Hello everyone :). A bit shorter than the last chapter but I really wanted to dive into the great fight I set up. A lot's going down here, but hope you all enjoy! Before I let you all read, I highly recommend you listen to the tracks 'God of War', 'Echos of an Old Life' and 'The Summit' from God of War 4 during the Sora vs Kratos battle. It really adds to the emotional weight of everything.
Sora was standing outside 7th Heaven… At Five O'Clock in the morning, wondering where this 'challenger' was, narrowing his eyes to study the completely empty streets. Part of Sora, felt relieved, thinking maybe the Kratos forgot about the fight. Wuss. Vanitias spat in Sora's head, with Sora ignoring the voice. He didn't want to die today, more so after Tifa's warning as he got his potions, ethers, and elixirs ready. But Sora ignored the warnings of his incoming third death, wanting to prove something. Sora wondered if it was to prove to himself he could face the upcoming 'worlds', or he simply wants to vent his pent up frustrations out on something.
"You came, boy." Sora turned around, seeing Kratos in a red cloak, his hood covering a bearded face. "Good. Come." He turned around, with Sora following the man. They walked in silence, the few people awake instantly recognizing Kratos and either shaking in fear or running inside. He couldn't have done all those things Tifa said… Right? Sora pondered to himself, thinking the man walking ahead of him was a hero. As if reading Sora's thoughts, Kratos let out a bitter laugh and walked at a faster clip. The two walked past the various streets and blocks until they found a patch of grass.
Sora looked around him, seeing a small park. It wasn't too shabby, it's open fields making for a great battleground and the fences clearly used for baseball and other sports could make for some flowmotion attacks if needed. Sora saw the man take off his red cloak, readying his Leviathan Axe and taking deep breaths. Sora studied the keychains he had on hand; Convect Chain, Starlight, Hero's Origin, Nano Arms, Wheel of Fate and Ever After. Taking a deep breath himself, Sora clipped on the Starlight Keychain and entered a battle position. Seeing the man have an unmoving expression, Sora charged into him but was met with a quick counter from his Guardian Shield, the rustic gold metal blocking Sora's strike easily. Stumbling back, Sora saw the shield glow a faint red color, a burst of energy being shot right back at him.
Rolling away from the attack, Sora entered a sprint, trying to see if he could land another attack. Flicking his wrist, he let his clothes shift to their black form, activating Second Form. Leaping in the air, Sora landed a barrage of attacks, actually hitting Kratos easily, the man taking them like nothing. Finishing his explosion burst combo, light sending Kratos sliding back, he just spat out some blood, a faint smile growing on his face. "You got a warrior spirit." Kratos stood tall, clenching his ax. "I don't need to hold back."
Sora tilted his head at the comment, but the man entered a spartan sprint, shouting as his shield was growing a bright red. Panicking, Sora switched to his Hero's Origin and turned entered it's form change, a shield forming his hand's right as Kratos crashed into it. Sora could swear the ground shook from how heavy the man was marching, using his shields power to launch a godly fist at Kratos, the man taking the blow head on. Huffing from how powerful his foe's attacks were, Sora was trying to focus on him aiming his ax. Sora's eyes were wide as he threw his keyblade to counter Kratos' strike, but was surprised when both weapons fell to the ground. Sora's eyes were in shock, the ax actually was stuck inside his keyblade. Kratos held out his palm, the ax and Sora's weapon coming to his hand. "Mmm…" Kratos tried holding the Keyblade but it rematerialized in Sora's right hand.
The wielder studied his weapon, it actually getting chipped from the attack. Sora looked at his Hero's Origin, the middle has a big chip within it and looked back at Kratos. The man gave Sora an unimpressed look, causing Sora to grit his teeth. Flicking his wrist, Sora summoned a keychain that was his strongest, deciding not to play fair. Summoning his Wheel of Fate, he activated the weapon's Highwind form, it's spear making various jabs toward Kratos. The man blocked each blow like nothing, his face twitching a smile. He countered one of Sora's finishers, making him stumble back. Kratos then held up his ax, unleashing a pent up ice pulse.
