My Heart Keeps Beating Like a Hammer
Clary blinked her eyes open tiredly. Looking over at Jace—as coherent thoughts finally started stringing along in her head, like a freight train might trot along on a track—she couldn't believe where the night had led them.
If someone had told her a couple of days ago that there existed a key shaped weapon that would have put the Mortal Sword to shame, she would have laughed in their face.
Now, though, that she and Jace had met the Key slinger named "Sora", Clary didn't know how to feel about anything in the slightest anymore. In fact, she was starting to feel just a bit lost and numb to it all, but she didn't want to mention it to anyone, and risk hurting them with the news.
"Jace, you awake?" the redhead asked, as she rolled over and over on her dark blue blankets, until she found herself enveloped in her boyfriend's naked hold. Well… he was bare from the top up, anyway.
And trying to not let memories of the last, disastrous time he'd been in her room overwhelm her—when Jace had been himself and hadn't been all at the same time—she may or may not have allowed the blond to begin peppering kisses along her neck, so she could try and distract herself from thoughts of Sebastian, but not of Sora.
After all, this new information from the apparent chosen one was important, Clary sensed down, deep within herself.
"I've been awake as long as the world has, I think, love. I mean, I do have as much light in me now as God did when he created the day. You're the one who's been dozing away and drooling, Clary.
"And can't you see how awake I am in how in tune I am to your ever need? Here I am, trying to seductively take your mind off the million things that occupy it, and you don't even realize it. How insulting."
The arrogant part about Jace having so much Angel blood now, that he might as well have been the original creator of them aside, Clary did have to admit her fiancé had a point: she supposed she was worrying too much.
But… could she really even be blamed for it? After having just barely won the Dark War, was it really so terrible that she didn't want to get thrown headlong into another terrible affair?
As her thoughts twirled around in her head, making her remember things she didn't want to even more, Clary thought that maybe she ought to get as many Jace snuggles as she possibly could. She was still upset after Simon, after all, and his touch did always seem to sooth he-
"Clarissa Adele Fray! I'd better not hear a voice in there! We have guests, true, but I doubt that it's the other cocky kid that I'm hearing right now, is it?!"
Laughing hysterically at that, despite herself, Clary quickly poked Jace in the chest—signaling him to get some clothes on—and mouthed to him that she'd meet him outside in ten.
And as much as Clary knew Jace would never want to admit it, her mom did have a point about the Sora kid and him both being equally self-absorbed… and a headache, Clary added mentally. Definitely a headache.
…
Coming out of her room at Luke's, and into the book section that she had always loved so much as a kid, Clary was quick to feel miffed when Kairi (she thought that was the girl's name, anyway) pulled her aside to politely tell her she had something on her mouth.
Ugh. And here Clary had been thinking that his mention of droll had been Jace's failed attempt at pillow talk… Going to the bathroom to clean her face as fast as she was able, Clary did one pirouette—to make sure that she was good to go—before returning to the seemingly only sane person in the house. A feeling that Clary had felt many times about herself, before the lovely Kairi had decided to grace them with her presence and no-nonsense attitude.
"The way you're holding that charm of yours…" Clary said despite herself, as she noted the princess holding a pink and star shaped article in her hand, whilst running her hand over the part where it looked like she inked in a face of Sora's.
At Kairi's confused look, Clary thought it best to explain her sentiment. And in that… she couldn't shake the feeling that she was talking to Emma again or something, even though this girl was much closer to her in age, and also seemed to have a subtle fire about her, too.
"Sorry… it's just that you're holding onto it the way I often weave my fingers through Jace's, and vice versa… You must really love this Sora person, and him you."
The mystery girl's face lit up at that, from where it had been solemn just a moment ago. And if Clary remembered correctly… Kairi was somehow made out of pure Light, and therefore hated hurting people's feelings. So her sadness a second prior… had that been because she thought she'd hurt Clary's feelings, when really she'd saved her from having droll on her face all day?
Also, Clary vaguely remembered hearing how Kairi and Sora both had once had other personas within them, so maybe that had something to do with it? Deciding not to think on that too much, though, Clary just smiled at the other girl.
