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Chapter Text

Three keys were stuck in the dusty ground, surrounded by wasteland and older, more rusted keys. The sun struggled to get through the ashy clouds and shine light on a place in which the very air felt infused with darkness.

Protect the things that matter.

Blue-green eyes opened at the sound of the familiar voice as a gentle breeze rolled over the landscape, ruffling the boy's silver hair. He didn't pay much attention to the wasteland or the dark, ominous feeling hanging in the air, instead keeping his gaze steady, focusing on the large, brown key sticking up from the ground in front of him. He reached out and wrapped his hand around the handle of key, pulling it out of the ground. Once it was free, however, it dissolved into light, leaving an orange star in the boy's upturned palm. It was then he looked up and saw two people standing in front of him: a girl with a blue star in her hand and a boy with a green star in his.

It was then that the gentle breeze became a forceful gale. The silver-haired boy stumbled forward, and when he lifted his head, he saw the boy and the girl being lifted off their feet and blown away. The silver-haired boy reached out a hand in an effort to grab one or both of them, but could only watch as they disappeared into a vortex of wind and dust and darkness. It was at this point that the thing in his hand changed shape again, from a star to a sword, and instead of a hand or ankle, the boy found himself gripping the handle.

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.

The boy looked up again to see the storm dispersing to reveal a giant black monster with yellow eyes and a heart-shaped hole in its abdomen. It loomed threateningly over the boy, but he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, urging him forward and reminding him that he wasn't alone.

Without fear or hesitation, the boy brandished his sword and leaped at the monster.

Deep breaths. Let your mind figure out for itself what's real and what's a dream. Your heart may not know the difference, but your soul always does.

Blue-green eyes searched the ceiling, tracing the bumps, considering the way the light from the window lit one side of each, allowing the other to become tiny shadows, all connected to create a patchwork of light and dark. His left hand closed into a fist, then opened.

Riku sat up and looked out the window. The sun was barely over the horizon. Dew was slowly lifting off the seaside town, covering it in a misty veil that filtered the young sunlight, bathing the world in a surreal glow. The real world seemed more dream-like than the dream itself. Riku suddenly felt restless. He threw off his covers and pajamas, got dressed, and quietly, so as not to wake his foster parents, slipped out the the front door. He walked quickly and with purpose, through the still-sleeping town and to the docks, where he was surprised to see someone already there, sitting at the edge of the dock with his knees pulled up to his chest.

It was a boy, a year younger than Riku and a head shorter, with spiky brown hair and sky blue eyes that stared out across the ocean with a faraway look, watching the early morning mist curl over the ocean.

"Sora?"

The boy turned to Riku, eyes widening with surprise. "Riku? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? The sun's barely up!"

It wasn't uncommon to find Sora by himself, staring into the distance, but his being awake, let alone out and about, at such an early hour was unheard of.

"Well, you know. You talk a lot about how pretty it is out here early in the morning. I thought I'd come see it for myself, just in case..."

Something was off about his tone, that "something" being that it wasn't cheery. Riku sat down next to Sora, allowing his legs to hang from the dock, toes dangling just above the water. "In case what?"

Sora's voice went low, almost a mutter. "In case I never see it again."

Riku's brow furrowed with worry. Sora was about the last person he'd expect to hear that kind of talk from. "Sora... you know no matter what happens, we can always come back here. We all agreed to that. Promised."

"I know, just... things happen, you know? Things you don't expect."

"Well... yeah. But you remember the first promise we ever made to each each other, right?"

"Of course."

"So if you think about it, it doesn't really matter if we ever come back here or not, because we'll always have each other. No matter what."

"No matter what." Sora echoed. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if he were remembering them, five and four years old, making a promise that would define them for the rest of their lives. Still, a shadow hung over his expression and lingered in his eyes.

Something wasn't right.

"What's up, Sora? Is something bothering you?"

"No, it's fine. Everything's fine."

"Are you having second thoughts about going out there?"

"What?! No! Of course not!"

"Because if you were, you know I wouldn't judge you. It's scary, especially considering-"

"No! I'm not scared!" Sora's hand had disappeared into his pocket. "And even if I was, it wouldn't make a difference. I have to go out there. I want to. I just..." Sora sighed. "I just woke up with a bad feeling this morning, that's all."

"About going?"

"I don't know."

"Did you have a dream?"

Sora's eyes reflected the sky, and he suddenly seemed a thousand miles away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Is everything alright?"

At the sound of the new voice, the boys turned to see Kairi, their other best friend. Riku opened his mouth, but Sora beat him to it.

"Everything's fine. Riku and I were just talking."

Kairi sat down on Sora's other side. She looked as worried as Riku felt. "About what?"

"Nothing. I'll tell you later."

Kairi nodded and gave a small smile, as if that made sense to her. It certainly didn't to Riku. "Later" presumably meant when Riku wasn't around, but why would Sora want to talk to her without Riku if it was just about what the two of them had said to each other? Unless it was more than that, something Sora hadn't told Riku about- that dream he'd had or something else. But why? The three of them had shared everything since they were children. Why would Sora suddenly want to keep something from him? And why would he want to tell Kairi?

Kairi put her hand on Sora's arm. Then, her face brightened. "I have an idea. Why don't we take a break from working on the raft today?"

Riku rolled his eyes. "Of course you would want to, Kairi."

"Hey! I'm not suggesting it to be lazy! I just think we may all be a little stressed out and worried about the future. It would be good for us to put it out of our minds for a day. Besides, the raft will be finished soon, right? We should celebrate! It might be our last chance for a while."

Riku wondered if Kairi knew on some psychic level that she was echoing what Sora had said earlier. But when he looked at Sora, his blue eyes were shining and he had his usual relaxed smile on his face. "I think that's a great idea."

Again, Riku rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."

Kairi giggled. "Lazy bum."

"Hey! It was you who suggested it!"

"You're both lazy," said Riku.

Kairi smiled mischievously and stood up. "Yeah? Well, too bad 'cause you're outvoted."

"You can't boss us around all the time," Sora added, also standing.

"Well..." said Riku, looking out across the ocean. The mist was lifting as the sun grew stronger. "I guess it can't hurt. If we work extra hard tomorrow..."

It was Kairi's turn to roll her eyes. "Has anyone ever told you you're no fun?"

"Yeah, you, everyday."

"Well, it's true."

They could have gone on for ages, but Sora interrupted them. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. The diner should be open by now."

"Sounds great," said Kairi, linking her arm with his. "Come on, Riku."

Riku stood up, though not before getting in one final eye-roll, and followed them back into town.

Chapter Text

Riku woke up convinced he had just had a very vivid nightmare. Losing the island, seeing Kairi with those claw wounds, Sora's disappearance, the Heartless attack... it had all felt far too real.

Riku opened his eyes to find himself propped up against a wall in an alley, completely unlike any place he had seen on the islands. He turned his head slightly and came face-to-face with a dog. At least, he thought it was a dog. It was bright yellow with very big eyes. Eyes that stared at him intently as the dog panted.

No, he was definitely still dreaming. And he really just wanted to wake up so he could see Sora and Kairi, happy and safe. Riku closed his eyes, but the dog had other plans, putting its front paws on his chest and dragging its slobbery tongue across his face.

