Oy, well this took longer than I wanted it to. Either way I REALLY like how this one turned out, mostly since its a BUNCH of angst, which is, admittedly, my specialty! Though it also does a good job of foreshadowing, setting up some plotty stuff, so on so forth. So yeah, hopefully, you'll like it too! Lets get started!
Chapter 10: Sinister Whispers
Let me face, let me face, let me face my fears
As what had often become the case as of late, the Gummi Ship floated adrift in what felt, at least to its passengers, like a sea of indecision. The trio had taken their leave from Twilight Town quite some time ago, leaving what little current efforts they had to show for Roxas' hopeful, eventual return in Hayner, Pence, and Olette's equally devout hands. Still, despite the first few, small, yet promising leads they had uncovered, there was still a fair share of disappointment among the group as they set off for their next destination. Sora in particular was steeped in that disappointment as he sat at the ship's helm, thinking of little else but Roxas and the earnest promise he had made to him. A promise that, by all accounts, he didn't know when or how he'd actually end up fulfilling.
By and large it seemed as though both Donald and Goofy had picked up on their young companion's worried listlessness as they simply let him ruminate in dissatisfied silence for quite some time. However, both of them were still mindful of their larger mission, a mission that they both mutually decided to remind Sora of as gently as they could.
"Uh… Sora?" Goofy ventured, leaning forward in his seat a bit. "Don'tcha think we should get goin'?"
"You know, to find the thirteen Keys?" Donald added, a hint of further insistence in his tone. "We really should get on that. You don't want the Organization to get their hands on them first, do you?"
"No, of course I don't," Sora frowned back at the pair. "It's just… I don't know, it feels like we didn't really do much of anything to help Roxas like we wanted to…"
"Aw, but we did!" Goofy reassured. "We got Hayner, Pence, and Olette to help us out, not to mention Ienzo lookin' into the other Twilight Town for us."
"Yeah, I know," Sora nodded halfheartedly. "And it's not like I'm not grateful for their help, but… I was just hoping we'd be able to figure something out sooner. Roxas shouldn't have to wait any longer than he already has. He shouldn't have to wait on me."
Donald and Goofy shared a concern look at this, both of them knowing just how important this matter was to Sora. It was no secret that the Keybearer often felt the need to take the weight of the worlds onto his shoulders, especially when it came to helping those in need. And given just how personal the connection between Sora and his Nobody was, it only made sense that he would take his self-imposed mission to bring Roxas back as seriously as he was.
For as much of a loss for comforting words as the captain and the magician were, fortunately the encouragement Sora clearly needed at the moment came from another source instead. "You know, Sora," Jiminy began, hopping up onto the Keybearer's shoulder. "Just because we didn't find that much out in Twilight Town doesn't mean we might not find any other clues somewhere else!"
"That's right," Goofy said as Donald nodded his agreement. "We still got a whole bunch of worlds we to explore while we look for the Keys."
"And maybe we'll find something that could help us help Roxas along the way too!" Donald added just as fervently.
"Yeah, maybe…" Sora sighed, knowing that this wasn't as clear-cut of a solution as he would have liked. Still, he knew just as well as the others that their mission to find the thirteen Keys was a high priority, so much so that the fate of all the worlds practically depended on it. Which meant that as much as he hated to put it off any further than he already had, saving Roxas would just have to wait. "Well, I guess we're not really getting any closer to those Keys by just sitting here, huh?" At this, he stood, summoning his Keyblade and aiming it forward, towards the vast expanse of open space ahead of them. "Look out worlds, here we come!"
Despite this bold proclamation, nothing really seemed to happen. The usual burst of light that converged around the Kingdom Key's tip was nowhere to be found; no shimmering gateways leading to any sort of uncharted world materialized among the many surrounding stars. All the same, Sora maintained his focus on his weapon for just a moment longer, hoping this was some sort of odd fluke, only for the lack of any response to remain a disappointing constant. "Aw, come on, seriously?" he huffed in annoyance, drawing his Keyblade back in so he could properly inspect it. "What's going on with this thing late…ly…?" Sora trailed off, raising a confused eyebrow as he stole a second glance down at his Keyblade. Etched into its otherwise pristine silver surface was what appeared to be a small, yet, dark crack, a marring mark of uneven damage he was sure he'd never seen before. As far as he knew, there were few things in any world that were strong and powerful enough to damage a Keyblade in such a way, much less anything he'd encountered in battle recently. So what, then, could have created a mark as clear and cutting as this?
"Er… what if you're having a hard time opening up a gate since none of us really know where to look first?" Goofy guessed evenly, neither him nor Donald able to see the rather damming crack in Sora's Keyblade.
"Figures you wouldn't know where we're supposed to be going, as usual…" the magician remarked, sending the Keybearer a critical glance as he crossed his arms.
"How am I supposed to in the first place?" Sora retorted, quickly letting his Keyblade disappear in a meager attempt to distract himself from the troubling damage it had apparently sustained. "It wasn't like Master Yen Sid gave us a map and said 'go here, here, and here, and you'll find all of the Keys'! Honestly, I wish he had done that," he sighed, flopping back down into his seat. "It would have made our job way easier here."
"Well, if what I jotted down in the journal is right," Jiminy noted, scrolling through his records on their new home: the Gummiphone. "Master Yen Sid said that each of the Keys is connected to "the feelings of the heart". It is a clue, but then again, I suppose it's not a very clear one, is it?"
