A/N: Don't cha wish your chapter was edited like mine? o3o
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It took him a few tries to get where he needed to go; though he did not know for the life of him the exact amount of time the process swallowed up. Ever since he had been taken, keeping track of time was impossible. And now it seemed that he would never be able to get back on track after being so messed up for so long. All Sora knew for sure that as he stumbled and staggered from world to world, he could see absolutely no Heartless. There weren't even any lurking in the shadows or in even in the background of the large array of scenery Sora passed through. Yet to him, the fact was trivial, and he refused to let his guard down a second time. Instead he treaded as lightly as he could, keeping silent and stealthy in a rather impressive way taking into consideration his injuries. If the place that met him wasn't Hollow Bastian, then he left in the blink of an eye.
He wasn't able to control which world he landed in like he would have been able to if he had the supply of a Gummi Ship. Using this way of travel meant that it was all he could do to struggle through that darkened tunnel to the other end and blindly hope that where you were heading was someplace better. It was both a stressful and frustrating ordeal to handle. Stressful when you did not know where you would land and who could be there, and frustrating in the idea that you never seemed to be able to get it right. Sora was wracking his brain to see whether or not he was missing a trick to this type of travel, but if there was one he could not land pinpoint it. He supposed he couldn't complain— at least, not really. As long as he could make some kind of progress, however minimal, in getting away from the Organization and their plot, he would gladly take it without much objection. Well— without much vocal objection.
In total, in trying to reach Hollow Bastian, Sora wound up in The Land of Dragon, The Coliseum, and even Port Royale for a heartbeat. Each were left as soon as he stepped foot on their grounds. As he walked, he was forced to keep looking back over his shoulder, feeling like he was a deer stuck in the middle of hunting season. The fact that the Organization was still after him was an obvious one; he just didn't know where they were how soon it would be until they were able to track him down. Stalked by invisible beings, Sora was at his wit's end. The sooner he could get to Hollow Bastian, the better off he would be. If nothing else Leon would know what to do; and with the help of the Hollow Bastian Restoration Committee surrounding him, Sora was allowed to once again experience a sense of hope that he hadn't had in what felt like ages.
Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, Sora brought his mind back to focus on what was in front of him. He dragged his mind back to the dark tunnel that was yawning around him, and the light that lie ahead of him. Whether or not he had grown accustomed to this surrounding blackness, or whether it just made him more nervous every time he stepped inside, he couldn't really be sure. But he did know that the light was something he always sprinted for, no matter how injured he was. And pretty soon, just like every other time, he got into contact with the other side, and found the ground disappear from underneath his feet. And then he fell.
A total of two feet. The fifteen-year-old landed with a muffled thud on his back, rendered dazed for a minute or two as he blinked rapidly, his head falling away from himself in the moment. Groaning dully in the back of his throat, the brunet pushed himself up, grimacing as his joints creaked, he tried to stop his vision from shaking back and forth as he narrowed down his eyes. For a second or two, everything was just smudges of color and odd shapes in his distorted vision. But after it passed, the sharp lines of buildings came into view, a cobblestone pathway of steps leading down into something akin to a town square. There was nobody milling around the town, and most of the shop's doors were closed. But even as the boy's vision was trembling a little bit, and even though most of it was vacant, the place could not be mistaken at all.
He was in Hollow Bastian.
The boy stood abruptly— too quick, as his head seized and began float with dizziness. He staggered a little bit, a wince pinching itself over his features. But he forced himself to recover quickly. Instead he reaffirmed his stance, drawing himself up and beginning to limp forward. As usual, his ankle bent underneath his weight, but at the sight of the long sought-after town, he could not help but count the feeling as trivial. He had made it! It felt like some kind of dream or a hallucination— but a happy one; such a happy one. A plan started to connect wildly inside of his brain. A plan to jump down to the square, race up the steps, and tear for Merlin's house. He would reach the cottage and rip open its door, all of his friends waiting for him on the other side of the threshold. Would they be happy to see him? Would they be surprised? Had they even noticed he'd been gone? Immediately the thought invoked a sense of guilt in the pit of his stomach; of course they had noticed he's been gone! Why wouldn't they? They would be so happy to see him! So excited! And then they would help him untangle himself from this awful situation!
The thoughts were rushing through his head almost quicker than he could pin them down. He was so caught up in the whirl that he when he came to a stop he was rudely jerked backwards in recoil. What waited on the other end of the clearing was enough to snap the boy back into reality, the gravity of what was going on coming back over to slam onto his shoulders. He jerked and locked his jaw backwards, his eyes narrowing slightly in a sense of cautious derision, though in the very back of his blue eyes, there inlay a sense of panic there as well.
He saw a rouge Heartless; a being created out of shadow that seemed, at least at first, solitary and singular. The enemy was crawling along the ground in its traditional fashion, its limbs twitching as it paced aimlessly back and forth. It didn't seem to have anywhere to go— so it must not have noticed Sora's being there. Inhaling sharply, the boy ducked quickly back behind the nearest building, pressing his back against the stone as he tried to duck out of sight.
His posture was rigid, the teen's joints locked together as he felt a certain degree of terror start to niggle at his insides. It was like a storm that was brewing in the pit of his stomach. He stayed frozen for a second or two, though as a few crucial seconds slipped by, the burnet realized that staying put could have the potential to be worse off than just getting to in the first place. So he took in a deep breath and risked moving, twisting around and stretching out his neck in a small grimace to look around the bricked wall, dreading the potential of what he might see. And sure enough, the supposed 'rouge' Heartless had more shadows gathering on his heels, gradually filling up the square. Blackness seemed to melt together and separate just as seamlessly as water, and they oozed over the stone in a similar fashion as well. Sora ducked his head briefly so that his chin touched his chest. And though he should have anticipated a thing like this – it couldn't have been as easy as it had seemed – disappointment and the heavy weight of agony rested itself on his chest.
