Okay, I am back! So Sora is still at Beast's Castle, just in case you all forgot.
Reviews:
The Keeper of Worlds: I suppose it does add a contrast. He is usually a cheery guy, after all. And Kingdom Hearts isn't the most emotional game out there, nor is there as much elaboration on the characters' thoughts, which is understandable. I am glad you enjoyed it.
NinjaFang1331: Thanks for the compliment. It is very appreciated. :)
LaserLightCannon: Yep, Kay needs to be in here too, as Sora's current support. I mean, she's freaking Kingdom Hearts for Kingdom Hearts' sake! :D And I think I'll agree with you there, pairings really are not necessary. Not like I'm good at romance anyways.
Well, if Amalia agrees, then it's okay. So this story won't have any pairings. Unless they are canon within whatever world Sora or anyone else is in….. like Jasmine and Aladdin, for example.
Amalia and I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise that appears in this story.
Also! Almost forgot to tell you! Again….
This is also cross-posted on Ao3! Under both me and Amalia. And actually, I have the same username, and Amalia's is Amalia_Ignisa.
Okay, I'll just start now…
Oh, looks like this will be an extra long one!
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Kay smiled at Sora. "Here. Take this. Continue to use your Oathkeeper, but once you fulfill your promise, you may use this." She held out the heart made of frozen water and waved her other hand over it. After a burst of sparkles, a bright silver chain linked to the top of it, officially making it a keychain. She took his hand and wrapped his hand over it before letting it go.
Sora opened his hand to see the charm there. It felt cool and light, even through his glove. He smiled and put it carefully into his pocket. He grinned. "Thanks."
Kay then said, "Sora, now, don't you have something to do?"
She smirked as his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Right, I almost forgot! Thanks, Kay! See ya!"
She waved as he ran back inside. "Good luck!"
As he walked across the brightly lit ballroom, she gasped silently to herself. "Oh, looks like I forgot to tell him something important… I suppose it's too late now. I can tell him next time..."
She frowned. "Wait…"
Meanwhile, Sora was opening the doors outside the ballroom, now more determined to complete his task than ever. But as he stepped out however, he felt a strange power come over him. Trying to ignore it, he tried moving his foot forward. But to his (slight) horror, it didn't budge. In fact, his whole body couldn't move!
Suddenly, he was pulled back. Yelling in surprise, he closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable crash into a wall or something. But to his surprise, he felt himself stop, and he was just in the air, his feet just touching the ground. Opening his eyes again, he noticed he was back on the balcony, with Kay holding a hand in front of her mouth, as if trying to hold back a laugh.
Which, by the way, was exactly what she was doing.
Eventually, she got over it. "I'm sorry about that, Sora. I needed to tell you a couple more things before you left."
He frowned. What could it be? "Alright… what is it?"
"Let me ask you something. Did anything strange happen when you encountered that Unversed?"
He thought about it for a sec. "Ummm… Oh yeah, I heard this really weird voice in my head for a sec, saying how it was an Unversed and stuff!"
Kay nodded. "So I see. Listen, don't be alarmed if you ever hear it again. In fact, that voice may have some helpful advice for you. I cannot explain exactly what it is now, but still, I'm sure he will help you on your journey. There are a lot of people counting on you, you know."
He looked a little surprised. "O-oh… Really?"
"Yes. I do feel like there was something else I was supposed to tell you, but it seems to have slipped my mind once again. Ah, yes, that was it."
Sora tilted his head slightly, confused at what she was trying to say. Sighing, she continued, trying not to focus on the cuteness of his innocent expression. Stupid innocent anime boys and their cute faces…
Clearing her throat, she continued, "Don't forget that you don't have your full power right now, thanks to the sacrifice you made to save your friend. That power was taken. But as it goes, to couldn't be destroyed. Matter cannot be destroyed, only… recreated."
Sora was genuinely very confused, and Kay noticed. "Don't worry, I'm not saying this to you. I'm saying this to those who are reading this. There is something else though."
