A/N: Hey everyone, Arch here!
Now, I've been gone for quite a while, I know, but at long last, I'm back with a new story! I hope you all enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Updates for this story will frequent between 1 to 2 weeks between each chapter.
"Mom! Moooom!" Sora's voice rang through the house as he ran through the front door, a long, tiresome day of playing with his friends on that island the kids frequented behind him. Soon after, the 5-year-old was graced with his mother's guise, light brown hair running down to her shoulders with a scarf wrapped neatly around her head. She smiled, if not a tad tired thanks to her kid's constant yelling, going down the stairs from her room with an aura of grogginess to her, having been woken from a nap so suddenly.
Of course, when she saw her kid's beaming smile, she couldn't help but melt away, coming over and ruffling his spiky hair, smiling back. "What is it, sweetie? Did you have fun on the island today?" Watching him smile like that brought some warmth to her heart, warmth she happily clung to every once a while.
"I saw a lady today! She came to visit us on the island!" He started telling her, energized and cheerful as ever. "She had blue hair, and she was nice, and she told me my job is to protect Riku if he went, umm…" Sora paused for a second, trying to recall her exact phrasing, eyes lighting up after a second when he remembered. "Down a dark path!" He looked at his mother, his innocence shining vividly, hoping for his mother's approval on this so called task bestowed onto him.
Hikari, on the other hand, had several alarm bells go off in her mind, face twisting for a split second in worry. "I… see." She quickly regained her composure. At least Sora wasn't in any real danger whatsoever. "Sounds like a tough duty, little man." Her tone went a bit playful, but regardless, she played along, Sora puffing his cheeks a bit and frowning ever so lightly.
"I know! But I can do it, because I'm a big boy, and I can handle it!" He spoke, sure as ever in himself, certain he was up for this stranger's task. He had those small moments of recklessness to him, something Hikari couldn't help but see herself in, at least in her younger days, when she was a foolish teenager, going out for swims late at night, running off when she wanted from her her old house's windows, as well as many other things she and the other islanders did back at the day.
Hikari couldn't help but stroke his hair again, getting up and taking his hand as she slowly led him upstairs to his room. "Well, even big boys like you need some sleep, and it's rather late as is. You ate the food I packed for you with Riku on the island today, right?"
Sora yawned, but followed her nonetheless. "But I'm not even tired… I could stay up alllll night long!" Despite his claims, it was clear he was in dire need for some sleep, which Hikari recognized right away. "And yeah… we ate it all." She nodded back, opening the door to his room, Sora climbing in and nestling against the bed.
At this point, she was already tucking him in, a kiss on the forehead to boot. "Well, I'm sure you could one day…" she looked down at her child, who already fell asleep shortly after. Smiling and musing on these peaceful days she had, Hikari slowly went to the door, trying not to disturb him, whispering one last goodnight to him before closing the door to his room.
She would've gone back to sleep herself, but what Sora said still upset her. A stranger coming out of nowhere and telling her child what his so called 'job' is? She couldn't let this pass. Walking outside, Hikari went straight to the docks near their home, taking a boat and rowing to the children's island, a place she hasn't visited in quite some time. Fond memories of her own childhood ran through her mind as the familiar trees shone in the moonlight, docking and giving the island a scout. Whoever that stranger was, she had to be around still. Otherwise, Hikari would have seen her somewhere on the island already. New people were quite the rarity, if not an impossible occurrence.
After about an hour or so of looking around, she found no one, scouring every speck of the island she could think of. "Maybe he imagined it?..." she muttered to herself. This wouldn't be the first time Sora would make something like that up, like the other time, he told her he saw Riku talking with someone else on the island as well. Regardless, she was getting tired herself, and the young mother quietly made her way back to her boat. She wasn't sure whether or not Sora spoke the truth, but at the end of the day, it didn't matter.
He was safe. That's all she needed.