Riku jerked back to awareness, shoving the dog away from him.

Let your mind figure out for itself what's real and what's a dream. Your heart may not know the difference, but your soul always does.

As soon as Riku's mind caught up with the rest of him, he felt his heart sink. None of it had been a dream. The islands, his home for the past ten years, had fallen to darkness, and he had been separated from his friends.

First things first, then: he had to find them. That was the first promise they ever made to each other, that the three of them would always be together, and Riku was not about to break that promise. Riku felt a spark of hope inside him. Maybe, if he had wound up here after the islands fell, Sora and Kairi would be nearby.

That being said... he had no idea where "here" was.

The dog ran off, and Riku followed at a walk. Of course, it wasn't long before Heartless appeared, but Riku quickly summoned his Keyblade- that's right, he had a Keyblade now- and cut them down.

That was when he heard the voice behind him.

"They'll come at you out of nowhere."

Riku whipped around, Keyblade out and ready, tensed for a fight.

"Who are you?"

The man in front of him was tall with long, brown hair and a scar running diagonally between his eyes. He was holding a sword with what appeared to be a bullet chamber at the hilt. "And they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."

Riku narrowed his eyes. This guy didn't talk like he was on the side of darkness, but he also didn't talk like someone he could necessarily trust.

"For a kid, you seem to know what you're doing, but all the same, better safe than sorry." The man started to approach. "Now let's see that Keyblade."

Riku's grip on the handle tightened. "Absolutely not."

The man stopped and sighed. "Alright. Have it your way."

There was a moment where Riku actually thought he had beaten the man. He was on one knee, breathing heavily, and Riku made to walk away. He should have known better than to turn his back, because the very next moment, he felt something collide with the side of his head and everything went black.

When Riku woke up, the first thing he saw was green. He groaned and sat up, clutching his throbbing head.

"I think you might have overdone it, Squall."

"That's Leon."

The sound of voice drew his attention to the left, where he saw a young woman with short, black hair talking to the man who had knocked him out.

"Anyway," said the woman, this time to Riku himself, "glad to see you're wake. I'm the great ninja Yuffie. I think you already know this guy."

"A bit," said Riku, rubbing his head grumpily.

"Look," said Yuffie, "we're sorry about all that, but we had to get the Keyblade away from you to shake off those creatures. That's how they were tracking you."

"It was the only way to conceal your heart from them," added Leon. "But it won't work for long."

Riku swung his legs over the side of the bed, for the first time noting the Keyblade leaning against the bright green door frame. Riku frowned and held out his hand. The large key disappeared in a flash of light, reappearing in Riku's hand.

Leon narrowed his eyes. "You don't seem very surprised by any of this."

Riku shrugged. "It's been a long day. Heartless attacked my world and dragged it into the darkness a few hours ago."

Yuffie tilted her head. "So you already know about the Heartless and the other worlds."

Leon raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Well, have you ever heard of a guy named Ansem?" asked Yuffie.

"Ansem?" Riku racked his brain. It might've sounded familiar, but he came up with nothing, so maybe he was just imagining it. "Sorry, no."

"Well, he was studying the Heartless. He wrote a report, but it's probably still in the library at Hollow Bastion. And he's been missing since the Heartless took over that world."

"So why are you telling me this?"

"If we could find him, or even just his report, we might find a way to deal with the Heartless. Right now, all we've got is you and your Keyblade."

Riku nodded, turning this information over in his head. "I'd love to help you..." he remembered the island, disappearing into darkness and Kairi, injured, "...but I have to find my friends."

I have to protect the things that matter.

Still, don't the worlds matter too?

Riku didn't get anymore time to ponder this because at that moment, a Heartless appeared in the room. Leon yelled and Yuffie bolted from the room. Riku thought he heard another female voice call her name, but his attention was elsewhere as Leon smacked the Heartless with his sword, launching it through a window and jumping out after it. Riku leaped up from the bed and ran. He still had to search the town, to see if Sora and/or Kairi had ended up here, and he certainly didn't feel like standing still, waiting for the Heartless to come devour his heart.

Riku didn't make it very far before his quest was interrupted by, of all things, a duck and a dog falling from the sky. Their cries, while loud, didn't give nearly enough warning for Riku to get out of the way before they crashed on top of him, which was how he found himself under a pile with only his head and right arm, holding his Keyblade, sticking out.

"Oh, the key!" Clearly, it didn't escape their notice.

Riku had so many questions, but all of them slipped his mind as giant stone pillars burst from the ground, boxing him into the town square with the duck, the dog, and the slew of Heartless that appeared, including a giant suit of armor that fell from the sky and assembled itself.

Riku shoved the other two, whoever they were, off of him, pushing himself to his feet and readying his Keyblade. To his surprise, the duck and dog also readied themselves for a fight, the duck wielding a staff and the dog bearing a shield. Riku didn't have time to process this (it probably wasn't the weirdest thing he'd seen anyway), because then the Heartless were on them.

"So, let me get this straight: your king went missing, but he left a note saying you guys should come here and find me?"

Riku was walking through the streets of Traverse Town, looking for any sign of his friends while Donald and Goofy, as they had introduced themselves, trailed behind him, telling their story.

"A-yup," responded Goofy.

"And now you want me to come with you on you rocket ship so you can find him."

"Uh huh," Donald answered.

Riku came to a stop. He was back where he had started- in the square where the fountain with the dog statues stood. There was no way around it: Sora and Kairi weren't here.

"It's your friends, right?" Riku turned at the sound of Leon's voice to see him standing in the square with Yuffie.

Riku nodded. "I was separated from them when my world fell. Their names are Sora and Kairi."

Leon nodded. "We'll keep an eye out for them here. You should go with Donald and Goofy. Most people find their way to Traverse Town after losing their world, but not all. They might have ended up somewhere else."

Riku nodded. "Alright. I'll go."

"Great!" exclaimed Donald. He put his hand out, and Goofy placed his on top. Riku hesitated for a moment, but Donald didn't give him much choice, grabbing his left hand and placing it on top of Goofy's, who proclaimed, "All for one and one for all!"

Suddenly, Riku was ten years in the past, standing on the shore of the island with Sora and Kairi, hand on top of theirs, saying, The three of us will always be together.

Kairi added, No matter what.

And Sora, smiling despite the tear tracks still barely visible on his face, finished, And as long as we're together, we'll be alright.

Back in the present, Riku squeezed his left hand into a fist and slowly withdrew it. Silently, he made another promise to Sora and Kairi.

Wherever you are out there, I will find you.

Chapter Text

Riku's first impression of Wonderland was the sensation of falling, which was a pretty apt descriptor for the whole experience of being there. It didn't quite feel like falling, more like floating. He was lightheaded, just this side of dizzy, unsure of what was up and what was down. It was very much like trying to waking up while your body was quite insistent on going back to sleep. He could have been falling for seconds or hours. Riku might have welcomed a hard landing at the end, if only to jolt him back to reality, but instead, he was set gently onto his feet, leaving him to shake his head in an attempt to clear his head.

It took a moment for Riku to realize that he was not, in fact, hallucinating when a white rabbit ran past, wearing a waistcoat, carrying a large watch, and crying out, "Oh my fur and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" Then Riku's senses returned and he realized that given his current companions, a talking rabbit was maybe not the least believable thing he could be seeing right now. That didn't keep him from wondering what a rabbit could possibly be late for and why he would be so panicked about it. Part of the answer came when the rabbit yelled, "The queen! She'll have my head for sure!"

