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Sora and Riku were on the beaches of Destiny Islands practicing magic in the late afternoon.
Sora asked Riku if he could practice magic with him so that they could keep their senses sharp and their strength up.
That... and Sora really wanted to spend time with Riku again.
It had been forever since it had been just them. After everything that happened with Ansem, Xemnas and Xehanort, Sora just wanted to be selfish for a moment and ask Riku to spend time with him. It was a backwards way of doing it, but they were having fun okay?!
They were going back and forth, finding out which magics worked best together. Obviously Firaga and Blizzaga weren't a good match up and it ended up either splashing them with water or just turning into steam. Thundaga seemed to match up well with every spell though. Except Magnega and Reflega... Sora could still feel the jolt in his finger tips.
Sora cast Firaga up into the sky and Riku cast Thundaga but he honed it in on the ball of flame and struck it. It burst into brilliant lights and looked almost like a firework.
"Whoa..." Riku breathed. He looked to Sora who looked just as mesmerized by the sight of the crackling embers. Riku cleared his throat and turned away before he too was enchanted, but not by the lights. "I feel like that one could go either way. A good party trick and a way to catch enemies off guard as well as casting good damage."
"Right!" Sora beamed at him. Riku felt his heart skip a beat. Oh how he missed this. He missed seeing his smile directed at him. Brighter than any sun, and purer than clear unsullied waters. Riku could drown in the ocean that was his eyes. "It's really pretty too."
"Maybe that's the magic Donald uses for Duck Flare." Riku mused.
"No, I think he actually summons fireworks for that." Sora shook his head. Riku chuckled softly.
"Does Donald still not like me all that much?" Riku asked willing his Keyblade away. Sora did the same as he responded.
"No, I don't think he does. I think he realized how much you really mean to me and stopped saying mean things." Sora laughed. "He even said you're allowed on the Gummi Ship now!"
Riku laughed too. "I'm so honored."
They both looked out at the endless ocean, but they both knew that it wasn't endless. There was somewhere they could go when the oceans ended. Other worlds were beyond what they had once perceived as 'endless.'
"Riku..." Sora called, his voice was soft as if afraid his voice would break the delicate peace they'd forged moments ago. "If you had to go back, would you change anything?"
Riku thought for a long time. Was there anything he would change? He was certain about one thing he would change.
"I would probably smack my younger self upside the head for thinking he could brave the darkness all by himself." Riku played off the tremble in his voice with a laugh that sounded just a little too forced, but his smile fell soon after. “I would also ask you to forgive me.”
“You don’t have anything to apologize for.” Said Sora almost immediately after.
“But I do.” Riku shook his head. “I was a jerk to you. I was selfish and mean, I was only looking for my own personal gain. I ended up trampling you in the process.”
Sora smiled softly he held out his hand to Riku. Riku stared at him before he returned his smile and took his hand.
“I’d forgive you even if there is nothing to forgive.” Sora mumbled sincerely.
“Such a sap.” Riku ruffled Sora’s hair. Sora laughed swatting his hand away.
'
"Say that again!" Sora challenged. He jumped back and readied his Keyblade. Riku narrowed his eyes and summoned his Keyblade too.
They faced each other waiting for a twitch, something that gave the other away.
Suddenly Riku called forth Magnega and Sora retaliated with a spell he'd thought he'd forgotten.
"Stopga!"
The two spells collided causing a violent shift in the air. A vortex formed, swirling and dangerous, threatening to tear apart the very fabric of their reality. Sora cried out as the spell knocked him from his feet and began dragging him towards the swirling void.
"Riku!" Sora cried out reaching for Sora, but he only got himself caught in it's clutches too. They were both dragged into the vortex and it suddenly went dark as soon as they entered.
The spell was satiated once it had something in its hold and it disappeared as if never existed.
"Sora! Riku! Where are you guys?" Kairi called. "I saw that strange firework. Was that you? Sora?"
Sora groaned as he sat up.
His head was spinning. He blinked away the fog in his mind as he tried to figure out where he was and what had happened.
He remembered the spell and that it messed up before they were sucked in and now he was here. Wherever here was. It was certainly cold and biting weather that surrounded him. It sunk into his bones and made him shiver. The air had a static to it too. The hum of magic that filled it wasn't lost on him.
He knew this place somehow.
"Sora!" He heard Riku calling him. Sora perked up and scrambled to his feet. He heard Riku! "Kairi! Where are you!"