And if the Heartless had managed to find him, then that meant the Organization had to know where he was; or if not that then they would be able to find him sooner rather than later. Taking in a quick, sharp inhale, Sora tried to force his mind to slow down. He wouldn't get anywhere if he let his head spin out of control. He had to try and retain himself so that he could keep his head. His head was spinning. His muscles were burning as if they were on fire. All he wanted to do was lay down and pass out from exhaustion. He looked down at his keyblade, and a part of himself dared to wonder whether or not he could scrounge up enough effort to squeeze out a magic spell. It didn't seem possible— more out the fact that he was just so worn-out.
But looking at the sheer number of Heartless that were crowding the square of Hollow Bastian, he knew that there wasn't much of a contest on what he needed to do. He couldn't manage to fight them off himself in his condition. He would get through maybe two or three before the others caught on to what was going on and turned on him in a wave. And with his limp, it would be impossible to keep silent enough to sneak by. It would take too long to keep quiet too; by the time he could get to Merlin's house, the Organization would have swarmed just like the Heartless had done.
So he took in a deep breath, flinching to himself for a second before raising his keyblade up to his chest. His forehead creased over, and he gave a small nod to himself, as if confirming some kind of mental thought. "Okay," he whispered underneath his breath, his eyes narrowed once they opened again. Stepping to the side, Sora edged his way carefully of the shelter of the building, limping so that he could see and aim at the full expanse of Heartless. His sense of anxiety increased tenfold, yet he tried his best to swallow it down around the lump in his throat. He imagined every single scrap of energy he retained gathering together, and no matter how miniscule it seemed to be, Sora hoped that, for all it was worth, it could somehow be enough.
"Fire!" he whispered, finding himself capable of only the small murmur underneath his breath. He hadn't been expecting much at all in the first place. He hadn't used his magic in what seemed like forever— the last time that he had casted a spell was when he was back fighting with Yuffie. He'd frozen a Soldier in place just to dash forward and slam it out over the ridge of the cliff. It had been like it normally was: a burst of the spell that would do enough damage to ensure that what he was aiming for would be accomplished. That was what he was looking for in this aspect. He could maybe catch a few on fire, and then with the way they were so close together, he was banking on the hope that the flames would catch and spread. But that's not what happened.
What happened was the exact opposite. Rather than having a straight-forward stream of fire, it was…an explosion. Seamlessly, fire came out of the end of his keyblade in a rush, the heat hitting square in the boy's face as he jerked backwards. His blue eyes rounded out with an extreme amount of horror; in spite of the warmth that was spreading through the air, he found himself frozen with fear. The sea of fire was absolutely silent, but it was absolutely deadly. Reds and oranges swamped the area, and as they rushed over the Heartless, the beings had absolutely no time to react. No sooner did the wave of flames mark their way through the stone area did they completely disintegrate on the spot.
One by one, they disappeared in bursts of black and smoke, swallowed by the fire. And when the flames died away into nothing, it left the town square suddenly seeming much bigger than before. Sora remained still for a few seconds even as the fire flickered itself away, blinking rapidly before he let slack on his arm, the blade of his key hitting the ground with a metallic thud. Immediately, a rush of terror engulfed him, and he whirled around, picturing flaming buildings and screaming people trapped inside. But as soon as the certain degree of guilt began to clog at the back of his throat, he saw that the worry was unfounded. No— the buildings were fine. Untouched. Nobody seemed to even notice that anything had happened in the first place.
The same thing could not be said for the town square. The brick, gray and pristine upon his arrival, was now blackened and charred from the extreme heat that had washed over it. There was the smell of acrid smoke that fouled the air, and the scent caused Sora's stomach to twist and fold over on itself. The boy staggered where he stood, his balance askew as his head spun and gave way. Though, once he realized that the threat of the Heartless seemed to be gone now, he knew that, just as before, he could not stay in one place. Now that he finally got here to Hollow Bastian, he could not waste a second and risk getting caught before he could track down his friends.
He couldn't waste time. Not even to try and see what had been the cause of his keyblade to react in such a drastic way to a spell that he intended only to touch a few of the Heartless. He would have to scrap the idea and remember to come back to it later. So instead of wasting time to deliberate, Sora shot to his feet unsteadily, letting out a humorous noise of alarm as he raced down the stairs, trying to take them two at a time. When he rushed in his limping gait across the clearing, he could feel the warmth that had burned into the ground seep up though the soles of his shoes. In the back of his mind, looking at the slightly-ruined area, Sora couldn't help but feel a small touch of guilt for ruining the décor. But, he told himself, it was for a good enough purpose.
The spell he had casted let him winded and his lungs aching for air. He tried his best to work around it, his breaths coming in small wheezes as he pushed himself harder than he really needed to. But, like he had been doing ever since he was first captured, the boy plowed on, not letting himself falter no matter how much his body was screaming at him to. He pushed on, coming out and up from the clearing in the middle of the town and starting to make for the steps that would lead him down towards Merlin's house. The idea that he was so close began to give him fuel— little scraps that propelled him across the stone and gave him more willpower to keep his legs moving. Find his friends. Get some help. Get out of this mess.
But he was stopped before he could stagger down the first step. "Sora!"
He stiffened at the sound of his name, trying to put a face to the sound of the voice. Coming up with none, but knowing for certain that it wasn't any of the Organization members, Sora turned, having to hold onto the railing nearest to him to keep himself upright. At first the boy saw nothing, but then he stopped short, his eyes landing down on the person standing a few feet away from him. It was Scrooge. The spectacled duck wore a large smile on his face where he stood outside his Ice Cream Parlor, one of his dark-colored popsicles clenched tightly in his hand. In the other, he gripped his narrow cane, which tapped with surprise on the ground as Sora turned and met his gaze. "My dear!" the white duck exclaimed. "Where have you been? The whole town is in a right state looking for you!" Pausing, the duck took in Sora's bandages and torn clothes, the bruises and cuts that were etched into his skin and the way that he seemed to sag forward, as if crumbling. "You look as though you've been throwing yourself in front of a few cars there," he commented in what came across as a fair observation.
"Well for what it matters, it certainly feels like it," Sora replied, much too preoccupied to try and stop to explain his situation. He needed to get out of here as soon as he could— while idle chitchat was something he dabbled in previously, right now it was impossible. "Listen, Scrooge, I have to head back to Merlin's house right now, I can't really stop for a long time. But if you-" Suddenly, his words were sliced short, the boy stopped suddenly as a form of realization slammed into the square of his stomach. His eyes flashed as he looked at Scrooge with a new kind of intensity, and Scrooge blinked rapidly, obviously caught off-guard by sudden change in demeanor. "You're Donald's uncle, right!?" he demanded, his voice raising into a yell.