"You can say that again…" Sora shook his head, thoroughly disgruntled. "These Keys could be anywhere and we don't know where to even start looking for them! Heck, for all we know, the Organization could already have half of them by now, maybe more!" He paused for a moment, staring out at the seemingly endless array of stars before them, each of them a world that could have very well contained just one of the mere thirteen Keys that they wanted, needed to find before it was too late. "Everyone's counting on us to get those Keys. So what are we going to do if we can't even find one of them to begin with?"
As much as neither Donald, Goofy, nor Jiminy alike wanted to admit it, what Sora had just purposed was indeed a very real possibility, and a very alarming one at that. There was every chance that, with their greater numbers as exponential dark powers, the still relatively unknown members of Organization XIII could very well already be beating them to the punch when it came to finding the Keys they were all equally vying to find. And all the while, the four of them could just as well be leagues behind, with no leads, no hints, no hope of protecting the worlds and the very Keys to Kingdom Hearts itself as they had been tasked to do.
It was a grim reality, to be sure. A reality that the three of them refused to accept, especially this early on into their fledgling quest. "Aw, phooey!" Donald suddenly snapped in firm resilience. "Don't tell us you're giving up this soon, Sora!"
"W-what? I'm not giving up!" Sora protested, flustered by the very thought. "I'm just saying this whole thing is already turning out to be a lot harder than we thought it would be and-"
"And so what?" Goofy interupted just as insistently. "We've done a lot of hard things before: deafeatin' the Heartless, savin' the worlds, the list goes on! How's finding a bunch of silly ol' Keys any worse than that?"
"I'm not saying it is!" Sora argued back, openly frustrated by this point. "But how are we supposed to find those Keys in the first place if I can't even do something as easy as summon a gate to another world?!"
"Well…" Jiminy interjected somewhat hesitantly. "What if the reason why you seem to be having so much trouble has to do with you losin' your strength?"
"But if that's true, then how was I able to get us to Herc's world before?" Sora countered with a fretful frown. He was half tempted to summon his Keyblade once more, speculating that perhaps the unexplainable damage done to it factored into this problem more than anything else. However, before he could even reach his hand out to do so, Goofy spoke up to propose an alternate theory instead.
"It could always be somethin' really simple," the captain suggested. "Like, just for example, ya could just be worn out from everything that's happened since we set out."
"…What?" Sora asked flatly, confused.
"Oh yeah!" Donald sent the Keybearer a disapproving look. "Sora, when was the last time you actually rested up? You know, like you're supposed to?"
"Uh… w-well… there was the end of my exam when I was-"
"After that!" the magician fussed hotly.
"Um… I think it was… hm…." Sora trailed off, unable to really recall the last time he had taken a genuine break since they'd set out for Olympus. And given all of the harrowing happenings they'd been through both there and in Twilight Town, he couldn't deny that he did feel tired at least on some level, though nowhere near to the point that mere exhaustion alone could be hindering him this much. Or at least, that's what he thought.
"That's it!" Donald concluded sharply. "This ship isn't going anywhere until you've gotten all the rest you need to get it moving again!"
"What?!" Sora exclaimed, baffled as he met the magician's stern glare. "Oh come on, Donald! You can't just tell me to go to bed like I'm some little kid!"
"Maybe I wouldn't have to if you'd stop acting like one!" Donald shot back. "You need to start taking better care of yourself!"
"Hey, I take care of myself just fine!" Sora argued just as crossly. "Don't I, Goofy?"
"Uh… well, garwsh, Sora, you know I'd usually say yes, but…" Goofy frowned worriedly. "After everything that happened back in Twilight Town what with you seein' Roxas' memories 'n all, it might not be such a bad idea for you to get a lil' shut-eye before we really start lookin' for the Keys."
"Aw, really? You too?" Sora huffed, disappointed. "Well, you can both forget it. We need to find those Keys and we can't afford to waste time just because you guys think I need to rest. Besides, I'm not even ti-" The Keybearer suddenly cut himself off with a long, blatant yawn, one that he couldn't have tried to hide or suppress even if he wanted to. A long beat of silence followed, with Donald and Goofy sending him equal knowing, expectant looks that were finally, inevitably enough to get Sora to cave. "Ugh, fine…" he grumbled, standing up. "I guess I'll go take a nap or something…"
"Aw, now, Sora, don't be like that," Goofy chastised patiently as the Keybearer began trudging towards the lower deck door.
"You'll thank us later when you're well-rested and actually ready to explore the words," Donald concluded, crossing his arms with a satisfied smirk.
"Sure, I will…" Sora deadpanned, both embarrassed and defeated as he left the cockpit. The Gummi Ship was already small and compact to begin with, yet surprisingly enough its lower sleeping quarters were rather spacious, complete with three comfy hammocks that the trio readily took to after most of their more tiring escapades. The Keybearer flopped down into his usual spot with an annoyed huff, not really bothering to settle in or get comfortable since he had no real intentions of sleeping to begin with.
"I don't know what they're so worried about…" he muttered to himself discontentedly as he positioned his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. "Just because I lost my strength doesn't mean they have to act like I can't do anything anymore." Sora paused, his bitterness all too quickly fading into apprehension as he reached a hand up to summon his Keyblade. "Then again…" he trailed off, fixing his gaze on the solitary scar marring the Kingdom Key in such a foul, mysterious way. Slowly, carefully, he trailed a light finger along the deep, jagged crack, still wondering where it had come from in the first place, and if it could possibly get any worse from here.
Of course, those were wonderings Sora had no answer to himself, but he did know of someone who might. After all, as far as he'd heard, Riku's old Keyblade had been all but destroyed in his and Mickey's most recent visit to the Realm of Darkness. So certainly, if anyone would know about Keyblade damage, it'd be him.
