AN: Hello! Initiate first-chapter rant! It's a doozy, look out!
My PS2 is busted. Been busted for a long time, but I forgot. Wanted to play Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 again, and tried to turn on the system. When I suddenly realized (and remembered) that I couldn't, I held back my manly tears at being kept from my favorite video game series, grabbed a couple jars of cashews, made a gallon of Gatorade, and proceeded to watch other people play the game on Youtube. Taking particular joy in the KH1 and 2 openings, as I'm sure the rest of you do whenever you start a new game on them. XD
It wasn't satisfying in the least. Seriously, why does it always feel as though you could do so much better at the game than they can? I don't know, human nature, I guess. Kind of like when you're watching a movie and the actor didn't quite do absolutely brilliantly, and the guy next to you always says, "Hmph. I could do better."
Anyway, I've come up with this story. I've been wanting to write something about Kingdom Hearts for a long-ass time, but I could never get a good, solid idea running. Usually it was just one fight scene, or a single lemon, or, hell, a conversation between two faceless characters that explained one of the yet-unexplained things in the story. Alone, none of them were a story, and I could never find a way to bring them all together.
Until now.
Surely by now you're all wondering where Naruto comes into this, and I'm about to tell you. I was rewatching some parts of it for another story, and I got to the point in the original Japanese dub that the opening changed to YURA YURA by Hearts Grow. When it came on, I imagined an even cooler version of what was happening in the opening video: Flashes of a fight interspaced by images of friends and everyday life in the Naruto world. When the opening changed again to The Far Far Cry by Asian Kung-Fu Generation, the vision came back, only stronger, and I actually missed the whole first half of the episode just fantasizing. Only this time, Naruto had a Keyblade. A while into the daydream, my mind seemed to realize what was happening, and took a bit more control over the vision. Scenes changed between following Naruto to following Sora, and back again. Over and over, little snips of conversations, of events, of battles played out in my mind. Finally, when Sora and friends encounter Naruto on a familiar dirt road on Naruto's world, the vision ended, and I quickly started writing notes!
This story is the brainchild of, honestly, the opening songs/videos of Naruto and Kingdom Hearts. The events of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance haven't happened yet, but I have plans for it, don't you worry!
Fact is, this one will be slow, but big updates. As popular and good as a lot of my stories are (or so I've been told, hehe!), they lack a sort of... muchness. For one thing, they rarely, if ever, change from the main character's viewpoint, and it's not used as an important device. Also, fight scenes, as well as I try to write them, are few and far between, and are actually quite short to be honest.
That's going to be different with this story. I've got a surprisingly well planned-out plot here, although at the time of writing I still have no title. =.= The perspective will be changing a lot, but hopefully not enough to cause confusion. There will be many short fight scenes involving everything from bandits to Heartless and Nobodies, and anything else I feel needs to be there. The bigger scenes, bosses both mini and grand, and anything deemed as important will get much more attention to detail, and I'll try to drag them out as realistically and satisfyingly as possible.
Oh! And just in case I somehow don't make it clear below, the timelines for both worlds are as thus: Narutoverse: The end of Pain. Naruto is being welcomed back by the village. Kingdom Hearts multiverse: Sora has just gotten the letter from King Mickey on Destiny Islands after the events of KH2.
As is often the problem with writing fanfics for video games, you can expect some complicated explanations to some of the game elements, as well as some hazy ones. Sorry, but them's the breaks. I'll do my best, of course!
All that said, for those who have stuck through this rant, please enjoy my endeavor to make an epic tale suitable for the feature box, if this site had one, that is! XD
Never had a need for this, but just this once, I'll do it. I use about every combination in this, after all.
Legend:
"Speech" - Normal format double-quotes
'Thoughts' - Italic single-quotes and text
"Demonic Speech" - Bold double-quotes and text
'Demonic Thoughts'- Bold, italic single-quotes and text
Emphasis- Italic text
THUD - Bold text, onomatopoeia
Location;
Timeframe; - Bold, underlined scene/character change indicators.
Character:
Mysterious Voice - Underlined Narration/voice-in-your-head from dark/light creatures
Memory - Underlined, italic Memory/Vision/Story
Enjoy~
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the Kingdom Hearts series, or any worlds/characters created by Disney or Square Enix. INSERT OBLIGATORY JOKE HERE.
(~HJN~)
From the Darkness arose a Flame.
Into the Light stepped a Shadow.
And through it all, a Voice called for help.
The Kids' Island,
Destiny Islands;
Just After Kingdom Hearts 2;
Sora:
Sora sat on the paopu tree, bottle and message in hand. The sun was setting, and he watched as it went down. The message from King Mickey had, undoubtedly, caused some mood swings in the young boy. At first, he had been excited; a new adventure waiting for him, people he could help! But then his mood had soured. He'd have to leave the Islands, again. Probably leave Kairi behind, too.
Kairi... She had seemed excited by the message at first, too, and happy for Sora. But like him, she began to take to staring off into space, looking troubled. Riku seemed to be the only one acting normal, although 'normal' for him kinda was staring at nothing and looking troubled, so perhaps he wasn't the best reference.
