The trek to Maleficent's location – a place Kiara referred to as the Castle Chapel – was much longer and far more intricate than Riku had originally anticipated when he first left his room. Despite the sheer size of it at first glance, it never truly occurred to him just how vast and intricate such a rustic looking castle could be; that is, of course, until he began following Kiara through the empty halls and saw for himself. Just seeing it all made him feel like he was given a grand tour of what he believed was his new home, even though it certainly did not feel like the place he had grown so accustomed to over the years. Even as he walked through the halls, he wondered if he would ever see the white sands of the island ever again.

Riku immediately pushed those thoughts to the side. This was what he asked for, was it not? He wanted to see other worlds for himself. Still, was it worth the price of losing both the island and his friends?

The floating rocks outside of the castle, the ones that resided near the rising waterfalls, were just the start of it all; it may as well have been common fodder compared to what lied ahead. Within the castle were numerous magic lifts that floated from one level to the next, each with their own unique paths that never intercepted the other. It was through these lifts that the two were able to make their way forward without much trouble, and they were even able to steal a few glances at the scenery the higher they climbed. There was even the coup de gras of all magic lifts that floated just in front of the castle, passing by what Kiara had explained was the emblem of certain types of Heartless.

"There is an indescribable amount of Heartless that exist throughout the worlds," she explained to him as they slowly floated by, her eyes glazing over the insignia with a distant look. "Certain types like Shadows, the creatures you may have seen on your island, do not carry this symbol. They are referred to as 'Pureblood Heartless,' and the ones that have the symbol are known as 'Emblem Heartless.'"

Riku noticed her frown in deep thought, raising a brow of curiosity.

"What's the difference?" He inquired curiously, wanting to learn more about these mysterious creatures.

Kiara's gaze fell, moving one hand to her chin and thinking.

"From my understanding, the Pureblood Heartless are born when a person's heart becomes swallowed by the darkness," she explained, stealing a glance at the silver haired boy. "However, I've noticed in the recent years that they're sometimes drawn out by sources of dark power or even by a dark being." A light pout formed on her lips. "As for the Emblem Heartless, it's not clear as to where they came from, but the only notable characteristics that make them different is their appearance and the symbol on their body." Kiara paused as she lowered her head. "At least, that's the best answer that I could come up with, anyway. I never really read into it too much to know for certain."

To his surprise, Riku noticed her shift stiffly as if she were about to speak only to be met with silence. He wondered if she was going to apologize for not having the answers ready for him. However, judging from the way she shifted in her place, it indicated that she resisted the urge to do so. The sight made him inwardly smile; she was starting to learn the longer she remained in his presence.

As they continued their trek through the castle, Riku could not help but look back on the mysterious words of the Heartless named Shiva, one that he presumed was a Pureblood Heartless based on the fact that there was no insignia on her. More questions had come about than answered, and it was frustrating, to say the least. What was she planning, anyway, and what did it have to do with him? He was just some kid who wanted to see other worlds with his friends. What was so special about him? Maybe it had something to do with showing no fear of the darkness; maybe she took it as a sign of him being someone special and stuck around to keep an eye on him. However, it had to be more than that. According to Shiva, she had been watching him for quite some time. How long it was, however, was still a mystery, but it would certainly bring him closer to the answer of why she remained close by.

Another baffling topic of interest was what Shiva knew about Kiara. It was evident that the enigmatic Heartless was familiar with the girl that led him through Hollow Bastion, but the question remained clear: How? Was it under similar circumstances to Riku? Had Shiva convinced Kiara to open her heart to the darkness, to stand before it without fear? Maybe, but it was too soon to tell. Besides the fact that they had lost their worlds to the darkness along with their friends, Riku knew little to nothing about this girl. He would have asked her about everything she had gone through, but he was unsure if now was the right time. They were still strangers to one another, so asking personal questions like may have been a bit too much. Nevertheless, the feeling of wanting to know more remained present in Riku.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Riku and Kiara finally reached the desired location where Maleficent resided. It was a short walk from one end of the chapel to the other, but it was not long before Riku laid eyes on the woman once more. Separating them was a massive round table that appeared to have lifted out of the ground itself rather than being placed in their path. Riku felt unsure if that was a good thing or not, but he tried his best to remain focused on what exactly this stranger wanted from him.

"Ah, you have arrived," Maleficent greeted him, her gaze remaining focused on him as she smiled. "I was worried that you may have gotten lost."

Riku looked in Kiara's direction, noting how she kept her head down and did not look in Maleficent's direction.

"Well, I guess you can thank my guide for that," he answered.

Kiara jumped at look at him, eyes widened ever so slightly, before looking back at her feet. He noticed a small smile gracing her lips, a silent way of saying "Thank you."