"Yes… I do love Sora a whole lot," Kairi admitted in what seemed to Clary like a self-conscious sort of way… and if that wasn't enough incentive to make her want to go up and hug her, like she nearly had Emma, Clary didn't know what was.
"I remembered him when no one else did," Kairi continued on, in the type of voice of someone who cherished a fairytale greatly, but had never gotten to be a part of the magic themselves. "And even when he had to leave me for longer than a year, I didn't ever doubt or resent him, and in the end… he did return and give the thalassa charm of reunion back to me."
Well, to say that Clary was touched from that story would have been an understatement, though part of her did feel as though the girl had been unfairly wronged. Recalling the conversation that she'd had with Tessa about Brother Zachariah, Clary swore to herself that she'd rip Jace a new one before she ever let him do anything crazy without her.
"You two have a very powerful love," Clary tried to assure the younger girl, as she placed a hand on her shoulder, and found herself wishing she'd been there for Maia more like this, after Jordan had died. "And as I understand it, that's a very rare and powerful thing in this world, so you're right to cherish it as you do. Sometimes I feel like I should cherish mine more."
"What are we cherishing, aside from my good looks?" Jace asked as he came strolling into the room, stopping once to wink at Kairi—perhaps trying to give her more confidence? Clary wagered—before turning towards Clary with an expectant look on his face…
Oh, and slight irritation, too, Clary noted, as she saw his golden eyes dance with fury. Had Sora slipped away on his watch or something? Was that why the house was so oddly quiet? Well, that would teach Jace to not be so proud of himself all the time, Clary supposed. But… that didn't eliminate the very real problem that they now found themselves in.
"Modesty, Jace," Clary cut in, as she raised her arms out in front of her—half wanting to throttle her love, and half wanting to pull him to her, since if something had taken Sora away… it must have been quite powerful and dangerous. "We're cherishing modesty right now."
The smile that Jace gave Clary at that—as his lips quirked to the side, and his eyes lit up in the way that Clary loved so much—was positively angelic.
"Where's your mom, by the way?" Jace asked suddenly, turning this way and that, as if he thought that Jocelyn might appear out of thin air in response to his movements. "I had Luke let me in, after you 'called' me over—not even using the key you gave me to use in case of an emergency—and now you're telling me she's missing in action, so I could have just gone about everything the easy way, after all? You're playing with my heartstrings, Fray. Yes, you are."
The look she would have given him in response to that would have been withering, if she didn't feel like she was standing in front of a very delicate child for some reason, Clary knew.
But even though she didn't glower at Jace like she longed to, she did somewhat kick him in the ankle for good measure… which in turn caused Jace to look her over with smoldering eyes, that seemed to hint at how he was going to get back at her for that later. Clary's heart began hammering like a hammer.
"Uhh…" Clary answered, remembering what the original question was, as Kairi strode away from them to go look at the mysterious microwave she'd never seen before, maybe?
Following after the other girl hastily, as she didn't want her to accidentally electrocute herself or anything, Clary called to Jace over her shoulder: "Y'know, that's a good question, but let's worry about that later. Right now we should ask about the Darkness that's coming, or-"
"Oh. So you finally believe us about the Darkness?!" came a light and soft voice from the couch where Maia had once sat nearly bleeding to death.
Turning to look at the blonde girl she'd met earlier, at her sudden entrance, Clary found herself wondering how Naminé could sound so innocent and authoritative all at the same time.
And if the look Jace was giving her meant anything… he seemed to be pondering how someone so pale didn't fade away from existence. Clary bumped him in the arm for retribution, but even she had to smile slightly at the idea.
"Naminé!" Kairi exclaimed, as she became filled with more emotion than Clary had yet to see her with, and ran into her would-be-twin's arms, with a force that almost sent the sofa sliding back into the wall. Almost.
"What are you doing here?" Kairi asked in what seemed to be a bubbling current of excitement, and with mirth that Clary had once dreamed about being able to go to Jonathon with, if he had been someone else... "I know you were here last night, but then you vanished. I thought—I thought maybe you became incorporeal again, or that maybe Xehanort had- Anyway, what's going on? Where's Sora?"