The duck jumped slightly, his eyes widening to be at least ten times their normal size. Though he reminded himself that the brunet always had the tendency to get much too rowdy. He was always a lively sort, in a way. "That's correct," the shorter of the two answered. "I always try to get him to eat my ice cream, but he never stops long enough! Some nephew he is!" he snorted with derision, shooting a glare up at the sky as if to put all the blame on the clouds.
"Is he okay?" Sora asked, blue eyes wide and earnest. "Is Donald alright?" Or was he dead…?
Scrooge seemed surprised by the question, to say the very least. "Well of course! He's perfectly fine!" the rich duck exclaimed, watching as Sora's expression changed from extreme intensity to extreme shock and elation. "Passed by here a few hours ago to go and talk to Yuffie and Leon down by the Bailey. I haven't seen him come back this way; are you looking for him?" Sora could not speak— his throat was much too tight. All he managed was a vigorous nod. Scrooge turned, looking down the stairs to where Sora had been heading previously. "Well, he might still be there if you hurry. You can go along if you'd like." But something from the corner of his eye seemed to catch his attention, and he turned swiftly, his eyes flying wide open for the millionth time. "Great Scott!" he yelled in disbelief, Sora ducking away from the shout with a weary expression. "What happened to the town square?!"
"Gotta go!" Sora said abruptly to this, already turning to keep going the way he had been. He might have been able to ask this one burning question, but he certainly didn't have time to stop long enough to explain the burn marks riddling Hollow Bastian. He'd probably save that for another time. Rushing away instead, Sora fumbled down the stairs a little clumsily, gripping the metal railing going down to try and level out his balance as best he could. Leaning against the supporter, Sora looked up with a frown, narrowing his eyes and craning his neck so that he could look out over the landscape. He could just see Merlin's house over the rise, though it was a little difficult considering how reclusive and isolated the cottage was. But he did not let the idea deter him. Instead, he smiled and quickened his pace. He was going to be fine. This was all going to be over quicker than he had dared hope any time before.
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Back at the town square, the door of the Items shop swung open with a slight creaking noise. Yuffie marched out first, juggling a bag in each hand that was loaded with things like potions and ethers and things of that nature. Behind her, the others followed closely. Aerith was closest with her own bags, closely trailed by Leon, Donald, and Goofy. Cid was still inside; he was having trouble finding whatever he was looking for— Yuffie hadn't bothered to remember what he mentioned was on his list. She was just concerned with her own shopping checklist, and she had managed to check it off, so she wasn't really concerned. The girl had asked Merlin if he'd needed anything earlier this morning before they had left, but the old wizard had waved it off quickly. Instead he had left to run his own errands. Which left them here— a long time later and a lot of bags heavier.
The small group talked amongst themselves, quiet comments about things that didn't matter such as the weather or the frustrating fact that it took forever to get anything done at the Item's shop. The cashier always seemed much too busy to talk to you; the one across the street was much more efficient, but this specific one had much more to choose from. So was the problem with society. However, Yuffie was not in the conversation. The girl looked deflated, her eyes distant and unfocused as she walked straight forward. She did not interject a chipper comment into the conversation, like she would have at any other time, either. After hearing the news that Goofy and Donald brought, the girl was silent as silent as if she were made out of stone. Nobody tried to cheer her up, or to even bring her despondency to attention. Leon tried to do that before they had all left, and he had the red splotch on his face to show for it. It showed as a warning to the others around the man, who were trying not to make it obvious they were eyeing at the slap wound.
But the background conversation stopped as soon as the group got emerged outside. At the sudden stop in the flow of conversation, Yuffie looked up with a trace of a frown. She opened her mouth to try and say something, but whatever words she was planned to say managed to die on her tongue before they could get out. Upon turning to look up, she gasped, trying to control her surprise at the sight that met her. The entire place was….burned…? Charred…? The stones were blackened and stained, and she realized, once she came to a stop, that her feet felt warmer than normal. The heat was still a little prominent underneath her feet, it seemed like. "What…what is this?" Yuffie gasped, turning to look incredulously at Leon. Her sadness went forgotten for a moment, her sorrow and regret turning quickly into confusion. But her friend looked just as shocked as he was.
Dropping her bags with twin thuds onto the ground, Yuffie turned and went down the few steps it took to get down into the dip of the town square. And, falling into their sort of habit, Donald and Goofy followed closely behind. Despite Leon's call of warning, Yuffie dropped into a crouch, reaching down and tentatively pressing her hand against the blackened surface beneath her. Immediately, it singed her hand, and the girl jerked back, hissing in pain through clenched teeth. Goofy and Donald made a move to try and help her, but she shook her head, the pain forgotten in the moment. "It must have been something really powerful to do all this damage," she murmured, her gray eyes narrowed down in thought as they swept over the expanse of now-black rock. "It must have just happened, too; it's still hot." She paused, biting down on her lower lip. "…Or it was just so powerful in the first place that it's still hot…?" The dark-haired girl turned and raised her eyebrows at Leon questioningly. But the man just shrugged in response, looking over the town with a wary eye.
"It wasn't like this when we were coming to the Item Shop," Goofy said, perplexed as he eyed the space.
"But it took that guy forever to work," Donald grumbled. "I wouldn't be surprised if we came out just in time to see the second ice age."
"So it happened when we were inside, then. I guess we just didn't notice," Yuffie finished for them, pushing back up to her feet. She looked around, mimicking Leon, though just like her friend she seemed to come up with nothing. There was nothing different about the town except that now half of it got what looked to be a new paint job. "What you do think it was?" she asked, befuddled. Her head titled to the side, and she tried to make sense of what was going on. But it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack— completely impossible. "Or…do you…do you think it could be a…'who?'"
Leon didn't seem to grasp the concept that she was hinting at, though, because he swept on quickly. "We should try and find whatever it is," he volunteered. "It could be something dangerous. Something that could end up hurting the town. We just flushed out that other wave of Heartless; we can't let it start all over again without fighting back."