So Sora quickly sat up, pulling the Gummiphone out of his pocket. While he was still getting used to how the device worked, fortunately Jiminy had already taken the liberty of showing him how to use it to make calls just about anywhere among the worlds. It was a feature he hadn't really had much of a chance to use yet, but the Keybearer figured that there'd be no better candidate to try it out on than Riku.
A few awkward, somewhat uncertain taps later and Sora instantly perked up the moment he heard ringing on the other end of the line. The thought of simply talking to Riku, even from a distance like this, was more than enough to excite him, even despite the somewhat worrisome topic he wanted to ask him about. However, instead of receiving any such answer, or even a conversation in general, Sora was ultimately met with a simple, disappointing message from the Gummiphone instead: "Call failed."
"Aw, come on…" Sora sighed, lying back down in clear disappointment, until the chimed in with another brief instruction.
"Leave a message?"
"Wait, you can leave messages on this thing too!?" Sora darted upright, amazed as he looked to the phone once more. It seemed to be recording him, likely for the sake of being delivered to Riku himself sometime later on, the Keybearer quickly, excitedly realized. "Oh! Hi, Riku! I… guess you missed me? Probably 'cause you and the king are super busy trying to help Master Aqua, which—I know, I know, is really important and I shouldn't be distracting you from it, but…" Sora hesitated, glancing down at his Keyblade and the disconcerting scratch torn across it briefly. Once again, that same sort of bizarre dread he had felt when him and Riku had parted ways panged upon his heart. Dread that, someway or another, directed him away from the very reason he had tried to make this call in the first place. "B-but… I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing, s-so… so yeah. Call me back whenever you can, ok? I… I'll talk to you later." He stopped short one final time, wanting to say so much more but simply not finding the words as he brought his message to its succinct, unsatisfying close. "B-bye!"
The very moment he finally hung the unsuccessful call up, Sora let out a loud, frustrated groan, shielding his eyes with his arm as he let the Gummiphone fall by the wayside and his Keyblade disappear. He knew, he knew he had promised Riku that he'd be the first to know if anything was wrong or awry, a promise that Sora wanted to honor, one that he knew he'd do well to keep. Clearly, something was wrong here, his Keyblade alone was proof enough of that, and while he had no real idea how to address that anomaly with either Donald or Goofy, a strong part of him believed that Riku, more than anyone else really, would understand, would be able to do something to help. And yet, for whatever reason, it was is if the very thought of admitting to his longtime best friend that he was dealing with something that was beyond both his comprehension and control was far more difficult than any Heartless or Nobody he had ever had to face.
At the same time, Sora found himself falling even deeper into his restless guilt upon realizing that, in his message he'd also failed to mention anything that had happened in Twilight Town. Between the onslaught of his Nobody's memories being thrust upon him and the discouraging words from both Ansem and Xemnas, there would have been plenty to tell Riku about for sure. And yet, the more the Keybearer thought on it, the better off he probably was not speaking to that later encounter in particular. After all, Sora figured, certainly the last thing Riku needed with all of the other pressures he was facing, was to worry over the very low likelihood that all of his hard work in saving him from Xehanort's schemes had been for nothing in the end.
A very low likelihood… but still a likelihood all the same.
Sora took in a sharp breath at this, quickly shaking the troubling thought out of his mind. As he had told Donald and Goofy, he was confident that all of Ansem and Xemans' talk of him being their thirteenth vessel was nothing more than a part of the seemingly endless string of lies the Organization was known for. A crafty, perhaps even clever tactic to try and make him doubt both himself and his mission, but one that the Keybearer refused to let get the better of him. Certainly, there was no way in any of the worlds that such a thing could possibly be true. If it was, then he would know, he'd be able to feel it… wouldn't he?
But then there was the voice, the vicious pull against his heart pairing with it to captivate and control him against his will. The pall of darkness framed by the deepest of rage that had fallen over him in Olympus, darkness he had only barely stumbled his way out of. The dark, almost sinister crack running through the surface of his once strong, sturdy, and steady Keyblade, a place where such a gnarling mark should have never even been. Was there a chance that all of those things were connected somehow? Or worse yet, was there a chance that they were all pointing towards the frightening possibility, however small, that it was all somehow true after all?
Sora let out a deep, somewhat uneven sigh as he closed his eyes, trying his hardest to block out such a dark, downright horrifying notion out of his mind, only to—of course—think of nothing else. Ansem's ominous, almost threatening claim in particular practically seemed to ring through his thoughts in a constant, chilling loop:
"You can feel it, can't you?"
The problem was, he could feel it at that moment: that gripping, almost unbearable agony slicing through his heart, his very being like a flame-seared knife.
"Already the darkness has started to take a hold upon your heart."
Unfortunately, that was a fact he couldn't really argue against, if the horrific incident in Olympus was anything to go off of.
"And through that darkness, soon you will find yourself helpless to resist the master's call to join our ranks as the vessel you are destined to be."
Destined. Pushed. Forced. Forced into something he wanted no parts of, into something he had always done everything in his power to oppose and fight against with every ounce of strength he had. If those claims were somehow correct, then that was the future that awaited him, the fate that he would be forcefully, mercilessly thrust into, whether he wanted it or not. Which was why every single fiber of his being hoped against the warning signs, resolved to look past whatever they might mean for the exact opposite: that his heart would remain his own and stay far out of the devastating, destructive reach of the twisted man who had already ruined so many lives and still stood to ruin so many more.
Including his own.
