Author's Notes: Hello. Absolutely none of you remember me, but that's okay and understandable, because I haven't written in, or even visited the Kingdom Hearts section for years and have deleted my old stories. Well, now I'm back, not that anyone cares, and returning with new and improved versions of my old stories. And if any of you actually DO remember me…well…we're old, aren't we?
Bonds That Break
Originally Written in 2002 – Revised and completely redone April 2006
The castle loomed before us, becoming larger and larger by the second, and it was disturbingly quiet. The boy said nothing as he just stared straight ahead, refusing to, or perhaps not even bothering to acknowledge our existence, the Keyblade clutched firmly in his hand. He treated us like tagalongs, and that's exactly what we were, bound by order to follow the key wherever it went, no matter to whom it went. It was the exact opposite of what we were used to. We would always talk and joke and fight and Goofy would have to break us up.
Goofy did not care to look at the oncoming citadel. He merely sat at the edge of the platform; legs swung over in a defeated manner, and watching, instead, the scenery retract instead of grow with an uncharacteristic forlorn look of gloom upon his face. I knew what he was thinking of. I was thinking it, too.
"We did what we had to do." I said, giving him a feeble pat on the shoulder. It was supposed to be comforting, but I wasn't exactly known for being soothing. Nobody could sympathize and care like Goofy, the most empathetic of the three of us. I was a poor substitute.
"Is that so?" He asked, his words striking at me with a sharp edge to them. He was more than upset. He was angry, and what was the most unsettling was he was angry with me. While he usually didn't like the way I would do things, which was usually flying into a rage and flinging magic around wildly, he had always accepted it as a part of who I was and never was mad about it, even after I set that lightning bolt on him. But now he was genuinely hurt and cross. I hated seeing him like that; I would even say a bit frightening. Goofy fought to protect, and he had to abandon someone he cared about and struggled to ensure the safety of at all times. No, not had. He didn't have to do it. But he did, because I made him do it.
I was at a loss for words. I knew what we did wasn't right, leaving Sora down there alone and nearly defenseless. I could only hope that he was actually paying attention when I taught him how to make full use of his magic. What worried me the most was, I don't think he was.
"The king ordered us to follow the key." Goofy continued. "I don't think this is what he meant." I started to answer, but he didn't let me speak. "Whatever happened to "All for one, one for all," Donald? Are you going to try and tell me that it means you, me, and the Keyblade? Because I'm not buying it. I know I'm not the brightest, but I'm not stupid."
"Will you two be quiet?" The silver haired boy snarled. "If you're going to come with me, you're going to obey my rules. The only reason I'm letting you follow me is because it will hurt him more."
"So you're using us as a weapon against Sora?" I cried out. "The same way you're using Kairi to hurt him? I thought you were friends!"
"I said to be quiet." He merely stated. "And no, we're not friends. Not anymore. I'm going to make Kairi see that as well. The way he tossed us aside for you fools."
"You don't know anything, do you?" I raged, feeling the flames gather around me, hot enough to singe the feathers off my back. "Sora cares a lot about you, even though you walk all over him. Do you know what he's been through, searching desperately for both you and Kairi? You are his top priority. He would trade the safety of all the worlds just for a mere chance to see you safe and what do you do?"
"What do you do?" He replied, ever so calmly. "Are you any better? We're not so different, are we?"
No, we weren't. And I hated that. We both treated him like a little kid. We were both the friend you couldn't stand to be around, yet couldn't stand to be away from, either. Except that while Riku would clash swords with Sora, I would hurl the occasional mild Blizzard spell his way.
The ride continued in silence, and at the end, we were greeted by several Heartless. I tightened my grip on my staff, but nothing happened. They merely stood there and watched us with glowing, ravenous eyes. The shuffled away and seem to cower when Riku walked passed them, and it may have been a trick of the eyes, but I could have sworn that I saw them actually bow to him obediently.
The heavy doors groaned as the creaked open and made an equally ominous sound as they shut. We found ourselves in a large room with a fountain, which was flanked on either side by a staircase.
Riku was entirely fascinated by the Keyblade, running his fingers along its edge and giving it a few practice swings. It took all I had, but I managed to mask my anger. The Keyblade, why did it go to him? Was Sora really just a "delivery boy?"
"It truly is a great weapon." He mused. He quickly shifted his eyes in our general direction. "You, come here."
At first, we thought he was speaking to us, but when a tiny Heartless, of the Shadow variety, crept out of the darkness, we relaxed a little. However, we immediately tensed up again seeing the look in its eyes. There was fear, because it knew what was going to happen. That fear ended abruptly, as the wisps of black faded away from the tip of the Keyblade.
Again, Riku was delighted, with an expression that could only be described as insane. Was this the friend Sora wanted to find so badly, who had been consumed in darkness and despair and rage? What lies had this poor boy been told?
There was something disturbing about the way Riku would summon Heartless after Heartless and slay it systematically. And they would never fight back; only stand there, paralyzed and afraid, just like their victims. These weren't the Heartless I knew.
Enough had been enough. Riku swung the Keyblade one more time, but this time, it collided with metal. Goofy had had enough of this, and he needed it to stop. He stood there, shaking. Not the Goofy I knew.
"Stop it." He said in a quiet voice. "I can't take it."
Riku looked amused. "You fought Heartless daily for the past couple weeks. Why the sudden change in heart?"
"I don't know." Goofy admitted. "But please, stop it. Hit me if you have to."