Yuffie listened to this a little bad-temperedly, her face drawn into a frown as she listened to Leon think more objectively over the situation rather than emotionally. So, breaking through whatever train of thought he was going with, Yuffie spoke up with a slightly puckered look. "It could be Sora," the ninja said, her words coming across more as a statement rather than an offer.
Silence filled the group; each person turned to look at one another, mirrored expressions of sorrow and caution reflected from one to the other. Leon ducked his head, trying not to show the doubt that came up to shroud his features. There was a long pause in which nobody spoke, Yuffie drawing herself up more and more as the silence stretched on. "…Right," he agreed after a moment. "It could be him, too." Though his tone told Yuffie that he didn't believe his own words very much.
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Like an oncoming train, Sora was unable to stop. Instead he crashed haphazardly through the door, his momentum causing him to trip and pitch forward alongside the door. But he recovered quickly, aided by the knowledge that he had reached his destination. He'd gotten to the house! "Merlin!" The yell wrenched itself out of his mouth before he even noticed he was shouting, the boy wearing a large beam as he turned to look around wildly. But when he looked up, his eyes dimmed, and the smile that was plastered over his cheeks slowly started to fade. Rather it turned into a confused frown, and his mind stuttered as he got taken aback.
The place was entirely empty. It was exactly like it always was— there were books strewn here and there across the floor, and the same furniture was there like the tattered armchair and the solitary table near the center. …Where was everybody? They were usually all here, helping to restore Hollow Bastian! So why was the house as empty as a broken eggshell? Sora managed to regain his balance after a minute, flinching as he let go of the door, limping over the threshold and struggling into the room. His legs wavered and bent, and he tried to fight the urge to sink down and sit against the ground. "Hello?" He called out instead, his blue eyes flooded now with worry. Where was everybody? Were they alright? Were they out looking for him? Or…?
Scrooge had told him that the others were fine; and he wouldn't ever lie to him. Especially since he had seen how desperate the keybearer had been in seeking out the truth. Shaking the thoughts off as best as he could manage, Sora pushed the thoughts away, trying not to picture his friends in trouble or in some kind of bad situation. Of course the others were fine, they were probably in a different part of Hollow Bastian right now. Who was he to say they couldn't be out and about? Maybe…were they looking for him? The thought sent a thrill of hope through his chest, but he immediately snuffed it out at once. He wouldn't get his hopes up.
The thought came at once. They would be up in the Bailey. It was the only other place they could possibly be, since nobody else was down in the town! Sora turned as this new information registered, and he turned quickly to force his legs back into motion. He retraced his steps back out of the house, not even bothering to shut the door as he scanned the area, checking to see that the coast was clear before he could go on. Once he deemed that it was okay to proceed, Sora limped over towards the steps to the right, holding his stomach as he tried to keep a level head. Bu the boy couldn't keep himself from glancing quickly over his shoulder repeatedly, determined not to let his guard down even for an instant.
And yet despite his overflow of concern, there was nothing to show for it. This entire place was like some kind of ghost town. It was as empty as a ghost town here. Which, surprisingly, did not comfort him at all. Instead, it continued to rub him the wrong way.
But finally, after what seemed like ages, he managed to reach the top of the Bailey, puffing and gasping for breath. Starting to feel nauseated, the teenager groaned with a strained kind of pain as he reached over to hold himself against the wall, leaning severely to the side as he looked back and forth across the area. But it was just as he thought. There was nothing in the Bailey but rocks and that small grate fence. Wind blew through the tunnel that was created through the middle, and it sounded almost like some kind of laughter that mocked at his constant mistakes.
Frustration bit at the boy's nerves, however much he tried to stifle the emotion. Muttering a curse underneath his breath, Sora pushed himself back off of the wall, forcing his rubbery legs to balance themselves out whether they wanted to or not. He couldn't help but feel an awful sense of abandonment and anger. Where was everyone? But then again why couldn't he find them? The teenager raised his hands and carded them through his hair rapidly, mussing it up even more, though the boy couldn't care at all. He came all this way, struggled through all of this crap, and he was rewarded with an absolutely empty town.
The teenager sighed, turning and walking over so that he stood on the edge of the stone platform that led into the gated area. He narrowed his eyes and tried to scan the landscape as best as he could, throwing out his vision as far as was humanely possible. But either there was nothing or his vision wasn't god enough to catch onto movement. All he knew for certain was that his legs were seriously beginning to give out now. He looked down, lowering himself down to the ground and whimpering in pain as the movement pulled at his skin. But he managed to sit down, his legs dangling over the ledge. He put his hands down to stabilize himself, and he kept his eyes shifting back and forth, from the Bailey to Merlin's house. Searching for his friends. For some means of help.
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Minutes had passed. Minutes that Sora knew he wouldn't be able to get back if something were to happen. His nerves were shot, he was at a loss, and he was really nearing the end of his rope. And that was when a series of voices echoed over to reach his ears. It was getting closer, the volume increasing from almost nonexistent mumbles to spate words and coherent speech. Perking at once as the silence was broken, Sora went rigid, his fingernails digging into the ground as a hot sense of panic instilled itself in his heart again. It seemed like the emotion was making itself perfectly at home inside of his chest. But as he scrambled agonizingly up to his feet and began to make a haphazard plan to turn and hide inside of the Bailey, the teenager was jerked to a halt. He stuttered for a second, going still as he turned just a little bit.
The voices were louder now, and he could hear two sets of footsteps along with the conversation. "…don't see why we have to split up to look for this thing," somebody was in the middle of speaking, it seemed like. "How do we even know that there's anything here? What if there's a perfectly good explanation for what was back there? But no— we have to come all the way out here and look around!" Sora was frozen in spot, his eyes beginning to slowly spark with a sense of life he hadn't kindled in what felt like lifetimes. He would know that high, complaining voice anywhere! "And besides— it's not like it's the most of our problems."