Perfect sunsets were practically a constant on the Destiny Islands, and this one was no exception. The sun-kissed sands and shimmering sea were sights that Sora, Riku, and Kairi were all too used to by now. Yet as spectacularly beautiful as they always were, more often than not, the trio had found themselves mutually longing to see what lay beyond their simple island home. To venture to other worlds, experience all they had to offer, to voyage anywhere and everywhere, together through it all. And with the near-completion of their humble raft, what had once only been a distant, daunting dream was soon about to at long last, become a reality.
"So, Kairi's home is out there somewhere, right?" Sora asked, going back to their unfinished conversation from earlier.
"Could be," Riku said, positioned against the paopu tree. "We'll never know by staying here."
"But how far could a raft take us?" Sora wondered, leaning forward slightly.
"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else."
"So suppose you do get to another world," Kairi cut in, curious. "What would you do there?"
"Well, I haven't really thought about it." Riku kept his sights on the endless sea stretching before them as he spoke. "It's just… I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?"
"I don't know," Sora concluded, casually reclining back on his spot on the tree.
"Exactly," Riku nodded, assured of his theory. "That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff. So let's go."
A bout of long silence filled in between the trio after this, permeated only by the predictably-timed, gently-crashing surf as it washed onto the nearby shore. Indeed, there seemed to be so much more outside of the boundaries of the world they had always known, so much to do, so much to see, and so little time for it all. Still, the door to it whatever might be out there stood large and looming before them. All they had to do was open it and find out what whatever might be waiting on the other side.
"This world…" Sore spoke up, moved by a sudden, compulsory thought. His tone was quiet, calm, yet laced with a strange sort of disdain as he sat up, the golden glow from the blazing sunset seeming to take over his eyes altogether. "It's just… too small…"
He flinched in surprise the very moment the words left his mouth. Never, ever before, had such a strange, almost alarming thought crossed his mind before, even regardless of their upcoming journey to leave that world behind. The Destiny Islands were his home, the place where everything and everyone he cared about and ever had cared about all resided. But for the briefest of moments, some bitter, unwelcome part of him felt trapped within them, as if they were a prison, a cage. And yet, for as foreign and downright frightening as that feeling had been, what was even more disconcerting yet was that both Riku and Kairi seemed to agree with him.
"You're right…" Kairi said, her voice oddly hollow, lacking the usual bright warmth Sora always knew it to carry. He quickly glanced over at her, her eyes concealed in shadows cast by the darkening sunset as a small, unreadable smile began to creep across her lips. "It is…"
"It always has been…" Riku added just as ominously, facing away from the pair beside him altogether just as the sun finally sank below the horizon altogether. "It's about time you finally realized that, Sora…"
"W-what?" Sora asked tightly, though he received no response from either of his friends. Instead, their silence was quickly filled in as the gentle ocean breeze picked up into a gale force wind almost instantly. Sora half slipped, half fell off the paopu tree as the once warm and rosy sky was tossed into inexplicable darkness, the sea taking on the same inky shade as the play island began to split apart at the seems behind them. Against the sudden tumult of the world itself violently coming undone all around them, Sora naturally panicked, something that neither Riku nor Kairi seemed to share as they remained as still and strangely calm as ever.
"R-Riku!" he gasped, barely able to even hear himself amidst the whipping winds. "Something's wrong! We need to-" Sora stopped short, shocked as he only barely skimmed Riku's arm in an attempt to grab it, only for his best friend to vanish away into the nothingness overtaking the islands as a whole, as if he had never even been there at all.
Sora barely even had a chance to respond to this outside of a huge rush of unspoken grief as he quickly turned to Kairi, reaching to grab her hand to try and save her from the same horrific fate. "Kairi, I-I don't know what's-" He froze, the first hints of tears starting to well up in his eyes the moment he felt Kairi's unmoving hand fade out of his. And sure enough, in seconds, just like Riku, just like everything else he knew and loved, she was gone.
He didn't even notice as what little was left of the island followed suit. In fact, he barely even noticed as the ground gave way underneath him, sending him into a free fall into the endless darkness that remained in its wake. Overwhelmed with anguish over his lost home, his lost friends as he was, the incredible pain that jarred through every single part of his body barely even seemed to register as he finally struck the unknown glass surface down below. And for what seemed like ages, that's exactly where he lay, completely unmoving, his chest heaving with sobs that would come over all everything that had been torn away from him in one single, devastating sweep.
"Giving up already? Come on, Sora, I thought you were stronger than that."
"R-Riku?!" Sora bolted upright, the brightest burst of hope breaking through the pounding pain as he searched the darkness surrounding him for any signs of life. The colorful glass beneath him had been broken by his heavy impact, to the point that whatever design had been etched into its surface all but unrecognizable thanks to the heavy cracks marring it. Still, none of that mattered to Sora the moment he spotted a single figure, clad in a familiar black cloak, standing out upon the scattered shards afar in the distance. "Riku!"
In an instant, Sora was back on his feet, running to bridge the gap between himself and who he assumed, who he desperately hoped was his seemingly lost friend. If it really was Riku, then there was no doubt that between the two of them, they'd be able to find Kairi and restore the islands. Together, they'd be able to restore the ruined, broken pieces of their peaceful lives once and for all.
It almost sounded too good to be true. And of course, that's exactly what it was.
"Riku!" Sora couldn't suppress a relieved smile as he finally reached the cloaked figure, not hesitating to reach a hand up towards him. "I can't believe I found-"
As soon as the cloak figure even slightly turned to face him, the Keybearer instantly drew his hand away from him, as if he had touched the hottest of fires instead. And by all accounts, he might as well have, considering who really was standing before him now: Young Xehanort.
"Well? Go on," he said calmly, knowingly as Sora stumbled back with a frightened gasp. "I'd be very interested to know what exactly is it that you think you've found."