The young wielder was just as confused as ever, but he hoped that whatever she said next would make more sense.
"Anyways, from here on out, you will encounter others that you used to know. Karui… an interesting name, to say in the least. While I don't think it fits you very well, it is an unorthodox cover. Just as you're a sky, you're also a light to so many. A perfect word to represent Light. However, you're appearance leaves much to be desired."
Sora pouted. "What's wrong with how I look?! I think it's just fine!"
Kay sighed. "Sora, think about it. You look the same way you always have. Except you're wearing different clothes, but that's not the point! What I mean is, the people that you have met, like Aladdin or Jasmine, would recognize you in an instant. No matter how much you may deny it, they'll still think you're Sora. And if Riku and Kairi were ever to visit those worlds, they will be informed of your passing through. Then your cover would be blown, and they would search for you, hindering their own quest."
He seemed to deflate at those words, realization coming over him. "Oh, yeah, you're right… hey, what are they going to be doing anyway?"
She thought for a second, a strange emotion coming over her face. Then she replied, "I can't tell you. At least, not yet. You still need to focus on your journey. If you became too worried for them, you would only go to them if you felt they were in danger, when I know they should be able to handle themselves. Then, it could all be ruined by that one single action."
She turned around and looked over the balcony into the starry sky. "What I can tell you though, is that your quests - you and your friends' - are imperative to the worlds' survival. That's why I'm so adamant when it comes to you not seeing your friends. Because, when the time is right, you can come and save them when they need it the most. And don't worry, I'll tell you when."
Sora seemed to look a little better, a small smile forming on his face. He nodded, and so, she continued.
"In the meantime, you'll need a disguise for the next world you'll go to after this, as well as the one after that. You may not have realized it yet, but contact with them is needed to lock the Keyholes. And because of that, they would know who you are. I just need a good disguise for you…"
"...You know what, I'll just cast an illusion."
She waved her hand in the air, and a shower of sparkles covered Sora before disappearing.
Sora felt a little strange, maybe almost like he was covered in pixie dust? But the feeling passes as soon as he came, and he didn't feel much different. "Um, did it work, or…?"
She nodded. "You'll see you as yourself, but everyone else that sees you will not be able to recall your appearance later. It's a convenient spell."
Kay then looked down and whispered to herself, "I wish I would've thought of it earlier…"
Unfortunately for her, Sora caught it, but he decided to not mention it. Since it can be used later if his cover was blown, and he could reveal what he learned. Yep, that was a good idea.
"Okay Sora, I think you can really go now."
He nodded. "Okay. See you later, Kay!"
He then waved back as he ran back into the ballroom.
Kay smiled softly and teleported away in a flash of light…
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Meanwhile, Sora made his way back to the main hall of the large castle. Opening the doors, he stepped onto the landing. Now there were two ways he could go: the path to his left or the one to his right. There was no telling where which one would lead!
And the claw marks didn't actually give him any information, except that there was (or is) some sort of large Heartless or something here.
So which way should he take? Decisions, decisions…
Maybe he could just close his eyes, spin in circles, and go in that direction blindly. It was the best idea he had.
So he closed his eyes. And spun. He didn't know how many, but it was at least two or three. Maybe more? He didn't know; his eyes were closed.
After a bit, he stopped, trying to stand in one place. However, he was feeling a bit dizzy, swaying back and forth. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to keep himself, and he promptly fell back.
Panic spread into his being for a split second but relaxed just as fast. There hadn't been any Heartless earlier, and he was going only fall straight to the ground. It's happened to him before in much worse situations than this….
And that's when he felt himself fall further than the floor should've been.
As he felt panic come over him again, he hastily tried to turn around to stop the fall as softly as possible. Instinctively, as he felt his head crash against the ground, he threw out his right hand. Luckily, this slowed his fall, decreasing the damage. However, the force of his fall was a little too much for his arm, and he felt a stab of pain race through it.
