Songs of the chapter: Cooling- Tori Amos, Nothing Else Matters- Bedroom Rockers
A/N: Wow! We're up to 1000 views! That's AMAZING! Thank you guys for everything!
BoxAuthor88: Thank you for your continued support, it really does mean the world to me! xo
bec1895: Thank you :) I'm trying to make it kinda dramatic to make more of an impact!
Sora, Riku, Aqua, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Lea landed softly upon the sand that rested around the strange architect. It has green spikes and an odd shape. Sora had never seen anything like this compared to anything in any other world. His eyes were full of wonder. He didn't even feel nervous.
"Castle Oblivion? Why are we here?" Riku asked Aqua.
"Is that what they call it now? Well it actually used to be what I called home; The Land of Departure. Xehanort destroyed it, so I used my fallen master's Keyblade to change its form; a pace that could protect Ventus while I searched for Terra."
"Have you been here before, Riku?" Sora wondered.
"Well actually, the funny thing is, you have too, Sora." Sora stopped in his tracks to think,
"Uhh, no…I don't think so, Riku."
"Yeah," Riku turned to face his friend, as the others huddled around too, "You, Donald and Goofy have. The reason you don't remember, is because the original Organization was using Namine, Kairi's nobody, to erase your memories. That's the reason you guys were asleep in those pods," Riku explained, "You'd think I would have explained that before…"
"Our memories were erased?!" Donald cried.
"Don't worry," Riku explained, "Namine put you guys back just as you were after the three of you took down the members of the Organization hat were in the castle."
"Except for me!" Lea smiled, "I managed to get away from ya!"
"Well, I guess that clears some things up," Sora smiled, and the group continued to the castle's front doors. The lobby was as pure white as Riku remembered. White walls, white floors, while ceilings.
"So, where exactly is Ven? I'd like to see him again," Lea said.
"You know him?" Sora asked.
"Yeah. I met him in Radiant Garden, back when I was friends with Siax…I guess by now he should be back to Isa again." Lea whispered the last part to himself.
"Ohh, well then, let's go get your friend back!" Sora cheered, "Where to, Master Aqua?"
"He's on the thirteenth floor. Locked away." Aqua stopped in her tracks, wide-eyed, "Dammit! I just remembered!"
"What? What's wrong?" Riku asked.
"I can't unlock the door without my master's Keyblade! I have no idea where it is; I gave it up when I fell to the dark realm."
"Okay, so we'll have to detour. What was your Master's name?" Lea asked.
"Master Eraqus." Everyone turned to look at Sora,
"Is this it?" Sora summoned the silver and red Keyblade.
"Yes! Where did you find it?"
"On my island. It was sitting in the sand. Right after I picked it up was when Vanitas attacked me."
"I see…Well, at least we'll be able to get to him now," Aqua smiled.
"Aqua?"
"Yeah, Sora?"
"What was Master Eraqus like?" Sora asked while slightly tilting his head. All Aqua could see was Ventus when he did that, so she smiled,
"He was the best. He was strong, kind-hearted, protective, positive, trustworthy, and always there for me and my friends."
"What happened to him?" Sora asked innocently.
"Xehanort." Was all Aqua said as she opened the door to proceed to the next floor of the castle.
"Mickey, I am afraid that we must go out and find more guardians of light. As I hope, Sora will return, however, we must take into consideration the possibility of loosing him," Yen Sid explained.
"Hmm, I guess I'll get a gummi ship started for Donald, Goofy, Riku, Lea and Kairi. Sora can join if he returns. I'll stay here with Aqua, so she, Ansem and Ventus can help us find Terra."
"Very well. We must hope that Sora will return."
"Yo, Isa! Just checked the radar. Looks like number 8 is hanging with Sora. How does it feel? He chose Roxas over you. Why not go to him and tell him off, huh? For old times sake!" Xigbar taunted.
"Fool. You seem to care about Axel more than I do," Isa countered.
"Care? As if! I just wanna see you to rumble; gives me something to do while we wait for the old coot to make a move. Besides, did you hear yourself? You said more than I do… C'mon, go visit your old buddy," Xigbar extended his arm over Isa's shoulder, with a troubling smile plastered across his scared face. Silently, Isa opened a corridor, while Xigbar smiled wider, knowing it's destination.
As the group ventured onwards, at about the seventh floor, Sora started to fall behind, and Kairi noticed,
"Hey," she approached him, "Are you still sure about this?"
"Of course. But, Kairi, there's something I need to tell you first."
"Okay, what is it?"
"I l-"
"Well, well. You're doing well," a voice said. The entire group summoned their weapons,
"That voice…" Lea whispered. Suddenly, a group of 30 or so Dusk Nobodies appeared out of the floor.
"What are they, unversed?!" Aqua cried.