Destiny Islands were… Mundane, to say the least. Of course, to a certain keyblade wielder's mother, that life was just perfect. Hikari was born on these very islands. Living alone with her only child, she never really had anything to complain about, at least when her kid wasn't involved. Yes, Sora was always a quirky one. Even as a little boy, he'd always try and go seek some adventure, more often than not getting into some dangerous situation that she had to pull him out of. It was a tiring life, one that surely didn't go about without its fair share of mishaps, but at the end of the day, she never regretted a single moment of it.
Until the world went dark.
It was only moments ago, as far as she could recall. She just minded her own business, making dinner for herself and Sora, calling him to come down like she always did. When he didn't answer, she just figured that he was already asleep or something of the sort, or perhaps just playing hockey and trying to be a bit of a rebel. She actually found those little streaks of his adorable, for what it was worth at the time. She could still recall everything she did that day, putting his food on a plate in the fridge, sighing lightly, and going outside for a quick fresh of air.
Of course, what she saw instead were blackened skies and a world falling apart.
She panicked, as any mother would, running back up to her son's room, but he was long gone. The boat was gone too, which only meant he was actually crazy enough to go to the children's island in that horrible storm. "SORA!" She shouted, looking everywhere frantically as the darkness loomed even closer. "SORA, COME BACK! PLEASE, COME BA-" And from there, silence. Blackness. Nothing. She couldn't scream, she couldn't hear. She was trapped in an endless void of a shattered world, with nothing but darkness around her as far as the eye could see.
However, despite the emptiness, the last thing on her mind before this void stuck like a ringing bell in the silence, keeping her attention on it relentlessly. Her son, her only son, gone to who knows where, leaving her… stranded. It would have been easier to just give in and let this darkness consume her, but she couldn't. Her son would come back, she just knew it, and she couldn't bare to imagine his face to see his own mother dead, or worse.
There were… things, in the darkness. Creatures. They waited, and skulked, wishing for her eventual fall, all so they could prey on her, a speck of light within the vast sea of infinity. Despite not being able to see anything, she could feel them. She knew they were there, and what they wanted.
Despite all of this... She couldn't accept it. Every second she was in there, in that darkness, her heart screamed at her louder and louder to escape. She couldn't feel her arms, or her legs, of anything of her body for that matter. She wasn't even sure at that point if she was still breathing, or if she had a heartbeat. She only knew that her son was going to come back, and that he needed her to be there.
No… she couldn't accept it whatsoever. 'Sora…' Her mind started to race. She tried, as hard as she could, to do something. Then, as she started to struggle against the dark tides, the thought in her head grew even more potent. 'Sora!...' First her heartbeat returned. She was sure of it now; she was still alive. Soon, more and more feelings came back, one after another, swelling up within her with enough force to make Hikari swear she was flying. "SORA!" She called out, reaching with her hand. A small glimmer of light sparked within the endless dark seas that surrounded her. With instinct only a mother could show, she dashed towards it. The darkness that so far held her back seemed like it paled in comparison to the sheer force of will she now possessed. The light grew wider and bigger, soon taking over as she passed through it. Hikari could almost feel it, her son, her only son, with her again, back and safe home. She reached out with her hand, trying to grab what she assumed was his hand.
And from there, she passed out.
"...ey… Are you a...t?"
Hikari shook her head slowly. She was still dizzy, to say the least, and her surroundings slowly came to her. Lots of brown and several lights, to be sure. Nothing like her old home, though that was the understatement of the century.
"Hellllooo… Can you hear me?..." The voice spoke to her again. A female one. She nodded, albeit a bit delayed, hearing a cheer shortly after. "She's good Leon!" After that, a pair of masculine hands grabbed her, and Hikari felt herself lifted to her feet, with a young man giving her something to lean on as he led her through the streets of this strange new place.
"W-Where..." She muttered, trying to regain her composure. "Where am I?..." Slowly, the scene was coming back in full. The buildings became clearer to look at, the people too, and soon enough, with the help of a few steady breaths, she came back in full, though still leaning on the young man, as her feet felt weak still.