"Well, it could be," voice came to respond to the other, much gentler than the first one. Sora stiffened, the light in his eyes leaking out to form a wide, breaking smile over his features. He knew that voice too! "I mean- maybe Yuffie is right. Maybe it could be Sora. You never know." There was a hopeful tone to the voice, and Sora's chest suddenly ached like someone had stabbed a knife straight through it. They were looking for him. His eyes stung as the fact registered, and his vision blurred with water as he turned and started back the way he had come. He had to get down to them. Donald was alive! Goofy was still alive! And oh God, they were looking for him. They hadn't abandoned him in the slightest!
"I'll believe that when you fly," Donald growled, perturbed by the hope.
"I already flew, Donald," Goofy pointed out, his words tinged with something akin to smugness.
"…Shut up," the other huffed.
Sora rushed down the steps, taking them two at a time despite the way his ankle bent and screeched in pain. It was the last thing on his exhilarated mind— all of his injuries might as well not have even existed in the slightest. Now that it was finally happening, Sora could not believe it. He had escaped from the Organization, and he had made it back to Hollow Bastian. Now that he had found Donald and Goofy, everything would be fine. They could help him find the others. He would fight alongside his friends. He would get back to everything that he was. He could live again. Fumbling, he half-fell half-ran down the stairs, not really being all that graceful but managing it in the long run. He hit the ground and immediately leaned over to press his side against the wall, limping severely as he gave a small noise of pain in the back of his throat.
He couldn't let them get away. He had to reach them before they turned back or did something else. Fingers digging into the grit in the effort to remain standing and walking, Sora raised his voice, grimacing as it grated awfully against his throat. He was surprised he could even get a worse out in the first place— he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten or even drunken anything; and with all the yelling he had been doing up until now, his voice was barely a rasp at all. "Goofy!" he shouted desperately, coming up and around the corner to see that Goofy and Donald were facing Merlin's house, having stopped to look at the door that Sora had left ajar. He had almost forgotten that he hadn't remembered to shut it, but now he could see why the fact could come across as off-putting. "Donald!" he yelled, his voice no better off as he continued in its misuse. "Guys! Guys, it's me! I'm here I'm back!"
For a moment, Sora thought that they just hadn't heard him; they didn't even budge at the sound of his voice— they just kept still watching the door, as if waiting for something to come shooting out of the house. But slowly, like robots, the two turned to face him. They looked surprised beyond belief, as if they were entirely shocked upon the sight of the brunet. Which…maybe wasn't entirely uncalled for. Leaning against the wall severely, Sora beamed at the two, though his grin became worn and pinched the longer it took for them to react. "…I'm back!" he repeated. "I escaped!" Still, the two did not move. Gradually, the teenager's smile faded and wilted into an uncertain frown. Sora's shoulders sagged, the happiness in his eyes slowly melting away into a shade of disappointment. "…I thought…I thought you would be happier to see me," Sora mumbled softly. "I thought you…missed me?" It came out more as a question that anything else.
Silence weighed for a moment, the three staring at each other as pressure seemed to press down on their shoulders. Sora was starting to dread that he had done something wrong, or had missed something entirely. He opened his mouth to try and say something, but suddenly words seemed lost on him. Did he have to justify himself? He didn't even think he could. Suddenly voicing all that happened to him – everything to cause the wounds and aches all over his body – seemed impossible.
Goofy snapped into reality first. "Sora!" he cried out shrilly. His voice was unbridled— it was choked with surging happiness and relief that seemed to ooze out altogether in just those two syllables. Sora grinned widely at the change, a sense of relief flooding over him as he sagged with relief. No sooner had the expression come over his face did the two of his friends suddenly rush forward, breaking away from Merlin's house and racing for the teenager faster than he could anticipate. They crashed into him head-on, and before he could try to catch himself, the teenager tipped over and fell down to the ground, the other two falling down with him.
A sense of tight pain wrapped around Sora upon impact with the hard ground. However he wasn't about to stop and focus on the agony— he was far too caught up in the happiness of the moment. There was difficulty in the movement, but Sora leaned up and stretched so that he could wrap both of his arms around his two friends, ducking down and pulling as close as he possibly could to the two. Frantic noises bubbled up in the back of his throat, and the boy suddenly became uncertain with the idea of whether or not he was laughing or crying. Maybe it was some kind of a mixture of the two.
After a long time, the pair of friends pulled away from Sora, eyes as wide as the moon. Sora thought about getting up to his feet to stand, but now that he was sitting back down, the thought of getting up was as impossible as morphing into a fruit. So he remained slack where he was, and thankfully the other two seemed to grasp the concept because they stayed sitting as well.
Donald began yelling something, his words so quick and rushed that it all seemed to melt into one long ramble. Sora's eyes flew wide, and another small noise that drew a line between a sob and a laugh escaped his throat. Seemingly thanks to years of practice, Goofy wasted no time before launching forward to interpret what the sorcerer was most likely getting at. "Sora! I can't believe you're okay! Gosh, we've been so worried about you! Everyone's been so worried about you! Leon, Yuffie, Merlin, Aerith…! We've been looking for days! They'll be so glad to know that you're back! And that you're okay!"
Pausing, Goofy looked the keybearer up and down. There was a sense of worry in the back of his eyes, Sora could tell, and the idea that he was so concerned caused the boy's heart to twist all over again. "You are okay…aren't ya?" he asked, his forehead creasing with the inquiry as he took in the boy's wounds he did not have before. Sora nodded rapidly, finding that his throat was far too swollen for him to even think about getting anything out of it. He reached up with one arm, ducking down and rubbing at his face in a rough manner, finding with a rush of embarrassment that there were tears building up more in his eyes.
Letting his hand slap back down to the ground, Sora looked long and hard at Goofy and Donald through his tear-filled gaze. A long moment of silence passed, and Sora bit down hard on his lower lip, shaking his head as that same odd noise leaked from his clenched throat. And when his spoke, his voice crumbled and shook, making him sound desperately sad though he was the exact opposite. "You have… absolutely no idea how happy I am to see you guys," he choked out. In response, the two smiled back at him. Up until a few short minutes ago, Sora had thought they were dead. Now, away from the Organization, Sora thought that things had to be too good to be true. He sniffed quickly, the situation managing to come back to him as he asked softly: "Where are the others? They…they weren't in Merlin's house. I checked there when I first got here."
