves. Perhaps you could test him? Give him a little nudge to the true potential of the darkness?” Vexen said, directing this at Lexaeus, before turning to face Riku. “In the meantime, would you be interested in meeting another who’s considered a hero?” He wondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“You mean Sora, right?” Riku asked his creator, and Vexen nodded. “Okay, I’m in. I’m curious how weak someone who uses nothing but light is.” Riku said derisively. The original Riku was one thing, at least he used the darkness along with it. But light? Light on its own was weak, pathetic. If Vexen wanted them to fight Riku wouldn’t let him down - he’d wipe the floor with this weakling, no sweat. 

“We’ll see…yes…I intend to make good use of you.” Vexen said, and Riku smiled. Being useful was good; that was his purpose, after all. What he’d been made for. 

And this time, Riku wouldn’t disappoint him. He swore it. 

Chapter Text

Both Riku and Lexaeus were panting heavily, neither one quite able to get the better of the other in their fight. Ansem couldn’t help the proud smirk on his face as he watched through Riku’s eyes - the boy had just pushed Lexaeus to the wire, after all. And all while still weakened from Hollow Bastion! The boy would be a force to be reckoned with at full strength, mark his words. 

Riku broke the standoff first, racing in with Midnight Blue only to take a heavy blow to his midsection from Lexaeus’s axe sword. The force of the impact sent the boy flying back, his back slamming into the hazy ruin of a brick wall so hard it knocked the wind out of him, leaving him lying helplessly on the ethereal grass.

Ansem could see Lexaeus pause, watching Riku wheeze on the ground as he struggled to maintain consciousness with a wary eye. When it became clear Riku was not capable of getting up, the Nobody sneered at him. 

“You were too much trouble.” Lexaeus stated, beginning to approach the boy with deadly intent, and that, Ansem would not stand for.

Riku was too weak to stop him; Ansem wasn’t even sure he was conscious enough to even register what he was doing in the first place. And with a visible surge of dark power, Ansem effortlessly took control of Riku’s body, rising to his feet.

“What?” Lexaeus gaped, watching as Ansem bent over, picking up the boy’s dropped keyblade. How fitting that Lexaeus would meet his end at Riku’s weapon, wielded by his hand, even if not by the boy himself. “You- how are you still moving?!”

“He cannot hear you. He is barely conscious as it is.” Ansem spoke, his words coming out as his and Riku’s voices side by side. There was no point in transforming Riku into his own appearance as he had with Sora - he wanted the last thing Lexaeus saw to be Riku’s face.

“You- you’re the Superior’s Heartless.” Lexaeus realized, and Ansem smirked.

“Indeed.” Ansem confirmed, and then he felt it: Riku’s tenuous grasp on consciousness slipping away as the boy passed out. “And there goes Riku.” Ansem chuckled, shaking his head. “He is conscious no longer. Your final blow was too much for him, it seems.”

“Good.” Lexaeus grunted. “I am…forgive my impertinence, but what are you doing here? And in Riku’s body at that?”

Ansem took the time to gently push Riku’s heart down into what little darkness the Heartless had managed to recover before responding, a pleased smile on his face as the boy’s heart let out a contented hum, recognizing whose power it rested safely within. “I needed him for my plans. A Heartless cannot wield a keyblade, after all.” Ansem said lightly. 

“I see.” Lexeaus said. It was clear he didn’t understand why Ansem required a keyblade, but that was of no importance. Not when the Nobody had signed his own death warrant the moment he decided to destroy Riku. “I can see why you chose him over Sora, despite his condition. I must admit, I wasn’t expecting him to be as strong as he is.”

“Have you considered that perhaps it is you who is too weak?” Ansem suggested, enjoying the startled look Lexaeus threw his way. “Your opponent was a keyblade wielder weakened both by starvation and exhaustion, magical and physical, and still you won only by the slimmest of margins.” 

Lexaeus scowled at Ansem, angry at the truth being thrown in his face. A truth he could not deny. “Perhaps it was your darkness he was drawing on in our fight.”

Ansem made a dismissive gesture. “Riku has no need. You were foolish to dismiss the duality of his heart as weakness. His strength lies in his use of light and dark in perfect equilibrium - as you have no doubt discovered the hard way.” the Heartless added dryly. Lexaeus winced. 

“Forgive me for testing your vessel. I admit, I do not understand why you are nurturing his potential, but disrupting your plans was not my intention.” Lexaeus said. 

“No.”

Lexaeus choked, Midnight Blue striking true as Ansem flashed by him, too quickly for the Nobody to react. Riku had already done most of the work; it hadn’t taken much to finish the Nobody off. 

Lexaeus’s axe sword fell from his slackened grip, the Nobody turning around to face Ansem with a look of incredulous shock on his face. An expression that then turned to resignation as he recognized the severity of his error. 

“Forgive me, Zexion.” Lexaeus murmured pointlessly. “This was a fight I should not have started.”

“No. You shouldn’t have.” Ansem said curtly, and then the Nobody was gone, dissolved into darkness as he was sentenced to oblivion. Good riddance. The next to do Riku harm would not disappear so quickly.

As for Riku…now that the threat had been dealt with, Ansem was free to turn his presence inward, to where Riku’s consciousness slept within the dark half of his heart. 

“All this stress has not been good for you.” Ansem murmured, gazing at Riku’s unconscious form. The boy had been a ball of anxiety and fear from the moment Ansem had recovered enough to regain awareness. Like as not he had been that way beforehand as well; this slumber may well be the most relaxed the boy had been in days. 

“Fret not, you are safe now. The danger is no more.” Ansem told him. Riku didn’t react, but then he did not need to. It was clear his heart felt safe and secure within the embrace of Ansem’s darkness, even after Ansem’s critical mistake at the Final Keyhole. “Rest. You need it. I will watch over you until you awaken.”

As much as Ansem wanted to take Riku away from here, he had not yet recovered enough to safely move him through a Corridor of Darkness. Instead, he laid Riku’s body down on the grass of this broken memory world. It would not do for him to awaken in a body deprived of rest. He closed the boy’s eyes, once again turning his presence inward. 

And so he watched, and he waited. 

Riku began to stir, and Ansem frowned. He had only been asleep for half an hour - far too short a time to recover. 

“Go back to sleep, you silly boy.” Ansem said softly, pressing Riku’s consciousness down into a dreamless slumber with his magic. “You need to take better care of yourself; don’t think I haven’t noticed you forgoing your own well-being in favor of haste. I will allow you to wake in a few hours, and no sooner.”

One hour passed, then two, and more. Satisfied with his rest, Ansem nudged Riku’s sleeping mind, the equivalent of shaking one by the shoulder. 

“Riku. It is time to awaken. Up you get; we have a long overdue conversation, you and I. Wake up, boy, that’s it, there you go. It is long past time we had a talk.”

Chapter Text

Riku was coming. Naminé didn’t know what to expect when he arrived. She’d seen the way he’d treated his replica, maybe…maybe he would treat her that way too?

Naminé shook her head. No. That was a useless hope. She didn’t deserve that, not after everything she’d done. Naminé wasn’t even real anyway; what did her wants and wishes matter? That’s what had trapped Sora, Donald, and Goofy in this mess in the first place.

The doors opened, startling Naminé even though she knew to expect it. Both Riku and his replica were there - had that been what the Riku Replica meant, when after Marluxia’s defeat he said he’d deal with having fake memories, with only a single one that was his own? Go to Riku for help? The one who’d said even from the start that he’d been his own person?

That…did make sense, she thought. They were his after all. If anyone could help him, he would. 

“Are you Naminé?” Riku asked. 

“Yes.” She replied simply. “Please…come this way.” She added, showing the two Rikus to the pods where Sora, Donald, and Goofy slept, gesturing to the one that held Riku’s brother in all but blood inside. 

“Guess I was too late after all.” Riku sighed. 

“Too late - for him?” the Riku Replica questioned. 

“Yeah.” Riku nodded. 

“It’s not too late. Sora will recover.” Naminé rushed to reassure him. “He chose to forget about what he experienced here, in Castle Oblivion, in order to regain the rest of his memory.”

“Y-yeah, from what you did to him.” The Riku Replica spat, and for good reason. Naminé looked at the ground, ashamed. 

“I know. But I’m fixing it now.” She said, before forcing herself to look the replica in the eye. “I can fix yours too, Ri-”

“Branwen!” The replica yelled, startling Naminé mid-offer. “I’m Branwen. Not him.” He half-growled, jerking a thumb over at Riku, before doing a double-take as he realized how that sounded. “No offense.”

“None taken.” Riku giggled. 

“Branwen…I see.” Naminé said, committing the name to memory. His identity, to memory. “And I’m sorry, for what I did to you.” A useless apology. It was only words, even if she meant them. 

“It’s just words.” Branwen said, echoing her own thoughts. 

“I know. But it’s all I have.” She said apologetically. Branwen scowled at the floor, debating whether or not to accept her apology. Then he sighed, lifting his head to look Naminé in the eye again. 

“Alright. Yeah, I forgive you. Just- just don’t do it again, okay?” Branwen asked. A small smile slid across Naminé’s face. A grateful smile. 

“I won’t.” she promised. 

“So, what’d DiZ want me to talk to you about?” Riku asked, returning the conversation to the matter at hand. 

“Right. Your darkness.” Naminé said. Riku immediately pulled a face, looking torn between exasperation, frustration, and just a general sense of being more than done with all of this. 

“This again?” He complained. 

Naminé was quick to clarify. “Well, not specifically your darkness. More like what’s inside it.”

Riku’s expression dropped. “Ansem.” He said flatly. 

“Yes. He may be at bay for now, but eventually, he’ll wake. And when he does, he’ll take you over like he did before.” Naminé warned him. She’d seen the security footage from the cameras DiZ had set up all over the castle; seen how Ansem had taken control of Riku’s body in a heartbeat before killing Lexaeus. Riku hadn’t been able to stop him then - he wouldn’t be able to stop him now. 