As it happened, the platinum haired girl didn't answer the questions right away. Instead, she pulled out a sketchbook and began to draw in it with a fervor that Clary herself understood well.
Heck, even Jace must have felt it, for he began looking at the witch so intently, that she half-expected him to think she'd stolen the ability to create Runes or something.
But Clary knew better. Having pulled out her drawings after having been questioned… that meant that Naminé was somehow going to use them to explain what was going on, didn't it?
As if acknowledging Clary's words, and the truth of them there, Naminé quickly sprawled out many of the cream colored papers she'd been working on before her—on Luke's very cluttered table, Clary thought, embarrassed—and she began talking about things with the careful grace of someone who had done so many a time before.
Looking at Jace out of the corner of her eye, Clary noticed his huff—for not being the center of attention, or the one with all the answers for once—and she patted him on the arm comfortingly.
"There seems to be some sort of connection between the Mortal Sword you told us about and the Keyblade," Naminé choked out very quietly, as if she wasn't completely used to speaking, and it hurt her just to be able to get the words out.
Maybe it did, Clary thought, mystified. After all… if her words were going to hint that something bad was coming, the Shadowhunter could have definitely seen why it would be so hard to verbalize. Hadn't she— hadn't she been the same when she'd had to tell lies to protect her family in Edom?
"You see, the Keyblade—nowadays, anyway—is supposed to be the weapon of heart and Light that protects the world. It's not infallible, though, and its power has been corrupted many times over by the hearts of its masters. I think… in trying to be what it was meant to be—as the Keyblade is sentient, you see—it's trying to absorb this power of the Mortal Sword, that makes your people unable to lie. And though I hate the idea of stealing you people's weapon, of course… Maybe it's for the best, if it'll lead to the protection of all the worlds."
"Now hold on just a minute! What gives you strangers the right to mess with a Mortal Instrument? We don't know you… even if this Kairi is somehow an Angel. But if what you're saying is true, why aren't all of you with the Sword now, if Sora was somehow teleported to it? That's what you're getting at, right? But you girls also have Keyblades, so why not you? Was Sora summoned to it, like you theorized, because he's dishonest, and his Keyblade is trying to make him right?"
"Wait. Jace, hold on-" Clary cautioned, as she grabbed onto his arm; not wanting him to be cruel to the young girls, just because the idea of the Mortal Sword maybe being stolen didn't sit well with him.
But even though Clary trusted Sora, Kairi, and Naminé for a reason she couldn't really explain well… she had to admit that the idea really didn't sit well with her, either.
She… she had a hard time trusting these days, and whether that was for everything she'd been through, or the fact that she apparently had a black heart, Clary didn't know But suddenly, she felt like she should have been the one under fire by the Mortal Sword.
"If Sora ever lies about anything, it's how much his duty and love for others hurts him," Kairi defended her boyfriend, eyes positively blazing with her own type of Heavenly Fire, Clary saw.
And not really wanting to deal with her summoning a magic sword to her hand in a flash of Light again, Clary quickly pulled Jace over to her, before he could do anything that would set Kairi off.
Naminé, too, if Clary was gauging her expression correctly, seemed to be grasping the air just the same as her would-be-sister.
Whispering to Jace conspiringly, Clary was quick to tell him that they should really go see the Silent Brothers, before the situation got too out of hand.
So giving an excuse to Kairi and Naminé both, and looking at them reluctantly, the couple went to do just that.
...
What Clary hadn't expected, though, when she and Jace began walking down Madison Avenue—desperately hoping that a taxi would come to get them, so they wouldn't have to walk the entire way to the City of Bones—was to run into Isabelle, who was standing in front of a comic shop (looking to all the world like she was completely miserable without Simon), and drinking an ICEE, as she continued to look lovely in front of the midday sun.
Jace, after putting a reassuring hand on Clary's shoulder, was quick to run in his sister's direction. And as it was… Clary couldn't blame him in the slightest.
Izzy... she really needed someone right now, and it was for that reason that Clary decided that she wasn't going to tell Isabelle what was going on with the Keyblade wielders; the last thing the beautiful Lightwood girl needed right now was another burden. Clary could only pray that Jace would realize what she was feeling and opt to keep Isabelle away from everything, too.