The hall Riku, Donald, and Goofy found themselves in was misshapen and full of so many ticking clocks, Riku decided he'd better not stay too long, for the sake of his sanity. There was only one way to go, so the three of them set off, following the white rabbit. This lead them to a door, which opened to a slightly smaller door, which opened to another slightly smaller door.

This was about when Riku realized that this world was going to be truly bizarre- mostly just for the sake of being truly bizarre.

The last door opened to a room that somehow seemed too big and too small at the same time, with a fireplace and a tiny door. Riku watched as the white rabbit ran through the door and slammed it behind him. He then stopped, blinked, and asked, "I'm not crazy, right? That rabbit was bigger just a minute ago?"

"You're not crazy," Donald confirmed.

"Sure is strange," Goofy added, scratching his head.

Riku walked up to the door and crouched down to get a better look. "How did he get so small?" he muttered, mostly to himself.

"No, you're simply too big."

Riku had seen a lot, sure. He was pretty sure the talking doorknob was new.

Behind him, Donald squawked. "It talks!"

The doorknob yawned. "Must you be so loud? You woke me up."

"Good mornin'!" said Goofy, ever friendly.

The doorknob was not receptive. "Good night." He (it?) closed his eyes and started snoring. Riku was abruptly reminded of trying to drag Sora out of bed only for the younger boy to pull his blankets over his head and go right back to sleep. Early in the morning was the only time Sora was ever truly grumpy.

Trying to ignore the pang of worry at the thought of his friend, Riku gave up the doorknob as a lost cause and stood up, turning around to see a table he was pretty sure hadn't been there before. He walked over and picked up the blue-labeled bottle sitting on it. "Drink me," he read aloud.

"Maybe that's how the rabbit got small," said Goofy, looking over his shoulder.

"Only one way to find out," said Donald, looking at Riku expectantly.

Riku looked at him, at the bottle, and back at the duck. "You want me to drink this?"

Donald crossed his arms. "Scared?"

Riku's eyes narrowed. It was the kind of thing Kairi would do, daring him to do something even against his better judgement. Unfortunately for him, Riku had never been one to back down from a challenge. "You can fix it if it does something weird to me, right?"

"Sure, sure." Donald waved his hand dismissively.

Great. Riku took a swig from the bottle, put it back onto the table, and crossed his arms. It wasn't long before a weird tingling sensation spread through his body and he watched the world around him start to stretch. No, wait, he was shrinking. Before he knew it, he was as tiny as the rabbit had been. Donald, of course, started laughing at him. Goofy picked him up and placed him on the table. Donald was leaning on said table with his hand, still chuckling, so Riku summoned his Keyblade and smacked his finger. Donald jerked his hand away, shaking it and giving him a dirty look.

Goofy drank from the bottle next, passing it to Donald as he began to shrink. Donald also drank, and Riku jumped off the table to join them.

Heartless showed up immediately. Riku, Donald, and Goofy fought their way back to the door. The doorknob was snoring away and showed no sign of stirring anytime soon. Thankfully, Riku noticed a doorway hidden behind a bed and, as luck would have, there was enough of a gap for the trio to reach it.

On the other side was a hedge garden decorated with roses. What looked like a deck of cards with heads and limbs stood guard, a girl stood on a stand in the center, and a large woman sat on a throne elevated so she could look down on everyone. Riku watched the white rabbit scurry up to a platform with a horn that he blew and announced "Court is now in session!" before doubling over, wheezing.

"I'm on trial?!" gasped the girl. "But why?!"

The rabbit managed to straighten himself up long enough to say, "Her Majesty the Queen of Hearts presiding!"

The large woman on the throne leaned forward. "This girl is the culprit. There's no doubt about it," she said, waving her arms and pounding her fists. "And the reason is... because I say so, that's why!"

"That is so unfair!" the girl objected.

"The queen must really hate that girl," Riku said, more to himself than his companions. "I wonder why."

"Well, have you anything to say in your defense?" the Queen of Hearts asked, clearly impatient.

"Of course! I've done absolutely nothing wrong! You may be queen, but I'm afraid that doesn't give you the right to be so... so mean!"

Riku raised an eyebrow. This girl couldn't have been older than ten, but obviously wasn't about to let the queen bully her into submission. Maybe that was why the Queen didn't like her.

"Silence!" The Queen screamed. "You dare defy me?!"

"Gawrsh, I feel kinda bad for her," said Goofy, "but muddling's against the rules."

"Meddling!" Donald corrected him.

Apparently the literal judge, jury, and executioner, the Queen delivered her final verdict. "The court finds the defendant... guilty as charged!" The girl tried to protest but was drowned out. "For the crimes of assault and attempted theft of my heart... OFF WITH HER HEAD!!!"

It was then that Riku darted forward. "Wait! It's not her!"

All eyes turned to him. "Who are you?!" the angry queen shouted. "How dare you interfere with my court!"

Unfazed, Riku continued. "There are creatures called the Heartless that steal hearts. They have to be the culprit, not this girl!"

"That's nonsense," the Queen said, glaring down at him. This whole trial is nonsense, Riku wanted to say, but the Queen continued, "Have you any proof?"

Riku returned her gaze defiantly. "I've seen them. I bet that's more proof than you have."

"How dare you?!?!" The Queen gestured to he guards, and before Riku could stop them, they had grabbed Alice off the witness stand and shoved her into a giant birdcage. "Bring me some real evidence!" the Queen demanded. "I don't care how much. If you can prove Alice's innocence, then perhaps I'll consider setting her free. But if not, it's off with both you heads!"

Riku sighed and turned back to his companions. Donald looked absolutely livid. "What were you thinking?! We're not supposed to meddle!!!"

Riku shrugged. "It's not meddling if the Heartless meddled first. If the world order is so important, shouldn't we be trying to undo what the Heartless have done?"

Goofy considered for a moment, then turned to his friend. "Ya know, I think he has a point. Besides, we can't let that girl have her head taken off, can we?"

Donald muttered angrily to himself for a few seconds before sighing mightily. "Fine."

Chapter Text

Two golden statues crossed swords over the entrance to the coliseum. The sandy courtyard was surrounded by white marble, and the entrance was a massive pair of bronze doors marked with lightning bolts and flanked on either side by marble columns. Clearly, it was an entryway built to impress, and possibly also intimidate, those who walked through. Riku, however, was not one to be deterred by architecture, and so he pushed through the doors and entered.

The inside was definitely cozier, if such a word could be applied to a room where the only things not made of stone were the gold braziers. Directly in front of Riku and his companions was a hallway blocked by a sign that read "Closed". Riku couldn't see what was closed, exactly, because the hallway was totally dark. To the left, standing on a small pillar, was a short, fat man whose bottom half was some kind of cloven-hoofed animal.

Well, whatever he was, he was the only person here, so Riku approached.

The hoofed man (satyr, supplied some faint memory he couldn't place the origin of) must have heard him approach, because before Riku had even opened his mouth, he said, "Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games."

