Prologue
Prologue
It’d been a week since Sora left for the Sleeping Realms. Seven whole days since anyone had seen or heard from the keyblade wielder. Riku knew that he– or, at the very least, Donald and Goofy– should have gone along with him, even though Mickey and Master Yen Sid both said he would be fine. Sora said that he would only be gone for a short while, just to say thank you to the Dream Eaters he fought alongside while taking his Mark of Mastery. Three days max he had told them.
Now at four days overdue, Riku wasn’t the only one getting worried.
“He still isn’t back yet?” Kairi asked the older teen, her voice made tinny by the gummiphone transmission full of obvious worry. She had started her keyblade training alongside Lea a few days ago, even though she said that she wanted to help them find Sora. She relented on the grounds that she was given a gummiphone to stay in contact with Riku so that she could check in on the investigation.
“No,” Riku said with a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his short silver hair. He was sitting on the bottom step of the Mysterious Tower alone as he talked to Kairi. He and Mickey had just returned from the Realm of Darkness after another unsuccessful search for Aqua, one of the three missing keyblade wielders, taking a day to rest and recuperate before resuming their search. “Donald and Goofy took their gummiship and have been searching the worlds Sora had been to before, but they got nothing so far.” Riku saw Kairi chew on her lower lip through the phone screen.
“I’m worried, Riku,” she said, voicing what Riku had been feeling since Sora failed to return by the third day. “What if something happened to him? I mean, Sora can take care of himself, but…”
“I know what you mean,” Riku said softly, looking up at the starry sky above him, spotting a few shooting stars here and there. “I want to say that he just needed more time on his own, that he will return when he’s ready. But… something tells me that’s not the case.” Ever since Sora left, he had an uneasy feeling in his stomach, like something bad was bound to happen. He had brought it up with Mickey a few days prior and he’d simply told him that he was just worried for his friend, but reassured him that Sora would be fine. Riku wasn’t so sure that it was just ‘worry’ clawing its way into his heart: something was coming... Something dark… And they would not be prepared for it...
===
That night, Riku had an unusual dream.
Ever since he’d woken up from having dived into Sora’s dreams, he had been reliving what he saw through his own dreams, over and over.
While he was dreaming of Destiny Islands, talking to the apparitions of Roxas, the Roxas look-alike, and the girl with black hair, it had seemed like the island was beginning to fade away. By the time Ansem the Wise showed up and said Sora was awake, the sky had turned dark and the ocean had receded so far away it became a black abyss. It eerily reminded Riku of when the islands fell, when he had given into the darkness. He saw the three apparitions one more time, all seeming to call out for help, before the island was suddenly consumed by the endless abyss and he woke with a start.
Sora, of course, had seemed fine when Riku saw him once he’d awoken, wide awake and wearing a silly party hat while eating cake with Donald and Goofy. Worn out, yes, but fine overall. Still, he had a nagging feeling at the time that something had gone wrong in Sora’s dream, but the brunette was just confused when Riku brought it up with him. Then, he left for the Sleeping Realm and never came back.
This night, however, the dream went about just a tad bit differently.
When the island fell to darkness and Riku was just floating within the abyss, instead of waking up he seemed to sink down farther, his breathing became labored like he was drowning. He remembered something similar happening a few days ago when he was in the Realm of Darkness, when his old keyblade broke after being attacked by the Demon Tide. That time a voice had called out to him and saved him from falling even further. This time…?
There. Somewhere in the abyss. There was a voice calling out to him again. He forced his eyes open and looked around. Above him was a dim light which was quickly overtaken by an even brighter light from beneath him. He turned to see what it was, his eyes growing wide.
Below him, in the abyss, was a great, stained-glass platform bearing Sora’s image. It was Sora’s Station of Awakening, his heart. He remembered seeing it when he dived into Sora to save him when he couldn’t wake up, when he fought the armored apparition before diving further into his dreams. But something seemed different this time. While the glass platform continued to give off its own light, it seemed much dimmer. Darker…
Riku safely landed on the platform and looked around. Why was he here when he was dreaming? It would make more sense that he would be in his own heart, so why was he in Sora’s?
Then, he heard the voice again, but this time it started to sound clearer. Was that…?
“Sora?” Riku called out, his ears straining as he listened for the voice again.
R i k u . . .
“Sora! Where are you?” Riku called out again, now able to hear his name being called back to him. That was definitely Sora’s voice.
R i k u , I m s c a r e d . . .
