heh. Idk why I thought I could update this fic before my trip to montreal, followed by school at 8am and work till 10. ah well. I'm home now, last chapter will be up later this week, Thursday or Friday
Kiss me Three Times
"You're not doing this alone, Sora; we're all in this together!"
Unsurprisingly the first thing happens after landing in Radiant Garden, is coming across Yuffie who comes at him so quickly and suddenly Sora can't even react before he's being tackled into the ground. A crying Yuffie pounding against his chest hard enough that Sora's breathe chokes and sputters.
"Yu-Yuffie," he gasps between breaths, "stop."
Yuffie either can't hear him over her cries of him being an idiot, or is dutifully ignoring him because she doesn't stop her actions. In fact, the only reason she does stop is because two hands wrap around her biceps and pull her off of him.
He blinks blearily, looking up to see a still sniffling Yuffie and a rather concerned looking Ventus holding her back.
"Do you know her?" Ventus asks, holding her back rather firmly for someone who looked like he was about to pass out their whole ride here.
There's no chance to respond, as Yuffie starts yelling at him before he can open his mouth. "You idiot! Stupid! When we never heard from any of you after you left, we thought you'd all died. Squall went to the coordinates you guys had left but there wasn't anything there! Not even a trace of what could've once been a world out there. There was nothing else we could do, Ienzo couldn't track any of your signals except yours, and even that one disappeared before we could think to get a proper lock on it." Yuffie collapses into Ventus' arms, her entire body drooping as the anger trickles out of her, and Sora thinks of the dead phone still lying in his pocket. "We thought you'd all died and instead you're here, looking no worse than you did when you left." She huffs, not quite back to normal but annoyance making her tone less brittle, "And with some kid who I've never even met before. He also kind of looks like you, you got a brother or something?"
"Uh," he replies, still caught somewhere in the middle of her words, trying to make the words 'I was scared to lose you guys too' sound less pitiful to his own ears. Trying to avoid drowning in guilt because he was so worried about himself that he forgot about they'd react. Forgot about how it'd look, Sora at least knows what happened. What did he leave them with? Nothing. He left them with a vague hope and unkept promises. Sora's breath catches again, but it has nothing to do with Yuffie this time –at least, not directly.
"Hey, hey, Sora you're fine, it's okay." Someone calls, and there's pressure on his shoulders, grounding as he feels himself take in a big gulp of air. His chest burns and there's a wetness on face he knows is tears but he doesn't remember starting to cry. "Take a breath, just like that, it's okay."
"Thank you," he says, once his breathing is steady and he can see through the blur of tears. Ventus smiles kindly, shaking his head.
"Any time."
Yuffie clears her throat and his attention turns to her, her arms are crossed but her expression is unsure. "Look I know this couldn't have been easy for you either and I'm…." she huffs, shoulders hunching up, before she lets them drop with a sigh, "Come on I'll take you to the others, I'm sure Aerith will wanna look you over to." She casts a glance over to Ventus, "You too I guess?"
"Thanks!" Ventus says, bright tone contrasting with the somber mood that has settled around them and Sora has the sneaking suspicion that that's entirely on purpose. "Lead the way!"
-0-
Aerith is the first to react as they enter into the Restoration Committee's base, rushing over and turning him every which way as she checks him for any possible injuries. Ventus sneaks in behind him, sliding down against the wall until he's seated. Sora should really get him a bed or something to sleep in. For all the time he's spent asleep Ventus looks like he could fall over at any moment, and all the action since they landed probably hasn't helped.
"I'm not hurt," he says, gently pushing her away as he gives her his best smile.
"No," Aerith agrees, smiling down at him except it doesn't reach her eyes, "not a single physical injury on you."
"… Right," he replies after a moment, the word stuck on his tongue.
"So you plannin' on telling us what happened?" Cid says, not looking away from whatever he's tinkering with over at the table, though he flinches when Aerith turns to look at him.
"Actually," he says, the word coming out too high-pitched, too long, "could we get Ven to a bed, he's really tired." He laughs as he finishes, the sound strained even to his own ears, as he ignores the way Leon raises an eyebrow and how Ventus' turns to stare at him.
"Actually I'd like to know what happened too/Are you going to explain him while you're at it?" Ventus and Leon say simultaneously and Sora sighs.
He looks away, one hand reaching up to grab his other arm, and explains everything. From what happened when they left to face Xehanort, all the way to what led him here back to Radiant Garden.