Donald and Goofy were ecstatic, of course! They had immediately gotten to work on the Gummi ship, making sure it was ready to fly wherever they wanted. Donald had grumbled something along the lines of 'Don't remember it being this hard' when one of the Fire/G-class Weapon Gummis had blown up. Goofy said something similar, but it was preceded by 'Been a while, huh?'. It was true, almost as soon as he had entered the cockpit, Sora had taken a keen interest in the little blocks, and had been largely the one to modify and build their ship over the course of their adventures.
Sora sighed, everyone seemed to expect him to take charge and fly out there, Keyblade flashing, and save the day! While he would admit that that sounded pretty cool, and totally like something he would do, the young Master couldn't shake the feeling that it wouldn't be as simple, this time.
'Ha!' he thought, 'As if it was ever simple. Still, it's not just everyone here. I'm needed out there.
'Isn't that an empowering thought, though? The whole Universe needs the help of a sixteen-year-old boy and his friends!'
Ah, yes. He reminded himself again that he was indeed sixteen, now. Kairi had so eagerly informed him of that not two days after their defeat of Xemnas and subsequent return to the Islands. She had insisted on a positively enormous party, celebrating both his graduation into adulthood by the local laws, and also the saving of the Universe twice over, since he wasn't home to celebrate the first time!
The party was somewhat dampened by the fact that only her, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphine showed up. The rest of their hometown seemed to still be having trouble remembering who he was, even his mom. That had managed to break him down somewhat, and his friends had comforted him the whole night. The only 'celebrating' was the cake Kairi had attempted to bake, and the beer Wakka had managed to get his hands on. Selphine was out like a light after a few sips, which ensured her a permanent spot as the baby of the group in all of their eyes.
That was three days ago, and Sora laughed at the sentiment. Emerging into adulthood, what did that get him here? A chance to win the lottery, and the ability to drive a car. After having dealt with the simple system of Munny for so long, he had some serious trouble adjusting back to the local currency. And a car? After flying the Gummi ship into hordes of Space Heartless and Void Nobodies through corridors of darkness, driving a car around the suburbs just didn't seem that exciting for him. Besides, he preferred a skateboard.
'Let's face it. This isn't my world anymore. I belong out there.'
So lost in thought was he, that Sora nearly jumped when he heard Riku say his name. Looking over his shoulder, he smiled and called his name in return, not sure what to say.
Riku stood next to the paopu tree, staring into the sunset with Sora. "So," he began, "You've made up your mind?"
Sora looked down at the letter in his hand and nodded. "Yeah," he said simply.
A moment later, Sora found his name being called again, except this time by a much more beautiful voice.
He turned to look at her, trying to keep his heart from breaking. "Kairi! I.." He hopped off the tree and started walking up to her. "I have to go. They need my help, and... I wouldn't be me if it weren't for them!"
Kairi smiled, a small sadness present in the curve of her lips. "I understand. Here."
Sora looked down at his hand. Kairi lifted it and placed her good luck charm into his palm. The charm that had kept him coming back to her every time. He smiled; she had drawn a crude image of his face and hair on one point of the star.
It was such a familiar item. In fact, it was reminding him of something else... What was it, what was so familiar about it? He had held it in his hands a hundred times before, but there was something else. Something...
He looked over at Terra, wondering what he was thinking.
Sora blinked in confusion. He didn't remember anything like that ever happening, so why did he have a memory of it?
Holding the charm Aqua had given him, he said, "Wha- So it's not really a good luck charm?!"
"Well," she said. "I did do a bit of magic on it.."
Sora shook his head to clear the images. He smiled at his friends and opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by a loud engine noise. They all turned and watched as the Gummi ship lifted off out of the trees and did a circuit around the island before landing on the beach. Sora grinned at the other two before running across the bridge and hopping down onto the sand, Riku and Kairi hot on his heels.
When he reached the large ship, he stopped and stared, open-mouthed.
Donald and Goofy clambered out of the cockpit and jumped onto the beach, smiling brilliantly. "So? What do you think?" Donald asked, puffing out his chest.
Sora began walking around the garage-sized ship, taking in every detail. "It's... It's... What the hell is this?!"
Donald flopped backwards, but quickly regained his footing. "What are you talking about? It's the Gummi ship!"
Sora rounded on the duck, picking him up and shaking him. "It's the Kingdom model! What happened, where are my modifications, my designs!? What did you do to her?!"
Donald gibbered and groaned as Sora shook him, eventually getting dizzy and lolling his head about.
Goofy stepped forward. "Uh, well, uh, y'see... Destiny Islands is a lot farther away than we've ever gone. When it became obvious that you and Riku had beaten Xemnas, we flew Kairi all the way here to wait for ya!"
Sora dropped Donald unceremoniously onto the ground and looked at Goofy. "I know all that, but why did you guys have to revert the ship back to Master Yen Sid's Kingdom model?"
Donald noisily shook his head to clear it. "Because we burned out the thrusters getting here! When we say we're far away, we mean from anything! You guys are in empty space, Sora, even the warp drive barely moved us compared to the distance we had to go!"
Sora nodded, finally getting the picture. "And so in order to fix the thrusters, you had to scavenge parts from everything else. I get it." Something dawned on him, however, and he suddenly got worried. "But wait a minute. If the Keeper Mark 5 barely got you here, how is the base Kingdom model going to get us out?!"
Donald smiled and waggled his finger at Sora. "You aren't the only clever one when it comes to Gummi blocks!"
Riku laughed. "Sora? Clever? From what I hear, he crashed the ship the first time he tried to land it! Not to mention the way he handles computers is appalling."