"They all went up to the Items store a while ago. We went with them," Goofy explained, still looking over his friend's wounds with a sorrowful kind of gaze. "Was that mess in the town square from you?" The question was asked with a hint of disbelief, and Sora felt a moment of his own as he was caught off-guard form the sudden change in topic. He blinked a few times, having to track down what the other was meaning. He must have seen the mess he'd left behind in his wake. Sora turned, looking down at his keyblade which was laying on the ground by his side. He started to open his mouth, trying to see whether or not there was a way to explain. After all, he hadn't known that he'd had the capability to do what he'd done in the first place. The fire was just as much a surprise to him as it probably had been to Goofy. But before he could start, he suddenly stopped, blinking as a movement seemed to catch itself in the corner of his eye.
Straightening up, Sora turned and tried to grab hold of the wall to try and hoist himself up. His legs shook and trembled as he put the extra weight back onto them, and he gasped a second as pain rushed its way back over to fill him up and prick at his skin. Donald stooped over and helped him up, grabbing hold on his hands and offering assistance for the boy to get the rest of the way. And when he did, Sora held fast to the wall to ensure it would stay that way, though his eyes still combed its way over the area, concern and worry starting to leak back into his features. "…Did you guys see that?" he asked, his voice hesitant now. Goofy and Donald straightened, looking from where Sora was gazing and back at him, concern, worry, and fear all obvious in their eyes. They were trying to see what he was, but it was obvious that they weren't able to do such a thing.
Sora was unnerved, and he struggled to hide the emotion as best he could. But there was a small wavering hint to his voice as he turned to look back at the others. "Can you take me back to where the others are?" Sora asked, suddenly anxious and wrought with worry. How long had he taken being here? Could the Organization have caught up to them? The thought almost made him vomit right on the spot. "I need to talk to you guys— I need to talk to all of you, and the sooner we do that, the better off we'll probably be. So…do you know where they are?"
"We could find 'em!" Donald assured him quickly. "We all split up to see what made that mess back by the shops, but I'm sure they can't have gotten too far!"
Sora nodded, trying to allow himself a touch of relief at the assurance. It couldn't take them that long to track them down, could it? He looked down at himself, feeling another ache in the fact that he would probably be the only thing to slow them down. As if sensing the thought that crossed Sora's mind, Goofy took a step closer, offering his help with a concerned look of sympathy as he extended his arms. A warm feeling spread through the teenager, and he grinned softly as he leaned over to accept the gesture, grabbing Goofy's forearms and holding tight in the effort to hang on and stand up.
But no sooner had he gotten a firm grip on the other did his pupils suddenly blow out enormous as horror stabbed through his very being. Goofy and Donald saw the change in expression before they saw anything else— their back was to the direction in which Sora was looking. They seemed to grasp the change in the teen, Goofy's hold on the boy getting a little tighter. Sora's body broke out into a tremble, and yet another yell was wrenched from his throat as if it had a mind of its own. "Get down!" the boy screamed, his voice now heavy and frantic. His two sidekicks started at once at the sudden screech, whirling around to try and see what had changed Sora from relieved and ecstatic to absolute terror. But it was far too late.
Sora went completely numb as he watched Xaldin step out of the shadows, the Organization Member's lances already airborne as they shot straight through the air as if target-locked. The arrows…the arrows they were going to…they were going to— Sora was seized with panic far beyond anything he wished to experience. Stupidly, hanging tight still to Goofy, Sora created a brain-dead plan of shoving the two out of the way. Or of leaping forward and taking the blow before either of the other two could.
But it was just far too late.
They struck home.
The spears buried themselves right into the hearts of the two. There was a dull thud that marked the impact. It sounded awkward, like it should be different…but…it couldn't be. The two jerked in unison as they were struck at the same time, and Sora's hands clenched down tightly on Goofy's arms, shaking like a leaf as he looked desperately at his friend, his blue eyes suddenly hollow and stricken. "…G-Goofy?" he asked softly, as if he was expecting the other to just shake off the arrow embedded deep into his back. As if he was numb to the blood that was seeping out over their chests and that marked the fact that already nothing could be done. His grip just increased. His voice just got higher— thinner and smaller. "…Donald?" he all but squeaked. Though he was still unable to tear his gaze away from where it clashed with Goofy's. He could just stare at Goofy. Feel his friend start to fall as he was pulled down alongside him, unable to stand by himself, especially now.
The silence from before came back; but this was a different kind of silence. It was dead. It was lifeless and empty. Goofy and Donald crumpled down to the ground, and Sora did as well, left to crouch on all fours as his friends lie awkward and broken on the stone. He reached over desperately, grabbing their shoulders and turning them so that they could be on their backs. The lances that had buried deep inside their chests disappeared as the returned to their sender— the damage had already been done. And now that the pressure was removed, blood was coming out in gushes from the wound behind, and, struggling to do anything at all to help, Sora jerked forward and pressed his hands down into the wounds as he scrambled closer, trying to staunch the bleeding as best he could. His hands were immediately coated in red, the almost-black liquid coating hot over his skin and causing the boy to gag and sob at the same time. With only one hand for each wound, he was unable to do much, but the teenager was blinded. He pressed and pushed and pleaded and trembled, shaking his head as if that could possibly change something.
"Goofy…" he rasped, voice hoarse. "…Donald?" his voice rose up to a small squeak. "No, no, no, no, no." He whimpered, still shaking his head. "No, please don't do this to me, please don't. C'mon, I got all the way here, I just wanted your help, I didn't mean for this to happen, I really didn't, I—" The boy was rambling, his clothes and arms slowly being coated with blood as he pressed down as hard as he could, trying to do better by them by switching from one to the other and using both hands to try and put pressure on the wounds. But it was just as fruitless. Frustration welled up inside him, and tears were coming down his cheeks quicker than he could even register them. "No, please," he whispered, not even noticing as the Organization Members began to move out of the shadows, coming forward to gather close behind him. He just had to save his friends. He couldn't let the die. And yet here he was…covered in…in his friends' blood. "Don't," he rasped pathetically. "I can fix this, please, just…I….just stop…"
His shoulders began to heave, and the pure stench of blood was starting to make the boy sick to his stomach. The gore…there was just too much of it. Their eyes were closed— they had been closed as soon as the arrows had found their home. He could have made believe that the two were just sleeping, had it not been for the sheer amount of blood that was on not only him but them as well. Gradually the boy turned, looking up and seeing that all of the men were hanging close, all eyes trained on the teenager who, beaten and bruised, was now covered in blood from the midsection down. He gasped, finding that breath was hard to come by. Impossible to.