-0-
Sora had expected questions after he was done explaining, had been mentally preparing for them the whole time he'd been talking. But when he finishes there was just silence, and then Aerith ushering both him and Ven to an empty room so they could rest.
And that's where he finds himself now, leaning his head against the wall against his bed absently watching Ventus already half-asleep from just sitting on the bed.
"I'm sorry," Sora says as the silence stretches on, and continues when he feels Ventus' confused stare, "You woke up and were probably expecting some nice reunion with all your friends and instead you have this mess to deal with. I know I'm not exactly being the best company right now, I have no idea what I'm even doing at this point."
Ventus is quiet for a while, long enough that Sora turns to see if he might have fallen asleep. Instead, he finds Ventus staring out the window, lips turned downwards.
"I was willing to die for them once," he finally says laughing softly, bitterly, "I told them if they were really my friends they'd put an end to me –that they'd kill me. It sounded like a good idea at the time, in retrospect I have no idea what I was thinking saying that.
"I was willing to die and they said no, it would save so many people and they said no. I thought they were stupid, that they thought me too young to be serious about it. Instead, they just loved me, cared for me enough that the whole world wasn't worth me.
"I think that was the right decision, even if we ended up here. Separate, alone, lost. It doesn't matter how far apart we are, as long as they're out there somewhere, we'll always find our way back to each other. Aqua used to tell me that, I think I can finally really believe that.
"I loved them enough to die for them before; I love them enough to live for them now –even if it's hard, even if it seems impossible. Because I know if I do, we'll find each other once again. They're out there waiting for me to bring them home, like they tried to do for me before. Like your special people are too.
"You don't have anything to apologize for Sora, in fact I don't think I can ever thank you enough for what you did for me –for what you and your friends tried to do for mine. We're going to get through this, together, because none of us are ever truly alone."
Ventus laughs again as he finishes, this time brighter if not teary. "That actually sounded kind of wise and cool. Aqua would've been so proud, Terra probably would've called me a nerd. I miss them so much, but it's going to be okay I think. No, I know it's going to be okay."
Sora isn't sure how to respond to that, the weight of everything Ventus just shared with him, so instead he tells him about Riku and Kairi when they were younger and still on Destiny Islands. Ventus smiles at that, sharing his own stories about Aqua and Terra.
They stay like that, sharing stories about their past, about their respective journeys – Sora finally learns who exactly Vanitas is (and is frankly just a little bit disturbed that apparently they look near identical except for the different hair and eye colours) and he fills Ventus in on everything Xehanort has done since his time – about anything and everything until Ventus finally drifts asleep.
Sora smiles, Ventus' soft snores filling the room, he feels lighter for the first time since everyone was ripped away from him.
For the first time, he actually believes that he can and will get them all back.
-0-
He's not sure how long he lays there, unable to sleep, but even the lights outside have dimmed in the growing night. Soft glows instead of bright guiding lights. He sits back up with a grumble, kicking the sheets off him gently as he exits the room, not wanting to wake Ventus.
He descends down the stairs in a similarly quiet fashion, they all don't regularly sleep here, but they do have rooms and Sora doesn't want to wake them if they are. He flicks on the light to the kitchen, briefly considers getting himself a glass of milk, before deciding against it and just plopping himself down in the nearest chair.
"I didn't think you were capable of brooding," someone says, and Sora startles, halfway to summoning his keyblade before recognition dawns on him.
"I'm not," he mumbles petulantly.
Leon hums, "Well good, we don't need another Cloud running around on his own on some misguided purpose."
"I'm fine." Because he is, Sora's always fine.
"Oh definitely," Leon replies, rolling his eyes, "People who are fine avoid talking about their problems and have panic attacks." He shakes his head, ignoring Sora's attempt to protest. "Don't deny it, Yuffie told me and trust me, we know how to recognise them –we used to get them a lot around here."
Sora looks away, using a finger to trace the grain of the wood.
"You don't have to talk to us about it, I know losing people is hard, just promise me you don't do anything stupid."
His breath shudders, "I lost them, I didn't want to lose you guys too." And the words still feel too small, too pitiful, pushing against his chest wanting to spill out more.
"And you won't, we're not going anywhere –that's a promise Sora."
"Okay," he says, rubbing away tears, "then I promise too."
It's going to be okay, he thinks, as Leon pushes away from the wall and invites him to spar.
I'm going to be okay, he thinks, and actually believes it, just a little.