He sighed, turning his attention to her question for a brief moment. "We're in a town called Traverse Town. Just… Hold still, alright? You should lie down after what you've been through..." He sighed, muttering to himself. "And to think I thought I'd seen everything in this world..."
A few minutes later, Hikari found herself in a small, light blue room, with little decoration around, sans a bunch of boxes piling in one corner. The young man guided her to a bad, helping her lie down, after which Hikari finally managed to take a deep breath of relief, taking this opportunity to catch her thoughts and compose herself. "Now..." She finally spoke after a minute or so, looking at him with worried, but stern light blue eyes. "You said this is… Traverse Town, right?"
He nodded, returning her gaze with one of his own. "Yup." The lack of further elaboration managed to peeve her lightly, but regardless, she was in no place to demand much.
Another moment of silence passed, and Hikari cleared her throat anew, trying to come up with another question. "And this… Traverse Town. Is it close to the islands, or?..."
Her question seemed to trigger a more… Meaningful response from him, and the man known as Leon raised an eyebrow, as if curious about her choice of words. "...No. Your Islands… They were probably lost to the Heartless. This is a world for people whose world no longer exists." His explanation was brief and sudden, as if he wasn't in the mood to take it easy on an older woman, with the only response from Hikari being a sudden blink.
"...What do you mean by that? Gone? But I was just there..." She paused, trying to recall. Now that she thought about it, she didn't know how long she was in that darkness that swallowed her whole. It could have been days, or weeks, or even months if she were unlucky.
"Look..." He turned to her, placing a single hand on her shoulder and sighing again. "I know this is hard to eat all in one piece… But that's the truth. This world, this city… It's a haven." Closing his eyes, Leon stood back up, turning his back toward Hikari and facing the door, with the mother sitting back up, if slowly. "We all lost our homes. Me too."
Hikari took some time to digest this. Her home was Gone. Her friends, the kids, everyone… "Wait," She muttered, her voice gaining a hue of confidence to it. "What about Sora?"
Now that she spoke the name, Leon turned his attention to her once more. "Sora… You know him?" His curiosity piqued, Leon took a chair and sat down, giving a long, heavy breath. He already had an idea where this was going to go, but still, he could have never guessed this would happen.
Hikari nodded back, hope beaming on her face, with a confident smile to boot. It was a stretch to be sure, but if that man knew her son… "Yes! He's my son! Brown, spiky hair, blue eyes, wears a vest over red overalls, big yellow shoes..."
"Yup, that's him alright. So you're his mother, huh?" Leon couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Well, if he's the chosen bearer, I guess his mother would be something else, huh? Still, to think you'd manage to follow him all the way here with sheer willpower… You're one stubborn woman, uh..." At this point, He realized he forgot to ask for her name, and with the realization, came a slight, barely noticeable blush, and an attempt to mask it by rolling his eyes to and fro.
"...Hikari. My name is Hikari." Realizing she forgot to introduce herself, She gave her name, gathering some of her strength to stand back up. Looking around the room, her attention fell back to Leon. "So… What do you mean by 'chosen bearer'? And where is Sora anyway?"
As she finished her sentence, another, scraggly looking man, closer to her own age, stepped inside, with bright, short hair and a white tee. "'Fraid you just missed 'em ma'am." He grinned cockingly, before turning his face towards Leon's for a quick second. "Kid went off to find his friends with those two talking animal types. Hell, I just got done fixing their ship for them with some new parts."
All Hikari could do in response was stare at him blankly, trying to digest all of this new information. "...What do you mean talking animals?" She couldn't help herself but ask, curious about the concept of something so strange and otherworldly. The more time passed in this bizarre circumstance, the more the strangeness of it all seeped into her mind, allowing Hikari to at least relax a tiny bit midst her newfound quest to find her son.