The Keybearer's breath hitched at this, eclipsed by the same sort of fear that he had known in the final moments of his last encounter with this sinister foe, right before he had been lost to a cold, dark slumber that had been meant to condemn him to an equally cold, dark fate. Even so, the thought of someone like Young Xehanort especially seeing that sort of deep, unshakable fear was one that Sora refused to accept. Which was why he forced himself to snap into a state of determined resistance, a Keyblade appearing in his hands as he took up a warning defensive stance against his enemy.
"That's none of your business," Sora retorted sharply, tightening his grip on his Keyblade. "Now, leave me alone already! I already told Ansem and Xemnas that whatever plans you have about me becoming your vessel aren't going to work, so get lost!"
The younger master smirked at this, as if amused by the Keybearer's brazen, earnest show of defiance. "I have a better idea," he said, extending a hand out as darkness began to converge around it. "Why don't you?"
As the burst of darkness escaped from Young Xehanort's reach, Sora couldn't help but instinctively flinch away from it, believing himself to be its target. However, that didn't seem to be the case, for when he opened his eyes, he found that the shattered stain glass and the inky blackness surrounding it gone, but instead, replaced by a vast, white, opulent chamber instead. He was somehow positioned in the center of this hall, Young Xehanort still standing apace from him, both of them surrounded by an unbroken circle of thirteen towering thrones of varying heights. The disconcerting setting rung familiar with Sora in a way he couldn't quite place, but even so, he kept his guard up against his foe all the same, wary of any other odd tricks he might have up his sleeve.
"I see that there's still so little you actually understand," Young Xehanort began, his tone as even and icy as ever. "But worry not. As soon as you come to take your rightful place among our ranks, everything will at last become perfectly clear."
"Like that's ever gonna happen," Sora countered with a relentless glare. "How many times do I have to you? I'll never be one of your vessels, no matter how much you think you can force me into it!"
Of all things, Young Xehanort let out a small, almost mocking chuckle at this as he shook his head. "Oh, Sora, I'm not forcing you into anything," he said quite condescendingly. "The hidden darkness residing in the depths of your own heart has always been there. All we're doing is tapping into that darkness to claim it, and you, as our own. And if any sort of foolish doubts remain in your mind, then simply take a look at your Keyblade for a glimpse of the truth."
"My Keyblade?" Sora raised a confused eyebrow, having not paid his weapon any attention in this encounter until now. However, when he actually did spare a cursory glance down at it, he quickly wished he hadn't. For instead of the Kingdom Key he was always used to seeing, the Keyblade in his hands now was of dark, almost demonic design, sharp and twisted in just about every way, from its knife-like edges, to its bold, sinister etchings, to the chilling, singular blue eye resting near its tip. Alarmed by its very appearance alone, Sora was quick to dismiss the weapon in the hopes of actually summoning his own this time, only for the very same black blade to show up in his grasp once again. "W-what is this?!"
"Proof," Young Xehanort answered, disappearing only to reappear in one of the several surrounding high thrones. "Proof that you cannot escape your fate, regardless of how you might aspire to try. Slow and steady as your fall may be, you will still fall all the same. And when you do, we'll all be waiting."
At this, the every single one of the other thrones in the room filled up as well, each by a different member of Organization XIII, all of their faces were concealed by the shadows of the dark hoods they were wearing. All of them, save for Young Xehanort and the figure who had just arrived from the shadows at his spot on the tallest throne of them all: Master Xehanort himself.
The Keybearer only had the briefest of chances to glance up at the elderly master before the ominous Keyblade was more or less forced out of his hands by the overwhelming agony that shot through his heart like a flame-tipped arrow. He instantly collapsed to his hands and knees, unable to do much else, even let out the pressing cry of pain that was practically begging to be released from his throat. From his lofty throne, Xehanort simply smirked down at the display of suffering before him, sadistically satisfied that it was happening to begin with. Sora, however, wasn't about to let him have that satisfaction at his expense for too long, even despite the anguish still pervading just about every single one of his senses.
"N-no…" the Keybearer gasped, pressing a hand against his aching heart as he forced his weak voice to be as loud as he could manage. "No, I… y-you won't… I… I can't be-"
"You are," the elderly master finally spoke up. "Deep down, certainly, you already know that you are, despite your pathetic attempts at convincing yourself of the contrary. There is no point in trying to delude yourself any further; accept what awaits you and rid yourself of your unending sorrow once and for all."
Though he knew he was already treading on incredibly dangerous ground, Sora let out a scoff at this, finally working up the energy and the nerve to glare up at the distant master. "I-I… I can handle a little pain just fine, b-believe me."
"The 'pain' your own foolish resistance is bringing you wasn't what I meant," Xehanort shook his head, still wearing that sinister smirk all the while. "What I speak of is the great burden you've been forced to bear through no choice of your own. The weight of the worlds on your shoulders, the fates of so many lost souls all depending on your success alone…. All such momentous, cumbersome responsibilities for a boy as young and innocent as yourself, responsibilities that, by all accounts, shouldn't solely fall to you in the first place. Out of anything else, that's certainly something you can't deny, can you, Sora?"
The Keybearer finally stilled at this, his harsh expression dissolving away into several other emotions at once: confusion, worry, fear, and sadness, all as he realized that no, he really couldn't deny any of what the elderly master had just said. From the very moment he had first been torn from his island and his friends, his once-normal life had become a rapid, aggressive whirlwind, one that never seemed to stop and let him revel in his victories, however small they might sometimes be, along the way. And stuck in the middle of that whirlwind, there he was, tasked with—no, expected to dive headfirst into constant danger in the hopes of completing a mission so momentous and so important that the worlds themselves would fall into sure destruction and devastation if he failed it. These were odds that he had faced before, but the stakes always seemed to grow higher and heavier, to the point that he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to struggle under the weight of it all before it crushed him completely.