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-0-
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The next morning Ventus still isn't awake despite falling asleep well before Sora, instead curled up on his bed pillow clutched between his arms like a giant stuffed animal. When Sora moves beside him to try to wake him, he reacts, turning over and blindly reaching out one hand to grab his, but otherwise remains asleep.
"Hey," he says a bit hesitantly, shaking him, "Ven wake up, come on."
Ventus gives no response except for curling up tighter, dragging Sora down with him as he clutches his hand closer. Panic wells in him, but he pushes it down as he disentangles himself from Ventus' hold. His brows furrow at that, but it smoothes out as he turns away with a mumble.
Ventus is fine, Sora assures himself as he leaves the room. He's moving around, not cold and still and deathlike like when Sora had first seen him. He speeds down the stairs, almost tripping down them in rush; Aerith will know what to do she has to.
Thankfully, he spots her just as he lands on the first floor, sitting at the table talking to Cid.
"Aerith," he says, and wonders if the word came out as panicked as he's trying not to feel given the way both their heads snap towards him. "It's Ven, he won't wake up, I tried waking him up but he wouldn't and I –"
"Okay," She says, far too calm as she walks over to him, "Why don't we go have a look then?"
-0-
"He's fine," Aerith assures him, the back of her hand pressed against Ventus' forehead, he doesn't react to it like he had reacted to Sora, but he does grumble turning away. "He's just over-exhausted, and I want to say almost malnourished if his body wasn't in such good shape." She looks over at him, "Do you know when the last time he ate was?"
Sora blinks, "Um, oven ten years ago?" Aerith's eyes widen at the statement and from behind them, he can hear Cid sputter and choke over his cigarette. Sora tries to remember what he explained about Ventus yesterday, since whatever it was he must have forgotten to mention that Ventus' body has been asleep without a heart or soul in it for over ten years. "I gave him his heart back," he says slowly, thinking, "just yesterday; this is the first time he's been able to do anything since then."
Aerith laughs at that, a light bewildered sound, "I see," she says softly, shaking her head, "Sora your friend is fine. If that's the case, I'm sure he just over-exerted himself too quickly and his body couldn't keep up. He'll wake up soon, but I'll give him some potions to help speed up the process."
"I really don't know how you do it sometimes," Cid says, while Sora's still a bit dizzy from the sudden relief of knowing Ventus will be fine. Sora's not really sure how he does it either.
He doesn't say that though, Yuffie bursting through the doors before he has a chance to respond.
"There you are, it's nearly noon why are you still in bed –" she pauses, looking around to see more than just Sora in the room "–what the hell are all of you doing in here? Are you guys having a party? Without me?"
"No, that's not what we're doing." Cid finally says, when it's clear she's waiting for a reply, "You came here for something?" He continues, when she doesn't say anything else.
"Oh right!" She explains, slamming a fist into her open palm. "Ienzo's looking for you Sora, he's pretty mad you haven't checked in. Well, as mad as that blank faced weirdo gets anyway."
"Could you stop making fun of the kid?" Cid asks, dragging a hand down his face.
"Nope!" Yuffie cheerily exclaims, popping the p. "It's fun, and he makes it so easy. Now come on, get going before he gets annoyed enough he actually leaves his little nerd lab."
He hesitates, looking back to where Aerith is still seated beside a sleeping Ventus, but she waves him off. "Go on Sora, he's fine and I'll be right here with him."
He nods, turning away, "Call me if we wakes up while I'm gone, okay?"
"Of course," Aerith agrees brightly, as Yuffie clasps around his arm and begins to drag him away.
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-0-
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"What?" Sora says, looking back towards the door Yuffie had left through, as if she'll be there to tell him that this was all just some cruel joke at his expense.
"I said," Ienzo says, one hand reaching up towards his fringe, before settling back at his side. "That if we were correct about what Xehanort wants to do, your friends should be fine." Ienzo opens his mouth, then closes it, sighing. "Their plans have changed since my nobody's time as part of their Organization but we were always specific in our intentions, even if it did not seem so. We weren't meant to kill you, not if we could avoid it. You were necessary to our plans, and your friends are necessary to his. I cannot tell you where they are but I am almost certain they are safe."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I am not, it is impossible to say this with 100% certainty. But there are some things that are suspect, and like I said there is my own prior knowledge of how the Organization used to work. For example, I'm sure you've been informed that the only signal I could trace was yours, before your phone presumably died. The same should have been true for them, no matter where they were, or if they truly were gone, so that leads me to believe that their devices have either been destroyed, or the signal was somehow being purposefully blocked."