Sora winced at the attack, using a weak fire spell to dispel the slight freeze. He can use ice magic? Sora smiled, figuring if ice was his favorite… Charging his Highwind with fire magic, he charged toward Kratos, the man counting Sora's blows with careful ax strikes. The two were match-to-match for the next minute before they both slid back. Sora took out an Elixir and crushed it in his hands, feeling it's healing power course through him. Giving Kratos a look saying 'go heal now, I did', the man didn't, he just closed his eyes and took a deep breath… All his wounds were gone. What?! Sora shouted in his mind, wondering how he just… Shaking his head, Sora summoned his Convect Chain and let the weapon's weight adjust to his hand. Kratos to Sora's surprise put his ax away and cracked his knuckles.
"Wait… How are you going to fight without your weapon?" Sora asked, with Kratos giving his opponent a weak chuckle. Letting his inner power course through him, Kratos charged into Sora like a wild animal, his fists emblazoned with fire. Sora blocked some strikes before rolling out of the way, dashing to give himself time to transform his weapon. Leaping in the air, Sora felt the power click, activating his Convect Chain's second form change, two metal balls coating his hands while chains snaked over his two arms. Kratos paused at this, his eyes wide for a brief second. Sora's clothes mirrored that of a convect's, the black and white stripes now a blur as Sora bobbed and weaved in between ranged punches. Kratos took some hits before using his shield to block the attacks.
The man took a moment's rest, with Sora ready to land another strike… Before Sora realized Kratos actually had chains on his arm too. How did I not notice that? Kratos summoned his Blades of Chaos, blood stained on the steel and its grip looking something out of hell itself. Sora actually shook seeing the weapons, seeing… So much history in just how tired and rustic the weapons looked. Sora couldn't admire them for long, as Kratos let out a powerful battle cry, sending the blades in Sora's direction. He jumped in the air and used his flowmotion to fling himself toward a nearby tree to avoid another strike. Kratos shot the weapons like they were bullets, them hitting Sora with precision, using his own balled fists to block the attacks. Sora smirked, thinking of an idea. Using his flowmotion again, he used one hand to swing around the tree while his other free hand used the balled fist to swing around. Kratos rolled away from each attack before leaping in the air and unleashing a surge of fire in Sora's direction.
Sora leaped off the tree before it could burn his hand, but was surprised with a strike to the face. Screaming in pain, Sora landed in a thud on the ground, his vision blurred by red. Touching his face, Sora was surprised to see blood dripping down. His keyblade back to it's Kingdom Key form, Sora used the weapon to get himself up. Kratos' eyes narrowed, seeing Sora's now very visible scar across his eyes. The fact he still somehow was able to see surprised the former god, but he simply smirked, Sora glaring at Kratos. "That's it!" Sora felt his inner darkness slowly take over, his body turning pure black. To his shock, he didn't just wield the Kingdom Key, but also the Void Gear in his right hand. Sora's body covered in black, his blue and red eyes charged into Kratos like a wild animal, the two weapons clashing with Kratos' Blades of Chaos. Sora warped away as Kratos lunged his blades toward him, leaping in the air and jabbing the keyblades into the ground, unleashing a surge of darkness toward Kratos.
The man rolled away from the attack and saw Sora's eyes unmoving, body in full control. He frowned at this, but couldn't reflect more as Sora threw one of his keyblades at Kratos, the man blocking it effortlessly, but Sora's dark form smirked as if that was the intention. Kratos spun around, wielding his ax once more and slammed the weapon into Sora's shoulder, making his dark form encased in complete ice. Kratos collected himself, walking back slowly to give himself some distance. Retracting the ax, Sora fell to the ground, his dark form gone but still having two keyblades in hand. Sora jabbing one of the weapons in the ground, he slugged down a Hi-Potion and threw the bottle aside. Picking up both weapons once more, he glared at Kratos with his blue and red enraged eye's, meeting Kratos' own aged blood red ones.
They screamed like warriors, charging into one another. Sora used more skillful strikes and leaps, while Kratos matched Sora's movements with heavy swings and powerful punches. He grabbed Sora and dashed toward a nearby tree. Slammed against the tree, Kratos started punching Sora rapidly, unable to block the attacks. Sora, getting desperate, bit into Kratos' arm, but the man just shrugged off the futile effort, landing a powerful punch across Sora's face.