“But I have powers you can use.” Naminé continued, pressing her hand against her chest. Where a heart would be, if only she existed. “With my powers, I can put a tight lock on your heart. That way, Ansem could never come out from inside you.”

“What’s the catch?” Riku asked, suspicious - and rightfully so, considering what she’d done.

“You’ll forget all about Ansem, and the months you spent on Hollow Bastion. You’ll go back to the way you were before.” Naminé told him, and Riku shuddered. 

“No! Just, no. No thanks. I can’t.” Riku said, sounding badly shaken. 

“Why not? I’m not trying to pressure you or anything. That was just, a really strong response.” Naminé said. She knew the memories of his first life were priceless to him; did he hoard every memory like a dragon guarding its treasure?

“I…my memories are precious to me. More precious than anything.” So he did, then. Naminé really shouldn’t be surprised. Sora himself had said on the lower floors of Castle Oblivion that memory was sacred to Riku. 

Except, Riku wasn’t done. “Besides, if you erased every single memory I had of Ansem…I’d spend the rest of my life impersonating a vegetable.” He added dryly, shaking his head, which…what?

“How? You never knew Ansem before you left your homeworld.” Naminé said, bewildered. Riku just sighed in response. 

“I’m…weird. I don’t really know how else to explain it.” Riku said, while Branwen started snickering behind him. 

“Yes, that’s true.” Naminé agreed, much to Riku’s surprise. Branwen nodded, before taking one look at Riku’s baffled face and moving to explain. 

“Remember what I said earlier? Your memories were giving Naminé problems. At least, most of them were.”

“That’s right, you did.” Riku said in a tone of dawning realization, before turning his focus to Naminé. “What kind of problems were they giving you?” He asked curiously. 

“Your memories…it’s like they’re distant somehow, under a thick fog. I could only make card worlds from your memory because I was digging specifically for your memories of other worlds. And even then, it was only echoes and impressions I could find.” Naminé explained. “Enough to make the world itself, but no more, as you saw.”

Naminé still didn’t really understand it, how the memories Riku had of his past life ended up this way. It was a good thing, but also…just really, really strange. 

It was almost like they weren’t there, even though they were. 

“Yeah.” Riku nodded, the only other one with the context to put two and two together and not get five. “Then what are the ones you can see? I know you made Hollow Bastion just fine, even if you used Sora’s memory for Maleficent…”

“That’s because that happened after the fog lifted.” Naminé told him, before frowning. “Or, I guess lifted isn’t the right word for it. The fog doesn’t disappear, there’s just not nearly as much of it in your memories of Destiny Islands and on.”

Riku fell silent, thinking this over. 

“So, that’s your choice? Not to sleep?” Naminé prodded. Riku nodded. 

“Yeah.” He said, a small smile on his face. Was it…for her? No, that couldn’t be it. Still, she couldn’t help the answering one even if she tried. 

“Alright.” Naminé said, stepping back towards Sora’s pod. Her work was done here after all. 

“Naminé? What’s wrong?” Riku asked, concerned. Surprise shot through Naminé at the question, before she was quick to explain.

“Nothing’s wrong, there’s just no need for me to be here anymore.” She said truthfully. Riku looked furious, but…why?

“That’s not true!” Branwen protested, a frown on his face as Riku nodded in agreement. 

“Branwen’s right. You’re in good company here, Naminé. There’s no reason for you to just leave unless you don’t want to be with us.” He insisted. 

Hope, treasonous and bright, fluttered through Naminé’s body. “But, Riku, I’m a Nobody. I don’t…I don’t actually-”

“No, that’s not how this works.” Riku retorted, cutting her off mid-sentence. “You came into being as a Nobody, yes. But your body knows what it's missing. You’ll regrow your heart - you probably already have.”

She…what? A, a heart? Her?

“He’s like that. You get used to it.” Branwen said cheerfully. 

“I’m not that bad!” Riku protested. Naminé couldn’t help but giggle; she’d seen the memory of his and Branwen’s first meeting. He was definitely that bad.

“But, Riku, I’m just Kairi’s shadow. I-”

“No, you’re not.” Riku said firmly. Branwen started snickering, Riku ignoring the replica he called his twin in favor of continuing. “Nobodies start out as the person they were before losing their heart, normally. They’re the same as who they were, in both appearance and personality.”

“But you’re different, Naminé. You were born a Nobody. You never had a Somebody! You’re not Kairi. Just look at you! You’re not the same. You’re Naminé. You. No one else.”

Naminé just gaped at him, completely lost on how to respond. Was this…was this why Sora wanted her to meet Riku, beyond being remembered? Did he know that he would want to be her friend, too? That he would stand by her, even after everything?

Branwen had gone from snickering to full on laughter at this point, wildly entertained by Naminé’s reaction. Riku just sighed in response. 

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Branwen. You weren’t much better when we first met.” Riku rolled his eyes as Branwen couldn’t quite stop laughing, though he was quieter. Riku let out a chuckle of his own in reply.  

At that moment, DiZ reappeared, startling everyone in the room with his sudden arrival, Naminé included. She hadn’t expected him to involve himself directly. 

“So you have made your choice.” DiZ said.

“Yeah. I’m not having my heart locked.” Riku replied.

“I do not know where you got the idea that a Nobody can possibly regrow a heart, but-”

“Naminé’s not the first Nobody I’ve met.” Riku said, cutting him off just as he had her - much to both Naminé and DiZ’s surprise. Had this been one of the memories walled off to her? “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

“Who?” DiZ questioned.

“I promised him I wouldn’t say. Besides, I still don’t trust you.” Riku told him point-blank to his face. There had been another Nobody? A human Nobody, like her and the Organization? One who…one who said this was possible? Who…knew this was possible?

Riku, DiZ, and Branwen continued talking, but Naminé tuned them out in favor of her own thoughts, whirling a mile a minute. 

What if, what if what she’d been told was only the echoes of emotion weren’t really echoes? What if…what if they had been real all along, and she just didn’t know it?

Maybe…maybe Riku really was right. A dawning hope rose in Naminé’s heart - maybe even her real heart, if her body had regrown it just like Riku said it would. 

She hoped so. She hoped she was a real person. Because if she wasn’t, and Riku was wrong, it…

It would break her. Shatter her heart, just like she’d done to Branwen, now that she had hope. Hope that now rested on Riku’s shoulders. 

Please. Please, don’t be wrong. 

Be right.  

Chapter Text

Facing Marluxia had been one of the hardest fights Sora had ever been in, right under taking down that Heartless body-snatching loser, Ansem. But it was over now. Marluxia would never hurt anyone else ever again. 

“You okay, Riku?” Sora asked, looking over at the teenager in question. He’d been protecting Naminé during the battle so the rest of them could focus on that flower jerk and Sora really appreciated that. 

“Not Riku. I’m a fake, you know that.” Riku replied. Sora scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 

“Yeah, you’re not my Riku, but…you still are a person named Riku, right?” He pointed out. Riku - the Riku who wasn’t Morgan - just stared sadly at him. 

“Your Riku said the same thing, you know.” He said mournfully. “When Naminé broke my memory, only one thing from before slipped through: the memory of my first meeting with Riku. I don’t remember anything else that came before - not why I was created, or when. Just that I was less than a day old when Riku and I met, and even then only because he said so.”

“Everything…everything else that’s in my head is a lie. Just the time spent with you and Naminé, and the life your Riku lived growing up on Destiny Islands. A life I never lived. And even then those were a lie - Naminé had replaced Kairi with herself at the start, but after she’d ‘left’ the islands? She’d filled in Kairi’s spot with anyone and everyone else, and it was only when she broke them that the illusion fell and I remembered how Riku’s life really went.” Riku finished. 

That…sort of made sense. Sora had to wonder why Riku’s outlook on memory was so different from his brother’s if they had the same memories. Unless he didn’t have Riku’s first life, that was the only way Sora could see this Riku being at all okay with forgetting. 

Good. His brother’s previous life was his own. No one else’s. 

Goofy turned to Naminé. “Gee, Naminé, can’t you use your magic to put Riku’s memory back to normal? He’d remember everything he used to have rather than just the one he has now, right?”

“Well, I-” Naminé started, but Riku shook his head. 

“No. I’ll deal.” He told her - told everyone, really. He turned away then, walking toward the exit of this place. 

“Wait!” Sora called out. He couldn’t just leave things as they were, not like this. Riku paused, listening, though he didn’t turn around. 

“Who cares if someone created you, or why? You’re you, and nobody else. You have your own heart inside you, I know you do. Those feelings and memories are yours and yours alone. They’re special!” Sora insisted. There was a long pause as Riku digested this. 

“You…you really are a good guy, Sora. You really are. Always have been.” Riku said, sounding close to tears. “I don’t need to be real to see how sincere your feelings are, both now and then. That’s good enough.” He decided. Riku started walking again, leaving them behind without another word. 

“Riku…” Sora said quietly. He wanted to reach out, say something, but…nothing else was coming to him. And then he was gone, and it was too late.

“Can you put our memories back?” Donald questioned Naminé. 

“Yes. Not remembering something doesn’t really mean that it’s gone.” Naminé said. 

“Whaaaaat?” Sora asked, blindsided. “How does that even work?”

“When you remember one thing, that leads to remembering another - and then another and then another. Our memories are connected. Many pieces are linked together like they’re in a chain that makes up each of us.” She said.

“A chain…of memories…” Sora murmured. 

“I don’t actually erase any memories - just take apart the links and rearrange them.” Naminé explained. “You still have all your memories.”

Jiminy Cricket popped out, coming to stand on Sora’s shoulder. “So you can put ‘em back together?” He asked. 

“Yes, but first, I have to undo the chains of the memories I made on my own. After I’ve done that, I have to gather up the memories scattered across each of your hearts and then reconnect them.” Naminé said, before hesitating. “It might take some time. But I think it might work. No - it will work. I’m sure. It’s my turn to look after you.” She finished. 