"Hey, Izzy! Over here!" exclaimed Jace with a sort of faux-happiness that they'd all been feeling lately.
And as he crossed the street so that he was over where his sister was, Clary could see all too well the way he was raising his arm in greeting. Anyone else would have waved simply and left it alone, Clary knew. Jace, however, kept his hand up in the air, like a good little schoolboy might have—all the better to draw people's attention to him and show how muscular he was, Clary assumed.
Sighing at her boyfriend's love for theatrics, Clary quickly crossed the road so that she was by Jace's side again, and bonked him on the head irritably. And the smile he wore for that fact, as he went to grab her hand tightly in his own, made Clary think that he'd wanted her to "abuse" him all along? Wait... Jace had been turned on the first ever time she'd slapped him, hadn't he? Huh…
"Jace. Clary," Isabelle announced with a sort of muted surprise, whilst nodding curtly at each of them in turn.
And if that wasn't enough to make her heart break into a thousand microscopic pieces for her future sister-in-law, Clary didn't know what was. She'd thought that she and Isabelle had been doing better later, but was she... Was she going to push her away now, because they didn't have Simon in common anymore?
Selfishly, Clary found herself wishing for the girl she'd been with in Idris, who'd bonded with her over their shared heartache... even if she had almost said that it might have been less painful if Simon had just died.
"What are you guys doing here?" Isabelle asked, with what Clary assumed was supposed to be a nonchalant air. The way that she moved a strand of black hair to hide her expression, though—her silver whip bracelet glistening all the while she did so—spoke volumes. "I thought for sure that you two would be canoodling like Alec and Magnus are at the moment, so what-"
"There are people here from another world, Izzy!" Jace told her with strong merriment.
Looking on at her boyfriend in horror, Clary found that she almost wanting to smack the smile right off of him. Apparently he'd completely missed the idea about keeping Isabelle away from things that might further harm her, and was rather enjoying being the one to tell Isabelle this most delicious piece of news.
Not that Clary didn't find the whole thing interesting herself; she knew she definitely would have told Isabelle the same thing under different circumstances, but the thing was that there weren't different circumstances at the moment. And so, to that end, Jace should have-
"I mean, it's not that big of a stretch, after what we learned about parallel worlds in Edom, but these people seem to be from a different place entirely. They're not from another version of the Accords Hall, I should say. And right now, we're trying to find out how the strange weapons of theirs seem to coincide with the Soul Sword. It's fun stuff, Izzy. Really fun stuff."
"What's with-" Clary choked out before she could get a handle on her words and what she was feeling exactly—once again, she wanted to latch onto Jace, as she began worrying that something terrible was about to happen. "What's with the note of self-loathing again in your voice, Jace. I thought—I thought we worked on most of your insecurities in the Demon Dimensions. And this is pretty far removed from how accusatory you seemed about the Key wielders earlier."
In the back of her mind, Clary realized that she might have been betraying some of Jace's trust by speaking of some of the problems he'd related to her in front of his sister, but at the same time...
No matter what she seemed to do or say, Jace always seemed to return to thinking that he was the worst thing to ever exist. So maybe if she shared just a little bit more with his siblings, they could respond to him accordingly and finally get him to believe what they all saw so easily?
Knowing that she would do anything she could to make sure that Jace was happy and would have a safe and secure future, Clary looked at her soul mate with imploring eyes, begging him to understand why she'd done what she just had. But instead, he looked at her with a hint of betrayal.
Clary sighed gravely. Why did it always seem to end up this way between them? "Listen, Jace, I-"
It was just then, when Clary was about to utter the words that would hopefully make everything right—and Isabelle, too, looked like she was about to say something that would help the situation out—that the boy the couple had met earlier chose that moment to dart past them.
At first, Clary didn't even notice it was Sora. But the moment she saw the yellow "Xs" that stained his black outfit—such a weird decision, and a big contrast to the all black Shadowhunter clothes that she was so used to seeing—she realized who it was that was passing them without even a second glance.