Falling to the ground, Sora hissed in pain, crushing an Either in his palm to recharge his magic. "C-Cure." Sora weakly shouted, his Kingdom Key slowly letting the magic course through him. Sora stood tall and spat out some blood. "I can take it. I… I can take more hurt." Sora grits his teeth and hissed, with Kratos pausing. "What?! I faced thousands of heartless, nobodies and fought much worse than you!" Sora pointed his keyblade at Kratos. "I'm going home! I'm finding Kairi again! And you aren't going to stop me!" Sora charged at Kratos, but the man just put a hand on Sora's shoulder. His keyblade dematerialized, Sora started punching Kratos rapidly but the man caught Sora's other fist after the second blow. Being unable to move, just started to cry. Kratos just let Sora fall to his knees, releasing Sora from his grip and the hero breaking down.
"...Sora." Kratos said quietly, Sora looking up at him. "Come." Kratos helped Sora up, and the two walking toward the now ravaged park's edge. They saw the sun slowly rise, coating the city with its healing rays. He put a hand on Sora's shoulder, the two of them watching the sunset. "I've faced many trials in my life. But I became a monster." Sora turned toward Kratos, seeing… not the monster he and others called him, but a broken man with little left. "You, you aren't a monster." He put his other hand on Sora and kent down, the man's powerful presence feeling heavy. "You have power. Potential. Not unlike my boy." Kratos let go and turned around, not wanting Sora to see his wet face. "Now, leave. Fight. Be a hero." Kratos walked off, his form slowly vanishing into the background. Sora wiped his face and noticed something glowing in his hands. Opening his palm, he saw a roman keychain. Clipping it on his kingdom key, it changed form. While the handle mirrored Kratos ax, the blade itself mirrored the man's dual blades. Blood red steel, various black flame marks, with the tip of the keyblade having an ax's hilt. Sora made his weapon vanish, falling on his back and letting the sun's light cool his battered body.
Kairi and Riku were flying around near The Land of Departure, unsure where their next destination is at all. She felt ready with her new 'Lightshow' Style Change, something Riku smirked at but Kairi felt the name stuck. The image of Sora fawning over her new form was enough to drive her onward, much to Riku's amusement. The two lost in space for a good few hours, however, ruined the somewhat excited mood, causing Kairi to ask, "Riku… Are we lost?"
Riku shook his head, though he wasn't sure how right he was currently. "We aren't lost… But the ship doesn't read any nearby worlds." He rubbed his chin but felt something in his chest hurt. Falling on his knees, Kairi rushed over to him. Riku! She never saw him in this much pain, even after the battle with Xemnas where both him and Sora were pretty beat up. "What…" The keyblade master clenched his fist, trying to keep his connection to Sora, however fleeting it was. He pounded it into the ship, refusing to lose his best friend yet again.
"Riku!" Kairi helped him up but her body started shaking violently, falling on the ground. "I… This hurts… It hurts so much…" She was wincing in pain, feeling… Sora?! She clung on to the feeling, despite how much pain it was causing. She felt… His body nearly broken, vision somewhat blurred and a warm sun shining on his face. "Sora…" She said through tears, fear of losing her connection to him for good was finally happening. H-How… When we know he's…
"That idiot…" Riku grit his teeth and crushed an Elixir in his hands, it's healing power coursing through his body. He chucked one to Kairi, the Princess of Light mirroring him. Taking some deep breaths, Riku spotted a golden vortex. "We have to get him back soon before he kills himself." He forced himself to the captain's chair, taking slow breaths to relax his body. Looking at his hand, he let out a sigh of relief, his fleeting connection to Sora still there.
"R-Right," Kairi responded, her body recovering from that violent shock to her system. Riku taking the wheel, Kairi rested in his chair and wondered what caused Sora to get that hurt. She couldn't feel what caused it, but her hand was clenched in a thick ball. Opening her wrist, she blinked, seeing a strange keychain. "Riku…."
"What's up Kai?" Riku turned around, seeing the keychain in her hand. Taking it, he studied the odd thing, seeing… a silver crown, not unlike Sora's necklace. Passing it to Kairi, she put it on Destiny's Embrace and it transformed into something not unlike Sora's Starlight, but with the blade being coated with yellow coloring and the edge having a heart. "How did you get that?"