When Riku looked at Maleficent once more, he noticed the sudden change in her expression. It became dull, almost uninterested in Kiara's presence. It was confirmed as she called the girl.

"Your presence is no longer needed, child," she commanded her nonchalantly, dismissing her with a simple flick of the wrist. The sight along struck a nerve with Riku; what was that all about? "You may go now."

Without a word, Kiara muttered a simple, "Yes, ma'am." before turning away from them, departing from the room as quietly as a mouse. Riku watched her leave for a moment, waiting for her to exit the room in silence. After the door had shut behind her, and the room almost became silent, he swiftly turned back to her with a glare in his eyes.

"You should have at least thanked her," he stated coldly.

To his surprise, Maleficent was not offended by his harshness. Instead, she merely returned the look with a much softer, yet baleful gaze.

"Fret not, my dear," she began to assure him. "That girl is of no importance, and it's best to pay little mind to her." Her gaze shifted to glance behind him as if she was expecting Kiara to be there. "Think of her as a servant of ours. Her only purpose for being here to do our bidding and nothing more."

The comment upset Riku as his hands balled into fists.

"If she isn't that important to you, then you should just get rid of her instead of treating her like trash," he retorted angrily.

Maleficent did not look at him this time, and her gaze seemed to become distant the longer she looked away from him. Even though he was still upset, the sight shifted his expression to one of curiosity. Before he could ask, she spoke.

"If only it were that simple..." She muttered out loud. Riku blinked, baffled by the strange comment, as Maleficent returned her gaze to him once more. "But enough about that girl. She's enough of a thorn in my side as it is." She began approaching the altar at the center of the room. "She tells me that you, too, have lost your world to the darkness. Is that right?"

Riku eyed her cautiously, still wondering what she meant by Kiara being a "thorn in her side," but decided against questioning it as he replied, "Yeah. It's true."

"Then that also means that you have lost two of your friends along the way," she went on, stopping at the altar while keeping her gaze focused on him.

The statement caused him to look away, remembering the faces of his friends that were supposed to be at his side.

"Sora...Kairi..." He unconsciously muttered out loud. After a beat, a moment of realization struck him as he quickly looked back at her. "Wait, why are you bringing them up all of a sudden?"

Maleficent grinned at the sight as if she had him right where she wanted him.

"The girl had informed me of this as well," she explained. "Not only that, but I may know their whereabouts as we speak."

The news perked him up, yet Riku remained vigilant as he asked, "Tell me! Where are they?"

"But are you certain you are prepared to see them?" She inquired cryptically. "They may not be the same as when you last saw them?"

Riku blinked, eying her suspiciously.

"What do you mean? It hasn't been that long since we've been separated," he informed her. "There's no way they could have changed that quickly."

"Oh, quite the contrary, actually," she retorted, earning a confused look from Riku.

Before he could say anything else, she waved her hand over the altar, causing it to glow and reveal several images before their eyes. From the platform appeared four figures conversing silently with one another, one of which Riku immediately recognized as his hands fell to the concrete.

"Sora!" He exclaimed, the ghost of a smile almost forming on his lips while a wave of relief overcame him. He was alright; he survived the events that had taken place. However, his gaze shifted to the three remaining people in the party: a duck, a dog, and a girl with what appeared to be a rabbit-lion creature on her shoulder. He did not recognize them, and he could not help but openly ask, "Who...who are they?"

Maleficent chuckled at that, walking around the altar as she approached him.

"It would seem that these are his new friends," she answered casually. "Friends that he appears to have met not long after leaving his own world." Riku said nothing, baffled by the sight and by her words. She stopped walking, keeping a short distance from him, as she went on. "It would appear that these friends of his – Sora, was it? - have taken your place and...replaced you and your friend Kairi."

The statement, once again, struck a nerve with him as Riku angrily turned to look at her.

"That's a lie!" He snapped. "You're making up stories!"

"How else would you explain what you see, my boy?" Maleficent questioned, gesturing to the sight of Sora and his comrades.

Riku looked at the images again, eying over each of them before looking back at her.

"Sora would never try to replace Kairi and me!" He assured her with a sense of confidence. "I know him better than anyone else! He wouldn't do anything like that!"

"I only speak of what I know," she informs him, turning her attention to the images as well. "If he truly cared about finding you and Kairi, then he would not be running off with these three to different worlds and having fun."

Riku froze, relaying Maleficent's words in her head once more, before slowly looking back in her direction. His eyes rounded in bewilderment and horror, barely able to comprehend what she was saying.

"W...what?"

"I've been observing this boy for some time, and that's what I've seen," she explained as she turned away from him. "I'm only telling you what I know."

"Why, though?" He asked, looking in her direction as she began to walk to the opposite side of the altar once again. "Why are you telling me this?"

When she arrived at the other end, Maleficent turned to face him with a smile on her face; it was far from pleasant, Riku noted.