"There's something else," Sora says, because he needs the whole story before he can even begin to put his hopes in this.
"Ah, you have always been perceptive despite appearances. If I tell you this, you must promise not to share it. It will bring undue… concern from the others that I would rather do without."
"As long as no one's in danger, then yeah." Sora offers, and Ienzo nods.
"I would expect nothing less, but you can rest assured that there is no present danger. If you must know, while you were away, one of the new Organization members tried to take something from the lab." Sora stiffens, looking over at Ienzo in alarm. "They did not take it, you might not know this, and I don't mean to brag, but I am quite strong. The point is that it was someone I once knew who came. And the words he said to me further confirm my suspicions. You, that boy you awoke, your friends, they are necessary for Xehanort to reach his end game plan, and he would not cast them away so easily."
"So, you're saying they're still alive?" The word come out breathless, like every part of him simultaneously cannot believe it is true but so desperately wants it to be.
"There are very good odds that they are. That he took them so they could stop interfering anymore with his plans until they are necessary." Ienzo hesitates again, but this time speaks before Sora has to prompt him, "We are working on something together, and we will continue even though I worry now that that is part of their plot as well. However you continue your journey as well, because if I am right Xehanort will show them before you again, and though it will be dangerous that may be the only chance you get to save them."
"Ienzo, I –"
"I did not tell you this so you could rush foolishly into danger. I cannot even imagine what they would do to me if they found you did this due to my words. And I have also… no matter, that was all I had to say, you may go now, there has been no change regarding our other matter."
"Thank you, I really can't thank you enough. And don't worry, I'll get your friends back too!"
"Excuse me? I do not –"
"Bye Ienzo!" Sora shouts as he leaves the room. Yuffie was right about one thing, riling Ienzo up is kind of fun.
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-0-
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"You said you wouldn't do anything stupid." Leon says, coming up beside him.
"I'm not," he replies, dropping his gaze from the sky above them back down to the keyblade in his hands.
"Of course," Leon says, and Sora can hear the eye roll in his tone, "that's why you're out here all on your own, keyblade in hand like you're getting ready to leave. Wasn't aware you could even do that without a Gummiship –and I know you aren't using those corridors."
"No, I'm not. I didn't either." Sora lifts his arms, then drops them, "They're waiting for me somewhere. I have to."
"You can't go at this alone."
"I can't ask you guys to come with me, I can't risk that again." Sora can still see their faces as the heartless whisk them away, can still hear their voices. Can still remember the feeling of emptiness and helplessness he had felt when it happened. Can remember it clearly, because it hasn't really left him since it happened.
Leon sighs, "Sora, I know you well enough to know that you know they wouldn't want you to do this. You aren't going to lose us if you reach out."
His hand tightens around his keyblade. "Even if I did, you guys are still busy around here, and things have been getting worse recently." It's true, it doesn't stop it from feeling like an excuse.
"We might have our obligations to Radiant Garden, but that boy –Ventus, you told us what happened to him. You don't have to go off alone, I don't think you could stop him from going with you even if you tried. He's kind of like you in that regard actually." Sora wonders if it would be weird to say that it actually makes Sora like him.
"He's sleeping, he deserves actual rest. And, and they're out there waiting for me." He repeats, a bit too quickly, a bit too desperately. "Every second I'm here, not looking for them, they're out there wherever he's keeping them and I –" I'm scared. For them, for me, about everything. Has felt fear like a shadow haunting his every step since that day.
Leon puts a hand on his shoulder, looking out over the hill they'd been standing on, Radiant Garden really is so beautiful. "They'd want you to be safe, they wouldn't want you to do this to yourself. Wait until he wakes up again Sora. Help us out around here in the meantime, then you can go."
Sora hesitates, Leon's not wrong but…
"I'm not really asking, but I also know that if you really want to leave then I can't stop you. Think about it." He gives Sora's shoulder a squeeze and then turns, leaving.
And Sora stays, alone, again.
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-0-
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He thinks about it, he stays.
Ventus shouldn't have to wake up with no one familiar around him.
Sora, despite everything, doesn't want to go out to war with no one familiar around him.
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-0-
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Ventus wakes up 3 days later, and Sora find out by walking back into the hideout after going on patrol with Yuffie to find Ventus at the kitchen table devouring a mountain of food, Aerith humming as she flits about the kitchen tending to various dishes.
She turns as they enter, smiling widely, "Oh Sora you're back, I was just about to call you. Ventus woke up just a little while ago with quite the appetite. Not surprising if he hasn't eaten in years."