"I think… Sora gave it to me." Kairi pondered, resting the weapon in her lap. The two looked outside the Gummi Ship, seeing the odd magical fog clear up and seeing a somewhat ruined castle in the distance. Purple Butterfly Flags got the duo's attention. "We're here!" Kairi said excitedly as if she and Riku didn't have a near panic attack moments earlier. Seeing her jump out of the ship, Riku shook his head and turned on it's cloaking systems. Kairi looked around, seeing the land of Mewni for the first time. The odd warnicorn giving her the stink eye made her giggle, but to her surprise, was a blond girl riding on one of them. "Woah!" Kairi rolled out of the way, the blond girl trying to calm her steed down. "Watch where you're going girl!"
"Sorry about that." The blond girl hopped off her warnicorn, giving Kairi a warm smile. She wore a blue dress, a narwhal on the hemming's side and her boots having oddly tipped edges. What got her attention the most, outside of her warm smile, was the radiant red hearts on her cheeks. "Name's Star Butterfly! Princess… Eh, former princess of Mewni." Kairi shook her hand, giving a warm smile back in response.
Riku walked up to them, ready to give his introductions but a red-hooded boy pointed his katana at him. "Star… Who are these guys… I think they are with the other key fella." Riku and Kairi tilted their heads at this, summoning their keyblades. "They are! Oh boy… We just fended off two of them a few weeks ago."
"Nah, they seem cool," Star said casually, with Marco giving her a dumbfounded look. Giving her bestie a loving look saying 'it's going to be okay', he relented, putting his blade away and holding out his hand. "This is Marco! My future little prince…" She pinched his cheek, with Marco blushing vividly. Kairi giggled at the sight, with Riku just folding his arms.
"Nice to meet you two, name's Riku. Have you seen any heartless around?" Riku asked, wondering if Master Sora's reasoning for them being here was for more than Kairi getting stronger. Star and Marco looked at one another, them having a silent conversation. "They have yellow eyes, are pure darkness, hard to miss."
"We've fought them," Marco said firmly, rubbing his arm. "They are hard to take out." Star frowned, with Marco patting her shoulder. "Eclipsa will eventually listen to us about how we can't control them."
"Wait, you have someone here that controls them?" Kairi asked, being genuinely surprised. She didn't feel an ounce of darkness in the castle before them. Star just clapped her hands, rubbing them and shooting a stream of magic to launch herself toward the castle. "Uh… That doesn't answer…"
"I will fill you both in," Marco said good-naturedly, smiling at Star's antics. The trio followed Star, unaware of two masked figures watching from the forest nearby.
"Sora! Please wake up!" A familiar female voice uttered. K-Kairi? Sora thought, his half-dazed mind not thinking straight. His blurry vision saw a mess of red hair hovering over him, making him pretty sure it was her...
"You seriously let him challenge Kratos?!" Another familiar voice uttered, his calm tone masking his clear anger at the situation. Joker? How are you in the realm of light…
"I didn't want him going but he was too thick-headed," Tifa said in defeat. Sora groaned, slowly getting up but to his surprise... He couldn't see. Touching his face, he felt a black cloth covering his eyes. Taking it off, he saw various faces huddled around his bed. Strelitzia was the most relieved, tackling Sora into a hug and making him blink in surprise. W-What is going on? Sora remembered fighting Kratos and… Passing out in the park. The man just vanished through, making Sora confused if he's okay or not. "Sora… You okay?"
"I… I think so." He rubbed his head, giving a sheepish smile. Joker gave Sora an exasperated look, the hero brushing his finger over his nose. "I didn't win if you're wondering. But I got this out of it." Sora held out his new keyblade, with Joker whistling and patting Sora's back, but he winced from the touch. "Still hurts… Ow…" But the slap in the face from Strelitzia made everyone blink. "Hey! What was that…"
"You idiot! You could have died!" She shouted, her face clearly distressed. Sora was shocked she was actually crying. She looks just like how Kairi did when I came back after… Sora just hugged her, patting her back. "Sora…"
"I've come back from worse, you don't know me well enough yet," Sora said smoothly, with Joker snickering in the background. Tifa coughed, getting the two to separate. "Is Kratos still…"
"No, he left 7th Heaven and no one's seen him. Trust me, I was going to hunt him down and bash his skull in if he hurt you." Tifa pats Sora's shoulder, making the keyblade wielder smile. "Hey, lost Cloud and can't find him, don't want to lose my other spiky haired friend."