“Alright. We all really trust you. You could have taken my memories of Riku away just like you took away the memories of that other girl. But you didn’t.” Sora said, a relieved smile on his face. “You let me remember. You let me keep my prom…ise…” Sora trailed off, a horrifying thought coming to mind. 

“Naminé…did you see everything? Even, even from when Riku and I were little?”

Naminé paused. “…No.” she said. “You were too little to remember clearly.”

That was a lie. Sora remembered that time, vividly.

“Naminé. Don’t, don’t lie to me.” He pleaded. Naminé flinched. 

“I…yes. But it’s not my secret to tell. It won’t come out, not from me. I didn’t give the memories to the other Riku either, so don’t worry about that.” She answered, much to Sora’s relief. “I couldn’t bear to take your promise to your brother from you, that you would remember with him. It would’ve been cruel, both to you and to him. Especially since…especially since I already did it, with the only other person who knows.”

“Then, that girl - the one special to me, the one I can’t remember - she knew too?” Sora asked. Naminé nodded slowly. 

“Yes. You said…I saw the memory, of the first time you, Donald, and Goofy faced down Ansem. When you sacrificed yourself, when you thought it was the end for you, your last words were these: ‘Sorry, Riku. Looks like Kairi will be the only one left to remember.’”

“Kairi? That’s her name?” Sora asked. 

“Yes. That’s the name of the sister I took from you.” Naminé said, her voice cracking on the word took. “I couldn’t take your brother from you too. Even if they hadn’t wanted you and this Riku to fight over me, there was no way I could. Not after everything you’ve been through.”

Donald and Goofy exchanged confused looks, but thankfully didn’t ask. Sora was grateful for that. This was private, between him, Riku, and…Kairi.

“Wait a minute!” Jiminy shouted. “You said you’d have to undo the links of the memories you made. But that means-”

“Yes.” Naminé nodded. “You won’t be able to remember anything about what happened here.”

“Not even you?” Sora asked, dismayed. 

“I’m sorry. It’s the only way, I’m afraid.” Naminé says apologetically. Sora drooped. To forget Naminé…to forget his friend…

“Naminé? Will Riku remember you?” Sora asked. Naminé paused. 

“We haven’t met, but…we might. I never touched his memories - not of you, not of Kairi, nothing. The time that came before is beyond my reach anyway. Even if I tried, it would just end up a tangled mess between the fake memories I made and true memories I could never touch.” Naminé said, before taking a deep breath. 

“Sora, you have a choice. You can lose your memories of this castle and reclaim your old ones…or keep your memories here and give up the memories that you’ve lost.”

“That’s a cruddy choice.” Sora complained. 

“I know. But there’s no other option.” Naminé confirmed. 

“…Make me like I was.” Sora said reluctantly. “I don’t want to forget you, but…some things are too important to lose.”

“Oh, okay. Nobody needs to keep a bunch of memories that aren’t real, right?” Naminé said lightly, though Sora could tell the smile she wore was forced. “You want to remember all of the people who are really important to you. Anybody…would choose that.”

“Naminé.” Sora said firmly. “Meet up with Riku. Get to know him - let him get to know you. He’ll remember for me, the kind of person you are. The great friend that you are. And when he and I meet up again he’ll tell me all about you. He’ll show me the way back, and I’ll get to know you all over again. So promise me, Naminé.” Sora said, looking Naminé right in the eye. “Promise me that you’ll find Riku.”

“…Okay.” Naminé said after a moment. “I promise.”

“Good!” Sora nodded. “Let’s go, then. Show us what you need us to do.”

Chapter Text

“So…huh. Learn something new every day, I guess.” The boy frowned, before that frown turned into a curious spark. “So, you were a scientist? What kinds of things did you research?” 

“A great many things. Most prevalent among them was our research to discover the nature and mysteries of the heart.” Ansem informed the boy, pleased by his curiosity. 

“The, the heart?” The silver-haired boy asked uncertainly. Ansem merely nodded in confirmation. The boy looked up at the evening sky, judging the heavens before coming to a decision. “Let’s call it a day. I wanna hear more about this anyway.” 

“Very well.” Ansem agreed, and followed along as the boy approached the rubble of what had once been a house - or more specifically, the old, rotting doors to what was apparently a storm cellar. Keen eye. 

The boy took hold of the handles and began to pull. With a grunt of effort, he managed to get them open, and strode down the stairs into their newest temporary shelter. Ansem closed the doors behind him, the rotting wood falling into place with a muted boom and leaving them in complete darkness. 

“Fire.” A single word, and the spell crackled to life, held as a light in the child’s hand. Ansem had no issue seeing in the dark, being a Heartless as he was, but the boy had no such benefits. And as Ansem was currently pretending to be human, he would pretend to be under the same limitations. 

Luckily for two of them, there was a frayed and battered rug covering most of the storm cellar’s floor, providing them some measure of protection from the chilled stone beneath. He and the boy sat down, and his future vessel promptly gave him his full attention. 

“Hearts are, primarily, made up of light and darkness. When a person gives in to their darkness and allows it to overtake and consume them, a Heartless is born.” Ansem began. 

“Wait, like those monsters Maleficent summoned back on the islands? The ones we’ve been running into around here?” The boy interrupted. Ansem nodded. Islands? This was the first the boy had ever spoken of the world he hailed from - what were the odds that it would be some prison of islands, just like the one he himself had come from. The one he’d slept in for decades after giving his original self as a teenager the ability to time travel so that all versions of himself would have access to any point in time.

But that was enough of Destiny Islands. “Indeed. They act only on primal instinct, driven to seek out other hearts and corrupt them, growing their numbers. Eventually, they will seek out the heart of the world they are on through a passage known as a keyhole, and if successful in consuming it, that world will fall.” Ansem told the silver-haired boy.

“So...that’s what happened to Destiny Islands…” the boy whispered, and what. 

“Yes. Maleficent is able to control them because Heartless behave in a hierarchical manner. They follow whoever is the strongest, be they Heartless or human.” Ansem replied, the steadiness of his voice never once betraying the bewilderment within. This child, his future vessel, he had been on Destiny Islands this entire time? Right under his nose? 

Was this some sort of cosmic joke?

“I’m guessing Maleficent is using her control over the Heartless to keep them from eating this world?” The boy spoke up dryly, snapping Ansem out of his thoughts. “Since she’s using it as her base and all?”

“Correct.” Ansem said, a smirk of amusement on his face. “She has other targets to direct them at. For now, that will keep them satisfied.”

“Yeah, figured it was the forgotten small fry around here.” The silver-haired boy grumbled. “Though...when she broke my world, and kidnapped my sister, she said Kairi was a princess? Except, she’s not…” he paused, frowning. “She just showed up after a meteor shower one day, but that doesn’t make her royalty or anything.”

Meteor sh- hold on just a minute. A Princess of Heart and what could only be a broken gummi barrier; had his earlier experiment with the girl he’d suspected to be a Princess of Heart all those years ago been a success? It must have, if she’d found herself taken in by the family of the keybearer whose heart had resonated with her own. 

And now that very same boy was to become his vessel. The irony was not lost on him. 

“What Maleficent was referring to was not a status of blood, but a status of the heart.” Ansem said. May as well reward the boy for this new information, ignorant of such he may be. “There are seven people in all the worlds, all female, who naturally bear no darkness in their hearts.”

“Wait, they don’t? They’re missing half their hearts?” His future vessel asked, bewildered, and Ansem couldn’t help but laugh in amusement. How little he knew.  

“No. They are the exception to the rule, with hearts full of light and not a single shred of darkness.” Ansem explained. The boy frowned, thinking over what he’d just been told. 

“I...guess? Not entirely sure how that...works...but okay.” He said tentatively. Still confused, then. No matter, that was something easily remedied. 

“These pure lights, known as Princesses of Heart, carry within them a special power. When all seven are gathered together, the power of their hearts can be used to bring forth what is known as the Final Keyhole. When that special keyhole is unlocked with a certain keyblade, the path to Kingdom Hearts opens.” Ansem informed him.

“I’m...guessing that’s not a good thing. So, this Kingdom Hearts, is it like some super powerful, uh...thing?” The boy winced. “I don’t know what it is, but Maleficent getting her hands on it, that’s not a good thing yeah?”

“No, it would not be.” Ansem agreed, amused. It was even true, after a fashion. “Kingdom Hearts...not much is known about it save for what has been passed down through legend. The last time it was seen was long ago, during the Keyblade War.”

“What’s that?” The boy asked, much to Ansem’s pleasure. 

“The Keyblade War was a struggle between legions of keyblade wielders, long ago.” Ansem began. “In the Age of Fairy Tales, an era long since passed, people believed that light was a gift from Kingdom Hearts. Eventually, warriors began seeking out that light for themselves, and the resulting clash between them became known as the Keyblade War. But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by the ultimate keyblade, known as the X-Blade.” 

The silver-haired boy looked strangely solemn at this. How curious. 

“That keyblade, however, was shattered in the war - into seven pieces of light, and thirteen of darkness. And the one true Kingdom Hearts was swallowed up by darkness, lost forever.” Ansem finished. The boy balked, looking at Ansem with wide eyes. 

“If it was swallowed up by darkness, then, is it like the worlds that were swallowed by darkness too?” He asked hesitantly. 

“No, unlike them it is merely hidden.” Ansem corrected the boy, shaking his head. “As I said, it can be reached through the Final Keyhole. Those seven Princesses of Heart, they carry within them the seven shards of light broken from the X-Blade. That is how they are able to open the path to Kingdom Hearts.”

“Ohhhhhh. So that’s how they’re able to exist without darkness in their hearts.” The silver-haired boy realized. “And Kairi’s one of them?”

“Correct.” Ansem nodded.

“So then Maleficent, she’s probably got Kairi here, doesn’t she.” The silver-haired boy grumbled.

“Yes. Though fear not; Maleficent would have to be very unwise to leave a Princess of Heart here unprotected with so many Heartless present.” And that was before including himself in the mix; no Heartless would disobey him, not when he stood as the strongest of them all. Not even for the heart of a princess. “Even more than the hearts of keybearers like yourself, the Heartless seek the hearts of the seven pure lights. Even should she depart this world having ordered them otherwise, they would still seethe against their orders, eventually disobeying them in light of a greater prize.” 