Sora crossed his arms indignantly. "That was before I took figured out how it worked! Turns out, I'm a pretty good mechanic!" he said, jabbing a thumb into his chest proudly. "And that computer thing is totally something else! The ship's computer makes way more sense!"
Goofy patted one of the thrusters. "Go on Sora! Check out what we did!"
Sora walked over to the left Vernier/G and ran his finger in an arc along the inside. A hemispheric outline lit up, splitting the center of the block in half. The core of the thruster popped out, and Sora sat in the sand, putting it in his lap. Behind the grey exterior was a mass of blue plastic-like material, filled with circuitry and, interestingly enough, clockwork!
Riku and Kairi stared, shocked, as Sora deftly opened the blue block, the fours sides spreading like a flower. His fingers glided over the insides, and his smile steadily grew larger. "Oh this is just too cool! You guys actually folded a Neon Bar/G in here, and I'm seeing parts from Booster/G, Bridge/G, and- is that a Gravira/G?" He looked up at his companions, impressed. "You recycled half of our supply to fix a couple of Vernier/Gs, and used most of the rest to make them strong enough to get us out of here?"
"Uh-huh! But we're still having trouble with the power. There's just not enough magic on this world to fill the batteries! We've topped off at 46%, and we used 88% from the closest world to here!"
Sora frowned and closed the engine core, plugging it back into the Vernier/G. "Give me a couple days with her. She'll be ready."
Donald reached into his pocket and pulled out a green cube. "Here. It's the Gummi Garage. I don't know what you think you're going to do, but good luck Sora!"
~(Hearts)~
~(Hearts)~
Konoha Ruins, The Land of Fire,
The Elemental Nations;
Hero's Return;
Uzumaki Naruto:
Naruto was speechless as a chorus of 'Thank you' and 'You're a hero' reached his ears. As Kakashi wisely stepped aside, he was suddenly flooded by bodies as well as praise!
Sakura pushed through the crowd and popped him on the head, calling him reckless. She then proceeded to hug him, and whisper, "Thank you."
Naruto looked out at the massive crowd. Every single face was beaming at him in thanks and admiration, and he didn't know what to say. All he wanted to do was curl up and fall asleep.
He allowed his hands to be shaken many times over as the lost himself in his thoughts. The Yondaime was his dad. The Yondaime was his dad!
He had almost given in to Kyuubi. He had never felt such rage, such pure, unfettered power. 'Hinata...'
He suddenly very much wanted to see her. His mind just couldn't cope with the fact that all that had just happened- that this was happening! He needed to know that his friend was still alive. Naruto started moving on his own, trying to see her in the crowd. Her name had started tumbling out of his mouth as he pushed his way through the crowd, looking for her.
It would be a while before he would give up. Eventually Sakura and Shizune came to their senses and got the boy away from the crowds. He had just fought off the leader of the Akatsuki, the teen was tired!
With a yawn, he allowed himself to be brought into a tent and laid on a cot. Somebody left to get him some food, but he had already fallen asleep.
Unfortunately, unlike most of his experience with sleep, he did not dream.
~(Hearts)~
~(Hearts)~
Seal Room, Naruto's Mindscape;
After Pain;
Uzumaki Naruto:
Naruto looked up at the familiar cage doors, waiting. The fox would tell him why he was here eventually, and Naruto just might get to see him all irritated if he stayed silent long enough. That was always fun!
Large red eyes emerged from the darkness and watched him. "Even with that chakra you learned from the Toads, you're still so oblivious."
'Okay, wasn't expecting that...' Naruto thought, quirking an eyebrow.
"You could track the chakra signal from Pain's chakra rod all the way back to its source, but you couldn't feel the world crying out for help."
Naruto's expression only grew more confused.
The cage suddenly lit up, and the entire fox in all its fuzzy, demonic glory could be seen. He was laying down, resting his chin on his paws, staring at him with an expression that Naruto couldn't quite place. "Every last one of you is going to die, and you don't even know it. Can't do much about it, either. The darkness will come, and swallow us all."
Naruto decided to speak up, finally getting irritated. "Stop speaking in riddles! What are you talking about? Why am I here, instead of dreaming about ramen or something?"
The Kyuubi's eyes softened slightly, and Naruto finally realized the face he was making. The Kyuubi was sad. Sad and... regretful? "I'm sorry, Naruto. Even I didn't feel it until now. If there is one thing in this world that I fear, it is not death. It is living without life." The fox looked up at him and hardened his expression. "We're all going to be taken. And there is nothing you can do about it. Yet I know you will not believe me, and so I'm taking this memory with me. I was a fool for even thinking that you could help."
Before Naruto could get a word in edgewise, the Kyuubi showed a remarkable strength behind those bars and expelled him from the dream, taking the memory of their conversation with him.
~(Hearts)~
~(Hearts)~
Konoha Ruins, The Land of Fire,
The Elemental Nations;
The Day After Pain;
Uzumaki Naruto:
The blonde awoke from a very strange dream. It was full of shadows, creatures in white, stained glass floors, and a strange voice. He shook it off and jumped up, ready for the day. His clothes were still filthy, and he wondered if his apartment had been destroyed. Pain's Shinra Tensei had made a crater in the center half of the village, but his assault before Naruto had showed up had already caused a lot of damage to the rest of the buildings.