"It's delicious." Ventus says between mouthfuls.
"Nice to see you awake sleepy head," Yuffie says, pushing past Sora to grab herself a plate. "Come on Sora, I'm starving, so I know you must be too."
He sits and eats absently as the rest of them talk around him, Sora hasn't talked all that much since arriving here so no one mentions his silence, but he notices the looks Ventus keeps throwing his way. He ignores it, thinking of what Leon had told him.
Ventus is awake, which means he can leave now right? Doesn't even have to ask really, Leon just said he had to wait till he woke up, technically.
He sighs, resisting the urge to tug at his hair. If he could stop flipping between wanting to do everything by himself, and keep as many people close as possible, that would be great. It would be absolutely fantastic.
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-0-
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"Okay, let's go." Ventus says as they close the door to their temporary room.
Sora doesn't reply, because he's not sure how he wants to reply.
Ventus rubs the back of head, looking over at Sora from the corner of his eye. "I know how it feels to want to chase after someone, to think that if you don't they'll disappear right in front of you. I also know that going off on your own isn't the greatest idea."
Why does it feel that lately, everyone can see what he's thinking just by looking at his face?
"Don't forget that I lost people too Sora, that I'm looking for my friends as well. You're not alone here, you never are. You have my back, and I have yours; together we'll get all our precious people back."
It feels like something inside him is simultaneously curling up and tightening, and unfurling and loosening. He smiles, "Okay. Alright. Let's go, together."
Ventus beams.
-0-
They walk down the stairs quietly, Sora with a note gripped in hand. He doesn't want to wait till tomorrow, but he doesn't want to just disappear on the again. However, as they reach the main room he finds them already there, scattered around. Yuffie is sleeping with her head rested against the couch, though she startles awake when Leon reaches over to hit her lightly on the head.
"Stay safe you two," Aerith says as she presses a sack of potions and elixirs into Ventus' hands. "And keep in touch this time, please."
"Yeah," Cid calls from his seat, "even if you don't have the Gummiship anymore a low powered thundaga will work just as well."
"I will," He promises.
"You better, and then maybe Squall will stop being such a useless worrywart about you."
"It's Leon." He says with a huff, "And yes, Yuffie, that is definitely me and not you." Yuffie cries indignantly at that and Ventus stifles a laugh from behind him.
"Sora," Aerith says, catching his attention once more, "I know we can't come with you, but we're still always with you. Take care of yourself, both of you, we'll all be here waiting no matter what happens."
"Okay," He manages through the sudden lump in his throat, "thanks."
"Now go, I know you two must be in such a rush."
Ventus nods eagerly, grabbing Sora's hand and leading them towards the door, "Really, thank you guys so much for your hospitality."
"Thanks for listening," Leon says as they reach the doors and Sora looks over, once again unsure of what to say but Leon simply nods, "alright, get going, I'd like to get some sleep tonight."
It's enough to startle a laugh out of him, "Alright, we'll get out of your hair. And the next time we come back," he says, feeling a bit more confident, a bit more energetic, "I'll be bringing everyone back with me."
"That's the spirit!" Yuffie exclaims, both arms shooting up as she falls backwards on the couch. Aerith laughs softly into her hand.
"I'll see you guys."
"We'll see you."
And he leaves, but not alone, and that, that really does feel right.
-0-
"You have a glider right?" Ventus asks as he summons the armour around himself. "We used mine to get here but if you've been travelling around you have one right?"
"Glider? You mean the floating skateboard?"
"The flo- I guess? Everyone's looks different. Don't you know what a glider is?"
"I don't even know what the armour is. I didn't even know I could do this until… until after."
"Wait, really?" Ventus asks, looking over at him as he tosses his keyblade into the air and it disappears in a cloud of light, "Then how'd you figure it out, or even get the armour." He sounds confused as grabs onto the glider(?) that materializes next to him. "It took Master Eraqus ages to think I was ready for this."
He hesitates, he still doesn't know why Vanitas told him how to do this, why he gave him the piece of armour in the first place. Was it really just so Sora could end up where he had? To get Ventus out of his heart? He could have done that then and there in Traverse town. So…
"Sora?"
He tilts his head, pondering, "Vanitas did… kind of?" His hand reaching up to touch the armour and activate it, "He gave me this anyway."