"No, they're Nobodies!" Donald yelled.
"Do we fight them?" she wondered.
"You don't know what they are? Never mind. Just fight them as you would a Heartless!" Riku suggested, already in combat.
"But, what's a Heartless?!" Aqua was growing more confused.
"Oh, boy…Just hit it till it disappears!" Riku slashed through two dusks.
"Right!" Aqua got into her fighting stance. Sora easily defeated five within the first minute of fighting; he was best in combat with Donald and Goofy at his side, because that's what he was used to. Donald was casting thunder and fire spells, while Goofy charged at the dusks with his shield. Sora would finish them off with one final slash. The three friends moved in such a fluent system, it would seem nothing could break the chain. Though Kairi would never admit it out loud, she struggled when it came to enemies more her size. She tried to hide it as best as she could by fighting close to Riku and Lea. As the enemies thinned out, a familiar face emerged from the shadows of the long, white corridor,
"Isa," Lea stated.
"Lea."
"What have they done to you?"
"I could ask the same about you."
"You used to be good. Kind hearted. My friend."
"Well, I suppose we all mistakes, don't we?" Isa smirked. Lea sighed,
"Yeah…I guess. So I think I'm gonna help you outta this one!" Lea charged at Isa, not with his Keyblade, but with his chakrams. Isa brought out his Claymore, ready to fight his ex- friend.
"Guys, go on without me, I'll catch up!" Lea yelled while dodging a vicious attack.
"But-!" Sora hesitated.
"Go, now! I can handle this punk!"
"Alright…" Sora kept his eyes on Lea as long as he could until the group ran past and up to the next floor.
"So, what were those things we were fighting? They definitely did not look like unversed to me," Aqua stated.
"What's an unversed? Those things we were just were Nobodies, created when a Heartless is created too. But, you said you didn't know what a Heartless was, either." Sora pause for a moment, trying to find a way to explain things, "So, basically, Heartless were created by accident, by Ansem the Wise. When a heartless attacks, they take hearts from people; heartless are those without hearts. Hen a strong hearted person looses their heart, the empty shell begins to live, and this is called a Nobody."
"Wow…that's awful. They never existed when I was last here in the realm of light. So, I guess that means there aren't any unversed at the moment."
"What are they, exactly?" Riku asked.
"They're all negative emotions that are driven into horrible, vicious monsters. They come from Vanitas, so seeing as he's back, I wouldn't be surprised if the unversed show up again, too," Aqua sighed.
"Well, I guess we'll know when we see them," Donald groaned, "Just what we need, more trouble!" The group continued their accent. Sora was getting very nervous, but felt there was no backing out now.
After reaching the twelfth floor, Sora decided to ask,
"Master Aqua-"
"Just Aqua is fine, hun," she smiled.
"Okay, Aqua," Sora returned the smile, "Why do all the floors look the same?"
"Well, this place was designed by the heart of Master Eraqus. I'm the only one who fully understands how this castle works. This castle was designed to protect myself and my friends from evil. My guess is that this Organization never fully figured the place out, either."
"I get it. To protect Ventus' body, too."
"Yes," Aqua faced the stairs to the thirteenth floor. Since Aqua did not move, Riku decided to suggest,
"Do you think we should wait here for Lea to-"
"I'm back."
"…Never mind, then."
"You okay, Lea?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, no problemo! So, is this the place?"
"It's just up these stairs. Let's go," Aqua led the group up the last set of stairs.
The small stair case lead the group to a large set of white doors that were covered in silver chains, and sigils that matched the one on Aqua's outfit.
"Sora, could you please unlock the door?" Aqua reminded him.
"Oh, right." Sora summoned the deceased Master's Keyblade, and unlocked the door. Each person averted their eyes in some form as a bright flash emerged from the room. When the light cleared, she saw him. There, still sitting the way she left him all those years ago, was part of heart; Ventus. Still as limp and lifeless as before. Aqua slowly approached the sleeping teen's body, before a single tear fell from her eye.
"So, this is him, huh?" Sora examined the boy with soft eyes.
"Yeah. This is him."
"Okay, so I guess we should get this started then, huh?" Sora looked at his friends, "This isn't gonna turn into one of those things where I say something, then you guys say something. Let's just say, I'll see you soon." He walked over and hugged Donald and Goofy, who were holding back tears. Her shook Lea's hand and nodded at Aqua with a smile, before looking to Kairi,
"Kairi, I…"
"Don't die." He looked up to her. She wasn't crying, but her look was telling him she was screaming on the inside,
"Huh?"
"Just, don't die, okay?" She stared into his eyes. Sora pulled her into a short, yet meaningful hug, before standing next to Ventus.
"Thanks for doing this, Riku."
"Yeah." Riku then summoned his Keyblade, and pointed it in Sora's direction, until he looked into Sora's eyes, "I can't do it! Not if you're gonna stare at me with those big 'don't kill me' eyes!"