“Great, they’re gunning for me. Wonderful.” The boy snarked.

“Yes, they are. But keeping on the move as you have been makes their hunt all the more difficult.” Ansem informed him, the boy looking mollified at that. “It is late. You should rest, if you wish to continue on tomorrow.”

“Yeah, alright.” The silver-haired boy conceded, laying down on the frayed, time-worn rug on the floor. It surprised Ansem even now how quickly the boy who was to become his vessel fell asleep in his presence. Oh, he in no way, shape, or form trusted Ansem - yet - and made his boundaries on Ansem’s proximity very clear, but even still, it surprised him. Much about the boy surprised him, truth be told. 

Good. He would so hate to be bored. And if there was one thing his future vessel wasn’t, it was boring. 

Chapter Text

“Ha! Pay up, you two!” Branwen crowed, Roxas and Olette’s baseball bat piece having landed on his and Naminé’s hotel on Sunset Terrace. Olette groaned, but dutifully handed over the fake Monopoly munny. 

“Guess we’re next.” Xion said, picking up the black and white die. Specifically black with white dots, which was cool because she’d never known there were colors other than Luxord’s white with black dots dice before. Riku said there were even glass ones with pretty resin colors inside them! Xion didn’t know what resin looked like, but she was sure it was pretty if Riku said so. 

“Don’t roll a one, don’t roll a one, don’t roll a one.” Hayner prayed. Xion rolled a one and Riku burst out laughing, the jerk. 

“You jinxed it.” He giggled, Hayner moving his and Xion’s car piece into jail with exaggerated sorrow. Xion patted her teammate on the shoulder commiseratingly, though she was unable to help but smile at their friend’s antics - especially when he balled up a fist and brought it to his eye, turning his wrist back and forth in what Xion had been taught was the gesture of ‘waaah’. They all cracked up at that, and Hayner grinned unrepentantly. 

“Guess it’s our turn, Pence.” Riku said. Pence picked up the die, shaking them and rolling. 

“Five.” He reported, and Riku picked up their carousel horse - he always picked the horse - and moved it over five spaces. “Oh yeah! New property, let’s go!” Pence cheered, picking up a house piece as Riku paid up the 20 munny to buy Market Street. Riku’d been weirdly unnerved by the fake munny the first time they’d brought out the game for some reason, muttering ‘Well that’s freaky.’ even though he pretended it never happened. 

That was okay, it might’ve been his first time seeing color-coded munny. Destiny Islands might not have Monopoly after all. She and Roxas certainly hadn’t seen it before coming here - the Organization didn’t exactly believe in games. They just wanted her and Roxas for Heartless killing. To free people’s hearts, though given what Riku had told them Xion didn’t trust a word they said anymore. 

“Our turn again.” Naminé said, snapping Xion out of her thoughts as Riku passed their friend the die. Naminé rolled a three, moving her and Branwen’s top hat to land on the tram space. The unoccupied tram space. 

“No fair.” Roxas complained as the pair promptly bought Central Station. “You’re cleaning us out, guys.” More than half the properties belonged to Branwen and Naminé at this point, including the two most expensive sets. They were doomed. 

Another few rounds passed, everyone in silent agreement to try to snatch the last remaining property before Branwen and Naminé got ahold of it. Sure, it was the cheapest one, but any free spaces where they wouldn’t get fined by those two was sorely needed. 

At least, until Branwen rolled juuust enough for the worst case scenario. 

“That’s just mean.” Xion whined as Naminé and Branwen purchased the cheapest property, the Sandlot. 

“Talk about adding insult to injury.” Olette agreed.

“Sucks to suck~.” Naminé sing-songed, and Riku blew her a raspberry. 

“Right, none of us are winning this. You two good with a surrender so we can play another round?” Riku asked Branwen and Naminé. The pair glanced at each other before nodding.

“Sure. Another round of Monopoly sounds good.” Branwen decided. Hayner made a buzzer noise before crossing his arms into an X in front of him. 

“Nope, no more Monopoly, we’re playing a new game.” He announced, much to everyone’s amusement, swinging his arms back down to his sides. They all helped to pack up Monopoly, and Hayner proceeded to take it over to the table where he, Pence, and Olette had brought and stored a bunch of board games. 

DiZ hadn’t approved of Naminé playing with everyone at the beginning, because he was a butthole like that, but a bunch of teenagers yelling at him about the importance of breaks managed to get it through his thick skull. Sure, Hayner, Pence, and Olette didn’t know what Naminé and DiZ were working on, just that it was important and secret and unfortunately something only the two of them could do, but the point still stood. 

“What about Scrabble?” Roxas asked. 

“Scrabble’s boring.” Hayner replied without missing a beat, setting down the Monopoly box before rifling through the rest of the board games. Pence crossed his arms and huffed. 

“Is not.” He protested. 

“Is too.” Hayner fired back. 

“Is not.”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Is-!”

“Guys, knock it off.” Riku groaned. Pence and Hayner exchanged sheepish looks. 

“What about Candy Land or Shoots and Ladders?” Pence suggested. 

“Candy Land sounds good.” Naminé said. 

“Candy Land it is.” Hayner decided, pulling out the game from where it was buried underneath Five Minute Dungeon and Connect Four. “And this time you and Branwen aren’t allowed to be on a team!” He added, much to everyone’s amusement. 

“Fiiiine. If you say so.” Branwen said with a grin. Hayner came back to where the group was sitting and opened up the box, getting out the pieces. 

Xion smiled. These past few weeks had been the best part of her and Roxas’s lives so far. How could they ever go back to the Organization, now that they knew what they’d been missing? Amazing friends, fun and laughter, the knowledge that she and Roxas and Naminé were real people, no matter what the other Nobodies said. It warmed Xion’s heart, having people who cared. Who wanted her to be happy.

And, when this was all over and she, Roxas, and Naminé were brought back from Sora and Kairi’s hearts to exist as their own selves, she was coming home to her friends and never ever letting go. 

Chapter Text

Minnie was in the middle of having tea with Daisy when Dale suddenly burst into the library. 

“The king! The king is back!” The chipmunk shouted, and identical beaming grins spread across the two girls’ faces as they glanced at each other excitedly. 

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Daisy said, before tearing down the hallway like her tail feathers were on fire. Not that Minnie was any better; it had been a year since she’d last seen her husband after all. 

Minnie and Daisy burst into the audience room, where Chip was talking excitedly with Mickey. And her husband wasn’t alone - there was Donald and Goofy of course, but also a pair of identical twins, a boy with spiky brown hair, and a girl with medium-length blonde hair. 

“Oh, Mickey!” 

“Minnie!” King and queen reunited again, Mickey picking up his wife by the waist and spinning her around, much to Minnie’s delight. 

“Daisy! We’re back!” Donald announced redundantly, a brilliant smile on his face. A myriad of emotions flashed across Daisy’s own, before she walked over to her boyfriend. 

“Donald…” she said, before smacking him upside the head as hard as she could. 

“WAAAK?!”

“Don’t you ever do that to me again!” Daisy shouted, tears in her eyes. “It’s been a year, Donald! A YEAR! And you couldn’t even write so much as a SINGLE LETTER to tell me you were alright?!” She yelled, Donald shrinking into himself at her words. “Do you know how awful it was when I forgot you?! WHEN WE ALL FORGOT YOU?!”

“Aww, I’m sorry Daisy.” Donald apologized. 

“It wasn’t his fault. We would’ve been back sooner, but he, Sora, and Goofy got caught up in a memory trap set by Organization Thirteen. They were using Naminé here for it.” The twin with the shorter hair interjected, before looking startled. “Oh heck, we didn’t introduce ourselves. I’m Riku, and this is my twin Branwen, my adopted brother Sora, and our friend Naminé.” He said, each person giving a little wave when their name was mentioned. 

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you. Any friend of Mickey’s is a friend of mine.” She said sincerely, before curtsying. “My name is Minnie, queen of Disney Castle and Mickey’s wife.” Minnie introduced herself. “It’s been a long year without you three.” She added, directing this at Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

“Gawrsh your majesty, we would have been here sooner, but we had to sleep for a while so everyone could get their memories back.” Goofy explained. 

“A memory trap, how awful.” Daisy said, before shuddering. “Well, I’m glad you got out of it in one piece. Now what’s this about an organization?”

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story. You see…” Mickey launched into his explanation, and what an explanation it was. Nobodies, replicas, recompletion, and a promised rescue. It was enough to make Minnie’s head spin, and not from lack of understanding. 

“Are you telling me there’s yet another threat to the worlds?” Daisy complained when he was finished. 

“I’m afraid so.” Mickey said apologetically. 

“Does that mean you’re going away again?” Chip asked sadly. 

“We gotta stop the Organization. As soon as we do, we’re coming back home, all of us.” Sora said. 

“Awww.” Dale pouted. “Well, I suppose if you have to…”

“We can hold down the fort while you’re gone.” Minnie told her husband. A mix of relief and guilt washed over his face; Minnie knew how hard it was on him whenever he had to leave. She’d go with him, but one of them had to stay and keep the kingdom running smoothly. And as Mickey was a Keyblade Master, well, it only made sense for him to be the one to go. Even if Minnie hated it. 

“Gosh, thank you, Minnie.” Mickey said gratefully. “We’ll be back as soon as we can, I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Minnie told him, before turning to Naminé. “Naminé, right? Thank you so much for what you did in that Castle Oblivion place and Twilight Town - you did a lot for everyone, and I know we all appreciate it.” She said, and Naminé blushed. 

“I-I- I only did what was right. It was my mistakes that caused this mess, that kept your husband from you for so long.” Naminé said forlornly. Minnie shook her head. 

