Chapter Nine: Heero's Transformation
Heero gaped at his reflection in the mirror with an unbelieving stare. The ridiculous expression on his face matched the outrageous outfit he was now wearing. He was dressed head to toe in black, white and green. His new clothes were oddly similar to Sora's, consisting of a tight black tank top and long, baggy pants. The tank top had two large silver zippers beneath this arms that trailed down his sides and was lined with white and green trimmings. He turned around hesitantly and saw two white, swirling wings embroidered on the black fabric just over his shoulder blades. His white pants were long, baggy and much looser than anything he had ever owned in his life. They, too, were adorned with random chunky zippers and black and green straps. His feet were covered in round, squishy sneakers that appeared to be too large but were actually surprisingly comfortable and snug on his feet.
Hesitantly he plucked at the thin, soft fabric of the pants before glancing skeptically in the mirror's reflection at Sora who was standing behind him, grinning.
"I don't know about this…" Heero mumbled quietly as he studied the unusual attire in the mirror. "Isn't this a little excessive?"
Sora blinked and shook his head. "What do you mean?"
Heero shrugged and toyed with one of the zippers on the side of his new tank top. "It just doesn't seem practical… and it is a little flashy-"
Sora burst into loud laughter before giving Heero a good natured pat on the shoulder. "Well, it does seem a little more edgy than what you had before, but trust me a lot of this stuff is important…" Sora replied plainly.
One of the little ducks was peering expectantly over the counter at Heero with a greedy gleam in his eye at the prospect of making a major dent in Sora's coin purse. Heero gave the little duck a sideways glance before tugging at the baggy pants in disgust.
"It seems like I will trip on these…" Heero replied as he looked down at his now massive feet. Sora grinned and pointed at the pants.
"They feel like that at first, but trust me you haven't fought in them yet. This fabric is super light, not to mention it has magic woven within it." Sora said casually. Heero flinched at the mention of magic. "… the great thing about these clothes is you can enhance yourself through them by accessorizing."
Heero stared wide-eyed at the other boy. Did he really just say that…? "Accessorizing?" He blurted in disbelief. Sora nodded, lifted his arm and motioned to a gaudy metal bracelet on his wrist.
"Yeah! Like this bracelet increases my ability to use fire attacks." Sora shook his arm in emphasis. The silver bangle shifted on his thin wrist and caught the light, glinting brightly. "And this makes my clothes resistant to other fire attacks." The boy extended a hand out to show Heero a thick, silver ring on his middle finger. "We will get you some stuff so you can have these kinds of advantages as well-"
"Wait… so you are saying by wearing jewelry I can be invincible?" Heero couldn't grasp this concept. It was by far the strangest thing he had encountered thus far. Stranger than the ship made of gummi, and the talking teddy bear put together. This comment made Sora's smile fade, and the other boy's expression was soon replaced by a defensive frown.
"Well, no. Not exactly invincible. You see, the items take YOUR energy to perform these acts. Some can enhance things about yourself, like speed or agility but to do so it takes some of your body's energy and kinda channels it…" Sora shifted uncomfortably. Heero saw the other boy's cheeks flush before darkening into a blush. "I know it sounds outrageous… but, well… it is necessary."
Heero frowned and looked down at his hands, trying to imagine his fingers lined with gold and silver rings. Somehow he just couldn't fathom such a thing. "Fine," was all he could say. He could tell that he had squashed Sora's excitement about the whole thing and felt guilty for it. He didn't mean to offend or embarrass the other boy, but it was too late now to take back anything he had said.
"So, is it okay?" Sora asked hesitantly from behind him. Heero nodded mutely before turning away from his eccentric reflection. He watched as the other boy paid the now happily grinning duck for the items. Once the transaction was complete they stepped towards the center of the merchant's square again. Sora stopped near the center and began digging around in one of the pouches that hung low on the side of his puffy shorts. After rummaging for a minute or so he pulled forth a small, plain gauntlet and a small, thin gold ring with a strange emblem on the top. He handed them to Heero carefully.
"This bracelet will increase your defense from physical attack…" Sora said quietly, as if embarrassed to speak of it. "And the ring is going to enhance your ability to use magic."
Heero took the items. He studied the ring closely before sliding it on his left index finger. The cool metal wrapped around the long digit and fit comfortably. Then he tugged the bracelet on his left wrist. Almost immediately he felt a tingling sensation where the metal came in contact with his skin. He raised an eyebrow at it.
Sora seemed to be able to read Heero's expression. "See, it draws from your life energy. The stronger you are, the more of these you can use. You don't ever want to wear too many because they take away from other parts of you. For instance, if you wear too many magic enhancing, it may weaken you physically. It works the other way around, too."