"Yeah… they all make that face when they hear it the first time." The scraggly blonde couldn't help but chuckle, though after Hikari's expression shifted from perplexity to annoyance, he shifted tone quickly enough, trying to calm her down. "Just somethin' you see from other worlds ma'am. Don't worry about it, you'll get used to seeing a lot of things here sooner or later." He spoke calmly, though not without a certain sting to his words, one who's just seen enough to go with the flow and not care much about the nitty gritty details. "Right, I should have mentioned: Name's Cid."
A brief round of introductions later, and Hikari got a more firm grasp on the situation: From what she understood, her son got her before her, but already left looking for his other friends with some company from a duck called Donald and… Something that Leon and Cid had trouble defining by specifics called Goofy. Breathing in relief that at the very least he wasn't alone, she got up, bowing to the two of them politely. "Alright gentlemen, now that I think I got some basic grasp on all of this… I should be off. I do have to get to Sora you know."
Before she could go out the door, however, Leon moved in front of her, looking rather stern, with Cid being not that far behind him. "...You're ain't gonna get out there on your own, are ya? Those Heartless are gonna eat ya alive!" Leon exchanged one worried glance with him, as both of them not sure what to do if she insisted.
She stopped before the two, giving them a stern glare. "...I appreciate the kindness and the hospitality… But I have a son to get to. Please, move aside." Without a second more to give them to reply, she tried brushing Leon and Cid aside, determined to get out there as soon as possible. If Sora already left this world, assuming she got it right, it meant he went to another, which meant her only path was to follow. She didn't know how she was going to do that, or where he went, but something told her that whatever force guided her here could do it again. If it took her here, despite never being to this town before, she could just as easily find Sora on another.
Leon and Cid exchanged another quick glance with one another, Leon shook his head coldly. This woman obviously didn't know anything about Heartless or how they work, and despite his basic explanation of them, she didn't seem to get the gravity of the situation. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that. If the Heartless take your heart, how would you get to Sora? Normal people can't fight them you know."
Hikari paused, before long, a dry chuckle escaped her lips, and she stepped forward, looking him dead in the eye with bright, blue orbs, emanating nothing by killing intent. "...Anything that gets between a mother and her son gets crushed to bits. I assume your mother was the same, trust me. We all are." After hearing that, Leon finally cracked, her glare sending a chill through his spine.
"...Alright, but I'm escorting you for the time being." Leon muttered as him and Cid him moved aside, giving her passage to the street of the 3rd district. The last thing he wanted was to see the darkness consume her just like that, though considering she survived her world being taken by the dark, she probably could handle herself. Hikari's willpower notwithstanding, there was no telling what would happen if she wasn't too careful, and she didn't seem like the type of person well versed in close quarters combat.
As the trio stepped outside, Hikari stopped a few steps forward, taking a deep, calm breath to get some fresh air through her. The evening breeze was rather tranquil and calming, despite the depth of the situation, and for what it was worth, it was nice to have this tiny respite, at least for now.
On Leon and Cid's end, worried glances and exchanges were all around. Sure, things were calm for now, but it was only a matter of time before one of them would show up, and from there it was going to be a struggle to the first district. Each step was accompanied with several glances of the environment, making sure Heartless couldn't get the drop on any of them. Fighting darkness based creatures that could spawn everywhere around you tended to make them far more cautious than usual.
"...Alright, I think the coast is cle-" Before Leon could finish his sentence, they struck. Several pools of darkness piled around them, each of which sprouting one, small Shadow, with about five of them surrounding the group. The small creatures, yellow beady eyes on their heads with two small antennas to boot, looked around constantly, moving their heads all over, before all of them landed on the same person, Hikari. The mother quickly stiffened in her place, a look of distraught on her face, as the memories of the darkness began to flood back into her mind.