Motioning to Jace—with her head inclined to the side, so that he'd see where she was indicating—she had the pleasure of seeing resolve lighten up his tawny gaze, before he used some of his speed to get to Sora before he disappeared.
"Hey!" Jace called out, his breath caressing the air in a white puff that landed near Sora's ear, as he got a hand on the boy's hood and pulled him closer to the rest of them.
Only when Sora had turned around to face them, and his liquid ocean eyes looked curiously on each of them, did Jace finish his thought. "You're the boy we met earlier, right? Sora? Well, your girlfriends are still over at Clary's house and they're worried about you. They said that you were sent to convene with the Mortal Sword where it's stationed or something like that. Is that true?"
Sora—who had seemed to somewhat straighten his hair, so that maybe it wouldn't get him as many wary looks from people—looked as though he wanted to explain something (even moreso when his eyes landed on Isabelle, as if he'd seen a ghost, Clary thought). But instead he simply shook his head, and pulled away from Jace with a strength that Clary hadn't thought the boy had in him.
And as she oddly chose to step closer to the boy, as if there were some sort of wire that was beckoning her to him, Clary got the sense that Sora was usually the talkative type... and that the fact he was being very quiet now wasn't a good thing at all.
"I- I guess I can see why Naminé would think that. She must have seen me there—as she still has power over my memories, but not as much as she used to—but I didn't teleport to your headquarters if that's what you're getting at. I went there with one of you Shadowhunters. Though... I kinda don't get why it would matter if I had used magic?" Sora questioned, as he cocked his head to the side, and blinked at everyone around him confusedly—his long eyelashes serving to make him look innocent and doe like, for which Clary instantly wanted to cuddle him.
"It seems to me," Isabelle said in a very bored tone, which instantly made the other three gathered around her pay attention to the one who sounded as though she'd solved everything. "It seems to me that there's been some sort of miscommunication here, and that you really shouldn't be interrogating the boy in such a way, Jace. I mean, really. Teleportation isn't even remotely a reason to berate someone. I mean, think about Magnus, Clary, and Catarina's own abilities. C'mon now."
Never in all her life had Clary been more grateful for Isabelle Lightwood, as the other girl had effortlessly put into words something she didn't think she ever would have been able to. She'd seemed to break Jace from his suspicions, too, and had even done so without making him become even more worried and protective of those he loved.
Clary knew if she had been the one to speak up for Sora, Jace's first thought probably would have been that she'd been brainwashed or something. Not... that she could really blame him for that after everything they'd been through, though.
In fact, just the reminder of how Jace must have suffered while possessed made Clary want to keep him from the Shadow World, just like her mother had her. Almost.
"Yes, thank you, Is," Clary told the other girl appreciatively—with a slight smile on her face—just as Isabelle apparently deemed the entire thing to be very boring, and began writing a Rune under where she'd been holding her drink, as if she thought it would cause a trashcan to appear where she could dump it into or something.
Turning away from Isabelle a bit disappointed at that, Clary thought to change the situation into an informative one more than anything else—ducking around the people who were currently milling past her—she said, "So... do you mind explaining to us what you guys are doing here again, and how we can help you? Oh... and do you know Isabelle or something? You keep staring at her."
As it happened, Sora ended up blushing so red at what Clary had thought was an innocent question, that she almost worried he wasn't getting enough oxygen into his lungs, and might soon choke.
Jace, seeming to think the exact same thing, began laughing uproariously: no doubt remembering all the uncomfortable things that Clary had said to him when they'd thought that they were related, that Jace had had to stifle his reactions to back then.
Strangely seeming to take some sort of comfort in Jace's laughter—so maybe her fiancé wasn't so hopeless at peace negotiations, after all, Clary mused—Sora muttered very quickly:
"Umm... she just looks like this girl, Tifa, who once tore apart a room I was in while looking for Cloud. That's all.