Naruto walked out of the tent and stretched. He smiled and looked around. Construction was already getting underway. The earth at the edges of the crater was being pulled into the hole in an effort to fill it up, and the rocks all over the battlefield were being broken apart. Naruto felt within himself and sensed his chakra. He had used a lot yesterday, but he figured a few dozen Kage Bunshin could help the village.
With orders to spread out and help wherever they could, Naruto psyched himself up and set out, ready to do his part as well.
Getting directions to the tent Tsunade was in, he made to enter when Shizune popped out and put a firm hand on his chest. "Tsunade-sama can't see anyone right now. She's still in a terribly weak state from her battle."
Naruto's eyebrows shot upward. "Wh- Is she okay?!"
Shizune smiled reassuringly at him, trying to calm the boy down. "She'll be fine, she just needs rest. She's in a coma at the moment, and when she wakes up she'll be very weak. Please Naruto, go talk to one of the Jonin giving out assignments. We're still taking missions, you know. Can't let the other villages think that we're in a weak state."
Naruto nodded, upset that he couldn't see Tsunade, but respecting her assistant's orders. Wishing Shizune luck with her day, he went out to find some work to do.
~(Hearts)~
~(Hearts)~
One Hour Later;
Uzumaki Naruto:
Naruto sat on a stack of logs. He had managed to find one Jonin with a Soldier Pill, and he quickly convinced the man to give it to him.
Renewed with a bit of chakra, he had sent out five hundred-odd clones to assist and do missions, trying to bring in funds for the destroyed village, and focused his own efforts on regaining his strength. Hence the meditation on top of the logs.
It wasn't long before he felt up to drawing in Nature energy. Balancing his chakra, he activated Sage Mode, although he still didn't move from his spot.
In Sage Mode, he could sense chakra, and other types of energy. At the moment, he was looking for someone. Finding her signature, he opened his eyes, revealing their resemblance to a toad's, and set off in a direction. All around him he saw shinobi, civilians, and copies of himself rebuilding the village. It was quite amazing, really. The speed with which everything was getting done put a spring in his step.
People bowed to him and thanked him as he walked, but he just smiled and waved them off. Konoha was his home, and he would do anything to protect it.
When he reached the chakra signature he was tracking in the untouched area of the village, he let go of his Sage energy. Entering the BBQ Grill, he looked around and finally found her. Walking up, he put on a brilliant smile and said, "Hey Kiba, Shino, Kurenai-san. Hey Hinata, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Team 8 looked up from their meal and grinned at Naruto. Well, Kiba grinned, and Kurenai seemed to smile. Hinata looked almost fearful, and most definitely embarrassed. "W-what do you need me for, N-Naruto-kun?" 'Oh no, he's here to tell me to give up on him! I was so weak when I went to help him, a strong guy like him must hate weak girls!' she panicked.
Naruto smiled gently. "I just wanted discuss some stuff with you about yesterday." 'Oh man, she looks terrified of me! I must have looked so fuckin' scary when the Kyuubi took over, she probably hates me! She's the only one in our class that didn't know, yet...'
Hinata nervously stood up and turned to her team. "E-excuse me, please." Looking at Naruto, she nodded, trying not to look sad.
He took her outside and around an alley. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. They both stood there, not looking at each other. Finally, they turned to each other at the same time and shouted, "Please don't hate me!"
They each blinked at each other, confused. Again, at the same time, they said, "Why would I hate you?"
Hinata answered first, though. "Because I was so useless when I went to help you! I-I thought you were mad at me for being so w-weak... A-and for... W-well, y-you know," she finished lamely, referring to her confession and looking at the ground.
Naruto gaped at her, amazed. "How- I don't even.." He reached out and gripped her arms, startling her into looking into his eyes. "Hinata," he said firmly, "I could never hate someone for trying to help me, least of all you! You were no match for Pain, I tried telling you that, but you fought him anyway to protect me! Hinata, I don't hate you, I'm thankful to you!" When he finished, he pulled her into a hug, wiping away her fears, and doubling her embarrassment.
Of course, that was when Naruto remembered why he had come to find her in the first place. Pulling away from the hug, he half turned away from her, worried. "So... You don't hate me?"
Hinata looked straight at him, highly confused. "I'm not even sure what you're talking about, Naruto-kun."
Naruto shook his head and took a few steps away from her, turning away. "I mean how I... I did something scary, Hinata. Listen... I'm pretty sure you're the only graduate in our class that doesn't know yet, as everyone else found out one way or another. I'm... I'm the bearer of the nine-tailed Bijuu. I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune." He paused, and when he didn't hear her scream or run away, he let the next part rush out in a hurry. "When I saw what he did to you, I lost control, and the Kyuubi was almost completely set free! I just couldn't stand seeing you like that, especially since you came to my rescue, you know?! You're really important to me, Hina-"
"Naruto-kun."
Naruto turned around at the softness in her voice. He was saddened at first when he saw the tears, but her bright smile confused him. His confusion increased when she threw herself into his arms and held him tightly. He blinked rapidly before cautiously returning the hug. "Uhm, Hinata?"
"I'm glad you're okay. Like everyone, I'm thankful that you defeated Pain and saved us. And..." She seemed to bury her head into his chest, her face heating up. "It makes me happy that you think so highly of me to get so mad."
He smiled, hugging her more tightly. "Of course, Hinata-chan. After all the stuff we've been through, you really think that I'd just sit by and watch you get killed?"