"Fortunately for you, however," Xehanort interjected, not giving Sora much of a chance to answer at all. "Very soon those immense burdens will no longer be yours to carry. For once you submit to your proper role as my thirteenth vessel… then shall your heart finally, truly be set free."
Whatever small seeds of doubt the elderly master might have sowed were quickly ripped away when Sora heard this. Instead, his former resilience returned tenfold as he forced himself beyond the crippling agony, staggering to stand and stare Xehanort down with every ounce of defiance he had left to give. "Y-you really think that's what freedom is?" the Keybearer challenged boldly. "Taking people's hearts away from them and using them as your own? Because if you ask me, that sounds like the exact opposite of freedom, and just in case you still haven't gotten the picture already, its something I don't want any part of!"
Xehanort's near-constant smile finally fell somewhat into a disapproving scowl at this outburst, though even so, he hardly seemed moved by it as he simply shook his head. "I had a feeling you wouldn't make this easy for us, Sora," he began, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "Then again, I suppose that's what will make this all the more… interesting. For as difficult as this lengthy process might be for us, it will be infinitely more agonizing for you."
The once-dulled pain came rushing right back into the Keybearer's heart at full force as the elderly master clenched his gloved hand tightly, immense darkness swirling around it all the while. This time, however, he wasn't granted the luxury of being able to fall, but instead was stuck standing, as if he had been frozen in place so he could be forced to listen to whatever Xehanort had to say next.
"You may say that you do not want to become a vessel for my heart," the elderly master suddenly vanished from his towering throne, only to reappear on the platform below, directly in front of his unmoving victim. "But I'm afraid you have no choice. For you see, Sora… your heart already belongs to me."
Xehanort's almost mocking sneer returned in full force at this, especially as he pointed a finger out towards Sora, or more specifically, his heart. As frozen and stiff as he was, the Keybearer couldn't see that the result of this was practically instantaneous. A dark sort of glow bloomed over his heart, which spread to cover his hands and a good portion of his arms, painting them a sinister shadowy shade. The usual chestnut brown color his hair was known to have was quickly overtaken by a spotless snowy white, and his eyes, normally as blue as the depths of the oceans themselves, took on the same sort of haunting, hollow gold that filled Xehanort's own. But even if Sora wasn't completely cognizant of these horrific transformations, what he was aware of was the relentless, blinding, absolutely unbearable anguish essentially strangling his heart, splitting out from there to every other part of his body so intensely that he was genuinely shocked that he was still even conscious amidst it at all.
"Feel free to try and run and hide all you'd like," Xehanort continued, walking towards the Keybearer with an intentionally slow pace as he took in the look of absolute agony and terror clearly showing on his face with cool, calm confidence. "Continue to lie to your companions, your friends, even yourself that you're safe and sound and not slipping into the darkness you're already standing knee-deep in. But know that there is no world you can go to where you can escape from me. There is nothing, nothing you can do to free yourself from your final fate."
By now, tears had finally started to well up in Sora's now-yellow eyes, his heart and mind both begging for any sort of release, a plea that he wasn't even permitted to voice aloud thanks to the unyielding hold the elderly master had over him. Try as he had to not show any sort of fear in front of his foe, he was largely unable to do anything else now. The mere thought of this wicked, merciless man ripping away all sense of autonomy away from him, forcing him to follow his treacherous, ruinous commands, tearing him and his heart away from everything he knew and loved and wanted to protect, was so horrific and devastating that he couldn't even begin to bear it. In fact, the very notion, a notion that seemed all too real here and now, was so awful and horrifying that he felt as though the weight of everything he stood to lose was quickly starting to crush him. And the worst part of it all, was that Xehanort was absolutely right; there was nothing he could do to stop it.
"What a great irony it is that the so-called 'hero' of the Keyblade who restored light to countless worlds time and time again will ultimately become the key that will send them all into everlasting darkness once and for all," Xehanort mused evenly as he continued to approach the agonized Keybearer. "For when the time comes that you have fully submitted to my power, then not only shall you be the one to deliver to me the thirteen Keys to the Kingdom, but through you, I shall lay claim to the very heart of all worlds itself: Kingdom Hearts!"
Upon hearing the absolutely horrendous plans the elderly master had in store for him, Sora wanted to scream, struggle, fight, do anything at all to save himself and literally everyone and everything else from such a gruesome fate. And yet, just as before, he couldn't move, he couldn't resist, he couldn't do a single thing to keep Xehanort from getting exactly what he wanted. He was trapped, in so many different, terrible ways he couldn't even begin to list them all if he tried.
"And since you're already here, I see no point in delaying the inevitable any further," The elderly master had finally reached the Keybearer, and had slowly begun extending a hand towards him to finally claim his heart once and for all. The most Sora could do was let out a small, strained, pleading sob, one that Xehanort clearly heard, but hardly cared for as he continued to make his sadistic approach. "Surrender your heart now to me, my thirteenth and final vessel, and open the door to the source of all light, darkness, and life itself!"
As the elderly master came within mere inches of skimming his heart, Sora was overcome by so much sheer, raw, pain that he almost thought it might end up killing him then and there. Which, all things considered, very well might have been a better fate for him than what Xehanort had in mind. And he was just about ready to submit himself to just as despicable of an end before something that was nothing short of a miracle happened.