The door opened, with Neku and Shiki rushing inside. "Sora!" They both shouted in unison. "You okay?!" Sora hand waved things and stood out of the bed, making a heroic pose, but wincing at his sore body. Neku shook his head while Shiki just sighed in relief.
"Surprised at how fast your body heals." Sora turned toward the door, seeing Adam folding his mechanical arms. 9S was standing next to him, having a relieved smile. "I was going to give you new eyes, but 9S insisted I don't argument you." 9S sighed and pointed to Sora's eyes.
"Your eyes are fine, but we couldn't get rid of the scar." Sora blinked, taking out his Gummi Phone and frowned at his reflection. A red scar was right across his blue eyes, very visible and something he couldn't cover up.
"It looks cool at the very least," Sora said with a glass-half-full mentality. He laid back down in bed, looking at nothing in particular. "So, I feel ready enough to venture to that castle." Strelitzia pouted at the suggestion, with Sora looking at her without getting up. "We have to head out soon or later, we got friends in danger in those 'worlds' as Joshua called them."
"Yeah," 9S added, leaning on the wall and tapping his chin. "You can keep the headband, by the way, got a lot of them." Sora smiled, tying the object around his right wrist. Laying in his bed, he looked at nothing in particular.
"So, some morning this was, huh?" Sora joked earning laughter or tired sighs from his group. As they slowly left the room, Strelitzia the only one remaining. She walked toward the door, giving Sora a worried expression. "I really did face worse." She turned around on a dime, her blue eyes blinking. Slowly sitting on his bed, Sora got up and sat next to her. He looked at his hands, his eyes somewhat lost. "When I found out how to save Kairi years ago, I willingly used this…" He summons his keyblade. "And I did what I felt was right to save her." He pointed the weapon to his chest before vanishing it. "I was so scared… Unsure if I could ever come back, but all I thought was 'If Kairi is okay, that's all that matters'. And she got me back." Sora gave a weak smile, but it slowly shifted to a frown.
"She's your special one, huh?" Strelitzia asked, with Sora nodding. She took Sora's hand and firmly squeezed it. "I remember… Having a special one too. He didn't say much to me, but I never really approached him. I was so… scared he wouldn't be my friend. When I finally had the nerve to do something… I don't remember what happened next." Sora squeezed back, the girl looking up at him.
"We are both going to be strong, for our loved ones," Sora said firmly, Strelitzia seeing the fire in his eyes. She smiled back, nodding and standing up. "I'm going to get some rest for the day, my body is sorta broken." She covered her mouth at the comment. "Not like that! ...You take things too literally."
"You… You are something else sleepy head." She shook her head and left the room, but Sora's body froze, long after Strelitzia left the room. Seeing Shibuya's city nearly glowing with the sun shining, Sora sighed and rested his head on the soft pillows. Letting his mind rest, Sora just went into dreamland and hoped the trails ahead won't be nearly as painful.
Coming out of a Corridor of Darkness, Roxas and his merry band studied the town of Radiant Garden for the first time. Roxas whistled at how cool the town looked, being a mixture of mechanical gears, water-lanes and large streets matching nicely to the distant whiff of magic in the air. "Trust me Rox, this place isn't at special." Lea elbowed Roxas, the later grinning.
"I remember you fondly telling me you loved this world." Isa spat back playfully, with Lea giving his best friend a 'really now' expression. Xion and Roxas giggled at the sight, the two finding one another and holding hands. Xion's eyes were the most at awe though, never visiting this world during her Organization days.
What took Roxas' off guard was how different it looked to Sora's memories of this town. He remembered a castle being under repair, but now it stood tall in the background. Even the streets and alleyways looked different. But one look into Ven's memories caused Roxas put the pieces together. "Yeah, they really restored this place to its glory days." Xion smiled at Roxas being genuinely happy. And well rested for once, as the two were having a hard time sleeping lately.