Heero's eyes widened at this knowledge. So this is real… He touched the bracelet hesitantly. It defies all logic. It makes no sense… and yet, it works.
"So, new clothes- check. Weapon? You need a good weapon." Heero frowned and immediately placed a hand on one of the gaping pockets of his new pants and protectively felt for the outline of his concealed gun. The idea of being separated from his gun was not a welcomed one.
"I still would prefer to keep my gun…" Heero protested. Sora had all ready turned away and was sauntering casually towards the opposite side of the merchant's square to another sale's counter where a second little duck sat.
"What can I get you?" Quacked the little duck eagerly. Sora placed a finger on his lower lip and narrowed his bright blue eyes in deep consideration.
"I'm not sure. What do you have?" Sora asked. Heero inched closer and looked over Sora's shoulder at the empty countertop. The little duck squealed happily as it ran into the shadows behind the counter. Loud banging and scraping noises followed for the length of a minute before the small duck returned with a large load of assorted, very colorful weapons. He tossed them onto the countertop for inspection. Sora immediately picked up something that resembled a battle axe. Heero narrowed his eyes in protest.
"Its pink…" Heero grumbled angrily. Sora smiled sheepishly as he swung the large, neon pink battle axe in the air.
"Don't look at the color, it can be changed-" Sora said quickly. "Just think about all the Heartless you could pound with one of these!" Heero wondered why the other boy didn't just get the strange battle axe for himself, since he seemed so enamored with it. Heero shook his head vigorously.
"No."
Sora frowned before reluctantly dropping the axe on the table. He scanned the miscellaneous items closely before lifting another from the pile. It was a gun… or at least, Heero thought it was. It looked more like a supersoaker than an actual, formidable gun. It was made of various neon colors with a long, twisted barrel and an oval chamber on the underside which Heero assumed was to store ammunition of some sort.
He didn't even want to know what it was. He shook his head and grumbled incoherently about how the weapon was a joke, winning him a nasty glare from the young sales clerk behind the counter.
"Honestly… I just want my gun." Heero said plainly, agitation growing in his voice. He was growing weary of all of the changes he had been forced to go through during this wacky adventure. First he had to change his perception of normalcy and logic, then he had to change his clothes and now the other boy was suggesting that he change his choice of weapon- something he was not comfortable doing at all. Sora sighed in defeat. The little duck snatched up his items before sulking back into the shadows.
"I would like to let you keep it…" Sora said softly, "it is just that your gun won't do anything against the Heartless. You need a weapon that can be upgraded in the same way your clothes can." Sora put his hand out in front of himself as he had in the bailey. A flash of light burst in his palm and when it faded the long, heavy-looking Keyblade appeared in his hand.
"For instance… my Keyblade can be enhanced for different kinds of battle depending on what chain I attach to it." The boy grasped a dangling keychain that hung from the handle. The keychain was made of three circles, two small ones atop a slightly larger one. "Your weapon now can't accommodate this…" Then Sora reached into one of his pouches and pulled forth another keychain. It was a long silver chain with a crescent moon on the end of it. He pulled the current keychain off and replaced it with the new one. Just as he attached the new chain a shimmer began to travel up the handle of the Keyblade. As the shimmer moved across the surface it began to transform in appearance. The handle turned into two wings that met at the sides of a star, and the blade became blue and silver, speckled with large yellow stars. The end of the newly transformed Keyblade held an even larger, shining crescent moon with a five pointed star at its center. Heero stared at the new, gaudy appearance of the Keyblade.
"This charm increases my magic by a little, and my strength by a good fraction." Sora said. He sighed and began turning the Keyblade in his hand. "It also lets me do more attacks in the air." He looked up from his weapon to Heero. "This charm was given to me by Master Yen Sid, the sorcerer who is going to help you get home."
Heero blinked at the mention of Master Yen Sid. The name stirred up his feelings and fueled his hope to return to Earth.
"You see, it is important that you have a weapon that can be enhanced, like this one, because every world has different monsters we must face… and so you will have to change to accommodate those differences in battle."
Heero nodded, finally understanding what the other boy was saying. "But I just don't think those weapons are suited for me," he said plainly. Sora sighed and nodded in agreement.
"You are right, but we have to get you something…" Suddenly Sora's eyes lit up and a large grin passed across his boyish face. "Wait… why didn't I think of this before!!" The boy practically leapt with delight. "Come on!" Then he spun on his heels and ran across the square. Stunned, Heero followed him. They came to a small clear area in the square and as they approached something began to glow from the ground. Then, when Sora came to a stop, a hologram projected up from the ground. Within the blue, glowing hologram was a floating creature with a large round nose in the center of its face. It looked like it had a wire poking from its head and, at the end of the wire, bobbed a puffy ball.