The "pedestal" was a square block of marble taller than Goofy. Riku gave it a once-over and deemed the task impossible, even for him, who he was reasonably certain was the strongest kid on the islands. A glance at Donald and Goofy revealed they weren't looking too optimistic either. No, whoever this guy thought he was, they couldn't be human. He turned back to the satyr and said, "You must have me confused with someone else."

"What?!" That got the satyr's attention, who turned around to look at them. "Oh. Wrong guy. You here for the games?"

"The what?"

"The games! You know, heroes from all over coming to the Coliseum to fight ferocious monsters?"

Riku crossed his arms. "We're kind of from out of town."

The satyr hopped off his pillar, walking past them. "Well, this lobby is for heroes only, so if you aren't here to compete, run along."

"We are heroes!" Donald protested. "We fight monsters all the time!"

"Yup!" Goofy leaned over to put his hands on Riku's shoulders, making the boy tense up a bit. "He's the hero chosen by the Keyblade!" Still, he couldn't deny that being called a hero felt really good.

"And we're heroes too!" Donald added, obviously not keen on being left out.

The satyr ignored him, however, in favor of running his beady eyes over Riku. "If you say so. Let's see what you can do."

The satyr, who introduced himself as Phil, ran him through a series of training courses that involved breaking barrels within a time limit. It was a piece of cake. Riku had set up harder obstacle courses for himself and his friends on the islands. All of which he was the undisputed champion of.

"You know, you ain't bad, kid," Phil admitted when Riku had finished the final test.

"So does this mean I get to compete in the games?" Battling monsters in an arena would be a far better story for Sora and Kairi than playing detective in bizzaro world.

"Afraid not."

"What? Why not?"

"Look, kid, you might have some skills, but that alone doesn't make you a hero. There's only so many slots in the tournament, and I ain't ever heard of you. So unless you got an invite, you can't compete."

Donald looked like he wanted to argue, but Riku just sighed and waved him down. "Alright. Whatever."

Donald was still fuming as the trio exited the coliseum. Riku was pretty disappointed himself, not that he was planning on showing it anytime soon.

"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?"

Riku and his companions turned to see a man leaning against one of the coliseum columns. He seemed to be made of blue fire and was wearing a black toga held together by a silver skull clasp.

"Who are you?!" Donald demanded. He didn't sound like he trusted the guy, and Riku didn't blame him.

The man pushed off the column, holding his hands out in a placating gesture as he approached. "Whoa, hold on there, fuzz boy."

Riku snorted, and Donald glared at him.

"Let me guess," the man continued. "You want to enter the games, right?" He put a hand of Riku's shoulder, which Riku quickly shoved off. Undeterred, the man produced a piece of paper, holding it out to Riku. "Well, get a load of this."

Riku took the paper, reading it over. "This is an invitation to compete. For us."

"Yep, it's all yours. Good luck, kid. I'll be pulling for you." And with that, he disappeared.

Riku looked back down at the invite, brows pinched. Goofy looked over his shoulder. "Do you think it's real?"

Riku shrugged. "Why don't we go show it to Phil? If it's fake, we can tell him who gave it to us. And if it's real, we get to participate."

Chapter Text

Okay, so maybe taking the Gummi ship controls from Donald wasn't the smartest thing Riku had ever done, considering he didn't know how to fly the stupid thing. But he couldn't just stand there and do nothing, not when the magician was going to pass right over the world they found, not caring at all that Sora and Kairi might be down there. At that moment, Riku had realized he'd been tricked. His companions didn't actually care about helping him find his lost friends. They were only interested in his Keyblade and how it could help them on their mission. And if Riku was being honest, that stung a bit.

There were very few people outside of Sora and Kairi that Riku had liked and/or trusted enough to call his friends. And while he might not have called Donald and Goofy his friends if asked, there was a certain trust that built up after you'd fought your way through a couple worlds of Heartless together. And now it turned out the agreement their quest had been built on, the foundation of that trust, had been a lie. They'd been using him. Well, if Donald thought he was just going to sit there and take it, he had another thing coming.

Riku woke up to a throbbing headache. He cracked his eyes open only to slam them closed again at the bright light. He rolled over and pushed himself up, blinking the spots out of his eyes. The floor was wood. Actually, the whole structure was wood. It looked like he was in a large treehouse, and the bright sunlight was streaming in through the hole he appeared to have made when he crashed through the roof. So he must have been thrown from the ship, and he couldn't see it, Donald, or Goofy anywhere.

Great. Just great. Riku was in absolutely no mood to go looking for them. Unfortunately, they were his only way off this world.

He felt the other presence in the treehouse before he heard the growl. Riku turned to see a jaguar pouncing toward him. He just managed to roll out of the way of the big cat's claws before they sank into him. Before he could even start to scramble to his feet, the jaguar was lunging for him. All Riku could do hold his Keyblade out in front of him and pray.

His prayers were apparently answered in the form of a man with long, unkempt hair wearing nothing but a brown loincloth and wielding a handmade spear. He jumped down from the ceiling, landing in front of Riku and grappling with the jaguar until the beast went crashing through the window.

Riku had to give himself a moment to come down from the adrenaline spike that accompanied staring down the jaws of a wild predator. When his heart wasn't threatening to explode, Riku pushed himself up and onto his feet, turning to face the man who had saved him.

"Th- thanks."

"Sabor, danger," the man replied.

Riku blinked. "Sabor? You mean the jaguar?"

The man nodded. "Sabor, jaguar. Danger."

"Yeah, I got that. Thank you for driving it off."

"Thank... you," the man repeated, sounding uncertain, like he was trying the words for the first time.

Riku frowned. "Okay... where am I?" When the man cocked his head and looked confused, he tried again. "What is this place?"

"This place, this place."

Riku ran a frustrated hand through his hair. The man could talk, but he clearly didn't know many words. "Right... have you seen any others nearby?"

The man made a questioning grunt.

"Other people. People like me." Riku pointed to his chest, hoping gestures would help get his meaning across. "They should be nearby. Have you seen them?" He waved to their surroundings, then pointed to his eyes.

"Friends?"

Riku hesitated. On one hand, he'd finally hit upon a concept the man understood that was close enough to his situation. On the other, with Donald and Goofy's betrayal still stinging, the thought of calling them his friends put a bad taste in his mouth.

Then again, he didn't have to go looking for Donald and Goofy right away, did he? The whole reason he'd wanted to land on this world in the first place was to look for Sora and Kairi, and it wasn't like Donald and Goofy were going to take off and leave him and his precious Keyblade behind.

"Yes, I'm looking for my friends. Their names are Sora and Kairi."

"Look for Sora, friends?"

"Yes, I-"

Riku's voice died when he saw a shadow materialize behind the man and a hooded figure in a black coat stepped out from it. The figure raised his head, met Riku's eyes, and Riku felt his breath hitch.

He knew those eyes. He knew that face.

"Sora?!"

Those familiar sky blue eyes widened, and the figure stepped back into the shadow. Riku blinked, and the shadow vanished.

The man gave him a weird look, then asked, "Sora, friends? Kairi, friends?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Friends here."

Riku felt his mouth drop open. "Really?! You've seen them?!"

The man made a series of vaguely monkey-esque noises.

"...What?"

The man repeated himself. "Friends here."

"...Can you show me? Can you take me to them?"