Finally, at long last, Riku's expression changed from that unnatural calm. "Well, since you're offering, I would like to know what a Keyblade can do to an opponent with a heart."
This was not the Riku I knew from Sora's stories. This was not Sora's Riku.
And the ceiling began to cover with dark storm clouds, as a gigantic lightning bolt dived down at the boy, who jumped back to avoid it. Magic was all I could think of at the moment as I sent a Firaga after him.
"Fighting against the Keyblade?" He asked. "Fighting against your king?" The sounds of an enraged roar could be heard. "Well, it sounds like we have a visitor."
Sora! I thought. He came!
"Quit while you can." Riku mocked, holding the Keyblade casually.
I looked at Sora with the most apologetic face I could muster. While it was but a short time ago we left him, it felt like an eternity.
"No. Not without Kairi." He answered. Stubborn boy, a real pain in the tail feathers, but I had never been so happy to see him.
"The darkness will destroy you." Riku said, as if trying to explain the simplest of things to a young child.
"You're wrong, Riku." Sora growled, clutching the wooden sword as if his life depended on it. "The darkness may destroy my body, but it can't touch my heart. My heart will stay with my friends. It'll never die!"
At this point, the silver haired boy looked like he was about to burst into laughter. I was ready to set him on fire. But he still had the Keyblade. Where did my loyalties lie? With the boy I had traveled with and grown fond of? Or did they belong to the King and the Keyblade?
"Really…well, we'll just see about that!"
I wanted to scream at Sora and tell him to run from the blinding shot of energy that was speeding towards him, but the words got caught in my throat. He wouldn't run, anyways. He was too strong (or too stupid) for that. Besides, he never did what I asked of him, and would have to nag him constantly before he did. At least, I'd like to say that was why. The truth is, I couldn't take it anymore, just like Goofy. I didn't know what I would do if Sora, the constant annoyance, the constant child, the constant friend he had become, were to disappear right then and there. I would trade the safety of all the worlds for a mere chance to see him safe. I think I might have cried a little. Might have cried. Just might. And just a little.
But I didn't have to barter with fate at all. With the fastest movement I've seen out of any creature, of light or darkness, Goofy appeared before Sora and pushed back against the attack with all his being. The orb of energy persisted, and I knew there would be no way he could get out of that unscathed. Through what I'm pretty sure was sheer force of will, he made it disperse into the air.
"Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!" He snarled, uncorking a potion and downing it. As I said before, a fierce, angry Goofy was something to be afraid of.
"You'd betray your king?" There Riku was again, playing mind games and it was really getting on my nerves. However, Goofy was unfazed. He had found his answer when he threw himself into harm's way.
"Not on your life! But I'm not gonna betray Sora, either, 'cause he's become one of my best buddies after all we've been through together."
I could have sworn that both of them were crying, as subtle as it might have been. And I won't deny this one…I cried, too.
Goofy's expression softened, and it had a sort of sheepish look to it, like he knew he was doing something he shouldn't.
"See ya later, Donald! Could ya tell the king I'm really sorry?"
"Hold on, Goofy!" I heard myself yell. While my mind still needed an extra second to think, my heart had already made its choice, and it probably had ages ago. I just shut it out and didn't listen to it. "We'll tell him together!" Skidding to a stop, I stared down at my feet for a second. "Well, you know…all for one and one for all." I felt guilty, like I didn't deserve Sora's friendship. But he only smiled, and despite what I did to him, he still offered it with all his being. One look at him told me that he sincerely wasn't mad at all and that I was always welcomed back to his side.
And he still extended that to kindness Riku as well. Despite the fact that the other boy had put him through unbearable pain, the bonds that held them together, just like ours, would never break.
"I guess you're stuck with us, Sora." Goofy chuckled, despite the situation. He knew he was right all along. Didn't have to rub it in, he still has yet to pay for that.
Sora looked as if a huge burden was suddenly lifted. His eyes looked brighter and that energy he seemed to have lost came rushing back to him in waves. "Thanks a lot…Donald, Goofy."
"How will you fight without a weapon?" Riku scoffed, irked by the recent turn of events.
"I know now I don't need the Keyblade." Sora replied. "I've got a better weapon. My heart."
"Your heart? What good will that weak little thing do for you?"
"Although my heart may be weak," Sora answered quietly. "it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their hearts just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then…if they don't forget me…then our hearts will be one." He lifted the sword valiantly, unhindered and unafraid. "My friends are my power!"
As if it was moved by his speech, the Keyblade returned itself to Sora in a brilliant flash of light. Surprised, but not any less determined, Riku drew his other weapon and we began one of the most desperate fights of our lives. In the end, Riku was forced to retreat deeper into the castle, and we could hear his words of confusion, anguish, and curses to our names.
All three of us understood what Riku couldn't. For the longest time, we relied on our weapons, abilities, and cooperation to get by, and somewhere along the way, we started putting something more into it. We had not just a friendship, but a mutual understanding of each other that only time, not battles or talks, could bring about. The time we spent together, and the time we spent apart. We each knew things about the others that nobody else did; likes, dislikes, habits, quirks, even things that we normally all kept to ourselves. And it was the little things like those that strengthened our ties further.
We collapsed on the floor, all three of us, when the Beast rejoined us, both upset over being tricked and impressed with what he had seen.
"So, your heart won this battle."
There were never truer words spoken.
Closing Notes: For those who are curious to what changes I've made in this new, updated version of the story and the original version, you can all visit my LiveJournal, which can be found via the homepage link on my profile.