"But to answer your question," Sora said much more comfortably, probably glad to get onto a topic other than the one about Tifa (idly, Clary wondered if Kairi knew about her), and with a seriousness that seemed as out of place on him as it did on Jace, he continued:
"There are a group of people trying to kill Keyblade masters now. They use a weapon very much like the one that you people have here. And you see... if it your Mortal Sword hurts to use as much as you earlier hinted, maybe we can use it as an example to show that Shilee's arms can be flawed, too! It's all about the users, anyway, so that's really no reason to create mass genocide against my people...
"Not that they'll listen to reason or me about it. And I should be the first person they trust, as I was never even meant to have Kingdom Key, and know the danger it possesses! But still... at least I'm sensible about it all… Unlike Shilee."
"We should... help you, then? So you'll win and be able to keep the Heartless at bay for us?" Clary said, trying to grapple onto what she'd heard from earlier, and trying to detect a way that the situation could be spun into a way that would benefit everyone.
Clary was beginning to feel like she could sense it now: the strange Darkness that the children from the Destiny Island had spoken of. And as she had a higher concentration of Angel Blood much like Jace did, wouldn't it have made sense if she could tell when something appeared that could threaten that part of her? Clary thought so, anyway—she and Jace had been affected more than the others in Edom, after all—though she really couldn't say for sure.
Pulling Heosphoros to her side, though, Clary prepared to a fight the beings that she knew might or might not come, since the Door to Light had been recently opened to lessen them… or so she'd been told
And Sora, who had clearly spent many days fighting hell like Jace had, stiffened all over the moment that Clary reached for the hilt of her blade: about him was a look that could have only ever belonged to someone who had known the horrors of war far too young.
It was a look that Clary herself knew well herself, seeing as how she still had many nightmares to contend with. And though she never would have told Jace this... there were times when Clary wished that she still had the normal life that she had once shared with Simon.
Maybe- maybe there was nothing to prevent thoughts like that from leaking into your subconscious, when you'd suffered so much, Clary thought; and whenever thoughts like that did enter her head, she could understand perfectly why Jace had had the fantasy about controlling everything around him. She shuddered.
"Well, while I don't want to force you guys to help me, if it'll get you in trouble to do so, it would definitely benefit all of the worlds if we were allowed to do our duties," Sora explained, looking at Jace with a certain look in his eyes. In that moment, Clary thought she saw some sort of understanding pass between them; she could only hope it wasn't for something as cliché as both of them being in love with gingers or anything like that.
Though what Sora said next made Clary think that that was in fact what he'd been getting at.
"I mean... I can understand some of our allegiances being questioned. But for people to wonder about Kairi of all people— it's just ridiculous; more ridiculous than Xehanort trying to turn people into clones of himself. I can't stand it!"
Neither could Isabelle, apparently, for the moment that Sora had finished talking, the brown-eyed girl had tilted her head up to look at the sky desperately. As she did so, it almost did look as though a patch of ebony was opening up within it, to bring disaster down on them all, Clary saw.
At once, she found herself regretful for ever bringing Isabelle into a situation like the one they currently found themselves in. But the moment Isabelle spoke with a sort of wry set to her face, all of those feelings of Clary's instantly dissipated to leave only relief in its wake.
"Well, all of this sounds like an idea and something to investigate to me. Let's get to it, shall we? I've been bored around her, anyway. And Sora, if you really think the Heartless are going to come here from the sky, keep a look out for us, will you? Your name means sky, after all. So maybe your will can make the sky itself subservient or something. The hell if I know."
In the back of her mind, Clary realized that Simon must have told Isabelle some things about anime that even she didn't know, if she understood their weird laws about balances of power. But in the forefront of it, Clary found that she was so very glad that Isabelle had listened to her that time she'd talked to her in Japanese. That was a very nice and good thing, indeed.
...
When they wound back at Luke's house—having given up on getting the Mortal Sword for the moment, until they could get an investigation opened up by the Silent Brothers—Kairi seemed to be in shock upon seeing Sora. And as Clary looked between the two of them confusedly, she wondered how many times Sora must have left her behind, only to run into her in odd places and intervals.
Yeah... Clary thought, as she looked at Jace with a grateful glance, she knew she never would have been able to handle being in Kairi's shoes.