"What is this?" Heero asked as he stared at the floating creature in the hologram. He noticed that it had small, twitching bat wings, though they didn't seem to help it in flying.
"This is a Moogle. It will help us synthesize your weapon." Sora said with a bright smile. He held a hand out at Heero expectantly. "Give me your gun."
Heero scowled, jabbed his hand in his pocket and squeezed the handle of the gun. "What for…" he grumbled, reluctant to part with the only thing he had left from his own world. Sora smiled at him, his expression seething with reassurance and sincerity.
"Trust me… you promised you would, remember?"
Heero's eyebrow involuntarily twitched. Damn that stupid promise… his scowl deepened and, reluctantly, he slid the gun out of his pocket and handed it to Sora. The other boy took it with two fingers and held it away from himself as if the gun were a rattle snake. He turned to the hologram and spoke loudly to it.
"Transform this gun, please, to suit its owner." Then he took his other hand, grabbed Heero's wrist and yanked him closer to the hologram. He placed the gun into the hologram and immediately it vanished. Heero tried to yank his arm away from Sora but before he could Sora had shoved Heero's hand into the hologram. A strong, static sensation overtook his hand. He tried to pull his hand away from the hologram but some unseen force held him firmly in place within the now pulsating blue light.
"What did you do?!" He barked angrily at Sora. The other boy had taken a few steps back and was watching Heero closely.
"Relax, Heero. It will be over in a few seconds." Sora said softly. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and waited. The "few seconds" seemed to last for an eternity. The tingle of electricity intensified and soon was making Heero's entire arm ache and throb with pain. Just as Heero was about to cry out in frustration the light faded to darkness and the static's hold on his hand released. He yanked his arm from the hologram.
As he did he felt something appear in his hand. He looked down at his freed arm and saw his gun grasped tightly in his fingers. However, it didn't look as it had before. Now, the handle was curved to fit his hand almost perfectly. The slide action had been replaced by the rounded, multi-chamber of a revolver. He looked in awe at the barrel. Two inches down the barrel the metal flared outward, rippled, and then tapered to a point. Engravings graced its surface, those of feathers and abstract tribal circles, over its glistening silver surface and the black and white handle. His first, angry reaction at his gun was soon replaced with sheer wonder at the peculiar creation he held in his hand.
"What is this?" Heero asked slowly as his eyes inspected every curve and intricate detail of his newly fashioned gun. Sora approached him cautiously before looking down at Heero's hand.
"It looks like a Gunblade…" Sora said plainly. "Kinda like Leon's… but yours is smaller. I guess like a gun-dagger or something." Heero let this sink in. He lifted the gun up to the pale orange evening sky and looked down the barrel. It was perfectly straight and the tip of the blade curved up at the very tip to serve as a rather accurate target sight. The gun, despite its added metal, seemed lighter than it had before. Evenly distributed weight in the handle made it easy to grasp. Instead of the sensation of just holding a gun, it felt like an extension of his arm. After thoroughly inspecting it he turned to look at Sora.
"What do I use for ammo?" He asked, honestly curious now about his new weapon. Sora smiled at the question and shrugged his shoulders.
"It doesn't need any. Remember, magic? Well, you can use magic through your gun." The boy walked up to the hologram and immediately it shone bright blue again at his presence. A screen appeared within the hologram and began scrolling characters Heero had never seen before.
"It says you can use up to five different kinds of magic…" Sora said softly. Heero looked down at the revolver. It had five bullet chambers. "And that you can assign the magic to the bullets you want to use. As long as you have the strength for magic, you will have full ammunition."
Heero sighed and switched the gun from his right hand to his left. It fit comfortably in his left hand, too.
"So, do you like it?" Sora finally asked. Heero looked up at the other boy. Sora was waiting expectantly for an answer.
"Yes…" Heero finally stated, "I do. Thank you again, Sora."
This made Sora's face explode into a bright, happy smile. "No problem, Heero. Now you are a real member of our team!" The boy chirped excitedly. Heero felt the other boy's positive energy rubbing off on him. He fought back the reflexive smile that Sora's happiness often instilled within him and instead gave the boy a curt nod.
Sora smirked at Heero's attempt to stay calm and nonchalant. He looked up at the sky, which was now turning a dark ruddy orange as the light began to retreat away from it. "We better turn in for the night." Sora said plainly. "Come on, let's tent."
Heero blinked and held his new gun close to his side. "Tent?"
/ Who the heck ever used TENT anyway? lol/
