The first indication that Sora and Kairi had that Riku was missing was when they landed in England and were immediately greeted by Donald. “Is Riku with you?” he demanded.
They exchanged looks. “No,” Sora replied. “Isn't he here with the king?”
“He's been missing for over a week,” Donald said. “Ever since that white ship was sighted...”
“Only the Order paints their ships white,” Kairi pointed out. She looked worried.
“That's what His Majesty said. He wants you to go back out there and find it. He thinks Riku might be on board.”
They barely waited long enough to restock before setting out once more. For weeks they chased ghosts, the Superior vanishing into the mist before they could catch up to it. Finally, finally, after a month of chasing, they caught the ship unawares in a thick fog. Sora thought that they had them – his crew was better prepared and angered by the kidnapping of their captain's best friend – but Xemnas's first and second mate had blown up a part of their own deck to confuse the Keyblade's crew and make their escape.
Hayner spotted the injured ship once more two days later.
*
"Captain! White ship to starboard!" Hayner called up to Sora, pointing at the horizon.
Sora called back his thanks, turning the wheel in the indicated direction. Beside him, Kairi pulled out her telescope and leveled it at the ship.
"The Order's flag,” she said.
“The Superior,” he replied. “We’ve got him this time.” They shared fierce grins, then Kairi turned to direct the crew. The pirate captain had gone too far, this time.
Sora kept his eyes on the distant ship, trusting his first mate to see to the preparations. Almost from the moment he’d become captain of the Keyblade, he’d been chasing the Order’s ships. They’d fallen, one by one – Oblivion over a year ago, Hollow Bastion and World’s End before that. Xemnas’s flagship, the Superior, was the last one.
Xemnas couldn’t outrun them this time. With only a skeleton crew on board and a heavily damaged ship, Xemnas’s last stand was chaotic, but brief. “In the name of Their Majesties, King Mickey and Queen Minnie, you are under arrest,” he told them, once the pirate captain was subdued and shackled.
“Surely Their Majesties would want us to know the charges against us,” Xemnas drawled, staring up at Sora from where he knelt on the deck. “After all, what if we are being unjustly accused? Can you allow innocent men to go to prison?”
“The primary ones are piracy and the kidnapping of one of the King’s knights, Sir Riku,” Sora told him. “As we found him in your brig, you can’t exactly say that you’re innocent.” He turned to leave, motioning for Tidus and Wakka to lock them up.
“Are you certain that we kidnapped him, Captain?” Xemnas asked softly. “Are you sure you can trust his word on that? He might have come with us willingly, and locked himself away once your ship was sighted. Jealousy can drive a man to do unthinkable things…”
Sora paused. His eyes landed on Kairi, who was helping Riku onto the Superior’s deck. The other man’s arm was held awkwardly at his side, as if it were broken. Looking back at Xemnas, Sora shook his head. “Riku would never betray me,” he said.
*
Later, with the three of them alone in Sora’s spacious cabin, Kairi produced a bottle of wine. “A gift from Namine,” she explained in response to Riku’s raised eyebrow. “I thought it would be appropriate, now that the Order’s been captured and you’re back with us.”
“Honestly, Riku, kidnapped by pirates?” Sora teased. “I thought the King had higher standards than that.”
Riku narrowed his eyes at him, then smiled at Kairi when she handed him a glass of wine. “I’d like to see you handle it when a half-dozen pirates sneak up on you,” he said. “Speaking of higher standards, have you found Sparrow yet?”
Sora grumbled under his breath. Kairi shook his head at them. “Rumor has it that he and Barbossa had another spat,” she said. “We're not sure which one has the Pearl at the moment.” She brightened. “Forget the pirates, and have some more wine. We won't make port for a while, and it's been too long since we've been together like this.”
They topped off their drinks, and Sora raised his glass. “To the high seas and good friends,” he said.
“May they never end,” Riku added, clinking his glass against theirs.