He landed awkwardly on the stairs, upside down. His clutched his arm with his other one, grimacing as he felt it smart in retaliation to his touch. His eyes were now open, looking at the injury in the darker room.
It was red, especially around the elbow and higher up the lower arm. Also, it hurt more than it should've.
He winced as he felt the pain again. Seriously, why did it hurt so- oh…
Sora let out a sigh as he realized why. The battle with that Unversed. The Trinity Armor.
"Uh… why don't you use a Curaga spell or something? Wouldn't that work?"
Yeah, like that would help him…
Oh, wait. That actually could help him. Thanks, mysterious voice.
"I am not a mysterious voice! I'm a person too, you know!"
Oh. Sorry! What's your name then?
"...Ventus. My name is Ventus, but you can call me Ven. And you're welcome, by the way."
Sora finally shrugged and held his hand over his arm, summoning a soft green light. The light engulfed his arm as healing bells rose above, his wound healing and the redness disappearing quickly. After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away, feeling only a slight drop in his energy level from the magic.
The injury was almost as good as new. Only a phantom pain remained.
He smiled as he brought himself up. The voice known as Ven was quiet now. He sent him a quiet thanks as he turned back around to go back up the staircase.
And he was promptly kicked in the stomach- hard.
Sora was flung back down the stairs, the strength of his unknown assailant surprising him. He grunted as his back hit the ground, pain once again shooting up his body. Why did he get injured so much?
Oh, that's right, he fought dark monsters for a living. Of course.
Anyways, he got up, the pain only hindering him a little bit. To be honest, he's been hit harder. Or at least, Riku did…
He winced when he thought of his friend who had given into the darkness. He hoped he was okay after that…
Another strong kick knocked him out of his thoughts and he skidded along the ground.
Again, Sora got up, looking frantically around for his attacker. But strangely, he didn't see it anywhere. Where is it…?
As he looked down, the kick connected with his stomach again, and he almost fell over. But Sora stood still, shocked.
Whoever had done it was invisible.
He groaned loudly. Just when he thought that Stealth Sneak Heartless with Clayton was enough. Here he has another invisible Heartless. Not fun…
He summoned his Oathkeeper Keyblade and held it in front of him, ready to guard against the thing and catch it off guard. He was so prepared for this!
But then he was kicked from behind.
Why me, he thought to himself as he spun quickly. Nowhere to be seen. There was only one way he could do this now.
He opened up his senses to his surroundings, taking in everything around him. This technique was what helped him in battle many times, helping him concentrate.
Sora focused on trying to find something smaller and quiet, one that could kick him with that strength. And sure enough, an imaginary blue target symbol appeared near a pillar, floating in midair, moving closer to him.
In case you didn't know, this was how he locked on to his enemies. He could sense them from behind. He could see past invisibility. He could track them down from afar. Geez, was this overpowered?
...Nah.
Back to the situation at hand. The target was moving closer to him, slowly, most likely a charging up an attack. Sora smirked.
He held his Keyblade back and threw it forward, the large thing spinning through the air.
It went straight through the creature and Sora swiftly dismissed and recalled his Keyblade, throwing it once more at his target.
After doing it a few more times, he threw it harder than before, doing more damage. The illusion of invisibility was then erased.
It looked eerily similar to a Soldier Heartless. In fact, if it weren't for the size and color, it would've actually passed for one. It was larger, that's for sure. Instead of a navy blue body and silver helmet, its body was a strange, dark green, while its helmet was a very pale shade of dark green as well.
The only things that were truly the same were those beady yellow eyes, glowing maliciously.
Sora quickly ran forward, Keyblade held in his hand, swinging it as he came in front of the Heartless. The Soldier look-alike was knocked back with the force, falling to the stone ground. However, it was able to quickly recover, standing up and running towards Sora.