The man smiled and nodded, gesturing to himself. "Tarzan. Tarzan go."

Riku returned the smile. He wasn't sure what was up with the black-coated Sora, but his friends were here! Take that, Donald. "Okay, Tarzan. I'm Riku. You go, uh, Tarzan go, and I- Riku will... go too."

Riku was pretty athletic, more so than any of the other kids on Destiny Islands and probably most of the adults too. But as Tarzan swung from vine to vine like it was as easy as breathing and rode tree branches the way the kids on the island rode the waves, even the obstacle course champion had trouble keeping up. Eventually, they reached a clearing where a camp was set up. Tarzan walked into one of the tents, and Riku, after taking a moment to catch his breath, followed.

Inside, a woman with long, brown hair was leaning over some kind of device. Tarzan called out, "Jane!" and she turned around.

"Tarzan! Oh, who's this?"

"Hi, I'm-"

"Oh, you speak English! So obviously, you're not related to Tarzan..."

Riku raised an eyebrow. Oh, is that what gave it away?

"Are you here to study the gorillas?" Jane asked.

"Highly doubtful," replied a deep, drawling voice behind Riku. He turned to see a large man with a mustache holding a shotgun enter the tent. And behind him...

"Riku!" Goofy exclaimed, sounding relieved and overjoyed. Donald ran forward, but when he saw the sour look on Riku's face, he quickly stopped and crossed his arms. Riku copied the pose. I can do this all day, you know.

"A circus of clowns," remarked the man with the gun, turning to leave. "Not much use for hunting gorillas."

"Mr. Clayton!" Jane cried indignantly after him. "We are studying the gorillas, not hunting them! This is research!"

The man didn't so much as look back to acknowledge her. Jane let out an exasperated huff, then turned back to the three outsiders, smile returned. "Well, the more the merrier. Do make yourselves at home."

"Thanks," said Riku. He looked at Donald and Goofy. "I'm staying."

He wasn't expecting to hear Donald say the same thing at the same time. He gave the magician a curious look. Donald scowled at him, as if to say I don't have to explain myself to you.

Thankfully, Goofy stepped in. "Well, we had a thunk about it, and realized that the king could really be anywhere, and since we're here," Donald gave Riku and extra dirty look at that, "we might as well look for him."

Riku felt a smirk spread across his face. "So maybe it's a good thing we didn't skip this world after all."

Donald huffed. "We gotta work together to find him. For now."

Riku shrugged, uncrossing his arms. "According to Tarzan, my friends are here. He's going to take me to them. You can tag along if you want. Once I find them, you can just drop us off at Traverse Town, and I'll be out of your hair."

Goofy looked a bit concerned at the prospect of Riku leaving them. If Donald felt the same, he didn't show it. Well, it wasn't Riku's problem. They'd just have to find another Keyblade wielder to help them find their king.

Apparently, Tarzan had been raised by gorillas, which was why it was so hard to communicate with him. Jane had been teaching him to speak using slides, and she quickly set about trying to decipher the meaning of the gorilla word Tarzan had used to indicate where Sora and Kairi were. However, Jane soon exhausted her slides, and Riku was no closer to learning the whereabouts of his friends.

Tarzan was giving his final head-shake when Clayton reentered the tent. "That leaves just one place," he said. "Young man, we've been in this jungle for some time now. and we have yet to encounter these friends of yours. I'd wager they're with the gorillas, but Tarzan refuses to take us to them."

"Really, Mr. Clayton," Jane started to say, "Tarzan wouldn't hide-"

"Then take us there! Take us to the gorillas. Go-ril-las."

Riku was starting to think he didn't like this Clayton guy very much. But he held his tongue, and his breath, as Tarzan turned to look at him. After a moment's hesitation, Tarzan nodded his head.

"Tarzan..." Jane asked, voice soft, "are you sure?"

"Tarzan go see Kerchak."

Tarzan went to go see Kerchak, who they collectively decided must be the gorillas' leader. Riku didn't feel like sitting around, so he decided to go back to the tree house, where he was sure he'd seen Sora. Donald thought he must've been seeing things, but agreed to go anyway when Goofy offered to accompany him. Clayton insisted on escorting them, despite Donald protesting they didn't need protection. Riku didn't want Clayton around any more than Donald, but he didn't really want to be alone with Donald and Goofy either, so he stayed quiet.

Riku didn't really know what he was looking for in the tree house, maybe just a sign he hadn't been hallucinating, but whatever it was, it wasn't there. Instead, they looked inside the treehouse to see a young gorilla playing with a globe. As soon as he set eyes on it, Clayton raised his gun and took aim. Donald, upon seeing this, let out an indignant squawk, startling Clayton into missing his mark and sending the gorilla scampering off, frightened but unharmed.

"What's the big idea?!" Donald demanded as Clayton recovered his wits.

Meanwhile, Riku caught sight of a very large gorilla on the loft, looking down at them. Tarzan emerged from behind it and said something in gorilla. He seemed to be pleading. But the giant gorilla, Kerchak if Riku had to guess, just turned and walked away. Riku got the feeling they weren't going to be allowed into the gorillas' hiding place anytime soon.

Tarzan jumped down from the loft and approached the group, glaring at Clayton, who waved his hands in front of his face.

"You don't understand! I was only trying to-! Ah... a snake slithered by, you see. I saved that poor gorilla's life!"

Riku wondered for a moment if Tarzan was going to attack Clayton, and if he would stop him if he did, but Tarzan just shook his head sadly.

Jane, on the other hand, was furious. "How could you do such a thing?!"

"Now, Miss Porter, as I told you, I was not aiming at the gorilla."

Jane wasn't having it. "You are not to go near the gorillas again!"

"All because of one mishap? Come now..." Clayton glanced around the tent, likely looking for support, but everyone present was staring him down, not looking particularly eager to come to his defense. Seeing this, Clayton quickly backed out of the tent.

A few moments later, a gunshot rang out through the jungle.

Alarmed, Riku ran out of the tent, Donald, Goofy, and Tarzan hot on his heels. Outside, the group found a group of monkey-like Heartless surrounding a gorilla. The four fought them off, and though Riku didn't speak gorilla, the one they saved seemed grateful. Clayton, however, was nowhere to be found, and so the group ran off into the jungle to search. They didn't find the hunter, but they did find more gorillas and more Heartless menacing them.

When they'd combed the jungle all the way to the treehouse, they returned to camp, at which point another gunshot sounded from the bamboo thicket. The group ran toward the sound, but the only trace they found of Clayton was his pipe, at which point Sabor leaped out at them. The fight was fierce, but at the end of it, the jaguar collapsed, dead.

The death of Sabor didn't see the comfort Tarzan, however, who took another look at Clayton's pipe and took off back toward the camp. The others followed, and quickly found one more thing to be worried about. Jane was gone.

Tarzan was quiet for a few seconds, then said, "Something coming. Jane, danger. Jane near... Near tree house."

Riku didn't bother asking how Tarzan could possibly know that. He just followed the jungle man back in the direction of the treehouse until they found Jane and the same young gorilla Clayton had shot at earlier trapped behind a cage of thick vines guarded by Heartless. Riku, Donald, and Goofy set about dispatching the Heartless while Tarzan cut through the vines with the sharp edge of his spear.