He reached up, trying to wipe away the tears from his cheeks before they could see them, but all he managed to do was streak hot gore across his face. Anger and rage built like bricks in his stomach, and after he took in a few wheezing gasps of air, his voice broke into a sudden scream, one that ripped his throat and made it sting and burn. But he was already much too numb to it all. He couldn't feel a thing. "Why!?" he screamed, so loud that he was sure that every single world would be able to hear his voice and know how much pain he was in. He was pathetic, he knew, but sobs riddled his voice and curled back his words as he screeched, looking down and holding close to his two limp friends. Lifeless friends. "What did I ever do to you!?" he screamed.
"We warned you," Xemnas' voice was ice-cold, and as he looked down at the boy, his eyes were narrowed down in disgust and deep derision, as if Sora was nothing more than a heap of trash or something vile. "We warned you out of the goodness of our morals; and you were stupid enough to forget that little detail that had already been spoon-fed to you." The man leaned down closer, but he didn't need to. The keybearer was all ears. "We told you that if you made a false move, we would kill your friends. And now here you are. And there is nobody to blame but yourself." Sora's head was hung down low, the boy staring with wide eyes at the bodies of his two friends. The two friends that he had counted as some of his closest. His fault.
This was…all his fault.
As the thought rang out in the boy's mind, something inside him broke into a million little pieces. Pieces that Sora could not possibly gather up and fit back together even if he was given the time to. And suddenly, the fifteen-year-old forgot that he was surrounded on all sides by his enemies. Jerking forward in a haphazard fashion, Sora leaned down to wrap his arms around the bodies of his two best friends, sobbing openly now as hot tears streamed down his face. "No!" he cried out, senseless in not only frustration, but awful grief as well. "Don't leave me! Please! I need you! This is not happening; this can't be happening!" Pushing himself back up, covered in blood by now, Sora stared at his friends hopelessly, his eyes and his nose streaming. As an idea occurred, he leaned back, one hand going down to stuff deep into one of his pockets. "Here- I have a potion!" he cried, his fingers grasping for the touch of the bottle that was stored there. But before he could even try to find out where it could be, he hung his head, inhaling sharply. "…I only have one!" he cried, shoulders shaking up and down as he tried to suppress his crying as best he could.
Looking back up at the others, he remembered all too late their eyes were trained on him. Axel stood the farthest away, green eyes heavy with something close to sadness as he looked on, trying to make it seem like he hadn't been staring at the scene. Xemnas watched with a freezing stare, knowing all too well that the boy deserved – and would get – far more punishment than this. But all the rest were chuckling to themselves, trying to bite back their laughter as they apparently found humor in what was going on in front of them. The facts made Sora's sadness melt into searing anger instead, and the boy gritted his teeth down hard as he began to shake and tremble with rage.
His vision tuned a darker color as he saw red, the fifteen-year-old pushing himself off the ground with surprising speed in his state, the anger making him capable to throw himself in the direction he was looking at. And with deadly accuracy, and drawing his keyblade forward, he launched himself straight for Xaldin— the man that had thrown the spears in the first place. Eyes wild with anger, hate, and everything else that could possibly be in-between, Sora crashed into the man and took him down to the ground, his opponent surprised of course by his sudden attack. Raising his weapon high above his head, Sora let out a half-crazed scream as he brought it down as hard as he could on the Organization Member, continuing the attack as he slammed his weapon down over and over, not even paying attention to the blows as he just waited for the thud of metal of skin.
The others around him were stunned at first— far too surprised to even move. Axel snapped back to reality first. The redhead sprinted forward, reaching down and grabbing at Sora from underneath the arms. And quickly, he wrenched the smaller one off of Xaldin, finding it easier than expected since the prisoner weighed practically nothing by now. Xaldin was bleeding in a few spots, and here and there were already a couple well-put bruises from the small spurt of energy from the grieved boy. It was obviously painful from the look that was written over Xaldin's face as he sat up. And holding Sora as tightly as he could, Axel felt, to a certain degree, that Sora should not have just done that. Xaldin looked fit to kill, and his track record or letting things go without a hitch wasn't all that sunny.
Twisting and writhing, Sora kicked back against Axel, landing a blow on the man's shin. He yelled and shouted, fighting to get away but quickly losing steam. Anger and grief can only give you so much energy to begin with. After landing the blow, Axel hissed in irritation, and Sora felt the grip on him slacken ever so slightly. Taking the chance, he ducked down, wrenching himself out of the man's grip and whirling on him next. After all, this was all his fault too. It was everyone's fault— there wasn't just one person that had to pay. But as he began to raise his weapon to give Axel the same treatment he did Xaldin, he was stopped short. At the hint of attack, his keyblade pulled a stunt it never had before— the hilt of the weapon got burning hot in a split second.
Fire wrapped around his hands, and as soon as the sensation was pressed flush against his palms, Sora screamed, immediately dropping his weapon with a clatter on the ground. His hands burned and singed, and underneath his gloves, Sora could already see the skin beginning to blister and grow a deep color of red. He trembled from the pain, yet he still made a move to lean down and scoop the key back up into his hands, too preoccupied – yet again – to try and make sense of what had happened. He'd never experienced it before.
But Axel growled; he was running out of patience. And as Sora made the move to pick his key back and up and redo the entire thing all over again, he drew the line. Reaching out, the redhead grabbed Sora, twisting him around forcibly and forcing his hands behind his back as if he was going to cuff them there. But instead he just held tight to the boy, his own hands a vice on Sora's as he glared down at him. Stubborn, the teenager tried to struggle away, when Xemnas said coldly: "Don't fight, or we will do it again."