"He did what?" His expression is hidden beneath the armour, but Sora can feel the anger and bewilderment coming off him in waves as he mutters something under his breath. "Whatever, I guess. The keyblade armour protects us from the darkness of the lanes between. It can also be protection during a fight…" he trails off, then shakes his head. "The keyblade glider is something any wielder can summon, if they know how. They let us travel through the spaces, we can attack with them too. I always thought Aqua's was so cool, hers shot energy arrows."
"Mine shoots energy beams somehow." They come out of the pipe like structures at the back, and even though they face up they seem to be able to redirect themselves towards the heartless like some kind of heat-seeking missile.
"Oh that's so cool," Ventus says, sounds genuinely amazed from atop his glider, "I can't wait to see it, now let's go Sora, lead the way!"
He holds his keyblade up and pauses, remembering the way Ventus had done it. He throws it up, watching as it disappears into light, before reappearing right back next to him in its new shape. Ah, no pain, maybe the slight burning in his palm every time he summoned it was a clue he shouldn't have been holding onto it when he did this.
"Let's go."
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-0-
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Travelling with Ventus is odd, but not in a bad way. Sometimes they are just eerily in sync, like one person moving in two bodies. And sometimes they clash horribly, like they're seeing two completely different things and refuse to compromise.
It's odd sometimes, but travelling with someone by his side is something he's missed beyond words. Having someone he knows will have his back during battle, someone to talk to in their less busy moment. Just having someone there.
It makes every world feel brighter, more inviting.
He's missed this.
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-0-
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He lost Ventus somewhere back there, but he'd seen a black coat and he'd taken off before he could even think to call back a warning of where he was going. It's the first trace of them he's seen since that day, he can't just let it slip through his fingers. If Ienzo is right then one of them should know where his friends are, one of them should be able to lead him to them. He just needs one.
"Stop," he yells as the space between them empties, just an empty road spanning between them, "Get back here."
The figure slows at his calls, lowering his hood and turning as Sora catches up to him.
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show your face again." The younger Xehanort said and Sora grimaced, out of all of them it had to be him? "For a moment there I wondered if we had broken your poor little spirit."
"I'm not afraid of you" He spit through grit teeth.
"I never said you were, there are more ways to break someone than just fear and power."
"Do you get some sick satisfaction out of being as cryptic as possible you white-haired gremlin?"
Young Xehanort's eyebrow raises at that, but he doesn't reply, Ventus' voice cutting in from the distance.
"Sora? Sora where are you?"
His gaze follows the direction of the voice, before settling back on Sora. "So you did return his heart. Tell me, how did you manage that?"
Sora scowls, hand twitching as it prepares to summon his keyblade. "I don't owe you any kind of explanation."
"I suppose you don't," he says beginning to turn away, "But there's a high price to pay for wielding such power foolishly."
"So what!" He calls out as the other walks away.
"There's no saving you." He says flatly, and Sora snaps, keyblade summoned from one moment to the next as he chases after him. He disappears into a corridor however, just as Sora manages to swing his keyblade down.
He tumbles to the ground with his momentum, panting as he stares down at the floor.
He screams, just as loud and pained as he had sounded then, and for a moment the cold winds of that world whip around him as tears well in his eyes.
"Sora? Sora! Are you okay?" He hears Ventus say, but it feels distant, the last words the other had said echoing again and again in his ears.
Sora doesn't need saving, even if he did he doesn't want it.
Sora has people to save, what happens to him at the end of it is inconsequential.
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-0-
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The world they are currently in reminds Sora of Destiny Islands, if only for the never-ending shoreline and acres of coconut trees that surround them. It's the most at home he's ever felt in a world that is not his own.
They landed a short while ago and are still just wandering around, if there's anyone alive on this planet they sure are hidden well.
He stops, sensing that Ventus is no longer beside him. The other had been trailing behind the whole time, wilting beneath the tropical heat, but now he's not even there. Sora whips around, only to find Ventus just down the path unmoving, staring out past trees towards a shoreline Sora can't see from here.
"Ventus?" He calls back, confused. Ventus raises a hand in response, but doesn't otherwise move from his position. "Ven, what's up?" He calls a bit louder as he heads back towards him. He does turn at that, glaring at Sora as he brings a finger to lips, before turning back towards whatever he's staring at.
Sora frowns, picking up his pace until he's next to him, looking out towards whatever has caught Ventus' attention.
A woman, staring silently out towards the horizon. There's something about her that seems almost serene, but her ash white hair give away her true demeanor. What really surprises Sora is that she has a keyblade –he hadn't known that any of the new members aside from Xehanort's various iterations could wield one.