"You..." She could only mutter quietly, still stuck in some instinctual fear, fighting the need to run off, but not having enough courage to step forward. One of the Shadows, finally making up their mind, suddenly turned it's head directly towards her, gaze fixated and clear, sinking into the floor and approaching rapidly, slithering across the floor at a rather alarming rate, jumping right before her with a claw aimed straight at her chest. "Eep!" Hikari jumped back, at the very least avoiding said attack, Leon grabbing his blade and stepping in front of her, with Cid, carrying a rather lengthy spear, right behind him.
Both gave her a serious look, Leon pointing with his head towards the house. "Get back inside! We'll deal with this!" The two men, giving a look of comradery to one another, gave a battle cry, running towards the small swarm of blackness, giving the dark creatures a run for their money.
Hikari, however, didn't run off. Something, mystical or primal, held her in place, looking as the two friends took down the dark creatures, one by one, though not without injuries of their own. The Shadows were tiny and weak, but numbers they had plenty, and soon enough, Leon and Cid found themselves rather backed into a corner, trying to protect Hikari while also fending off the Heartless. She looked, fear sprawling onto her face, not sure what to do next.
But alas, the darkness wasn't so kind as to give her time to think, and before she knew it, another Shadow found its way towards her, quietly moving around Leon and Cid, and heading straight to her. The creature rose up from the floor, moving quickly, and jumping at her again, as Hikari brought both arms to protect herself, head turning away in instinct and eyes closed shut. In that brief moment she had to think, before the Shadow's claw connected with her body, thoughts ran wild in her head. She couldn't go on like that. She had to do something. Brief memories of her son, when he was younger, flashed in her mind. "Mom!" Suddenly, she heard him. Sora calling to her. Anger boiled up in her heart, and she readied a hand. "Stay away!" She yelled, bringing it down, and smacking the Shadow around, sending it flying, and dissipating into darkness shortly after.
A moment of silence hung up in the air. Leon and Cid both turned their heads, just for a second, realizing what Hikari just did. It took them several days of training under Merlin to be able to actually hurt Heartless themselves… And she managed it without much trouble. A quick glance to one another broke the silence, and the pair pushed on, the numbers of the Heartless decreasing by the moment.
Hikari slowly opened her eyes when she realized she wasn't dead or hurt. Watching the Heartless she smacked slowly dissipate on the floor, she hardened herself, running past Leon and Cid, kicking and punching wherever she can. She didn't have any proper form or skill, but at the very least, she managed to wreck some havoc amongst the heartless, and before long, the last of the Shadows were vanquished, leaving the three of them safe. She sighed, heavily, looking at the two warriors with a grin, the fatigue of running around finally catching up with her. "S-See?... I told you I'm not..." Alas, she couldn't finish her sentence, falling to the floor unconscious shortly after, Leon catching her before her head could hit the bricks.
Cid blinked once, rather impressed, going to Hikari's sleeping form and picking her up gently. "Well I'll be damned..." He muttered, looking at Leon puzzled. "You think?..."
"I don't know," Leon replied sharply, putting two fingers to his forehead and closing his eyes, thinking. "Either way, she can fight them. It's good enough for me." Inspecting her face closer to see if she got hurt, he noticed she did have few small cuts here and there. "Let's take her to Merlin. Who knows, maybe the old man could figure something out. She'd need some medical attention too."
"Let's go then" Cid shrugged, taking her with him, Leon following suit shortly after as vanguard.
When Hikari next woke, she was in a rather stuffy room, looking bizarre with plenty of colors and shapes on the walls. She came to get up, but a hand gently pushed back, a brown haired girl standing above her, blue eyes reflecting back. "Please, stay put." She asked, her hand glowing lightly. "I'm still treating your wounds."
"Wha-..." Hikari shook her head again, trying to get a good grasp on the situation. From below, she could hear Leon's voice, as well as Cid, and a third, older one, arguing about something, though she couldn't make out what it was. "Is this… Another world?" The scenery was quite misleading, and she could only assume she was transported again to someplace else.