When all the Heartless were gone and Jane and the gorilla free, Tarzan began conversing with the gorilla while Riku approached Jane, asking "What happened?!"

Jane's answer wasn't reassuring. "Clayton came to the tent and... that's the last thing I remember."

"Clayton?!" exclaimed Donald.

Riku couldn't say he was surprised, given the timing of the Heartless's arrival and their fixation on the gorillas.

Tarzan confirmed their suspicions. "Gorillas trapped. Terk ran."

"Terk" was currently wrapped around Jane like the woman was her mother, and Jane looked stricken, exclaiming, "We must help the gorillas!"

Tarzan set off quickly, once again, and the rest were left to follow. They ran past the camp to the side of a cliff, where there was indeed a group of gorillas surrounded by Heartless, with Clayton raising his gun and taking aim.

"Stop!" yelled Riku, coming to a stop a few feet away. Clayton turned slowly to look at them, and Riku was suddenly taken aback. The hunter's eyes were blank, emotionless, dead. "...Clayton?"

"Not Clayton!" Tarzan corrected him, sounding urgent. He grunted out the same sounds they'd been trying to decipher the meaning of before this whole mess had happened, then repeated "Not Clayton!"

Riku didn't have time to even try to digest that because Clayton lifted his gun up again, this time pointed at them. The gorillas took the opportunity to make a run for it as Tarzan charged the hunter. While they fought, Riku, Donald, and Goofy took on the Heartless who seemed to be coming to Clayton's defense.

Just as it seemed they might be gaining the upper hand, the cliffside suddenly exploded and Clayton started hovering. The cause of this soon revealed itself to be a chameleon Heartless carrying Clayton on its back. The Heartless charged them with its horn, swiping at them with its claws as Clayton fired at them from its back. The rain of bullets forced the four to scatter and split duties, one or two distracting Clayton and the creature while the others did as much damage as they could before Clayton turned his attention, and his gun, to them. Eventually, they managed to dislodge Clayton and fell the creature. The hunter managed to get to his feet and aim at them with his shotgun. Unfortunately for him, the chameleon also tried to stand, only to collapse on top of him, crushing him and releasing its giant, crystallized heart. The Heartless disappeared, and Clayton was gone.

At the sound of something heavy approaching, Riku turned to see Kerchak approaching him. The large gorilla's expression was hard to read, so Riku was a bit worried when the gorilla grabbed him and very worried when he suddenly found himself flying through the air. Thankfully, he landed safely, if not gracefully, at the top of the cliff, and Donald and Goofy soon thudded next to him. Tarzan hopped up the cliff with ease, Jane on his back, followed closely by Terk. Tarzan put Jane down and turned to look down at Kerchak, who regarded them for a moment more, then turned and led the other gorillas away.

Riku turned to Jane, meaning to ask if she was okay, but the words died on his tongue as he saw her awed expression, fixed on something behind him. Riku turned, and immediately felt his own mouth drop open. He was overlooking a luscious, verdant landscape, the centerpiece of which was a waterfall that must have been a hundred times bigger than the one on the play island, at least. Tarzan came to stand next to him and said, "Tarzan, home."

Tarzan led them into a cavern next to the waterfall, which gave Riku a sudden flashback to scribbling on the walls of the Secret Place with Sora and Kairi, pretending the wind was a monster and swinging at it with their wooden swords. Riku found himself blinking away the memories and the unexpected feeling of homesickness that came with them. Was he really missing that tiny island, after spending so many years trying to escape it? No, he decided. He was homesick, but not for the islands. All the memories this cave brought back were memories of time spent with Sora and Kairi. It was them he was missing. They were his home more than Destiny Islands ever had been, and they would have loved this place.

Maybe they already did. After all, hadn't Tarzan said they were here? Wasn't that the whole reason they'd come? In all the chaos and commotion, he'd completely forgotten.

Tarzan led them to the back of the cavern, to a room where a giant green tree stood, something glowing on its trunk. Jane stepped closer, her scientific mind clearly fascinated, as Riku looked around. "So... this is your home?" he asked Tarzan, holding himself back from outright demanding the location of his friends upon seeing they weren't there.

Tarzan held his hand up, then motioned to his ear. The group fell silent and listened.

"The waterfalls..." Jane said after a moment. "They're echoing all the way down here."

Tarzan repeated his string of grunts. "Friends there. See friends."

"Oh, now I've got it!" Jane exclaimed. "It means heart! Friends in our hearts."

"Heart..." Tarzan repeated, getting the feel of the word.

"Oh. I see." Riku tried to push down his disappointment and frustration, but he probably wasn't doing a very good job of it. At least, Sora and Kairi wouldn't have bought the act for a moment. But they weren't here, were they?

Tarzan continued, "Friends, same heart. Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no see friends. No heart, no friends."

Riku looked at the glowing spot silently. He didn't really think Clayton had ever seen any of them as friends and not just a means to an end. Sure, he didn't know what the man had been like before today, but the darkness that had created that chameleon Heartless hadn't come from nowhere.

"I'm sorry." Riku snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of Donald Duck's voice. He turned to look down at the magician. "You were right. We need to search every world we come across."

Riku stared at his companion for a moment. To be honest, with everything that had happened, the Heartless attack that had forced them to fight as a team the same way they had in the last two worlds, he'd completely forgotten he was angry at Donald and Goofy. Now that he'd been reminded, all the anger, hurt, and betrayal came rushing back, with an added dose of guilt for forgetting. Are you really sorry? he wanted to bite back. Not because you could've missed your king, but because you could've passed over my friends? But then he glanced back at the glow on the tree. Had Tarzan's words been not just observation, but a warning? That seemed to be what had prompted Donald to this apology. Did Tarzan think that if they stayed mad at each other, they'd end up like Clayton?

What would Sora and Kairi do? Looking down at Donald, Riku was forced to acknowledge that they'd probably forgive them. Riku wasn't them. But he didn't have to outright refuse the apology.

"Okay," he finally said. "I'm sorry I crashed your ship."

Goofy let out a gleeful chuckle at that, and then suddenly his arms were around the two of them. "Yeah! All for one, right?" Riku tensed automatically at the contact, but didn't push the knight away.

Just then, the glowing spot on the tree brightened, only to fade and reveal itself to be a cluster of luminescent blue butterflies Riku watched in awe as they took flight, dispersing around the cave, revealing a Keyhole in the tree. Riku stepped away from Donald and Goofy, summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it at the Keyhole. Light burst from the tip as a thin beam that went straight to the Keyhole. The Keyhole lit up, made the clicking sound of a lock, and disappeared, leaving only an indent in the bark.

"I think someone has a new admirer."

Riku turned at the sound of Jane's voice to see Terk nuzzling into Donald, who was leaning away from her and protesting, "No, no, no, no! Daisy would kill me!" while Goofy laughed at his predicament. Riku found himself chuckling along too, the sting of disappointment beginning to fade ever so slightly.

Later, as Riku, Donald, and Goofy made their way to where the Gummi ship had crashed, Riku found himself speaking up, filling the silence that had fallen between them. "Did I tell you that Kairi was injured, the last time I saw her?"

Donald and Goofy, who had pulled ahead of him, looked back. "...Kairi's one of your friends, right?" Goofy finally asked.