"Aqua," Ventus says, quietly like he hadn't meant to say the word aloud.
"Aqua?" Sora hisses softly and Ventus turns to look at him eyes wide like he'd already forgotten that Sora was here with him.
Sora looks back at her, Chirithy's words ringing in his ears.
"Ventus, do you trust me?"
"Of course" Ventus says, confused but not hesitant.
"Then follow me, we're gonna get your friend back."
"Really?" Ventus asks, eyes wide and disbelieving.
Sora grins, "Really."
-0-
"Aqua!" Ventus calls as Sora tries to sneak around them. As well as one can sneak on an open shore anyways. At least for now he has the cover of the treeline.
He watches Aqua's head snap towards Ventus, eyes lighting up in a way Sora has never seen gold eyes do before, before they dim and harden.
"Even now you taunt me!" She shouts face grim as she changes her grip on her keyblade to take a more offensive stance. "How much more do you want to take from me?"
"No!" Ventus shouts, pained even as he summons his own keyblade in response, "Please Aqua you have to believe me, it really is me."
She shakes her head, laughing, "Ventus is gone, asleep, lost. You're nothing more than a figment of my imagination here to torture me more for my failures." She grins, though there is nothing kind in it, as she kicks her feet and starts off towards him, "You won't be able to do that if I smash your illusion to pieces though."
Their keyblades clash in a rain of sparks that sends Ventus flying down the beach. Sora winces alongside him, Ventus has gotten his strength up since first waking up, but a battle like this isn't Sora would want him to face alone. He'll have to though, for now.
He loses track of the conversation as he approaches the two of them. Aqua thankfully too engrossed with Ventus to notice.
"Aqua please," Ventus cries as he manages to land a hit that sends her flying towards the ground, "I don't want to fight you, I just want us all to be together again. We'll always find each right? No matter how far apart we go. No matter where we end up. You made us those wayfinders to remind us of that. So come back now. Come home."
Aqua blinks, the light he had first seen when she had first noticed Ventus reappearing in her eyes, "V-Ven? Is that really you?"
Now.
He's not really sure what he's doing as he tackles her and reaches for the part of her that he knows is in there, just clouded and shrouded by the years within the Dark realm.
Like with Ventus, for a moment he feels like he's somewhere else, this time drowning in a sea of black that is choking and cloying as it pulls him down deeper. At the centre, what he's moving towards, he sees her, a beacon of light and blue in this darkness, but it's dim. Dimming further as he approaches. He reaches out, trying to reach her faster.
"Aqua," He tries to say, but though the words leave his mouth he can't seem to hear him in this space. It doesn't matter though, she reacts, uncurling slowly as her head twists to try to find what she had just heard. "Aqua," he says again, because even if he can't hear it she apparently can. "Over here, come on."
She spots him, her eyes widening in alarm as if she's just noticed where she is. "Take my hand" He says, and the alarm fades as her expression turns resolute. She reaches out, and they connect.
Sora pulls, and the darkness around them shatters.
-0-
He wakes to tears, sitting up as he grabs his jacket that someone had used to give him a makeshift pillow. There's a heaviness in his bones, like something is trying to weigh him down.
"Ven, oh Ven, I never thought I'd see you again. I thought that I'd lost both of you forever." He hears Aqua say as he blinks the bleariness from his head.
"Aqua I need to breathe." Ventus moans, and when he feels well enough to look over finds him being crushed within Aqua's arms. (Her hair is a bright blue now, it suits her so much better than the white that had dulled her earlier). His words are petulant, but there are tears streaming down his face too, and he's hugging her back just as fiercely.
Looking at the two of them almost hurts.
Eventually Aqua relents, releasing him from her hold, but her gaze is still so fond, looking at him as if he might just disappear if she takes her eyes off of him.
"Sora!" Ventus says as he notices him, "You're awake! You really did it, she's back!"
She does tear her eyes off of Ventus at that, staring at Sora with a similar kind of fondness he isn't sure he deserves.
"I am, thank you, I always knew you'd come for me."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. But that can wait, I think I can return the favour, one I didn't think I'd ever be able to repay. You are looking for your friends right? My time before just now is snatches, slippery like water in my fingers. But I remember where he held them, and I can lead you to them."
This time it's Sora who feels like he might burst into tears.
"Really?"
She smiles, soft and kind as she reaches one hand to ruffle his hair. "Yes, really. Now let's go," she says, standing up and dusting off her clothes, "I have a decade's old grudge to settle, I won't let that man get away with this anymore."