It was such a good thing that Jace trusted her enough to take care of herself and to make her own decisions, Clary knew—as she thought back on the time they'd run into the Portal to meet Sebastian at the Citadel, and the conversation they'd had before that.
Though if she received the kind of hug that Kairi currently was from Sora, in compensation for his constant delays like that... maybe it wouldn't be so bad, Clary allowed.
Jace, seeming to realize where her thoughts had taken her and how uncomfortable it must have been making her, was quick to grab onto Clary's hand and pull her down onto a couch with him. Then, whispering their own problems in her ear—problems that, thankfully, had nothing to do with her being forced to stay out of battles—Jace said,
"You know... we never did figure out where Jocelyn disappeared to after she got you up this morning… do you want me to try and track her or something?" It was a testament of how messed up Clary currently was, after having lost Simon, that she didn't think that anything worse could possibly happen to her, and that her mother therefore had to be safe.
Shrugging nonchalantly, Clary leaned into Jace's arms and tried desperately to hide all the shaking, tremors that were trying to wrack their way through her body. She failed.
"You speak of Jocelyn Fairchild?" asked Naminé, who was currently in the kitchen, making herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that was somehow so bizarre to see, that Clary couldn't help but laugh a little bit—something that made her feel the slightest bit better.
"If so, your previous unspoken thought was right, Mr. Jace. She is, in fact, at the Speaking Stars of the Silent Brother's, as you would call it, but has stayed there longer than Sora did, because she wanted to speak to them after taking him there. Unlike your Iron Sisters, it seems that they're willing to deal with people who aren't necessarily in good standing with the Clave."
There was something about the way that Naminé talked... Clary acknowledged. Something that didn't make her sound crazy like Maureen, or anything like that, but rather… like she was almost in some sort of trance. But then again, if she had access to all the memories of anyone connected to Sora, maybe anyone would have been like that, Clary ventured.
"That's great, Naminé. Thanks a bunch for the information; I really appreciate it," Clary told the blonde girl as sincerely as she could manage, all the while eaves dropping on Sora and Kairi's conversation—wondering just who the Riku person they were talking about was.
"Oh, and," Clary told her, as she motioned with her hand towards her own sweater that she'd left on the cutting board. "You look really cold in here, with the air conditioning on and the little bit of clothes you have. Feel free to put that shirt on to warm yourself up, if you want."
And make Jace rejoice, that I have less layers that I can wear at the moment, Clary knew—not even having to look back at Jace behind her, to know that he was about to try and put his hand on her waist to seduce her.
"Umm... Not to take away from the feel-good talk that we're having," Isabelle said dryly, pulling on her jade pendant, as if she could feel exactly where some demonic energies were going to be at in the future (Clary's eyes narrowed at the thought). "But don't we have some important things to do and discuss here? I mean, the kid I talked to earlier seemed to hint that this world could be going to hell in a hand basket faster than we can stop it, so why are we just hanging out here again?"
Isabelle's question wasn't at all out of place, Clary knew, but she couldn't help feeling embarrassed for her friend's missing the obvious, all the same. It wasn't her fault, of course, since they hadn't filled her in on the obvious, but... as Clary understood it, the Heartless were drawn to an area for the Darkness in a person's heart that they sensed. And so... if the corrupted beings had yet to make an appearance when the kids had thought they would... didn't that mean they were good to go for the time being?
"That's a good question," Kairi said approvingly, as she whipped her Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, to her hand in a flash of Light, that seemed to twine up her arm like a lattice.
Something that Clary—though having earlier not wanted to see, because she'd thought it would mean war between her, her friends and the Keyblade wielders—couldn't help thinking was beautiful now, as well as the coolest thing in the world.
And then—awarding herself some points in Clary's book, for fighting alongside Sora some after all, it looked like—Kairi explained what she must have learned recently as a Keyblade apprentice.
"The Heartless... it takes them a long time to find the Doors to worlds. And fortunately, your universe hasn't seemed to draw them here yet—so they might never come—but if they do... We'll be ready, no matter what. The Keyblade gives its wielders great speed and agility, you see, so we'll be able to begin obliterating the abominations the moment they arrive. But… it'd all be easier, if we could use your Sword as a way to defend ourselves from Shilee... That way, we can seal the Keyhole, and this world won't be able to ever be lost."