“Maybe so, but you did the right thing. It isn’t easy admitting you made a mistake, and even harder to go out of your way to fix it. And, you were the anchor that brought the love of my life from the Realm of Darkness. I can’t thank you enough for that.” Minnie said honestly. 

Naminé looked startled. “I- yeah. I guess you’re right. I never thought of it that way before.” She admitted. Minnie reached up and patted the taller girl’s shoulder, and Naminé gave her a small smile. 

“Well, now you have.” The queen of Disney Castle said happily. Naminé nodded slowly, and watched as the conversation turned to other things. 

“How do you do it? The waiting?” Naminé asked quietly, while everyone else was locked in a discussion with Chip and Dale over the expanded gummi ship. Minnie hummed, turning the words over in her head. 

“Well, I know my husband has good reasons. He’d be here in a heartbeat if he could, I know he would. So I guess…it’s that I trust him.” The queen of Disney Castle mused, before nodding. “I know he’ll keep his promise to come back as soon as he can.”

“Trust…I see.” Naminé murmured. She looked lighter, like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Much like it had with Minnie. It was a good look on Naminé, that kind of peace. And if Minnie could help her friend even a little bit, she would. It was the least she could do for everything Naminé had done for her.

Chapter Text

From the monitor, DiZ fired up the machine, projecting Ansem’s form over his own. Riku had chosen to forsake sleep; now it was time to test if the boy could overcome the darkness within. 

Opening a Corridor of Darkness, DiZ made his way to the second-lowest floor of Castle Oblivion’s basement. He didn’t open the other end though, not yet. Xehanort always did have a flair for the dramatic. One he would need to emulate to pull off his ruse. 

DiZ had timed his entrance perfectly. The doors to the memory world of Hollow Bastion swung open, Riku leaving the place behind without a second glance. 

“Why do you shun the darkness?” DiZ asked, his voice cloaked in Ansem’s own. Riku froze, wide-eyed in shock. And why wouldn’t he be, when he was under the mistaken belief that the Heartless who had possessed him had been utterly destroyed?

“Darkness is your weapon. It is time you learned to accept it.” DiZ continued. 

“Okay, who are you and what have you been smoking?” Riku asked, still reeling, and DiZ couldn’t help but snort. 

“Stop resisting. Accept the darkness. You have no choice…” And with a flare of that selfsame darkness, DiZ opened his side of the Corridor, emerging into the hallway to stand before the flabbergasted boy. “If you are to serve me again!” He finished with a smirk. Why, if Riku gaped any harder, his jaw may very well hit the floor. 

“A-Ansem? What?!” Riku spluttered. “Wait, seriously? Serving you?! Did Sora give you too many knocks to the head when he beat you six ways to Sunday?” Six ways to what? “Multiple times, I might add?”

Putting the odd phrase aside, DiZ continued with his performance. “Oh? Surprised? I knew you’d be the one to most appropriately serve me.” He said, placing a hand on his chest. He was gratified when Riku snarled at him. “And now, surrender to me again-” he began, extending a hand, only for the boy to cut him off. 

“You’re insane if you think I want to go through that again!” Riku shouted furiously, scowling at DiZ as he summoned his keyblade. He lunged, bringing down his weapon in an obvious, overhand strike - and was rebuffed in turn by a shield of dark magic. Dark magic that blasted him back, sending him crashing down onto the floor, Midnight Blue disappearing on impact. 

“Did you really think you could do me harm?” DiZ sneered. 

“Obviously, duh.” Riku snapped back, scrambling back to his feet. He bounced back quickly it seemed, but DiZ had yet to finish. 

“A weakling like you couldn’t even defeat Sora - and you had darkness on your side.” DiZ retorted. The footage from Hollow Bastion had been grainy and without sound, but what had taken place was obvious enough. Riku and Sora had gotten into an altercation over the fate of their friend and the problem of the incomplete Final Keyhole. Sora hadn’t wanted to do what must be done, and so they got into a fight, Riku drawing on the darkness to bolster his strength. A darkness that would allow Ansem into his heart and control over his body. 

“You are weak. You need darkness. Surrender.” DiZ told the stunned teenager as he slowly approached. “Bow to darkness. Bow to me.” Bow, and he would be destroyed. DiZ could not allow Xehanort’s Heartless back into the worlds. If that necessitated destroying Riku, then so be it. 

“Okay, who the heck are you, and why are you impersonating Ansem?” Riku demanded, and what?! How did he-

“What?” DiZ managed to vocalize. 

“Seriously, I don’t know what you thought you were getting, impersonating Ansem, but lemme tell you, you’re failing utterly.” The boy drawled, amusement dancing in his eyes. DiZ would have responded, but the sudden appearance of a ball of light - a light radiating an all-too-familiar power - sent everything else out the window. 

“What?” Riku asked, just as baffled as he. “…Mickey?” So he too recognized the king’s power?

“That’s right! Remember Riku, you’re not alone!” The voice of DiZ’s dear friend piped up cheerfully. For a moment, just a brief moment, DiZ wanted to shed his disguise, to throw away all pretense and talk with Mickey as he had before everything went so wrong - but no. He must persevere. He could not allow his traitorous apprentices to walk free. Not after everything they’d done to him. 

The little ball of light descended from the air, entering Riku’s heart and strengthening the light within, pushing it back from the precipice it had been teetering on between light and dark. And- wait, what was- was it going back?! DiZ watched, stunned, as the darkness within Riku’s heart surged forward, pushing back against this donated light until his heart once again sat precariously balanced between the two. 

This, this was impossible. A heart didn’t just sit naturally on the border of light and dark! Hearts were light, until the darkness overcame them. They-

“Listen close. The light’ll never give up on you. You’ll always find it, even in the deepest darkness.” King Mickey said, snapping DiZ from his spiraling thoughts. 

“I know. They’re two sides of the same coin, after all.” Riku answered agreeably. “One can’t exist without the other.” DiZ just snorted. 

“You think that feeble little light can save you from the darkness that I command?” He asked derisively. 

“Okay, first of all, you, shut up.” Riku snapped, pointing at DiZ. “You’ve clearly got no idea what you’re talking about, so quit running your mouth. All you’re doing is making yourself look even more like an idiot than you already have.”

That…wasn’t entirely wrong, DiZ could admit, much to his chagrin. “…All right. Then see it for yourself.” He decided, and held up another memory card. “This is a card crafted from your memory. Advance through the world it creates, and soon, you will understand.” DiZ told Riku. “Chasing after light is not the way. It will not give you distance from the darkness.” Because surely, he wished to pry himself free from the mire of darkness that held such a firm grip on his heart? Or was he truly so lost to the darkness that his heart would reject the strengthening of its light?

“Oh for- did you seriously not hear a single thing I said?!” Riku griped. “You know what? Forget it. I’m running on a serious time limit as it is.” A time limit? For what? Riku then held out a hand, his demand clear. DiZ obliged, tossing the card to the boy, who snatched it out of the air, practically radiating irritation. 

Perhaps…DiZ could indulge in an experiment of his own. Just to make sure. He smirked, staying in character despite Riku having caught on to the truth. So long as he didn’t confirm things one way or the other, that little seed of doubt his performance would sow was worth the hassle. “I have one more gift for you.”

“What’s the ca- augh!” Riku cried out, cutting himself off as DiZ moved to temper the darkness within rather than explain. The boy’s consent didn’t matter - DiZ would have his answers. 

And then he was done, and DiZ released his grip on the boy’s power. Riku let out a pained groan, his strengthened darkness retreating back into his heart, now eclipsing his light. 

And, before DiZ’s incredulous eyes, the light within Riku’s heart reversed course, the darkness willingly giving ground as his heart returned to that anomalous position between light and dark. 

“What the frick did you do?!” Riku demanded, as though he hadn’t just casually shattered everything DiZ knew to be true about hearts. 

“I simply tempered the darkness that yet remains in your heart.” DiZ explained, still reeling from what he’d seen. The implications alone… “To use it or not is your choice. But it is there. And I’ll be waiting for you, Riku…for you to yield to the darkness in your heart!” He finished, before retreating through a Corridor of Darkness. He had much to consider. 

Chapter Text

Ansem watched as the child who was to become his vessel struggled with the lid of a Tupperware container, feeling mildly amused at the annoyed grumbling coming from the boy. He’d lend a hand should the boy require it, but-

With an abrupt pop, the Tupperware lid snapped back, the pressure catapulting it directly into the silver-haired boy’s face. “Frick! Ow! Dangit!” 

Ansem chuckled at his misfortune, and the boy in question rolled his eyes at him. 

“Hardy har.” He snarked, before tucking quickly into his meal. Ansem did the same, though he was careful to eat less while making it seem like he wasn’t. He was a Heartless; he was only eating to keep up the ruse of being human. The boy, on the other hand, needed the food. Badly. 

All too soon, there was a telltale clack-clack noise as the silver-haired boy set his now empty Tupperware container aside. Ansem closed the one he held, setting it down as well. He’d pass it off to the boy another time. The silver-haired boy returned to the massive rug in the center of the storm cellar while Ansem blew out the candle, dousing the room in complete and utter darkness. He moved with slow, deliberately hesitant steps, pretending he was just as blinded in the dark as the boy. Ansem nudged the silver-haired boy’s knee with his boot, as though finding him by feel alone, and then sat down right next to him.  

Ansem gave the boy a considering look. Carefully - oh so carefully - Ansem moved his arm, lowering it over the boy’s shoulders. He kept his touch light for a few moments, giving the silver-haired boy ample time to make any displeasure known before setting down the full weight of it. But he didn’t. To his delight, the boy let him. He froze, yes, but he let him. Ansem didn’t push his luck drawing the boy closer to his side; this was already great progress as it was. After all, the boy would never have tolerated this before. 

Perhaps keeping him warm these past few nights had broken some sort of barrier in the silver-haired boy’s mind. Now that that invisible line had been crossed, it might be easier for the boy to allow physical contact. Ansem had no doubt that had he tried this but a week earlier the boy would have hit him. Hit him and scooted away, distrustful walls thrown up once more and refusing to come close again despite the biting cold. 