Riku nodded. "I wasn't with her and Sora when the darkness first fell. They'd gone to the play island together, and by the time I made it over there, Kairi was injured and Sora wasn't with her. Then Kairi and I got separated, and..." He trailed off. He couldn't tell them the rest of the story. He couldn't tell them what he'd done to Destiny Islands.

"Gawrsh," said Goofy. "You must be awful worried."

Riku nodded again.

"Aw, I'm sure they'll be alright, Riku. And they'll turn up soon. I just know it!"

Riku felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Thanks."

They found the Gummi ship a few moments later. Thankfully, it had landed upright and intact, so they only needed to budge it a little to allow it to take off. As they left the jungle world behind, Riku caught one more look at the treehouse and suddenly remembered the black-hooded figure he'd seen there. That had been Sora's face, he was so sure of it. He knew that face better than his own reflection. But Sora wasn't in the jungle. He never had been. And if that had been him, why would he run when Riku called his name?

Maybe Donald was right. Maybe he had been imagining it. Maybe he'd wanted to see Sora so badly, he'd... what, hallucinated the whole thing? It seemed like a strange thing to come out of his head, what with the black coat and shadow portal. But who knew? He had hit his head pretty hard.

Yeah, that was probably it.

Chapter Text

Though still able to fly, the Gummi ship did not escape the crash unscathed, meaning before they continued on to other worlds, Riku, Donald, and Goofy had to return to Traverse Town for repairs. Leon directed them to a man named Cid, who he claimed was the best mechanic in town. Cid agreed to work on the ship, then promptly shooed them away, leaving the trio to wander the world until the repairs were finished. Riku didn't mind exploring, since the last time he'd been there, he'd walked all over it, sure, but hadn't really paid any attention to any of it beyond what was necessary to confirm Sora and Kairi weren't there. So as he walked around, quite a few things caught his attention that he hadn't noticed during the his first visit.

One of those things was a large wooden door in the Third District with strange runes carved into it. Curious, Riku pushed past it, finding a giant cavern containing a small lake. Stepping stones led from the bank to a small island, upon which sat a strange house. The house appeared abandoned, and after hopping across the stones to reach the island, Riku found the front door completely boarded up. Walking around to the back of the house, however, he found a large hole in the stone wall, covered with a tattered cloth. He ducked inside, but barely had a chance to examine the interior before he realized there was someone else in the room: the black-clad figure from the tree house in the jungle.

"Sora?!"

The boy turned to look at him, and once again, Riku was faced with the familiar face and sky blue eyes.

"Sora!" Riku ran up to him. The blue eyes widened, and the boy took a step back. Riku was too excited and relieved to notice. "Sora, where have you been?! What's with the black coat?! Why'd you run away from me before?!"

"I... I..."

At the sound of the boy's voice, Riku paused. The face and eyes were unmistakable, the build was right, but the voice... the voice wasn't right. It wasn't Sora's. "Sora?"

"Riku?"

At the sound of Donald's voice, the boy (Sora?) turned on his heel and ran into an oval-shaped shadow on the wall.

"Wait!" Riku chased him, but once again, the shadowy doorway disappeared, leaving Riku to skid to a stop before he ran face-first into a stone wall. Not quite believing his eyes, Riku pressed a hand to the wall. Solid stone.

"Riku, what are you doing?" came Goofy's voice from behind him. Riku turned to see his companions standing just inside the hole in the wall.

"Did you see him?" he asked. "The boy in the black coat?"

"What boy?" asked Donald, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.

Riku sighed. "Nevermind." Had he just imagined the whole thing?

"Well, well," an unfamiliar voice interrupted his thoughts. "You've arrived sooner than I expected."

Riku turned to see a man with a long, white beard wearing a blue robe and pointed hat, carrying a carpet bag in one hand and what looked like a wand in the other.

"Who are you?" Riku asked. "How did you know we'd be here?"

"Why, I can answer both those questions at once," the man responded. "My name is Merlin, and as you can see," he gestured to his attire, "I am a sorcerer. Your king has requested my help."

"King Mickey?" asked Goofy, sounding hopeful.

"Precisely, Donald, Goofy." He nodded to the mage and knight respectively, then turned to Riku. "And who might you be, young man?"

"Riku."

"Ah, so you're the one who wields the key."

"What did the king ask you to do?" Donald asked.

Merlin held up a hand. "Just a moment." The sorcerer walked to the center of the house, put down his bag, opened it, and started waving his wand. "Presto!" From out of the bag, various pieces of furniture, books, and tableware emerged and, in perhaps the most perfect display of organized chaos Riku had ever seen, seemed to march themselves into a mess until it looked like the house had been occupied for years. "There now," said Merlin, apparently satisfied. "So good to be home. Ahem." He turned to Riku. "Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic."

Riku bit back a snarky "What king? I don't have a king," and instead repeated, "Magic?"

"Quite. Oh, and one more thing." He turned to a corner of the room where the air started to shimmer, growing brighter until an old woman with a wand of her own appeared.

"Hello," the woman greeted them cheerfully. "I'm the Fairy Godmother."

Fairy Godmother? Something itched at the back of Riku's mind upon hearing that name, but he ignored it for now.

"Your king asked me to help too," she continued. "I will assist throughout your journey."

"You both know the king?" Goofy asked. "Do you know where he is?"

"I'm afraid not, dear," said the Fairy Godmother.

Merlin shook his head "Not a clue, I fear. But in any case, would you like to begin?"

Apparently, Merlin's idea of teaching Riku magic was to send furniture after him and have him fend it off with fire, ice, and lightning. Despite the strange method, Riku eventually felt he'd got the hang of magic (though he'd freely admit it wasn't his preferred method of attack), and Merlin released him with the invitation to come back and practice any time. As Riku departed the training floor, he took one last look at Merlin. The more time he spent with the sorcerer, the more he started to think there was something familiar about him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The Fairy Godmother's method of helping, meanwhile, was apparently to give form to strong hearts who had lost their worlds and then somehow attached themselves to him. "It's your Keyblade, dear," she explained. "It designates you as the protector of the Realm of Light. So those in the Realm of Light in need of protection are naturally drawn to you. Of course, these hearts are so strong, they can provide some help to you, too." The Fairy Godmother taught him how to summon and give form to the spirits of those strong hearts, the first of which he managed was a lion named Simba.

Riku, Donald, and Goofy eventually left the magic house and made their way to Cid's shop to see if the ship repairs were done. They were, as it turned out, but Cid had barely told them so when the ground shook and a bell chime echoed through the town.

Riku grabbed the counter to steady himself. "What was that?!"

"Hmm?" Cid seemed nonplussed. "The bell at the gizmo shop is ringing."

Deciding to investigate, Riku, Donald, and Goofy went looking for the so-called "gizmo shop". As they passed through the Third District, however, Riku heard a familiar voice call out to him.

"Riku!"

Riku whipped around to see a girl with short, red-brown hair and ocean blue eyes running towards him. She looked ready to fling her arms around him, but then seemed to notice Donald and Goofy and stopped.

"Riku, where have you been?! I've been looking all over for you! And who are they?!"

"Kairi?!" Riku could barely believe what he was seeing. "Where have you been?! I saw you disappear!! Do you have any idea how worried-?!" He stopped short when his eyes caught on the three red gashes stretching across her chest. "What happened to you?!"