Sora nods eagerly, he can definitely get behind that.
.
.
.
.
-0-
.
.
.
.
Aqua leads them quietly through the world, down corridors and paths Sora is sure aren't even there until they're already walking down them. She walks with purpose though, and Ventus walks easily along with her. Sora keeps a steady pace just behind them, slow and purposeful, as his nerves make him shaky.
"This feels too easy," he mutters, they haven't come across a single person, not even a heartless.
"You aren't even supposed to know this place exists, Xehanort had no reason to guard it –for all his plans he really is nothing more than fool." Aqua spits, voice bitter in a way that sounds more like before he brought her back, and she shakes her head as if she notices it too, trying to rid the bleak tone by force. "It works out for us though, so I'm not complaining, sometimes things work out in the best way possible, even if it seems unlikely."
"That's… true I guess." Sora hasn't really trusted his luck to hold out though, as of late. He just keeps on walking, hoping that each step is a step closer to his most important people.
"Shh," Aqua says suddenly, even though they hadn't spoken in a while. "We're here." She announces, stepping aside as if to further emphasize the large gray door towering over them. "He's kept them in these pods, I think it maintains them in some sort of stasis until he has use of them."
Sora puts his hand on the door, staring at Aqua waiting for something to happen. For an alarm to sound, for anything, because he feel's silly. For how much he's suffered in their absence, for how empty he's felt since then, to just get them all back so easily as if they had been just gone on vacation and not taken by the villain they'd been fighting against for years.
"Come on Sora, you've been waiting for this right?" Ventus asks, hesitant yet firm. It startles him, but it's enough that his determination hardens and he opens the door.
Nothing happens as the door swings open, which calms the nerves mounting in him so much that as it swings he falls in with it just barely avoiding tumbling to the floor. As he straightens from his stumbling he looks up to see them, all of them, and he freezes.
He tries to say their names, but the words stick in his throat and suddenly he can't do anything but stand and stare at them. They look good, fine, surely much better than Sora must look. From behind him he hears Aqua and Ventus talk as they move around and suddenly the pods open, steam floating upwards as water spills out.
He takes a step forward as he watches them all take a slowly step out of their makeshift cages, rubbing their eyes. He can see Ventus and Aqua approach the others, and it's all he really needs to feel free to run up to Kairi and Riku and near tackle them to the ground. The only reason he doesn't is that between the two of them they react quickly enough to hold him up.
"Sora," Kairi says, voice light and confused, "what's happening?" She asks as she rubs his back and Sora relaxes despite himself.
"Are you okay?" Riku asks, ever the worrywart, head lifting to scan the area around them "Where even are we?"
He ignores both of their questions, unable to do anything but cry, big heaving sobs that shake his entire body. He can feel their worry increase at his tears but all Sora can do is grip them both tighter, words stuck in his throat as he continues to cry.
They're here.
They're alive and they're here right in front of him.
They're alive, and they're here, and Sora feels like he can finally breathe again.
"I've missed you both so much," he finally manages to choke out between breaths.
He can still sense their confusion, but he doesn't care for it as they both hug him tighter.
"We're right here Sora." Riku says.
"And we're not going to leave you," Kairi agrees.
Please don't, Sora thinks, not again.
He wouldn't be able to do this, not a second time. Barely managed it this time.
He ignores all that for now though, focusing instead on how they're here, and how he'll do anything to make sure it stays that way.
Just gonna copy paste my a/n from ao3 for this one:
(Funfacts about this fic that canon cannot take away from me.
The world where YX and Sora talk? Shibuya. fuck you Nomura and you're lies.
The world where they save Aqua? Moana's island, which I think is a movie very fitting of KH themes, and even more so for what takes place in it in this fic. It's also if i think about it, makes sense that Aqua is not able to be saved when they go to look for her. All the trailers ahve always shown Sora as the one who pulls her from the darkness, so of course Riku and Mickey were destined to fail. :')
Also for the purposes of this fic (because I'm too lazy to find the article where Nomura answered the question to figure out which it is) Aqua is not a nort, simply twisted by the darkness she spent so long in. She works with Organization vaguely, enough to know things, but she's not a part of it. What she was doing in Moana's world? :) secret
Also sorry Dilan and Aeleus, trailers have forgotten about you so so have if I'm being honest, they're somewhere, maybe they're even norted again if Even is, inconsequential to this fic, so is whatever Cloud is doing tbh.)
Till next time!