“How are you so warm anyway.” The silver-haired boy grumbled, Ansem’s lips quirking upward in amusement at the question. 

“Internal Fire magic, as I mentioned before.” Ansem replied. The boy just facepalmed in response. 

“Right, duh.” He groaned. Ansem chuckled. 

“There is no shame in forgetting. It was quite some time ago, after all.” The Heartless reminded him. 

“Yeah, I know. But still.” The silver-haired boy made an unhappy noise, before tilting his head to look up toward Ansem - or, well, in the direction where he assumed Ansem’s face was. The boy could hardly see in the dark after all. “Can you teach me internal Fire magic?”

Absolutely not. “I’m afraid not. It is no slight against you, but internal magic is complicated at the best of times. You are far more likely to cook yourself than anything else at your current skill level.” It wasn’t even a lie; internal magic was complicated. More importantly, Ansem refused to give up the opportunity being a human space heater gave him with getting the boy to be more comfortable with him. 

He’d learned his lesson well from one of the handful of fragmented memories he had regained from the experiments performed on his heart, in an attempt to shed light on his forgotten past. Terra had put up quite the fight when Ansem’s original self had taken him as a vessel, to the point where his heart had had to be forcibly ejected from his body. And while his new vessel would theoretically be easier to take over due to a combination of age, greater darkness, and lack of training, Ansem knew now that the boy would fight him with all the tenacity and desperation of a cornered animal. He would lose, but unlike Terra who fought merely to regain control of his body the boy would go down doing the maximum amount of damage possible.

No, rather than jumping right in and fighting for control as he had before, Ansem worked instead to gain the boy’s trust. A trusting heart was far easier to overpower than a guarded one. And as Ansem needed to wait on the capture of the Princesses of Heart anyway, he was in no rush. He could take the time to do this properly. 

The fact that he found the boy’s company enjoyable was simply a bonus. He would miss this when the time came. 

“Figures.” The silver-haired boy grumbled, though there was no heat to it. He was still tense under Ansem’s arm despite allowing the touch; it seems Ansem still had work to do. He could hardly force things - if he pushed too far too fast he’d spook the boy and undo a significant amount of progress. Progress he was sure would not be earned back easily. 

No, the boy had to come closer of his own volition. Much like taming a stray cat, now that Ansem thought about it. An image of a scruffy silver cat with the boy’s teal eyes appeared in his mind, and he snorted despite himself. 

“What’s so funny?” The silver-haired boy asked curiously. 

“Merely a memory.” Ansem lied dismissively. 

“What was it?” The boy prodded. Ansem sighed, giving the boy a pointed look even knowing he could not see it. 

“You’re not going to let this go until I tell you, are you?”

“Nope!” The silver-haired boy said cheerfully. He was a little more relaxed now, Ansem noted. It seemed the unintentional distraction was keeping his focus away from the arm laid across his shoulders. 

“Very well.” Ansem sighed, a grin spreading across the boy’s face in response. His future vessel did so love stories, Ansem had found. Now, for an appropriate anecdote. “Did I ever tell you about how Ienzo attempted to sneak a dog into the castle?”

The boy gasped, delighted. “He didn’t.”

“He did.” Ansem smirked. “Young Ienzo had been living at the castle since his parents passed away, and had been in Even’s care for quite some time when he began begging him for a puppy, as all children do.” 

The silver-haired boy smiled wistfully. “Sounds about right. I know I was the same with my parents.” Ansem wasn’t sure what to make of the look. Had he had a dog before, one that passed away?

“Even, naturally, said no. He wanted nothing to do with a, what did he call it? Oh yes, a slobbering, unsanitary mutt shedding hair and pooping everywhere.” Ansem continued, and the boy laughed. “Ienzo naturally insisted he could care for it, but Even was adamant. So, being nine, Ienzo did as children do and decided sneaking a puppy into the premises couldn’t possibly go wrong - or be discovered.”

“To his credit, he actually did manage to hide the fact that he had a puppy in his room for three weeks, and while his skill with illusions definitely helped they did nothing for the noise. How he managed to keep a puppy so quiet is beyond me.” Ansem admitted freely. “Naturally, Even was furious. He made Ienzo give the puppy away-” the silver-haired boy beside Ansem grimaced, looking upset at that. “-and the boy secretly swore revenge. I do not know how he convinced Aeleus to help, but together they moved everything in both Even’s laboratory and his room two inches to the left. I know because I caught them doing it, and elected not to say anything.”

The silver-haired boy began cackling. “How many things did Even knock over?”

“Enough that a mixture of chemicals bumped off a table in his laboratory created a small mushroom cloud that forced everyone to evacuate the entire laboratory wing.” Ansem said dryly, and the boy laughed harder. He was wheezing, actual tears in his eyes, and Ansem took that as the win that it was. 

“Did, did he ever find out who did it?” The boy asked. 

“He did not.” Ansem said, sending the boy into another wheezing fit. “Though he suspected Braig had something to do with it. Which was quite funny, given that while this was absolutely something the man would do, he actually wasn’t involved this time. Much to his vocal disappointment, I must add.”

The boy had sobered up, no longer laughing fit to burst. “Braig sounds like an interesting character.”

“You have no idea.” Ansem muttered. “I heard he was quite insufferable when he first learned how to teleport, refusing to walk anywhere in favor of constantly popping in and out of places. Preferably directly in front of the person he wished to speak to - at least until a startled Dilan punched him in the face so hard he lost consciousness.” The boy snorted, looking highly entertained. 

“I can see it.” He said happily. He had completely forgotten his previous discomfort it seemed, less tense under the Heartless’s arm. After a few minutes of silence, the boy even began to hum quietly. Another good sign, that he had grown comfortable enough with Ansem to do so. The thought made him smile, before it fell from his face. All too soon, the time would come for the boy to serve his purpose as Ansem’s new vessel, and the child himself would disappear under the yoke of Ansem’s control. He almost didn’t want to do it. 

The thought abruptly sent Ansem’s brain screeching to a halt. When had he- had he actually gotten attached, to the boy who was to become his new vessel?

…He had. Ansem’s mind whirled - he didn’t know when he had gotten so attached to the boy, but now that he’d noticed it it seemed so obvious in hindsight. 

Well, this was a complication he hadn’t foreseen. But, as Ansem looked down at the quietly humming form of the child next to him, he found it was not an unwelcome one. It did, however, land him in quite the predicament. He still required the boy as his vessel, make no mistake. He needed to be able to wield the Keyblade of People’s Hearts when the time came, and to do that Ansem needed the silver-haired boy’s body. There was no getting around it. 

But perhaps…it need not be permanent? Ansem straightened, the thought hitting him like a bolt from the blue. That was right; he only needed the boy to reach the Door to Darkness from the Final Keyhole - after that, it no longer mattered. He would hold onto the silver-haired boy’s body just in case the Door too required unlocking, but once Kingdom Hearts was his he could return the boy’s body to him without consequence. 

A satisfied smile crept across Ansem’s face. Yes, that sounded like an excellent plan. Once the great darkness of Kingdom Hearts was his, he would take the boy somewhere safe. Somewhere where he could recover from his ordeals while stranded in Hollow Bastion in peace. He would be protected from the Corridors of Darkness while Ansem was in control of his body - the Heartless could quite literally walk the silver-haired boy anywhere he desired. Whatever damage the possession would have on their relationship, Ansem would repair after. It wasn’t like the boy had a home to return to, after all. Destiny Islands falling had freed him of that particular prison. 

Though, he would need to come up with some sort of excuse as to why he couldn’t return the silver-haired boy to his adopted siblings once freed from Hollow Bastion…hmm. Well, he had time enough to think of something. Either way, when all was said and done and the dust had settled, Ansem was taking the boy with him - whether he liked it or not.

Chapter Text

“Come on Riku! I bet I can last longer than you can!” Sora grinned, running up excitedly to the haunted house. He’d never been allowed to go in one before. All the grown-ups kept saying he was too young - even Riku, the traitor! - but now, now he was old enough. He was a big boy now, and big boys weren’t scared of anything!

“I guess we’ll find out, huh?” Riku answered, following Sora in at a more sedate pace. That was a new word Sora’d learned today, ‘sedate’. It meant calm or serene. Riku used big words a lot, and sometimes he forgot Sora and Kairi didn’t. But that was okay, because then Sora and Kairi got to learn big words they could use, just like grown-ups did!

Unfortunately they had to wait their turn - only one group was allowed in at a time - and the waiting took foreeeever! Sora was gonna be as old as Riku used to be by the time these people came out!

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, people came out from the backyard gate, looking really shaken.

“Alright, your turn.” The grown-up guarding the entrance said, a woman who was pretending to be a haunted suit of armor, and Sora immediately marched over to the haunted house and threw open the door. There was tape and stuff marking off where you weren’t supposed to go, cause this wasn't really a haunted house. Just someone’s house pretending to be a haunted one. 

That didn’t, however, stop the half-stifled shriek that came from Sora’s mouth when a pair of skeletons popped up from behind a couch, scaring the life out of him. Wait, no they didn’t - he was just surprised is all. Not scared, surprised. 

Ignoring the stupid fake skeletons that absolutely did NOT scare him, Sora ducked under a curtain of fake cobwebs stretching across the rest of the foyer. Something moved out of the corner of his eye, and he just barely ducked in time for it to go sailing over his head.

“Gack!” Riku, who did not duck in time, shouted, jumping half a foot into the air as whatever it was bounced off his face and hit the floor. “Is this a fake spider?” He asked, bending over to pick it up and frowning at it. It was fuzzy, and really big. Like, really big. Super duper big.

That’s when it moved. 

“AAAAHHH!!!!” Sora and Riku shrieked as one, Riku flinging the actual live tarantula across the room. 

“Who the frick thought that was a good idea?!” Riku demanded, a hand clutching his shirt over his heart. “That’s a spider, not a prop! What if somebody killed it?!”