Sora paused. Kairi wasn't with them. Why would he call for Kairi if she wasn't around when they vanished. Sora shook his head. He'd find out later. He needed to call back and let Riku know where he was.
"Ri-mmph!" Sora felt a hand cover his mouth, stopping him from speaking. Sora struggled, but he stopped when he heard a familiar voice whisper in his ear.
"Shh... that's not me." Riku whispered in his ear. "Not the current me anyway."
Riku pulled away and Sora turned to look at him. Riku made a quiet motion and Sora nodded.
"What do you mean that's not you?" Sora whispered.
"That is the me of the past. When were were kids. When we just left the Islands." Riku looked around his eyes tracing the ice and water that somehow defied the laws of nature. Sora knew where they were now. Sora peered up at Riku, his eyes were sad though. Sora saw that they were filled with deep regret and sorrow. "This is when I arrived in Hollow Bastion and Maleficent found me."
Sora peeked out from behind where they were hidden and Sora spotted a much younger Riku speaking with Maleficent.
"We should stop this then." Sora said. Riku caught his wrist.
"No!" Riku whispered loudly. "Messing with time isn't wise and it could cause damage to us in the present now."
Sora stared at the Riku of the past. Younger, his eyes swirling with a darkness he could prevent this time, but he trusted Riku more than he trusted in his own judgement. So, Sora nodded. He would stay beside him until they could figure out what to do.
Maleficent and past Riku disappeared in a dark portal and Riku and Sora sighed.
"You said you wanted to-"
"I know what I said." Riku answered curtly.
"We could change what happened. None of what happened has to happen!" Sora urged. "We could barge in there and stop Maleficent from ever lying to you, and saving you from the darkness!"
"Not at the expense of you, Sora!" Riku snapped, Sora flinched away. "I've learned what it's like to be without you! More times than I should in one lifetime! I won't lose you again, Sora!"
Sora and Riku stared at each other as if daring the other to speak first, but neither of them got the change when the air changed again. Sora and Riku were dragged somewhere new. Well, new in the current moment.
Sora hit the dirt with another pained groan. He sat up and looked around.
He knew this place.
It was barren if you didn't count the rusted Keyblades from various fallen Keyblade wielders. They were in the Keyblade Graveyard. Oh, and the giant storm of Heartless.
"Riku?" Sora called urgently looking left and right. Sora spotted Riku sitting on the edge of the cliffside staring down at something.
Sora came over and sat down beside him.
Sora followed his gaze and saw that Riku was watching them.
Riku was beside Sora comforting him after his friends were taken away from him.
"Oh... is this what you thought of?" Sora asked Riku carefully. Riku didn't answer immediately. His body tensed when he saw his past self walking away from Sora's prone form.
"I felt so helpless here." Riku whispered. "But I told myself that they wouldn't get to you unless they got through me."
The tide stuck and Riku held them back as Sora looked fixedly at Riku protecting him. Sora swallowed thickly. He remembered how this ended. No one else should have remembered this, but he supposed it was a nightmare of his. Sora looked to Riku. Something he could enter.
The Heartless swallowed Riku into the depths of darkness and soon swallowed Sora soon after.
Sora gasped softly. Riku lowered his head.
"I can barely remember anything from that time, but I remember an inkling of fear. For you, for me, for our friends. I wanted to be brave for you though. I wanted to protect what mattered." Riku looked towards the swarm. "But I failed."
"You never failed me, Riku." Sora place his hand on top of Riku's and rested his head on his shoulder. "You've been fighting for a forgiveness that's already been given."
"And somehow I feel like it'll never be enough." Riku whispered, his cheek resting on Sora's head.
"Then I'll remind you every time you lose your way." Sora looked up at Riku and smiled. "That's my job, remember?"
Sora was so young when Aqua and Terra visited the islands, but there were some instances when Sora remembered what was said to them when they were younger. This one was one of them.
Riku smiled back at Sora and nodded. Light emerged from the Heartless storm, but before either of them could see what it was they were swept away in a vortex of time.
They landed on top of one another on a beach. The sun had gone down now, they sky was full of stars, full of worlds that sparkled in the distance.
Sora and Riku were home now. The static and magical feeling that sparked the air was no longer around. The spell was done and they would make sure to never make that magic mistake again.
"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren't enough." Sora whispered. "I'm sorry if I never told you that I'm thankful that you're always there beside me, making sure I'm safe. Thank you Riku."
"I'd do just about anything for you, Sora." Riku replied. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"This is cute and all, but WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!" Kairi cried.
Sora and Riku blinked. Had she been there the whole time?