When being asked to protect your world, or to let it fall to ruin, there were only so many options that one had. And while before that might have inspired something in Clary, and would have prompted her to act even more than she usually would have wished to... the redhead found herself selfishly reluctant to go to go to war with the Clave again and raise even more stakes.
And in that... even though Clary sensed it was very much for a different reason, and that difference made her an awful person, she thought she could understand why Kairi actually hadn't insisted on fighting by Sora's side right away. There was just so much to lose, wasn't there?
Still... knowing that the moment their enemy appeared that he could get rid of all the Keybladers with one gesture of his sword, was enough to make Clary decide that if nothing else, she'd find a way to get them the Mortal Sword. That way, they could show their assailant the error of his ways, and defend the multiverse in the peace they deserved to.
Seeing the nice kids she'd just met become as faded and depressed as Emma's family, was something she knew she'd never be able to bear seeing, after all. She'd made her decision. She knew what to do.
"Hey, Naminé, can you hand me that blue pencil of yours?" She did.
Taking comfort in the soothing circles that Jace had begun running along her back, and the amused and lively face that Isabelle was wearing for the first time in so long, Clary took out one of the papers that Naminé had been drawing on earlier, and began creating a Rune that would allow her to easily get the Mortal Sword: Sora, Kairi, and Naminé watching her feverishly and satisfied, all the while she worked.
And later on, when they did end up getting the Soul Sword—and the kids were able to use it to defend themselves just long enough to seal New York, in the most impressive light show that Clary knew she would ever see—she would end up with the best story ever to tell Simon, when she and Isabelle ended up seeing him exactly a month later.
Author's Note: Huh. This ended up a bit more open ended than I originally intended it to be. Maybe I'll continue this later. Maybe.
Anyway, people. I hope some of you were able to understand/enjoy the story and weren't too confused. (Are there any TMI AND KH fans in the house, btw? Raise your hands if there are. LOL.) But really… the plot in this doesn't matter THAT much, anyway. It's more about the world and character interactions, so don't feel like you need to understand every little detail. Yep.
And I have to say… Even though I've done KH crossovers in the past, this is the first time where it's been in the PoV from the other fandom, which was interesting and fun to write. Especially since I'm mostly on the KH side of things. But I sure enjoyed the change here! Makes me realize just how weird my children actually are. LOL.
Btw… in case you're wondering what inspired this story, it was the fact that I've really been wanting to write TMI lately, but can never completely forsake my fandom of origin, and thus this was born. Hope it wasn't too bad or weird… But c'mon! The fact that parallel universes are now canon in TMI was just BEGGING to make this happen, at least imo, as KH is, like, the most massive crossover series ever.
Everyone's so chill in this story, too! OMG! I was expecting someone to freak out about new concepts and people, but nope. Everyone's so used to weird that they don't even question it anymore. LOL. Even if I had started this story with the moment they all met, I don't think it would have been much different than how it was here. Everyone's strange radars were apparently destroyed a long time ago. LOL.
Also, I feel like Clary has some PTSD in this. Understandable after everything she went through, of course, but she kind of feels like Korra in the season three finale of Legend of Korra to me. Huh.
Anyway… Yay for KH and TMI! Yay for writing CoHF stuff (before Simon's back, though, sadly), and KHIV prediction ideas (like the whole thing with "Shilee" targeting Keyblade wielders)! … I'm going to shut up now.
Bye, guys. Hope you enjoyed. Please review. And expect a TON of more TMI stuff from me in the future. In fact, this account of mine is going to be for all TMI, I think.
Thanks for reading!
-Shanna
P.S. I really feel like there's a story with Tifa here that I should possibly write out…
P.P.S. Let's do everything in our power to get the CoA movie to happen, Nephilim. Rawr!
P.P.P.S. I have no idea where Riku is in this story (or everyone else for that matter), or why it's Kai and Nami specifically with Sora, but whatever. My inner SoKai shipper rejoices for the fact, anyway… No. I'm not biased at all. I have no idea what you're talking about. Nope;)