Sora frowned. A lot of people were scared of spiders. Like, really scared. Sora knew Riku went out of his way to trap and toss outside any spiders he found in his house, but he also knew that Riku’s dad was really scared of them and squished them on sight. So. 

“I’m talking to Kairi’s dad about this.” Riku muttered, and Sora nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah. It’s not like the spider asked to be thrown at people.” Sora said. “You think it’s someone’s pet?”

“I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.” Riku grumbled. He led the way this time, opening the door to the kitchen. 

“RAHHHH!!” A huge guy with a knife shrieked, Sora screaming in tandem with Riku as the thing was waved wildly in front of their faces. 

“Watch where you’re aiming that thing!” Riku yelped. The grown-up - because that’s what it had to be, a grown-up, not a monster, this was fake - only grinned at them, missing lots of teeth and was it just Sora or was the smile way too long for his face?! 

“Tasty tasty children.” Ohhhh, that was a really scary scratchy voice, yikes. “Tasty meat, tasty bones, perfect for the soup.” The grown-up cackled, before pointing to a bubbling cauldron sitting in the corner of the kitchen. He stomped over to it, stirring with a wooden spoon, and to Sora’s horror the liquid inside glowed. “Better run, better run! I can feed a dozen with the two of you!”

Sora ran, bolting for the door on the other end of the kitchen and into the dining room. He glanced back long enough to check that his brother was right behind him before slamming the kitchen door closed. He ran, following the tape through the dining room and into the living room, only stopping when he reached the tape next to the stairs. Tape that split the living room in half, with their side leading to a scratched-up door, a sign reading ENTER IF YOU DARE hanging crookedly on the wood. The tape didn’t go all the way though, stopping on a chair to leave enough of a gap to go to the other side of the room and up the stairs. 

“Are you okay?” Riku asked, slowing to a stop next to Sora. “Do we need to go back outside?”

“N-no! ‘M not scared!” Sora insisted, balling up his hands into fists to hide the shaking. He wasn’t going to cry - only babies cried, and he wasn’t a baby! “I can keep going!” 

“Alright. Then let’s go.” Riku said, and Sora walked purposefully forward, determined not to give up. His dad didn’t think he could do it, but he’d show him. He’d make it through the whole thing!

There was a dark hallway on their side of the room, and Sora walked right on by, taught as a wire. He wouldn’t react to whatever was waiting there, and he knew there had to be - things always jumped at you out of the dark. 

Wait. Riku wasn’t following. Sora turned back around just in time to see all the color drain out of Riku’s face, stark terror in his eyes as a figure moved from the darkness. Before Sora could do more than open his mouth Riku was already moving, his fist colliding with- a hunched-over hooded robe?

“Augh, ow!” The grown-up staggered back, the hood of his brown robe falling back and super duper long sleeves riding up to reveal wrinkly, gray-painted hands as he clutched at his equally dark gray face. “My d’ose!”

“Oh my gosh I am so sorry.” Riku breathed, hands flying up to his mouth as fear was replaced by horror. “Are you okay?”

“Yeb. I dink. Jus’ a bloody d’ose.” The grown-up pretending to be a zombie groaned. He pinched his nose shut before tilting his head back. That done, the grown-up started back down the hall he’d come from, Sora and Riku awkwardly following. As soon as he noticed the grown-up waved them off. “You kids go ‘head, I’ll be fine. Jus’ be more careful a’ight?”

“Alright.” Sora and Riku chorused, Riku more sheepishly than anything else. The grown-up reached out, opening a door that led into a bathroom. He flipped the lights on, closing the door behind him, and then they were alone. 

“Sora? I’m, gonna go sit outside.” Riku said, a slight squeak to his voice. “You go on ahead, okay?”

Sora rapidly shook his head. “Nuh-uh! I’m not leaving you alone, not after that scare.” He took his brother’s hand, practically dragging him back to the exit. “We’re getting out of here together.”

“Okay.” Riku said quietly. They went back the way they came, the scary knife grown-up giving them a sympathetic look and stepping aside to let them backtrack. After a few minutes they reached the front door, which Sora easily pushed open with a single hand. He led his brother over to a nearby bench, who still looked a little shaken. And embarrassed, if the way he plopped his face into his hands and groaned was of any indication. 

“It’s okay. Haunted houses are supposed to scare you.” Sora said, patting his brother on the shoulder reassuringly. Riku just mumbled something into his hands. “It was just a grown-up in makeup, he wasn’t actually a zombie.”

“I know.” Riku moaned into his hands. Sora frowned, before shrugging it off and sitting down next to his brother. 

“Did they not have zombies where you come from?” Sora asked curiously, wanting to give Riku a distraction from his thoughts. His brother lifted his face out of his hands, looking surprised at the question. 

“No, they did. But it’s just like here: stories and fairy tales. They don’t actually exist.” A strange look crossed Riku’s face at that, but then it was gone. “And even if they did, they’d only be a problem for a relatively short period of time.”

“Wait, really?” Sora asked, wide-eyed. “How?”

“Well, uh, bodies rot, you know? And so do zombies, that’s already well-established.” Riku began, only for Sora to cut him off. 

“What’s ‘well-established’ mean?” He asked. Riku blinked. 

“Oh, it means something that’s been proven really well.” He explained, and Sora nodded. “Anyway, if they rot that means there isn’t anything preserving them, and there’s not much any virus or curse can do to move it when all the tendons have fallen apart.” Riku pointed out, much to Sora’s amazement. That was right - why didn’t he think of that before?! “So while the initial wave would be devastating, eventually we’d get to the point where we were sheltered up enough that no new people were getting bitten, and at that point it would just be a waiting game.”

“That’s so smart, Riku!” Sora cheered, starry-eyed. Riku just flushed. 

“Not really - I mean, I got it from a guy off YouTube.” Riku said, the foreign word a concept Sora still couldn’t quite wrap his head around. I mean, watching guys talk or do things on a thin brick that showed other places, even those that didn’t exist? It sounded like magic, even though it wasn’t. And that made it even more magical. “It wasn’t something I thought of on my own.”

“Still, it’s really smart.” Sora insisted. The distraction was working at least; Riku didn’t look as rattled anymore. Sora kept chattering, filling the silence with theories about undead monsters and what he’d do if he had to fight off a zombie invasion and just generally keeping his brother from getting lost in his own head. Riku did that a lot. It was Sora and Kairi’s job to snap him out of it when he did that, so he didn’t get sad. Riku did that a lot too. 

It was getting better though - loads better. Riku wasn’t nearly as hurting as he used to be, before he, Sora, and Kairi became siblings. He still hurt, in a way that made Sora’s heart ache inside, but he was getting better. 

“Hey, Sora?” Riku spoke up. 

“Yeah, Riku?”

“Let’s uh. Not mention this to my parents, okay?” Riku asked sheepishly. Sora blinked, before laughing his head off. 

“Sure! It’ll be the Incident That Shall Not Be Named!” He giggled, because Riku had told him stories where there was this big evil bad guy wizard lots of people called He Who Must Not Be Named and Sora had been dying to use it for something ever since. “Other than to Kairi that is.” 

“Other than to Kairi.” Riku agreed, his lips quirking up in a smile. “And Sora? Thanks.”

“No problem, Riku! That’s what brothers are for!” Sora chirped, kicking his legs out and hopping off the bench. “Now come on, they’re selling candy corn colored cotton candy down the square and I wanna try some!” In fact- “Race ya there!” Sora giggled, before taking off. 

“No fair!” Riku protested, but he was laughing too so Sora counted that as a win. The cotton candy was a win too, especially since Sora won the race. Mmm, nothing like the sugary sweet taste of victory. 

Chapter Text

Sora burst through the next door, staggering to a stop at the familiar sights and sounds around him.

“Is this…is this my island?” he asked, looking around. The trees, the water, the paopu fruits…all of it was the same. It, it was like Destiny Islands never fell to darkness. It made Sora’s heart ache. Home…he just wanted to go home. 

He could never go home again

“I don’t know, is it?” Donald asked. Sora could only nod slowly. 

“You sure come from a nice place, Sora.” Goofy said, looking around appreciatively. Sora gave him a smile.

“Thanks.” he said, before it slid off his face as he looked around. “Surely there’s got to be a reason we came out here, right?”

“I don’t know. I mean, we’ve been going through all the other fallen worlds, why not this one too?” Donald pointed out. Sora frowned.

“I-”

“This world has been connected.” A snarl twisted Sora’s face at the sound of Ansem’s voice, accompanied by bits and pieces of the Play Island vanishing into thin air, starting from the outside in. “Tied to the darkness…”

“Show yourself, loser!” Sora shouted, summoning the Kingdom Key into his hands. All around him the sea drained away, leaving the island floating in a void.

“Soon to be completely eclipsed. There is so very much to learn.” A portal of darkness appeared, Ansem just as Sora last saw him stepping out of it. “You understand so little. A meaningless effort for one such as you.”

“Stop speaking in riddles!” Sora snapped. Ansem looked down his nose at him, an extremely unimpressed expression on his face.

“One who knows nothing can understand nothing.” he said disparagingly, folding his arms. “Take a look at this tiny place. To those ignorant of other worlds it may seem like a paradise, when it is in fact a prison surrounded by water.” Ignorant of other worlds? Sure, the adults hadn’t believed Kairi when she’d said she’d come from another world - the only thing aside from her name she’d remembered - but Sora and Riku had. How could they not, when Riku himself came from somewhere even more impossible than she did?

That’s when it dawned on him: Riku must’ve lied, to protect Kairi. Their sister was the only reason they even knew other worlds were out there, even if they were as unknown and inaccessible as the stars. If Riku admitted he knew the outside worlds existed, he would have had to explain why. And Riku wasn’t willing to do that, not with some stranger. Not after Maleficent had already kidnapped Kairi. 

“The only prison I see here is you! Now let Riku go!” Sora demanded. 

“No.” Ansem replied, a slight scowl to his face. “The boy is going nowhere but with me.”

“Then we’ll make you!” Donald growled. Sora nodded. 