Just as it seemed as though Xehanort had completely reached the Keybearer's agonized heart, the entire white room was engulfed in the brightest of light. So intense was its radiance that it seemed to banish every speck of darkness in its path, from the observing, unknown members of Organization XIII sitting high upon their surrounding thrones, to even Master Xehanort himself. Sora felt control of his movements return to him in a full force wave, finally allowing him to fall to his knees and try to recover from the still-panging pain pulling on his heart, though thankfully it was finally starting to fade somewhat. He hadn't the faintest idea as to what was going on, though he was aptly amazed upon taking a glance up to see that the light that had rescued him had condensed itself down into three vaguely human silhouettes. They stood between the Keybearer and a large, writing mass of immense, unimaginable darkness, though even so, they seemed to be guarding him from it, never letting its vicious tendrils touch him, despite its most aggressive efforts.
Amidst his own exhaustion and confusion, Sora didn't know what to make of any of this, though his dumbfounded shock only grew tenfold as the practically blinding glow surrounding one of the three figures finally dulled a bit, making their identity instantly clear.
"R-Roxas?!" Sora gasped, recognizing his Nobody even from behind without a moment's doubt.
Roxas smiled as he glanced back at his other, his manner strong and sturdy and confident in every place where Sora's currently wasn't. "Look sharp!" he encouraged, intentionally calling back to one of their few, all too brief encounters in the past.
"I-I… I don't understand," Sora shook his head, aptly baffled to the point that he didn't even notice that his hair, eyes, and hands had all returned to normal. "How… how are you… w-what are you doi-"
"Its ok," Roxas interjected, still calm even despite the swirling shadows behind him. "You don't have to understand. All you need to know is that you're safe. We're not about to let him take over, are we?"
By now, the other two figures alongside Roxas had cleared somewhat, though Sora couldn't make out much of their features outside of the fact that one of them seemed to be a girl around their age, while the other looked conspicuously like his Nobody. They both smiled and nodded warmly in response to the question Roxas posed, and though he turned towards the Keybearer for a similar answer, he was largely hard pressed to give one at a moment like this.
"Roxas, I-I… I'm sorry," Sora began, going off on another tangent entirely. "I don't know what's going on, b-but I want you to—no, I need you to know that I'm gonna find a way to get you out of my heart. I-I don't care what I have to do, I will do it. I promise."
Roxas' smile finally faded at this, concern and surprise washing over his features instead, almost as if he hadn't expected such an earnest, resolved vow from his other. He paused, glancing back at the darkness he was helping to hold back, then to the two unknown figures flanking him, before finally looking back to Sora himself with a solemn, serious sort of expression. "Sora…" Roxas said with what almost sounded like a sad sigh. "I… t-thank you, but… you don't have to do that."
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, compelled by the recollection of all of the memories his Nobody had shared with him, directly or not. "Of course I do! Y-you deserve to be free and with your friends and-"
"And so do you," Roxas countered, glancing away. "Which is why, at least for now, I need to stay here. All three of us do."
"W-what…?" was all the Keybearer could manage as tears started to well up in his eyes.
"You kept us safe, Sora," the dark-haired girl said with a smile, her eyes still largely concealed as she turned to him slightly.
"You gave us a second chance when we needed it most," the other boy added, his voice sounding almost identical to Roxas' though they weren't quite the same.
"You protected our hearts inside of your own," Roxas finished, his soft, thankful smile returning. He extended a hand out to Sora, clearly with the intent of helping him up, though the gesture seemed to imply so much more. "Now let us return the favor. I know you'll find a way to save us someday, but right now, we're going to do everything we can to save you."
The distant darkness finally seemed to wither and fade away at this proclamation, as if repulsed by such a powerful promise. Yet even despite this, Sora was far from satisfied by what it really meant. "B-but Roxas, I-I-"
"It's like I told you before, Sora," Roxas continued, his tone bittersweet as he once again implored his other to take his hand. "It has to be you. Which is why it's time for you to wake up. Are you ready?"
Instantly, Sora understood the many layers behind this question, knowing exactly what Roxas was asking if he was ready for: to begin his search for the thirteen Keys, to find a way to bring the guardians of light together, to face the darkness that had somehow found a way to pervade even his own heart. These were all great feats that, before, the Keybearer hadn't felt entirely prepared for. But with his Nobody in his heart and his friends standing by his side, for perhaps the first time, he felt as though he really could pull it all off after all.
"Y-yes," Sora said as firmly as he could, finally taking Roxas' hand. "I'm ready."
"Good," Roxas' smile grew at this and the two figures standing at his sides took on the same supportive look as light converged around all three of them once again. "Then I'll see you soon," The immense glow began to overtake Sora as well, blinding him from everything but the warm, pure, healing warmth welling up inside his chest as both other and Nobody reaffirmed their separate vows one final time.
"I promise."
Sora awoke with a start, darting up on his hammock so quickly that he almost fell out of it entirely. His heart was racing, his breathing short and his brow covered in a cold sweat as he tried to regather his lost bearings. As frantic as his initial waking seconds were, he hadn't even noticed that both Donald and Goofy were in the sleeping quarters as well. Both of them more or less toppled over on top of each other thanks to the scare their young companion's sudden awakening had given them. And as caught up in recovering from everything he'd just been through as he was, Sora didn't pay either of them much mind until they finally spoke up to garnish his attention.
"S-Sora?" Donald began first, his former frustration replaced with deep, genuine concern. "Are… are you ok?"
"Huh?" Sora drew in a sharp breath as he turned towards the pair. Briefly, he took a look around, finally realizing that he was back in the Gummi Ship, no signs of Xehanort and the Organization, or Roxas and his two unknown companions in sight. "W-was…. Was all of that just… just a dream…?"