“Don’t worry, Sora!” Riku continued to call out to his friend as he looked around the Station, hoping to see something– anything– to indicate where Sora could be. “I’ll find you! Just tell me where to start looking for you!”
S t a y a w a y , p l e a s e . . .
“Huh?” Riku stopped somewhere at the center of the platform, confused by the statement. It also seemed like Sora’s voice was getting closer. “Why? Are you in danger? Let me help you!”
I d o n ‘ t w a n t t o h u r t y o u …
At those words Riku felt a cold chill come across his body. He looked down and saw dark tendrils reach up from the sides of the platform and crisscross their way to the center where he stood. Suddenly, what felt like a strong gust of wind launched him off the platform, back to the surface. As he was being pulled away and he felt himself begin to awaken, he was sure he saw Sora watching him from the platform as it was consumed by darkness…
“SORA!!!”
Riku shot up in his bed, covered in a cold sweat, panting heavily. He was back in his room at the Mysterious Town.
“Riku! Are you okay?”
Riku turned and saw Mickey watching him from his bedside with a worried look on his face. Donald and Goofy were also there, their eyes full of worry and sadness. Based on those looks and the fact that it was only the two of them, their search had been a failure.
“Riku?” Mickey repeated himself, stepping back so that the teen could sit up in his bed properly. “You were having a nightmare, or something. You kept calling Sora’s name. Is everything alright?”
“I don’t think so,” Riku mumbled, grabbing his boots and slipping them on. “I need to talk to Master Yen Sid.”
===
Not long after, Riku was standing before Master Yen Sid at his desk, joined also by Mickey, Donald and Goofy. He told the retired master about his dream, the elderly sorcerer stroking his beard in thought as he listened to him.
“Gwarsh, I hope Sora’s alright,” Goofy said with worry.
“Of course he isn’t!” Donald proclaimed, eyes narrowed in a glare as he stamped a webbed foot, but deep down he was also worried for his friend. “He’s only a half-pint who needs our help! Riku’s dream only proves it!”
“But with little to no idea where he is, even with Riku’s dream, there is not much we can do,” Master Yen Sid said, looking over the four of them. “Donald and Goofy have both traveled to all the previous worlds Sora has visited in the past with no luck, and, even while searching the Realm of Darkness for Aqua, nothing was learned.” The sorcerer closed his eyes as he crossed his arms, Mickey shaking his head in agreement. Even Yen Sid, one of the best former keyblade masters, was at a loss for what they could do.
Riku glared down at the floor, his hands clenched tight enough that his nails nearly cut through skin. He remembered how scared and lost Sora’s voice sounded in his dream, how his Station was covered in darkness, the cold chill of it remaining with him even once he woke. It was a darkness he had not felt in a long time and it scared him.
“I need to go look for him,” Riku declared as he looked up at Master Yen Sid.
“Riku—” Mickey started as he looked up at his friend in worry, the teen returning his gaze with one of determination.
“I know we promised to go look for Aqua together. I wanted to before, to thank her for protecting me in the past, but Sora needs me!” He placed a hand over his heart, feeling it twinge in pain. “He recklessly followed after me when I fell to darkness, refusing to give up on me. And I’ve already chased after him back in Castle Oblivion, when Organization XIII tried to recreate Kingdom Hearts, and again through his dreams. I’ve nearly lost him in the Sleeping Realms and when he was trapped in his nightmare, and I’m not going to risk losing him again just because he’s pushing me away!” Everyone went quiet as they watched Riku turn to Yen Sid. “Master, please give me permission to go look for him. I know this wasn’t my original mission, but if I need to give up my title as Master to find Sora, then I will.” At those words Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all gawked at him as Yen Sid gave him a small nod, his stern gaze remaining.
“I will not go that far,” he said calmly as all eyes focused on him. “It is quite obvious that your heart knows what is best. If you believe that this will be the way for you to find Sora, then I say follow your heart. Let it guide you on the right path to save your friend.” Riku felt a weight lift off his shoulders when the old master said that.
“Thank you, Master,” he said, bowing to him before he quickly left the room.
He had a long journey he needed to prepare for.
===
“I want to go with you!” Kairi exclaimed through the gummiphone. Riku gave her a sad smile as he dropped the duffel he had packed onto the ground next to him, once again taking a seat on the steps to the Mysterious Tower. Donald and Goofy both offered to let him use their gummiship on his journey and were getting it ready for him, so he had some time to call Kairi to get her up to date on the situation.
“You still have training to complete,” he reminded her, making the redhead puff her cheeks in anger. “Once your training is complete you can join me then, you and Lea, if he wants to.”