Hinata sighed into the hug. 'His arms are so strong... I feel so protected," she thought. Ever since her confession, the thought of being with Naruto like this made her even happier, and others had noticed a rapid increase in her own confidence.
Hinata thought about that moment. He hadn't responded to her since then. She blushed a bit harder, pointing her head at the ground. "N-Naruto-kun? What about... t-that other part?"
Naruto quirked up an eyebrow. "What other part?"
Hinata pulled away, poking her fingers together. "The part where I.. I... I... Naruto?" she asked, sounding confused now. "Why do you have two shadows?"
Naruto looked down and widened his eyes. There below him was his shadow, same as it always had been. But shooting off to the side was another shadow, connected to him by his feet. "W-what the-?!" He hopped away, and the shadow seemed to... rip away from him. He looked around and chuckled nervously. "Shikamaru? If that's you, you've had your fun! You know I hate ghosts, and that really scared me!"
No answer.
"Sh-Shikamaru?" His eyes were drawn to the shadow on the ground. "Oh Kami..."
Hinata latched onto him, and he instinctively wrapped her in his arms. "N-Na-Naruto-kun. W-what is that?"
Naruto didn't answer, just shook his head. No way. It had only been a dream, hadn't it? "Oh please, no."
The shadow was moving.
~(Hearts)~
~(Hearts)~
The Kids' Island,
Destiny Islands;
The Next Day;
Sora:
Sora manipulated the engine back into place. That was one down, but he was down to one Neon Orb. He'd have to work something else out for the second one.
He was torn from his thoughts at the sound of footsteps on the sand. He looked up and smiled at Kairi. "Hey!"
"Hey. Hungry yet?" she asked, lifting a picnic basket. Sora opened his mouth, but his stomach answered faster, growling impatiently. Kairi giggled. "I guess so! Here, I made your favorite."
Sora saved his current template and put the Gummi Garage on Stasis Mode, letting him remove the Editor Gloves without dropping the multitude of parts hovering in the air. He scooted closer to Kairi as she passed him a peanut butter, jelly, and pickle sandwich.
As they ate on the docks, just staring at the ocean, Sora's mind kept wandering between Kairi and the ship. 'I'll come back. I always come back to her. She knows that, I know that, so why am I feeling so torn about this? They need me out there! Kairi doesn't need me, she's got a life here on the Islands.
'Damn, what am I gonna do for that other Vernier? I guess I could pull apart the Helm a bit.. If I use a Bridge or Big Bridge, I can pull the lower-energy parts from our leftover Helms, but that won't look very good on the Kingdom model. Not like that matters any, we're stuck here unless I can get us to the nearest world with magic. Man, I had no idea how far we were from anything. Riku's first ride in a Gummi Ship, and we'll be flying for hours!
'Kairi's already been through the trip, though. Hey...'
He looked at her, and said, "Hey Kairi?"
She turned to look at him, smiling. "Hm? What is it?"
"What did you think of your first flight in the Gummi Ship?"
She looked surprised, but thoughtful. "Well, that was a few years ago, remember? Hollow Bastion? Leon and the others took me to Traverse Town after you... well after you rescued me," she said, her cheeks coloring slightly.
"Oh. Right.. I forgot." Sora put his head down, remembering his brief time as a Heartless, which gave birth to Roxas. Although, he wasn't quite a true Heartless, was he? He still had some semblance of himself, for some reason... He wondered if it was the Keyblade that had saved him, as it had so many times before and since then. Shaking himself free of the memories, he smiled at her, "Well, what I meant was this time. From Organization XIII's world to here."
Kairi looked out at the ocean. "Well, first Donald did this thing on the ship to find this world, he said it was a... a Heart Monitor?"
Sora nodded in understanding. He had learned about it after his first visit to Hollow Bastion, and how the Beast had followed Belle through Corridors of Darkness and Light. "The Heart Tracker. It reads your heart and finds your home, by detecting where you were born."
"Right, that! Well, it seemed confused, because the first couple times it kept pointing to Hollow Bastion-"
"Radiant Gardens."
Kairi blinked. "What?"
Sora chuckled. "The town's original name was Radiant Gardens. Leon and the others are rebuilding it, and they've brought back the old name."
"Oh good for them! Anyway, when I told Donald that Destiny Islands wasn't my first home, he started asking all kinds of questions, wondering how I got here with the world dividers still up. Well I didn't know! I was like, five when I came here, right? Goofy calmed him down, and Donald adjusted the Tracker thingy. Finally it pointed here, and Donald started getting mad at me for how far away it was!"
Forget chuckle, Sora laughed uproariously! "Hahaha! Yeah, he can be a bit cranky, but he's really a nice guy. So, what happened next?"
"Well, according to the space map-"
"World Map."
"Oh whatever! Would you let me tell the story?"
Sora backed off, raising his hands apologetically, although the grin on his face showed how funny he thought her flustering was.
"Hmph. Well, the World Map said that the closest place was this colosseum or something. We landed and Goofy started working on the ship, trying to re-fuel, or something. Hercules says hi, by the way, and that he wants a rematch soon. What's that about?"
"Oh, bring it on, Herc! He's this Olympian demigod hero with god-like strength that I trained with for a while. How's Phil? Is the Colosseum rebuilt and open yet?"