"Must've been a nightmare from the looks of it," Goofy noted with a fretful frown. "And a pretty bad one too. We came down here to check on you 'cause we heard ya yelling and kickin' around, even from all the way upstairs."
"And then when we made it down here, we couldn't get you to wake up!" Donald added just as intently. He paused for a beat, sighing before looking to the Keybearer with a rare sense of gentle earnestly. "Listen, Sora. We know you've had plenty of nightmares during our adventures before…."
"And you know we've never hounded ya to tell us about 'em unless you were good and ready to," Goofy added patiently.
"But this time, we need to know," the magician continued, his tone calm yet stern all the same. "What kind of nightmare did you just have that was so bad you woke up from it crying?"
"Crying?" Sora repeated, confused. "I'm not-" He stopped short as he skimmed his fingers right below his eye, feeling the warm wetness of undeniably fresh fallen tears there. "Oh," was all he said, surprised by just how heavy his supposed nightmare had hit him emotionally.
"So… w-what happened?" Goofy asked cautiously. "Is it anything we can help with?"
At first, Sora said nothing, still worn and overwhelmed by about a thousand different thoughts and feelings at once. His heart was free of the pain that had oppressed it in his dream, but even so, Xehanort's horrific threats rung in his mind as loud and clear as ever. Before now, he had been secure in his doubts that he would end up becoming the Organization's last missing vessel; but now, after everything he'd heard and seen and experienced, his doubts were starting to fall towards the exact opposite end of the spectrum instead. Was there indeed a chance that it was all true, that he really was starting the long fall into inescapable darkness, right into Xehanort's hands after all? The evidence pointing towards it—the incident in Olympus, the events unfolded in Twilight Town, the mysterious damage sustained to his Keyblade, even the ominous, alarming dream he had just been pulled out of—certainly seemed to be stacking up against his favor. But even if it was true—which he was starting to realize, it very well could be—that was a defeat he wasn't quite ready to admit yet, nor would he ever be. Doing so would only let Xehanort gain an easy win, and after his brief, harrowing encounter with the elderly master—real or not—that was something Sora refused to let happen.
"I… I don't think so," Sora finally responded to Goofy's question, honest with this first point, though he quickly resorted to another convenient lie as he continued. After all, if this was a battle he really had to fight after all, the last thing he wanted was to drag his friends along into it with him. After all, Roxas had already decided to take this immense struggle up for him, a fact that the Keybearer reminded himself of all too painfully well. "I-it was just… I-I guess I was still worried about what might happen if we don't find all of the Keys in time, so my dream—nightmare—was about… that."
Both the captain and the magician's expressions went stark with fear upon hearing this, both of them sharing the same sort of unspoken dread of that terrifying possibility as well. "Do… do you wanna… talk about it anymore?" Goofy asked apprehensively.
"Not really," Sora responded truthfully, letting out a long sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "It was kind of… a lot, if you know what I mean."
Thankfully, both Donald and Goofy seemed to understand this implication, for neither of them pressed him any further on the matter. It was with a small pang of guilt that Sora realized he might have fooled both of them too well, but it was a necessary deception all the same. Even if he wanted to tell them about what he feared was starting to befall him, he had no idea where to even start, or how they might react. And besides, it wasn't really like they had too much time to focus on what could still very well have been an unfounded fear altogether. They still had a supremely mission that they'd yet to even set out on, after all.
"So are you finally rested up and ready to go?" Donald asked, eyeing the Keybearer skeptically as he finally got up out of his hammock.
"Yep," Sora affirmed with a genuine smile as he recalled the much-needed encouragement that had capped off what had otherwise been a miserable nightmare. Encouragement from Roxas himself, and the question that once again, now prompted him to action: "Are you ready?" "Ready as I'll ever be."
"Good," the magician huffed impatiently while the captain let out a small chuckle, both of them following their young companion back upstairs to the cockpit. "Then let's actually start this mission for real this time!"
"I'm way ahead of you," Sora nodded with a wide grin. Reaching a hand towards the stars outside, he summoned his Keyblade, choosing to ignore the dark crack somewhere on its surface. Regardless of whatever sort of hold or power Xehanort and the Organization believed they had over him, Sora was determined to not go down without the most intense fight he could muster against them. With so much at stake—the Keys, the worlds, his friends most of all—he had plenty worth fighting for. And he was sure that, with all of those things he cared so much about combined to inspire him, to push him forward and keep his heart strong and secure, then there was no way he would let himself fall.
"I'll see you soon," Roxas had said, a promise that Sora chose to believe with all his heart. A promise brimming with hope and comfort that someday, everything would finally be as it should, that all of the wrongs caused by Xehanort and his followers would at long last, be set right. And as far as the Keybearer was concerned, there was no better time to start righting those wrongs, then right here and now.
"Yeah," he whispered to himself, pointing his Keyblade forward. A bright, familiar light surrounded its tip this time, bursting out beyond the ship's cockpit and out into the vast expanse of space. There, it expanded, growing and glowing as it created exactly what the trio needed to move forward: a gate. Donald and Goofy cheered over this long-awaited progress, but Sora simply smiled as he took the reigns of the Gummi Ship's controls, boldly, confidently steering towards whatever world awaited them in the first step of the daunting, daring adventure before them. "See you soon."
And thus, a whole bunch of Disney worlds await! Which is honestly pretty exciting, I've been waiting to get to those in this fic and now that the "setup" chapters are all through, we can start things up in earnest, beginning in a similar way to how KH3 itself did it... with a toy sized adventure ;) Anyway, if you like what you see, feel free to drop me a REVIEW please! Until next time! :)