Arieth chuckled, shaking her head slowly. "No, this is still Traverse Town. Just… Another part of it." Her head turned to the entrance to the room, as part of the floor sunk down, as if by magic, Leon, Cid, and an old man in a robe and a wizard hat came up with it.
The three of them seemingly still were in whatever argument they had before, the old man half yelling at this point. "I'm telling you, there's no way! We haven't had a new awakening in-" He then realized she was looking dead in their direction, Arieth in tow, fixing his indoor voice and looking rather surprised. "O-Oh. I see you woke up." He put on a friendly smile, walking closer, reaching out with a slightly shaky hand. "Hello there Ma'am, my name is Merlin. As you can plainly see, I'm a sorcerer, and a powerful one at that." He held a slight tone of pride in his voice, giving Leon and Cid a glare for a second. "Anyway… I'm glad to see you're all fixed up, err..."
She waited, still dazed, before shaking her head, returning to reality in full, and bringing her hand to his, shaking it. "Hikari."
"Right! Right, Hikari." Merlin quickly finished his sentence, sighing and turning his attention to Arieth. "So, Arieth, how's our fair lady?"
Arieth lifted her hand, the glowing ceasing, wiping the sweat from her head and nodding happily. "There! All better." She grabbed Hikari's hand, helping her to her feet, the older woman looking around rather curious.
Merlin, clearly beaming to explain the intricacies of magic to someone else, stepped in closer, Leon and Cid both looking at him rather cautiously, stepping back, as if bracing themselves for whatever he was about to say. "So… Fancy yourself a bit of magic, eh?" Merlin asked her, twirling his finger around, conjuring a flying closet. "Hmmhmm..." Perhaps I could teach you something. You could do with some magic, if you want to fend yourself out there." At this point, Merlin was grinning aloof, and Cid and Leon both stepped back further, trying to get away from another one of Merlin's long, boring lectures.
Hikari looked with awe and amazement at the flying furniture, walking closer to it and holding it, making sure it wasn't a trick or anything. When she realized it was, in fact, real, she nodded, but soon held herself back. She didn't have time for this; she had a son to find. "Well… It sounds like a pleasure, but I'm afraid I have to turn it down." She explained. "I'm looking for my son, Sora, you see? I can't dilly dally here all day." She came to leave, but Merlin quickly followed her steps, insisting.
"Oh, I think it would be quite beneficial for you then!" He started, eager to get someone else to teach a trick or two too. "I do believe that Sora is in other worlds, yes? Do you have any way to follow him?" He asked.
Hikari shook her head, looking determined. "No… But it doesn't bother me. I know I can get to him, even if I have to step into the darkness on my own. I will find him." Her words were unwavering, stern and true. Even Leon couldn't help but admire a person willing to go this far for someone they care about, but Merlin was not convinced.
"Well, that would be nice and all, but there are far better ways to go about this. Right now, Sora is traveling with two highly trained gentlemen, and with the Keyblade, I can assure you he's in no immediate threat. The boy can fend the Heartless too, you know, and so far, he's proven to be quite capable." Merlin tried to reason with her, twirling his fingers and making the closet disappear. "But if you want to find him… The least I can do is give you some basic training in magic. And if you prove you can handle it, I could teach you a spell to travel from world to world. Quite a useful one, yes." He nodded to himself, hoping she would agree.
For a moment, Hikari looking down, thinking. "Sora is safe, you say..." She had a rather hard time to believe it, but so far, everyone around her seemed adamant on this keyblade Sora had, and how it was a powerful weapon. Not to mention, having two friends to help him out. It was a dangerous world out there, but at the very least, she could take a small span of time to learn a thing or two, if it meant having an easier time finding her son. She nodded to herself, looking up to Merlin with that same determined face, breathing deeply as she prepared herself for the task at hand.
"So… Where do we begin?"
A/N: And... That's a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed this, and I'll see you all next time! Don't forget to follow for more, and please, critic away! I'm always looking for more opinions on my story.