"Because I wish to help you, my dear," she told him, keeping her smile as Riku looked at her suspiciously. She glanced at the images once more. "You see, your so-called friend has completely forgotten about you and Kairi, opting to spend more time with them rather than searching for you two. However," She looked back at Riku, who also was staring at the images before him, "I only wish to take you under my wing and help you find what you're searching for." Riku slowly glanced at her. "After all, Kairi is still out there, defenseless and at the mercy of the unknown."

Riku stared at her for a long moment, taking her words into consideration before looking away.

She had a point, he begrudgingly admitted. Kairi was still out there without any protection. Where could she have ended up? Was she in a safe place, or did she wind up somewhere that she could get hurt? Numerous question circulated in his mind, and it was these thoughts alone that made him consider taking Maleficent up on her offer.

However, there was only one deterrent that prevented him from jumping to the task: Riku knew she was lying about Sora. Regardless of what he witnessed, Sora would never dream of replacing his friends with new ones. He cared about everyone equally, and the thought was way too far-fetched to be true. Maleficent, as he mentioned before, did not know Sora like him. Riku and Kairi were Sora's best friends, a statement that explained their whole story without having to go in detail. He always fought for his friends, to protect them from any and all sorts of danger, even if he was just under Riku in strength and skill.

Riku could not believe it, and he knew he had to defend his best friend from accusations that would tamper his name.

"No, thanks," Riku finally spoke, turning his gaze to Maleficent. It was blank, yet it still held a sense of confidence over the belief that Sora was anything but unkind. "Sora isn't the type to turn his back on his friends, and I refuse to believe that he would do it now."

Maleficent hummed at his answer, closing her eyes.

"It seems your bond with him is quite clear," she commented out loud. "I'd be pleased if it was true."

"Then I'll prove it!" Riku retorted. "I told you that I know him better than anyone, and I can prove that!"

Maleficent raised a brow in interest; it was almost as if she had a plan spark in her mind the moment he made that statement.

"If you wish to prove it," she began to say, "then, by all means, do so. I would be more than happy to be proven wrong if it clears your conscience."

With a determined gaze, he looked back at the images.

"Where are they now?"

"Traveling between worlds, no doubt," she informed him as she turned away from. "Where their next stop will be, I am not sure." Riku's gaze narrowed in frustration; some help she turned out to be. "If anything, you're free to join Kiara on her next mission outside of this world."

Riku's attention immediately shot to Maleficent as she began ascending the small set of stairs.

"She's...on a mission?"

"Indeed," she replied. "She may be a servant, but she's still required to assist us in our mission."

"And what mission," Riku could not help but inquire, "is that supposed to be?"

Maleficent laughed in response before turning to look at him, her smile still plastered on her dark lips.

"I will be more than happy to inform you," she started, "once you return here from your mission." Riku said nothing in response, instead choosing to keep quiet for now as he began to turn away from him. "One more thing before you depart, boy." Maleficent suddenly called out to him. He looked at her, eying her cautiously as she turned to face him. "It seems you've taken quite an interest in that girl." Riku's brows furrowed, yet he said nothing. "I'd be cautious of her intentions. She may play the role of some innocent, meek little girl, but there's more to her that you don't know." She turned her head. "She's not of crucial importance to me, but that doesn't mean what I'm doing isn't critical to her."

Riku stared at her for a long moment, his gaze widened ever so slightly in confusion at her strange choice of words. He remained that way for another moment before slowly turning away and heading for the door.

His eyes, while rooted to the exit in front of him, soon became distant as more questions came to surface. What on earth did Maleficent mean by that, by being wary of Kiara's intentions? Sure, the dark haired girl came off as being meek and well-mannered, but she never came as anything else to him. She was hard on herself, no doubt due to Maleficent's treatment of her over the course of Kiara's stay, but she was still always kind. Maybe Kiara was secretly plotting against Maleficent, and the witch was acutely aware of it. If that was the case, then why not do away with her before Kiara made a move?

However, it immediately occurred to Riku that there was one other person that said something similar not that long ago: Shiva. Shiva also warned him that there was more to Kiara than what he already knew, more than he could comprehend. She, too, advised him to keep a close eye on Kiara so that he could understand what she meant by that. Odd that two people he was unsure about would say the same thing, but was that really the case? Were Maleficent and Shiva thinking along the same wavelength or separately? Did Maleficent even know about Shiva and her existence as a whole?

More and more questions continued to flood his mind as he opened the door and made his exit. He decided at that point that he would rather see with his own two eyes just who Kiara was. Maybe spending time with her would aid him in his view of her. And maybe, just maybe, he could find someone to put his trust instead of giving it to the two people that only ran circles around him with their words. Hopefully, Kiara would not turn out to be just like them.