“But he’s much closer to finishing it than I am!” she complained. “Even in this amazing place where time flows differently, it just seems like he’s much farther along than me!”
“Well, he did start training before you did, even though his keyblade skills are still lacking.” He looked around in the background of the screen, scanning the area Kairi was staying in. It looked like she was taking a break in a small wooden hut, most likely a resting place Merlin set up for her and Lea. “Where is he, anyway?”
“He wandered off some time ago, saying he wanted to be alone,” Kairi said with a frown. “Ever since Sora disappeared he’s been more agitated. I think he’s worried about Roxas, since he’s inside Sora’s heart. But… I also think he’s blaming himself a little that he’s gone.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, you said he was the one who showed up to save Sora when Master Xehanort tried to take over his body. What if he was too late?”
Riku flinched slightly at the implication. It was a possibility: there had been a sudden cloud of smoke just as the piece of Xehanort’s heart reached Sora, then, a second later, Lea was there with a protective arm around the unconscious teen. Who was to say that Sora was…?
“No, I’m sure that’s not the case,” Riku denied with a small smile to mask his worry. “You remember how Sora was when he woke up and before he left. Did that seem like someone who was possessed by darkness?”
“You do have a point…” Kairi muttered, not entirely convinced, but, at least she seemed less tense now. “Just… please remember to call me every day, whether you have news or not!” Riku chuckled at her words.
“Of course, I will,” he said softly, making Kairi smile. “And you better not slack off in your training if you want to help me out in my search.”
“You got it, Master Riku!” she said with a bright smile, giving him a salute before she ended the call, the teen’s phone screen going black. With a heavy sigh, he slipped the phone into his pocket, looking up at the star filled sky.
“About ready to go?”
Riku turned around and saw Mickey coming down the steps, joining him at the bottom.
“Just about,” he replied, turning to check up on Donald and Goofy. They were just at the edge of the world, checking over the gummiship. “Once they give me the okay, I’ll be off. Sorry I’m making you look for Aqua on your own.”
“It’s no biggie,” Mickey said with a sad smile. “She’s still lost in the Realm of Darkness because I never came back for her after I first found her a year ago. It’s really my responsibility that I find her, as it is yours to find Sora, because of your unbreakable connection.” Riku gave the mouse a soft smile as he stood up, stretching his arms. “But before you go, Master Yen Sid wanted me to give you this.” Mickey then pulled out a star shaped pin made of metal and sparkling blue glass.
“What’s this for?” Riku asked as he examined the pin. He could sense a small amount of magic radiating from it.
“It’s a special charm made for world travelers like us,” Mickey said. “Remember how Sora traveled to the different worlds and his appearance changed depending on the world?” Riku nodded at that, remembering some of the stories Sora told him, and how his appearance changed when he was in that computer world with Sam and Kora in the Sleeping Realms. “Well, as you know, there are many worlds out there that don’t know that other worlds exist, and have been at peace because we maintain the world order. With this magic pin, your appearance will change depending on the world you visit.”
“Got it,” Riku said with a nod as he attached the pin to his jacket, so as to not forget about it later.
“We’re done!” Goofy called out. Riku and Mickey both turned to see the guard captain and court magician joining them at the tower, Donald giving an annoyed huff.
“Thank you, guys,” Riku said, nodding to Donald and Goofy, who both smiled at him.
“Not a problem,” Donald exclaimed. “Just bring Sora back before he gets himself into trouble!” Everyone let out a chuckle at that, knowing how the brunette tended to act when alone and with no direction.
“Just be careful, Riku,” Mickey said with a bright smile. “And remember: let your heart be your guiding key.”
“I will.”
And not too long after, Riku was in the gummiship and taking off…
===
… But now he sat in the pilot seat, arms crossed as he thought long and hard as the gummiship floated there in the lanes between.
He didn’t know where he should start looking for Sora.
Riku thought about it and realized that he probably should have talked it over more with Mickey and maybe even Donald and Goofy, who had both spent the better part of the last year by Sora’s side and would know what to do. But, Riku was so desperate to look for his friend that he just impulsively declared that he would be the one to look for him and didn’t slow down from there. That was definitely something Sora would do, the thought of it making the silver haired teen chuckle. Maybe he just needed to think like Sora, who would impulsively follow his heart…?
“Let my heart be my guiding key,” Riku said to himself, repeating what Mickey said to him when he left.
After a moment, Riku looked up at the starry sky in front of him with a smile, summoned Braveheart, and opened a gate. He was going to find Sora, and he was going to bring him home.