King Mickey looked at him in concern. "Oh, gosh," he said - all but a straight up curseword from the King of Disney. "I'm sorry you all had to go through that while I was away."

Riku sighed. "It's fine. We handled it. And, objectively, it was only twelve hours." Twelve hours, but an entire lifetime he had crammed in his head. "Sora and Kairi don't remember," he continued. "Merlin thinks it had something to do with both Namine and Roxas having their own forms there. Too crowded to be able to remember things properly."

King Mickey nodded. "But you and Lea...?"

Riku sighed again. What were they going to do about Lea? He'd been stupid and reckless during their big fight with Maleficent, and most of the damage that caused the Hollow Bastion castle to crumble was his doing alone. But he'd been so fueled with range and grief, and Riku couldn't find it in himself to blame him.

"Lea is not taking it well. He was with Roxas, grew closer in different ways he never had before. Then to come back here and lose him all over again?" He shook his head. "Until Merlin and Tron have analyzed the data that Ansem the Wise gave me, we won't know if and when something can be done to free the people in Sora's heart."

"It might be best if we keep him away from Sora and Kairi for a while," the King said thoughtfully. "Maybe send him out on a mission on some outlying worlds, where he won't come across something that reminds him of painful memories."

Riku swallowed and bent his head slightly. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Then he raised his head and looked at Mickey with determination. "Your Highness, with your permission I'd like to go away with him."

The King looked at him sadly. "I thought you might. You haven't spoken about it, but I can sense that your heart didn't escape Maleficent's world unscathed either."

"It's not so much what happened there," he mumbled, defeated, "as what can't happen out here." He just shook his head. "I can sympathise with him, and we were good friends in that world. Together, maybe we can help each other."

Mickey nodded. "Alright. I was hoping you could help us locate my other two friends, but if your heart tells you to go with Lea, then you should listen."

There was a quiet voice from the doorway. "Well, maybe I can help with that."

Riku turned his head and bowed. "Master Aqua. I didn't know you had awoken." Ever since they'd found her in the dark realm a few days (and a whole lifetime) ago, she'd been too tired to be up and about. But she seemed stronger now, readily on her feet.

"You know where they are?" Mickey asked.

"Yes. But first, we'll need to find the Land of Departure..."