"Okay, I'm sorry, I'm not looking!" Sora averted from Riku's gaze.
So, once again, Riku held his Keyblade to Sora's chest, and closed his eyes before pressing it in. Kairi had to look away. Like déjà vu to Kairi, Donald, and Goofy, Sora's body became engulfed in light as his heart floated to the ceiling, and split into two, one blue, one gold. Sora's body slowly floated to the ground, but did not fade this time. The blue half drifted into Ventus' chest, and the gold one into Sora's. The group sat in total silence, and did not move, waiting for a response from either body. Eyes moved back and forth from Ventus to Sora, until they both violently jolted awake at the same time,
"Ugh!" Ventus and Sora both groaned, "My head hurts." It was as if they were the same person, in complete sync.
"Sora, you're okay! How many fingers am I holding up?" Riku asked as he got to Sora's side and held up three fingers. Donald, Goofy and Kairi huddled around the two,
"Umm, blue?" Sora said, tipsy and disoriented.
"He's okay!" Riku laughed.
From the naked eye, Sora seemed drunk. Although Ventus was worse, being asleep for the better part of twelve years.
"Ventus, are you okay, hun?" Aqua could not believe that she could see his bright blue eyes again.
"A-Aqua…? What happened? My head hurts…" Ven groaned in a whisper. Aqua couldn't help but laugh through her tears,
"I know, Ven. It's gonna be okay," she held him close, "Everything's gonna be okay, now."
Something within Ventus caused him to violently jolt awake; his eyes opened wide, and he tried to stand up, only to fall into a wall and nudge his guard armour button. The group watched as Ventus became covered in armour,
"Oww…" Ven muttered.
"Easy there, tiger. Don't over do it," Lea laughed, picking up the frail teen and dismissing his armour.
With both boys out of commission, the group decided to head back to the tower to give them some well deserved rest. Riku carried Sora fairly easily on his back; he was surprised at how light Sora was. Lea offered to carry Ventus for Aqua, and the group made their way back down the thirteen floors. Every now and then, Sora would wake up for a moment before drifting again, but Ventus stayed asleep; a small smile placed on his face.
Arriving back at the tower with everyone okay was like winning the lottery for Riku. He didn't say it out loud, but he was so scared to lose his best friend. Sora, of all people, deserved to live a long, happy life in his eyes. It made him sick to think his actions almost cost Sora his life in the past, but what was done was done, and he needed to focus,
"Why couldn't the Master have put the portal at the top of the tower? All this back and forth, up and down, it's killing me," Riku groaned as he continued up the stairs with Sora still fast asleep on his back, "Kairi, can you get the door please?"
"Got it," she held the door, and everyone was met with Master Yen Sid and Mickey.
"Are they both okay?!" Mickey questioned with great concern, and Riku sighed with relief,
"They're both tired, but okay."
"Please, bring each boy to a room and place them in a bed. There I will be able to monitor their well- being," Yen Sid requested.
"On it," Lea said as he and Riku went across the hall.
"Where is Ansem, Your Majesty?" Donald asked.
"He went to Radiant Garden to take care of a few things. I think that's where you'll be headed with Sora when he's ready," the small King explained.
"Oh, boy! We'll get to see Leon and the gang again!" Goofy cheered.
"Well, they're both sleeping," Riku said.
"Good. When Sora and Ventus fully regain their strength, you will be given another task to prepare for the Keyblade war," Yen Sid excused himself to check on Ven and Sora.
"Well, wanna get back to training me in the mean time, Master?" Lea asked Riku.
"I actually wouldn't mind some training either, Riku, but I want to see Sora first, okay?" Kairi admitted.
"Sounds good to me."
"I think I'll join ya this time, if ya don't mind," Mickey smiled.
"Not at all, Mickey. You know that," Riku returned a small grin.
So Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Riku, and Lea went out to train again. Kairi walked across the hall and joined Master Yen Sid in Sora's rest room,
"So, how is he doing, Master?" Kairi asked.
"I must not lie, it would seem that the darkness in his heart is acting more freely than before. But fear not, young princess, we will find a way to fix it," the sorcerer offered her a small smile, to which she returned, "Now, I must tend to Ventus in the other room, I will leave you two alone for a moment."
Kairi pulled up a chair and hesitantly grabbed Sora's hand, before silently crying,
"I know you can't hear me, but I was so scared. I need you. So please, be okay, for me? Please…" Kairi stood from her chair and motioned to leave. However, she turned around and approached him again. After brushing his hair out of his eyes lightly, she kissed his temple,
"You're my hero…" she whispered before leaving to join the others in training.
Awe, a little SoKai for ya! Any other pairs you wanna see? Let me know!
xxoo -Kai