Kairi giggled at his exuberance. Sora felt his heart skip a beat at the sound. "They're all doing well, and it seemed to be open. Once the ship was ready, we left, though. The trip here from the colosseum was about six hours, and pretty uneventful."
Sora nodded, thinking aloud. "If Donald plotted the flight with the ship's starmap, I should be able to retrieve it from the logs."
Getting up, he bent down and tapped a few times on the holographic keyboard hovering over the little blue cube that was the Gummi Garage Field Projector. The log for the last flight came up, as well as the last known accurate World Map.
Sora stood and examined them. He crossed his arms and pinched his chin in a thinking pose. "Hmm... No.. Did he really...?"
Kairi stood as well and walked right up next to him, their shoulders touching. "What? Is there something wrong?"
Sora frowned, nodding. "I'll say. Those two knuckleheads burned out the engines for no reason! They must have been bookin' it to get back here, because my ship would have made it, no problem, if they had taken it slower!"
Sora looked at the ship, deep in thought. "If I use a Big Bridge, I can dismantle the casing for the Bridge/Gs we have and use it to make whole new engines out of the Verniers. That way, I can take the parts from all the other cockpits and rig them into the new engines, which should get us where we want to go. It's no Falcon Peak, but she'll do as long as I'm flying."
Kairi smiled softly. "That's great, Sora! So after that, will it be ready to go?"
Sora frowned again. "No. There's still the problem of fuel. It runs on ambient magic, the kind that hasn't been directed into forming anything. The magic inside people is geared towards being expelled in different ways, like a spell, as well as siphoning a bit of itself off to keep us alive. Well, according to what Merlin taught me, anyway. But the magic of a world is loose and free. It can be harnessed and molded by the Gummi Ship as fuel, and every time we stop at a world, it begins its refueling process. Unfortunately, Destiny Islands doesn't have enough ambient magic to spare, and so the Gummi Ship is really low on fuel."
Kairi looked around at the beach and the forest. "Hard to believe this beautiful place has such little magic to it."
Sora smiled, enjoying the smell of the sea. "It has enough to keep the world from falling apart, and the Gummi Ship won't take more than it safely can. I think the fact that it is so beautiful without much magic is amazing. We live on a unique world, Kairi."
Sora grinned, and asked, "Speaking of magic, how is Riku's 'class' coming along?"
"Well, Selphine and Wakka seem to have gotten the gist of it. Tidus is having a lot more trouble, though. His last spell burned off Riku's eyebrows!"
Sora laughed, imagining the guy's hairless face. "So, he's improving, then?"
Kairi tried to keep the smile off her face, but eventually giggled with him. "Hehe, yep!"
They shared a laugh for a while longer before Kairi noticed that it was getting dark. "I should probably get home."
Sora sobered immediately. With his mom still not remembering him, he had been staying in the hideaway in the big tree in the middle of the island, no home to return to. It wasn't the conditions or the cold, he had slept through worse with Mulan under Captain Shang. No, it was the loneliness. Donald and Goofy were great company, but they slept in the Hidden Place by the door, guarding it.
They had long since determined that it was the door to the Heart of the World, hence the reason Riku was teaching their other friends magic. Somebody had to defend it, since without a Keyhole, it was impossible to lock. Riku had been pushed to imbuing their chosen weapons with magic and teaching them a few spells, since they otherwise wouldn't be able to harm anything that came at them.
'Still,' Sora thought, 'It's so strange sleeping alone after all this time.'
Kairi started to unhitch her boat, not looking at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sora."
He sighed as she paddled away, back to town. He slipped the Editor's Gloves back on and summoned a Bridge from the Garage, getting back to work. It would still be light for a while longer.
~(Hearts)~
~(Hearts)~
The Next Day;
Sora:
Sitting cross-legged on the bridge to the raised platform, Sora looked at them as they sat in groups in front of him. What he was thinking was crazy, both Riku and Donald had told him such. But that dream stuck in his mind. It made so much sense, there had to be some truth to it. He had already resolved which ones wouldn't work, and which ones he refused to use. The only problem was actually putting his plan into action.
With the thought that he would ask King Mickey how they came about in the first place, he began to attempt to break a Keychain.
He started with one of the ones he knew wouldn't work for his final plan, the Gull Wing. It didn't boost his Magic at all, so he figured it wouldn't help the Gummi Ship. Plus, its ability, while somewhat useful to him, would not assist the Ship, either.
First he tried funneling a spell into it, Thunder. Besides a general show of electricity, no change occurred. Remembering his first adventure, he tried crushing it with a Gravity spell, but that seemed to have no effect either.
Getting frustrated, he tried pulling on the magic in it. He felt... something. He wasn't sure what, but it was like it was just there, out of his reach. Closing his eyes, he held the chain in his hand and focused. He could feel his Drive power reacting to his efforts, and tried using it to pull on the Keychain. Suddenly, a noticeable change occurred, and he was practically attacked by a wave of magic. Opening his eyes, he gasped.
The Keychain had lost much of its color, but that's not what made him jump up. His clothes had changed to that of his Wisdom Form. His feet were hovering above the bridge, and flecks of magic winked in and out around him, just like always! He felt a bit less powerful that he knew he should, but that wasn't a concern at the moment. "Uh, guys!" He yelled, leaving the rest of the Keychains behind and gliding to the door through the edge of the mountain. Pushing through it, he hopped from platform to platform easily, making his way to the east beach. Riku was there, teaching Tidus, Wakka, Selphine, and surprisingly, Kairi how to perform Thunder-element magic. Goofy was lounging under a tree, and Sora immediately sped over and kicked him gently to wake him up. "Goofy! Was Donald here? Did he just disappear?"