This time he was prepared, and he held up the Oathkeeper to block the coming attack. And what a successful block it was. A clang rang through the large room, echoing loudly as the metal foot and the Keyblade collided.
Sora pushed the Heartless back and countered, pushing the Keyblade forward so that it got the Stealth Soldier again (yes, that's what the Heartless is called). However, it was pretty resilient as it only got up again.
Before he could react to its quick recovery, it had dashed forward and kicked him again, but this time in the leg. Sora lost his focus as it ran off and disappeared again.
Now he had to be extra cautious. He didn't know how much damage it took, and it was still just as fast as before. Even if he was locked on, he would have to rely on his instincts instead of planning ahead more than anything.
Or… he smirked. He locked on to the Stealth Soldier again, seeing it was still several feet away.
He charged up his Keyblade and then launched forward.
Sora was going at speeds no ordinary human could go at, slicing through the air and the Heartless. After the first, he swiftly turned and did it several more times. Now kids, this is Sonic Blade if you didn't know.
He soon finished, and he looked back to see the Heartless fall. It slowly dissipated into dark sparkles, and a heart floated into the air, disappearing.
Well, that was actually pretty easy after he figured it out. Huh.
He dismissed Oathkeeper and immediately went back to his task, the battle now in the far corner of his mind as he walked up the stairs once more.
He thought he knew before, but he seemed to forget which way.
Now, there were two paths he could take: the left, with more claw marks, or the right, which had a light shining from the hall…
Wait, what?
Indeed, there was hazy golden light coming from that hall. Meaning that someone had to there. He smiled and finally made his way up the second flight of stairs.
At the top, the stairs turned into a large and long hallway. The right of the hall was lined with tall windows, letting in the moon and starlight from outside. The left side was lined with monstrous statues placed on stone pedestals. The same wall held many large paintings as well. The ground underneath was covered in a quiet, purple carpet.
Sora walked forward, as he couldn't see the end of the hall clearly from the top of the staircase. He looked out of the windows as he went past them, and he was able to see a large forest not quite far from this dreary castle. The stars shone brightly, as if telling him to keep his heart shining bright as well.
And he smiled at the thought.
He continued looking through the windows, amazed at the beautiful landscape. If he could, he'd probably soak it in more. And open the window so then the view would be more clear, since the glass was crisscrossed with thin metal.
Eventually, he passed the windows, leaving only a blank, grey wall. He sighed as he looked ahead, as he was finally close enough to the end of the hall to see what was there.
At the very end was another window, identical to the others. A velvet-covered bench had been placed under it, but it looked old and was covered in dust.
He also noticed that, coming up to his right, was a double-doored entrance, currently closed. The doors were colored a light green and was embroidered in a pale gold. Soft light was pouring through the cracks of the door, bringing some more light into the dark hall.
The door was soon next to him, and he wondered whether he should go in or see what was out of the window. Well, chances were, he wouldn't be seeing this place for a while, so he ultimately decided the window.
The last window was the same as the others, if it a bit larger. He was able to see the continuing forest. And he was able to see the stars glittering in the distance.
...pretty much the same view as the other windows.
Sora sat on the bench and turned around, standing on his knees as he looked through the window again.
The starlight illuminated his face as he was able to delight in the nice view at last.
He didn't notice that the door near him had opened, a young woman with brown hair and brown eyes watching him from her room.
She saw him look at the sky, a small smile on his face as his sky blue eyes shone like the stars in front of him.
But of course, she was curious what a human like him was doing in the Beast's Castle. Surely he wasn't in the same situation as her? She hoped he wasn't…
"Excuse me?"
The boy jumped and fell backwards onto his back, surprise obvious on his face. "Ow…" He rubbed his head as he looked up at her, still on the ground.
She couldn't help but giggle. "Are you alright? Here, let me help you up."
She held out her hand to him. He seemed to hesitate for a sec before he took it. He was then able to pull himself up.
Now, Sora was wondering if she was the princess of heart. It could just be some other person..,
"Thanks," he said to her. He was a little bitter about her surprising him, but she totally made up for it by helping.