“That’s right! We’re gonna get you free, Riku! Just hang in there - don’t ever stop fighting!” He said. Donald, Goofy, and Kairi had told him what had happened, that Riku had managed to freeze Ansem in his tracks long enough for them to escape. That he was still in there, fighting back. 

“Don’t bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is.” Ansem said, and was it just him, or did Ansem look really mad? “Riku fighting me, I’m afraid, is no longer an option.” 

“That’s a lie! Riku will never stop fighting to get back to us! You won’t be able to control him forever!” Sora growled. 

Ansem raised an eyebrow. “Who said I wanted to control Riku forever?” Sora just stared at the man, flabbergasted. Wasn’t that literally what he was doing right now?? “But no matter. His heart belongs once again to darkness. He will not be interfering a second time.” 

“What do you mean?” Sora shouted in frustration.

“All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different.” Ansem said, before shaking his head with a wry chuckle. “Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. You see, darkness is the heart’s true essence.” Ansem finished, an unholy light gleaming in his amber eyes.

“You’re wrong!” Sora said confidently. “Hearts are full of light and darkness. The heart’s true nature, it isn’t just one or the other. It’s both! Light, and darkness, you can’t have one without the other. They’re two sides of the same coin.” he finished.

“Quoting your brother, I see. But do you understand it? Such a balance is not easily achieved - or maintained. And in the end, every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!” Ansem declared. 

“That’s not true!” Sora retorted. “The heart may be weak, and it may even give in. But I believe that so long as you’re alive, there’s a light that’ll never go out!” He’d seen it all throughout his travels: people who stubbornly refused to let go of the light. Even when everything said they should.

“Fool. To have come this far and still learned nothing…I suppose I should not be surprised. Very well then - you shall see just how weak light really is in the face of darkness. How easily it is snuffed out.” Ansem said, before scowling. “Don’t expect a rescue from your brother this time - he is incapable of doing so now. You will find no help from that quarter.” 

Sora tightened his grip on the Kingdom Key. “What. Did you do. To Riku?!”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Ansem sneered, before a dark monster surged up from behind him. The very skies drained away, leaving nothing but a purple void, and then Ansem attacked. 

~*~

Darkness poured in from the sides of the destroyed Play Island, blinding Sora. He blinked, frantically looking around in the darkness, only to let out a breath of relief as he saw Donald and Goofy beside him. He could still see. He wasn’t blind.

“Behold the endless abyss! Within it lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!” Even as Ansem spoke, Sora’s eyes were drawn to the pair of white doors sitting on floating rock. The only splash of color in the darkness. “Look as hard as you are able. You’ll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born. Even yours.” Those dark depths…was that the darkness Riku had passed through, on his way to rebirth? Had his spirit stopped by to collect the heart it never had so he could be reborn into this universe?

“Darkness conquers all worlds!” Ansem shouted, abruptly jarring Sora out of his thoughts as the darkness parted around them. Sora gaped at the monster before him, this thing Ansem had turned himself into. It was almost like a fleshy ship, with a ferocious beast as its captain and Ansem at the helm. Tethered to the helm, really. For some reason. 

A strange portal opened on the middle deck, immediately providing the answer to that question as gravity changed all around them, pulling them right to it. Donald and Goofy vanished inside with a scream, while Sora just barely grabbed the edge of the ‘boat’ in time to keep himself from following after. The portal was relentless though, dragging at Sora’s body, and just when his fingers lost their grip - it closed. Sending Sora flailing over the side and down into the dark.

Sora squeezed his eyes shut. He was dead. He was so dead-!

“Then I’ll make you a promise! When you wake up in the morning, I’ll still be here! I’ll never disappear on you, not ever!”

Sora’s eyes flew open. Riku. Kairi. Donald. Goofy. He wasn’t giving up here!

Golden sparkles of light trailed from his form as Sora shot upward, his fall having somehow become a flight. One he had control over. Sora didn’t understand what was going on, or why he was floating, or what monstrosity Ansem had turned himself into. But there was one thing he did understand: first he was getting Donald and Goofy back, and then he was beating up Ansem. He’d get Riku back no matter what it took!

~*~

Explosions crackled all along the monstrosity’s body, light bursting forth from Ansem’s chest. It built and built until it consumed everything, temporarily blinding Sora. When the light died down, Ansem floated before them, back to normal, albeit clearly in pain. Sora mentally winced; Riku was not gonna be a happy camper when he was freed from this loser.

“It is futile.” Ansem hissed. “One keyblade alone cannot seal the Door to Darkness.” Sora’s heart skipped a beat. Was that true? Did they really need a second keyblade to seal those things? Sora clenched his fists; then that made it all the more important to get Riku back from this loser!

The loser in question whirled around, extending a hand toward the giant white doors. “Kingdom Hearts! Fill me…with the power of darkness…” The doors cracked open, clouds of darkness beginning to billow forth from within. “Supreme darkness…”

“You’re getting more than what you bargained for, Ansem! Just as there is darkness…there must be light!” Sora shouted after him. And as though in answer, light took its turn to burst forth, shining bright upon them. Ansem cried out in pain, raising his hands as though to shield himself from it.

“Light…but why?” Ansem gasped, clearly struggling to speak through the pain. Served him right for stealing Riku’s body from him. “It…he…”

The light of Kingdom Hearts began to fade, but that didn’t stop a new circle of light from enveloping Ansem, just as it had the monstrosity he’d transformed himself into not long before. It consumed him, burning bright, before extinguishing. Leaving nothing behind.

Leaving nothing behind.

Sora paled. Had, had he just killed Riku-?!

“...ora? Sora!” Someone was shaking him. His vision had gone white; Sora couldn’t see. Could barely hear over the ringing in his ears. Was he, sitting down? On the rock? When?

“Sora! Snap out of it!” Goofy begged. Sora blinked slowly, the fuzziness starting to fade.

“I’m…what…?” he managed, the world slowly returning to normal around him. What had happened?

“Thank goodness you’re alright!” Goofy said, letting out a loud sigh of relief. “Donald and I were so worried!” The mage in question moved forward before whacking Sora’s shin as hard as he could with his staff.

“Ow, Donald!” Sora protested, holding the battered limb. “What was that for?!”

“Don’t you ever scare us like that again!” Donald shouted. “You just suddenly stopped reacting to anything! Nothing Goofy and I did could snap you out of it - I thought that loser might’ve tried to snatch your body next!”

“You were like that for a while, Sora. You scared us.” Goofy added.

“O-oh. No, I’m…I’m okay. I, Riku, he…his body…” Sora’s voice cracked. “It’s gone.” A heavy silence hung over the trio. “Is, is he dead?”

“Well…what does your heart tell you, Sora?” Goofy prodded. Sora closed his eyes, placing a hand over his chest.

“My heart…” Sora murmured. He turned his attention away from his friends, trying to focus, to find that place inside him.

There. Sora opened his eyes, a sigh of relief escaping him. “He’s not dead. I don’t know where he is, or what’s going on, but I know in my heart that Riku is still alive.” And wasn’t that a relief. Sora didn’t know what he’d do if- nope not thinking about it. 

“Good!” Donald said. “Now let’s hurry and close those doors! Maybe we can’t seal them yet, but who knows what might happen if they’re left open like that?”

“Good point. Let’s go!” Sora said, getting to his feet before leading the charge up to the doors. Donald and Goofy began shoving one door while Sora pushed on the other. They had to get these closed, but that was easier said than done when the stupid things just didn’t want to move!

A pair of thin, emaciated hands shot forth from the darkness, grabbing onto the door Sora was trying to close from the other side.

“R-Riku?!” Sora yelped, hardly able to believe his eyes.

“Sora! Good to see you’re alright!” Riku’s voice - Riku! - said, Sora’s brother leaning over to the side so he could see them through the gap. Sora could have cried right then and there. His brother was okay! And he had his body back too! “Really. I’m glad to see you. Now come on! We got this! Let’s put our backs into it!”

“Right.” Sora nodded, before renewing his efforts in getting his door shut. Riku pulled back from his end, and slowly but surely, the great white doors began to slide closed. Donald leaned to the side, taking a peek, only for his eyes to widen at whatever it was he saw.

“It’s hopeless!” Donald wailed, every muscle in Sora’s body tensing at the words.

“No it’s not!” Riku shouted back. “Mickey’s-” Sora leaned over to see whatever it was Donald was freaking out about just in time for a different kind of light to shine through, interrupting Riku and eradicating what Sora had only the briefest instant to recognize as Darksides. Plural. Yikes.

“Your Majesty?!” Donald and Goofy yelped, and Sora refocused his attention on the newcomer. He was a mouse, that much Sora could tell, though admittedly it was hard to see through all the light he was radiating.

“Now, Sora! Let’s close this door for good!” Donald and Goofy’s king, Mickey, yelled, holding up- wait, was that- was that a yellow version of the Kingdom Key?! It, wait. The Kingdom Key D. Sora didn’t know how, but he knew its name. Just like he had when he’d seen his brother’s keyblade for the first time, back on Destiny Islands. 

Except Midnight Blue didn’t look like a recolored copy of his, so what-?!

“Don’t worry about me.” Riku spoke up, interrupting Sora before he could even attempt to string two words together. “This isn’t a door we could pass through even if we wanted to. There’s more than one way out of this place.”

“Riku’s right! There will always be a Door to the Light!” Mickey added. Riku nodded.

“Exactly!” he agreed. “So until we get out of here, you and Kairi stick together, you got it? Watch each other’s backs!”

“O-okay!” Sora promised, before shoving himself against the door one last time. Riku yanked his hands back, keeping them from getting squished between the doors. As Sora pushed, the last thing he saw before the gap closed was his brother’s sad smile.

Sora swallowed heavily, a single tear escaping his eye, before holding up the Kingdom Key. Power gathered at its tip, stars of light circling the keyblade. As if in answer, the Door to Darkness began to glow, orange and blue lights overtaking it.

And then, in one final burst of light, it was gone. Leaving only a single pathway into the dark behind.