Goofy looked up at him, confused and surprised. "Sora! Yer clothes 're all blue like in yer Wisdom Form!"
"I know, I know! Where was Donald just now?"
Riku answered from behind him. "He went to the north beach, needed to use the bathroom there. Why, what's the panic?"
Sora whipped around, an interesting sight while floating. "I was doing an experiment and I went into Wisdom Form, normally I can only do that when Donald is with me, and he has to willingly join me. Besides the fact that I didn't mean to, he's way too far away for me to absorb him, I need to figure out what happened!"
"Uh, Sora? Why dontcha just revert? He'll show up here, won't he?"
"That's just it, I don't think he's with me right now!" Without another word, he glided around the border between the north beach and the east beach, the others trying to keep up. Reaching the bathroom shed, he pounded on the door, Gull Wing Keychain still in hand. "Donald! Donald, are you in there?!"
The door opened and the duck stepped out. "What, what, what is i-"
He stopped, frozen with one foot in the air. "Ah- Uh- Uh... WAAAAAHHHH!" He yelled, jumping back slightly. "WA- What happened?!"
Sora exhaled, relieved. At least Donald was okay. He opened his left hand, and looked at the Gull Wing Keychain. Holding out his right, the Keyblade appeared. It was in Kingdom Key form, all the other Keychains were still sitting on the bridge on the south beach. The Keychain was almost completely devoid of color, and everyone watched, wide-eyed, as Sora began to connect the Gull Wing to the Keyblade. The form changed into the Gull Wing, as expected, but it, too, was drained of color. The image shimmered, flickering to the Kingdom Key and back again, seemingly unstable.
Wakka spoke first. "Woah. Man, that's freaky."
Sora fiddled with the Keychain, frustrated. "It won't clip on right, almost like it's broken." Giving up, he removed the chain and dismissed the Keyblade, staring down at the Gull Wing. The red rope was grey, and the silver emblem had faded, having lost its shine. Closing his eyes, he still felt magic inside it, and pulled once more with his Drive. He could feel the time he had left in the Form rise in response. Cracks were beginning to form under his fingers, and he stopped.
Remembering why he was doing this in the first place, he began to try and store the magic outside himself, instead of letting it be directed to energizing him. Pulling again, he thought he had just about figured out how to do that when the Keychain shattered, and he felt the magic enter him. Snapping his eyes open, everyone gasped at the sight of the broken medal and the cut rope. He sensed, as he did sometimes when he grew stronger, that a new ability had surfaced within him. It was the exact same as what the Gull Wing form granted him when he used it in battle.
"Experience Boost..."
Goofy looked up into his face. "Hm? What was that Sora?"
Sora snapped free from his daze and quickly Reverted, a small flash of light returning his clothes to normal, and lowering his feet to the ground. "This was the Gull Wing Keychain, the one Yuna and the Gull Wing Fairies gave me. Its ability was Experience Boost. I think I just... absorbed it."
Kairi cocked her head. "Sora, what were you trying to do? And what's an ability?"
Not answering, his head snapped up and he looked back the way he had come. A Quick Run took him most of the way there, and he sprinted around the border, leaping up onto the trees, and leaping again. In the air, he Glided to the door, and burst through it. Running under the bridge, a quick Magnet spell pulled the Keychains into his hands, and he finally reached the Gummi Ship.
Stuffing the shattered Gullwing chain into his enchanted pockets, he pulled out the last Neon Orb and sifted through the Keychains, paying no mind to his friends running up to him. Pulling out the Hero's Crest Keychain, he figured that if it didn't work, the Gummi Ship wouldn't lose any potential magic, and he would get an immediate Air Combo Plus ability. Placing the chain on the docks, he rested the Neon Orb atop it, his friends watching with bated breath.
Placing his palm on the Orb, he focused again. Pulling on his Drive, he activated Wisdom Form, once more noticing that he didn't need Donald. He started trying to tug on the chain, and the Neon Orb easily intercepted the magic. He smiled, not feeling the power enter him, and finished the process. The Keychain broke, and he sensed its ability enter the Neon Orb.
Opening his eyes and Reverting, he lifted the Orb and turned to his audience. "And that is how I plan to solve the fuel issue. Plus, if my hunch is right, now the Ship will maneuver better."
Of course, they each demanded an explanation, which he was happy to give.
Answering Kairi first, he said, "An Ability is an enhancement. Sometimes artificial, they can become natural through training. When I woke up in Twilight Town, I gained an Ability called Aerial Recovery. It implanted in me the knowledge and ability to use wind to recover from a falling state. By now, if I remove the Ability Points invested in it, which I have done, I can still do it because I've learned how naturally. They're kind of like a shortcut, or a learning boost. Without knowing that it was possible or how to do it, which the ability gave me, I never would have tried it, let alone achieved it. But since I've had it active for so long, and I've used it so often, I've learned how to do it without the Ability."
Kairi nodded, starting to understand. "So... The one you broke by the bathroom had an ability for what, again?"