She smiled at him. "I'm glad you weren't hurt. Now, what might you be doing here all by yourself?"
Sora froze. What was he doing here by himself? Oh right, he was looking for the princess. But he just couldn't straight out ask her. He sighed. His job was hard.
He laughed nervously before he said, "Well, I was, uh… lost, and I saw this castle. And since it was dark outside and all, well… I guess I just let myself in? Heh."
To his relief, she nodded. "Oh, so that's what happened. I understand."
"Um… do you live here?"
A strange look came on her face. "No, I… wait, do I? Yes, I believe so."
Now Sora was confused. How come she wasn't so sure? Maybe he should ask… no, it would be kinda rude….
They just stood there awkwardly for a few moments before the young woman spoke up. "Oh, I don't think I've introduced myself yet. I'm Belle."
Sora smiled. "Karui! Nice to meet you!"
Inside, Sora was groaning. He wished he could say that Sora was his name (because it was). Karui was just so… weird. Too close to Kairi's, too… but if course, that would probably ruin his chances of laying low…
Belle smiled briefly before she said, "It's nice to meet you too. But I would advise that you leave. While I find the master of the castle to be quite nice, he's… well… not what you would expect."
"Okay then… hey, are you the only one here? Beside the master, I mean."
She shook her head. "No, not exactly. But I've been the only human in this castle. You see, the castle's been cursed…"
She told him a story. Maybe it was to convince him to leave before anything happened, or to convince him that the things living in the castle were nicer than they would initially seem. However, there was one detail that gave him a good idea of where he was.
The Beast lived here. And he had mentioned Belle. And it seemed that she was a Princess of Heart. Which meant he was currently talking to her right now. Which also meant that they got out okay!
Sora was happy. He was afraid that the Beast wouldn't be able to find a way out of Hollow Bastion.
After she finished her story, Sora said goodbye. Belle wished him luck, and he set off back through the hall.
He quickly walked to the front door, since he really didn't want to be accused of snooping around a castle that, of course, didn't belong to him.
He had a nice experience here. He got to talk to Kay more, and he already found another princess! He was going to speed though this at this rate!
He saw some stars twinkling in the sky as he walked towards the gate.
Maybe one day, they could all sit together, under the same sky. Or maybe their sky was the same. Who knew? He guessed they could still see the same stars too.
Maybe he was looking at the star they're at right now. And maybe they're looking right back at him. It was a pleasant and happy thought.
He hoped that one day, they could watch the stars spin together, as they sit on their favorite tree, with the star-shaped fruit glowing from the starlight.
As he walked through the gate, a bright light filled his view as a Keyhole appeared. Sora summoned the Oathkeeper and held it to the sky, end shining. A beam of light shot to the hole, a locking sound audible as it disappeared in a flash.
As the light overtook him as well, he knew that he would be ready next time. He would help his friends anyway he could. Even if it meant being away from them, as long as it was for them, if was okay… for now.
That didn't stop him from hoping that they'd run into each other again.
Later on, Belle tried to think of that boy she met, Karui. He had seemed really nice. But for some reason, she couldn't remember what he looked like. However, there was one detail that she could recall.
And that was his sky blue eyes that sparkled so brightly.
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Whew! Finally, I finished! Sorry for the late update, it's summer, and I've been feeling especially lazy for some reason. Plus, I'm less motivated since my computer broke. What a time for it to happen though…
Sora is going through quite a lot right now, but as for Kairi and Riku...
Lia: Be prepared for the next part since some of you will need a pillow to hold those emotional words in check.
Eve: And maybe those tears that will threaten to fall out if you're super sensitive. Maybe...
Hey, that new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer is coming out on July 15! I'm so excited!
Anyway, please leave a review, and PM either me or Amalia if you want to chat or if you have a question!
Thanks for your support thus far!
We'll see you all later! Let's dive in together! :D