At the threat, Sora turned, the hazed energy slowly receding as his movements became more stiff and robotic. His gaze slid over to Donald and Goofy, and their lifeless forms and the gaping wounds left behind by Xaldin's lances. He looked down at his clothes, which were stained dark with the blood of his friends, and he figured that there was some on his face as well, though he could not see. A fresh stinging began to burn his eyes, and he swallowed thickly as his heart twisted. He had thought he was in pain before; but that was nothing compared to the pain he felt now.
Ducking his head, Sora closed his eyes, feeling his shoulders sag in defeat. Feeling this change, Axel waved a black portal up in front of them, deciding that they shouldn't waste any more time here. The longer they waited, the better chance it would be that he would get caught. The Organization filed through one by one, making a neat and orderly line. Yet as he was pushed and herded, Sora struggled to keep his empty eyes on Goofy and Donald, tears spilling over once more. He had glimpsed his way to safety, and he had been stupid enough not to take it and run.
I'm an idiot. This is all my fault. I let them die. What kind of person am I?
The words repeated themselves over and over in his head, until the darkness swallowed him up.
(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)
"It came from over here, right?" Yuffie asked, glancing over her shoulder to look questioningly back at Leon. The man gave a small nod in reply, his cautious gaze flickering back and forth over the landscape as they walked in a quiet fashion. They were nearing Merlin's house by now, trying to take care in scouting out the territory. They had searched the town and the area around it, but they had found nothing. The pair had waited for Goofy and Donald to return with their own report, but the two never returned. After deliberating – for there could have been many logical explanations for their delay – the ninja had decided it might be best to go out and look for them. Or at least, there wouldn't be harm in it. And, naturally, Leon had followed.
And that brought things to now, the ninja and the swordsman walking carefully amongst the town, feet barley making a sound as they went along. "Wait a second." Yuffie said, blinking as she turned the next corner. Looking over at Merlin's house which lay directly ahead, her forehead creased, and confusion swept over her as her eyes narrowed. "Leon— did you forget to close the door on your way out?" she asked. It wasn't like Squall to do such a thing— Merlin had a thing about his house being 'just right' even though the inside was a little trashed at times. And as expected, Leon gave a murmur of denial. And yet the door was wide open. Were Goofy and Donald inside?
"Maybe they're in—" Yuffie had taken a few steps forward, aiming to hop up the steps and poke her head inside the little cottage. However she froze, not only mid-step but also midsentence as well. Shapes in the corner of her vision drew her eyes over, and the teenager turned, her face paling significantly as she felt all the blood drain away from her face. She stuttered for a second, completely caught off-guard and winded as she fumbled. And for a moment, that was all she could do: remain absolutely still and stare blankly at the sight that was no more than five yards away.
Leon, surprised by the girl's sudden change in character, turned to follow her gaze with a concerned look. And what he saw made him react in a way nearly identical to Yuffie's. "Oh, man," he said aloud, his voice a small rasp as his eyes were hollowed out with shock. Just around the next corner, nearer to the Bailey, were Donald and Goofy. The two aides of Sora were limp on the ground, absolutely unmoving and covered in blood nearly everywhere from the waist down. Attuned to one another, and as if on silent signal, Yuffie and Leon sprinted forward at the same time, their eyes wide and round as they skidded to a stop beside the two.
"Please tell me they're not…" The last word went unspoken as Yuffie's hands wrung nervously in front of her. Her gray eyes were round with both sadness and despair, the fact that something big happened while she wasn't there to help making her heart tug. It seemed like that was happening a lot lately. There was confusion there as well, of course, but such an emotion could be focus on later. Now, in the heat of the moment, all she could feel was grief and guilt. Why couldn't she have stayed with them? Why had she even deiced to split up? Didn't she learn her lesson from Sora? Yet as Yuffie spent her time agonizing internally, Leon was already acting. Twisting around, the man rifled through the grocery bag that had been tied onto his belt for safekeeping until they got back to Merlin's house. "Hold this," he grunted, shoving the bags over to her as he withdrew two large bottles of shimmering potion.
"Leon that might not work," Yuffie murmured, her voice low and quiet. "There's a certain time window…y-you have to measure out how much they've been injured…" There were a lot more to potions than most people thought; Yuffie's mother had taken very good care in teaching the young girl all there was to know about such things. Leon might only know the basics of them, he might not really get every single crucial aspect. But the man was too deep in thought to acknowledge that the girl had even said anything. Popping the top off of both the potion bottles, Leon dumped the sparkling contents onto the wounds without hesitation. Normally Yuffie would berate him for ignoring her, but now she was far from doing anything of the sort.
Leaning back, Leon watched with narrowed, tense eyes as the potion's liquids began to slowly sink through his friends' clothes, into their skin. And while they waited to see whether or not things would give way, a suffocating kind of silent settled itself over everything. Yuffie watched the pair intently, leaned in close as she shifted her weight back and forth every so often. Her gray eyes were wide with hope, a feeling she had tried to push down the last few weeks.
"…C'mon…" Leon whispered encouragingly under his breath. "You can make it."
As if in response, Goofy's flickered open for a moment, Donald's hand twitching ever so slightly. And like a dam had been broken, Yuffie was flooded over with relief. The potions had worked. They had gotten there in the nick of time. Getting up to his feet with a small sigh of satisfaction, Leon turned back to nod at Yuffie. "They'll be fine. Now they just need some rest. Maybe another potion later on if that one doesn't turn out to be exactly enough," he explained. "But we gotta get them back to Merlin's at least. And then once he gets back, we need to tell him everything that's happened." He paused a second, thinking, before: "You get Donald; I'll get Goofy."
Yuffie hesitated a moment before nodding once, stepping forward and wrapping her arms gently around Donald, hoisting him up with less effort she had expected. Though she still kept very good care not to budge the wound or anything around it, being careful as she held him as best she could. Leon did the same easily for Goofy, and together the two began to make their way back to Merlin's house.
After a few seconds of silence, Yuffie spoke up under the weight of the duck. "…What do you think did this?" she whispered, the confusion she had been trying to stave off slowly coming back to her now as she looked over towards her friend.
Leon didn't answer at first; for a minute, Yuffie was under the impression that he hadn't heard her at all. But then he ducked his head, shaking it just once. "Who knows?" he murmured.