"Experience Boost. In essence, it increases the rate at which you learn, and it boosts your muscle memory, allowing you to train more effectively. It's one of the kind that can't become natural by training."
Riku took his turn as Kairi processed the information. "So you tried it anyway. How'd you manage it? Keychains are extremely durable, they nearly embody the essence of Will itself, and the magic they can contain is too variable to manage."
Sora dug out the Gull Wing Keychain. "Well, to start, I tested it on one with only enough magic to power itself. It doesn't boost my magic power any, so I had hoped that it would be weak enough to manage. Turns out it was! In my Wisdom form, at least."
Donald jumped in before Riku could say anything more. "And how'd you do that, Sora?! I wasn't anywhere near you, and you didn't even need me!"
Sora looked at his hands, thoughtful. "I... I don't know... Maybe I'm just getting stronger? Should I try another form?"
Kairi giggled. "I think that can wait 'till later, silly! So, have you fixed the ship?"
Sora frowned and put the broken Keychains aside, slipping on the Editor's Gloves. "I'm not sure. I doubt that particular Keychain had enough power for what we need..." Tapping on the Neon Orb, he pulled up statistics on the part. "Well, the power has increased, but not by much. It also holds the Air Combo Boost ability from the Hero's Crest Keychain. I can't be sure what it does for the ship until I enter it into the database, but I'll bet you 200 Munny that it increases either maneuverability or speed." Sora turned to look at them. "If I transfer enough power from the Keychains into the Neon Orb, it'll convert the magic into something the ship can use. I only have a basic understanding of how much magic each Keychain will transfer, so even this might not be enough.."
Sensing his friend about to enter a funk, and also still carrying questions, Riku spoke. "But that still doesn't answer how you even broke the chain. Your Wisdom Drive helped you to manage the magic into your system, but what gave you that idea?" 'I don't think he realizes just what a big discovery this is. Keychains are among the strongest of magical items there are, and he just broke two of them by barely trying.'
"Well... it kind of happened for me. I tried to physically break it, but that didn't work. Even magic wouldn't snap the thing. Pulling on it though... I don't know, it was like my Drive sensed that it could, and just.. did it! I think Wisdom activated to handle the stress of adapting the power into me." He looked up at their dumbfounded faces. He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, at least that's what I think happened..."
His friends chuckled at Sora's attitude. No matter how clever he got, he was still Sora!
It was almost sundown when Sora called another assembly. Once everyone was gathered, he smiled at them, even though he was very tired from his day. "Okay! After a surprisingly exhausting morning, I think that there is enough magic in this Neon Orb to get us off the Islands." This was met with some cheer and praise, to which he blushed and raised his hands. "Okay, okay! All afternoon, I've been working on adapting the ship's systems to the new power source, and I've finally finished. Now, for those wondering, these four engines aren't the old Fira/G thrusters. They're my own invention, and I think you'll find that they fly a lot smoother, haha! The cockpit is a Big Bridge/G, cause I had to use most of the other Helms to make the new engines."
He took a deep breath and looked at Donald, Riku, and Goofy. "Now, due to the modifications, we'll be flying a lot slower than we're used to. Sorry Riku, you'll have to wait for another time to witness my awesome piloting skills!"
Before he could retort, Goofy spoke up. "Uhh.. How slow are we talkin' about here, Sora?"
He sighed, exhausted. "It'll take us about three days to reach the Colosseum," he said. Before Donald could argue, he yelled, "Hey! We wouldn't even be in this mess if you two knuckleheads hadn't pushed the engines passed what they can do! You could have easily gotten here if you had taken it slower!" That quieted him down, and Sora continued. "Right. I've enabled the living quarters. I know, it's not the best thing ever, but that's all we can do about it.
"I still have to plug in the orb, and the conversion program will take some time. We can be ready to leave in two hours, bu-"
Riku interrupted him. "I still have one more thing to teach my class. Can we postpone the launch for tomorrow? I'd really hate to leave our world underprotected, this time."
Sora nodded. "I was about to say that I've been working all day for the past two days, and I'd like to sleep tonight, haha.. We should launch tomorrow night; since the ship is parked on land and not in orbit, we might startle the town if we do it in the day."
Everyone nodded, completely understanding the desire to sleep, as Sora looked about ready to collapse. The Islanders all took the boats back to town for the night, minus Sora, of course. Donald and Goofy went back to the Secret Place, and our hero headed to his lonely alcove up in the treehouse.
(~HJN~)
AN: Well! That was pretty long and guess what? It's not even everything I have! I had to cut it here because I really wanted some feedback and it was getting to be hella long. I've been sitting on this much and more for months, actually.
First off, I'm sure there are a lot of errors I missed, please excuse them. Also please keep in mind the timeframe I've put this in, and remember that I'm having to alter canon a lot!
Mostly I want feedback on Sora. I feel like I'm making him too smart or too talkative. But I always imagined that, since you're playing Sora, surely Sora is the one doing all of the Gummi Building and stuff, right? Naturally he'd end up being a good mechanic for this sort of thing if he's been doing it as much as I do. People can get really smart or passionate about something they're good at or enjoy, so I hope his personality is portrayed well enough. We hardly ever get to see HIM figuring out a solution to a problem, so I didn't have much to go on. Usually he's just being confrontational or confused, haha!
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this secret I've been keeping from you, and let me know what you think of the title! I'm still not sure of it...
Ja ne~!
-Hero of the Free