"Oh. This?" Kairi's hand went to her chest. "A Heartless nicked me on the island. It looks worse than it is, promise."

Riku frowned, taking his friends by the shoulders and examining the injury. Despite the angry red color of the slashes, they didn't seem to be bleeding, and Kairi's demeanor didn't indicate to him that she was in pain. "Okay, if you say so. Anyway, what happened to Sora? I thought you two were on the island together."

"I..." Kairi's gaze seemed to flick behind him to Donald and Goofy, then sank to the floor. "We got separated..." she mumbled.

Riku's brow furrowed at that, but Kairi didn't lie, and she wouldn't lie to him of all people about Sora of all things. She was probably just worried about him, Riku reasoned. Maybe even feeling guilty about losing him. He gave her his best reassuring smile. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure he made it off the island too. Heck, he's probably looking for us right now." He lifted her chin to make her look at him. "We'll all be together again soon. That's what we promised, right?"

A small smile appeared on Kairi's face. "Right."

"So don't worry. I'll take care of everything."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "And how are you going to do that, exactly?"

Riku grinned and stepped away from her. "Look at this." He held out his hand and summoned his Keyblade.

Kairi's eyes widened. "Is that...?"

"Yup." He dismissed the weapon. "I've been to a bunch of different worlds, looking for you. And now that I know you're safe, I'll find Sora too. You'll see."

"Ahem," came Donald's voice from behind him.

"Right. With their help, of course."

Kairi frowned. "And... who are they?"

Donald puffed his chest. "My name is Donald Duck, Royal Magician to King Mickey."

Goofy waved and grinned. "And I'm Goofy, his Royal Knight! It's awfully nice to meet 'cha, Kairi. Riku's been real worried about ya!"

Kairi's expression seemed pinched for a moment, but softened at Goofy's words, and she turned back to Riku with a smirk. "Have you, now?"

Riku waved a hand dismissively, grinning. "Ah, I knew you'd be fine." This back-and-forth between them felt familiar. Normal. The only thing missing was Sora, either taking Kairi's side or rolling his eyes good-naturedly at the both of them. "Anyway, I can't wait to show you all the worlds-"

Donald cleared his throat, and Riku turned to look at him.

"What?"

"She can't come."

"What?!" Kairi protested. "Why not?!"

"It's too dangerous."

"Hey! I can take care of myself!" Kairi turned back to Riku, hands on her hips. "Tell them, Riku!"

"...Actually, he's right, Kairi. It's too dangerous."

"...What?" Kairi's face fell. She looked hurt. "But... we were supposed to explore the worlds together! What happened to 'the three of us will always be together'?!"

"We will be! But there are Heartless out there, Kairi! And you can't fight them like I can! I mean, look at you! You're already injured!"

Kairi's expression turned stormy, and she crossed her arms. "So I'd just be in your way. Is that what you're saying?!"

"You know that's not what I mean." Riku stepped forward, putting his hands back on her shoulders. "I know this isn't what we imagined. But once I find Sora and help these guys find their king, I'll be able to focus on taking care of you guys. Then, we can go explore like we always said we would. Alright?"

Kairi huffed and looked away from him but stayed silent. Riku knew his friend well enough to know she wouldn't admit he was right, even though she knew she'd lost the argument.

"Alright. Why don't I introduce you to Leon and Yuffie? They're good people, and they can take care of you until I get back."

Kairi didn't answer, but didn't fight Riku as he led her to the small house where Leon and his friends had made their base. The man himself was there, along with Cid, Yuffie, and a young woman in pink who Donald and Goofy seemed to know, introducing her as Aerith. Kairi was cordial enough to the strangers, though she clearly wasn't happy about being there, if the way she was refusing to even look at Riku was any indication.

Once introductions were out of the way, Cid turned to Riku, Donald, and Goofy. "You guys ever heard of Maleficent?" Riku shook his head. "I heard she's in town."

"Who is she?"

"A witch, man, she's a witch!"

"She's the reason this town's full of Heartless," Leon added. "Don't take her lightly."

"She's been using the Heartless for years," Aerith said.

"We lost our world thanks to her," Leon continued. "That was nine years ago."

"That's awful!" Donald exclaimed. Riku nodded, trying not to think about how he'd helped Destiny Islands fall. He glanced at Kairi, who seemed to be listening intently to their story, and wondered how she'd react if he told her. Would she understand? Or would she be horrified?

Aerith interrupted his thoughts. "I've been thinking about the bell in the Second District."

"The one that rang a while ago?" Riku asked.

Yuffie nodded. "The one above the gizmo shop. There's a legend about it, you know."

"But it's all boarded up," Aerith said. "No one can get in."

Cid waved her off. "Heck, go check it out. Ring it three times. See if anything happens."

Riku left with Donald and Goofy to do just that, promising Kairi he'd come say goodbye before he left the world.

It didn't take the trio long to find the bell now that they knew where to look. Riku rang the bell three times as instructed, each time hearing the sound of something in the plaza moving. The third chime was followed by the same sound, along with what sounded like water. When Riku went to look, he saw that the fountain's central mosaic had rotated to revealed a Keyhole. Riku ran to seal it, but found his way blocked by a Heartless like the one that had attacked him, Donald, and Goofy when they'd first met. Having improved greatly since then, the trio made short work of it, only for the Heartless to flip itself upside down and into a new form. The three of them still beat it into submission, though Riku found himself infinitely more grateful for Merlin's magic lessons by the time the fight was over.

Finally, the Heartless dissolved, and Riku was able to seal the Keyhole. With that mystery solved and Traverse Town safe from further Heartless attacks, it was time for the trio to depart for more worlds. As promised, however, Riku first went to say goodbye to Kairi. When he got there, however, only Aerith was waiting for them.

"Riku!" she exclaimed upon seeing him. "I'm so sorry! Your friend slipped away from us when we heard the bell. Leon and Yuffie are out looking for her, but..." She trailed off, looking worried.

Riku frowned, but then sighed. "She's probably just upset about not being able to come with us and needs some time to herself. There are a lot less Heartless now that the Keyhole's been sealed, so she should be alright. She'll probably turn up once she's cooled off. I'll come back in a bit to check."

Aerith nodded, and Riku turned to leave, only to pause and look back.

"There's... no way for her to get off-world, is there?"

Aerith shook her head. "Not without a Gummi ship, and the only ones here are yours and Cid's. The only other way would be through very powerful magic, but no one I know possesses that kind of ability."

Riku nodded, feeling reassured, and left the house. Kairi would be fine, he was sure. She was just being stubborn, like always. Once he found Sora, everything would be fine. He had a way of getting through to her Riku himself had never quite figured out.

Unknown to the Keyblade wielder, a girl with ocean blue eyes was watching him depart with his companions, a figure in a black cloak standing behind her with a hand on her shoulder.

"I did warn you."

The girl shook her head. "Riku's not like that. You'll see. I just need a chance to talk to him without the king's servants."

"If you say so, my child. In the meantime, why don't we return home and look into your... other problem?"

The girl nodded, but her eyes didn't leave Riku until the large, double doors had closed behind him. Only then did she turn and follow the cloaked figure into the dark portal.