The four couldn't enjoy the peace for long, as heartless suddenly popped up. "Come on, here too?" Lea groaned, flicking his wrist and summoning his keyblade. "Glad I can finally summon this puppy again, thanks for the training Rox." The blond nodded and summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Xion stood defensively beside Roxas, her Kingdom Key shining. Isa sighed and summoned a smaller version of the Claymores he used to wield back in the Organization. Roxas landed the first few blows, using various Raid Strikes with Oathkeeper while using spells with his Oblivion.
Xion attacked with basic slashes and a fire blasts, sending the weaker heartless flying. Sliding next to Roxas, the two smirked and held hands, unleashing a tornado of keyblade strikes. Lea watched this and couldn't help but smile. A heartless coming right at him, Isa smacked it like a baseball. "Focus on the fight, not on our lovebirds."
"Yeah yeah…" Lea retorted, using his keyblade and after some slashes, he made his blade transform into chakrams once more, throwing them to take down the large body heartless. Smaller heartless popped up, making the four collective sigh. As if answering their call, two female warriors landed before them. One had pink hair, using a gunblade , not unlike Leon's. The other had silver hair and her eyes were covered with a black blindfold. They said nothing, just eradicating the heartless. Leaving nothing but the floating hearts, the two women turned to the group.
Xion and Roxas were on guard, with Isa just casually walking up to the warriors. "Hello, we are here to see Ansem the Wise about our friend Sora." The two looked one another, nodding and picking up the four effortlessly. "Can you put me down?"
"Why are you so calm?!" Lea shouted, with Isa just having a blank expression as per usual. Roxas and Xion were picked up by the pink haired woman, them not budging, having the feeling she would kill them if they moved a muscle. Eventually, they were carelessly dropped inside a building. Well, Isa and Lea were dropped carelessly, with the silver-haired woman walking back outside without a care in the world. Lea would have shouted at her if it wasn't for her very sharp katana and little robot helper aimed right at him.
The pink haired woman carefully dropped Roxas and Xion, meeting them at eye level, worried blue eyes meeting her focused ones. "You two are too young to be fighting." She commented, with Roxas rolling his eyes. He was about to counter, but laughter familiar to him got his attention. The pink haired woman stood up, pointing behind her. "We saw these four coming out of a darkness portal. You told me that was bad news, so 2B and I got the jump on them."
Isa had a look toward Lea screaming 'I told you that was a bad idea', but Lea completely ignored him. "So… Leon was it?" The black haired man in the leather jacket smirked, his eyes drifting toward Roxas. "You were a friend of Sora's, right?"
"Yeah, you know him to kid?" Leon asked Roxas, the later looking around the room. He saw a lot of people from Sora's memories, including a new face or two. Roxas and Xion spotted a large table, deciding to sit down. Isa smiled at how bold and clam the two were, patting Lea's shoulder in pride. Lea smirked and joined his friends. "We haven't seen in him in a while, so if you could fill us in, that would be great."
Roxas nodded and folded his hands together, ready to tell a very long, complex and even he would argue convoluted adventure he shared with Sora the past few years.
"Take that!" Strelitzia shouted, her keyblade hitting the training dummy in Barret's gym. Ever since Sora fell asleep, the girl has been using her Starlight Keyblade to learn new combo's and practice chaining her magic spells into that flowmotion stuff Sora always uses. Thinking of him made her chest hurt, shaking off the odd annoyance and landing another three hit combo on the training dummy. The thing tumbled over, she smirked in victory, but odd clapping got her attention. She jumped, pointing her keyblade at the figure before her.
"Easy there…" Joker slowly walked up to her, his gloved hands up. "I'm just watching. Keep at it." She sighed and resumed her fighting, picking the dummy up and trying some leaping strike. Joker leaned on the wall, his arms folded and eyes studying her. "...You aren't just fighting for yourself."
She finished the combo, making the dummy crash into the wall. Its arms were actually falling off with how shoddy the thing was put together. "Yeah, I got friends here to fight for. And I want to go home." She focused on a Blizzard spell. "I want to see my brother again…"
"And be with Sora." Joker added, making the girl stumble and the Blizzard attack nearly freezing her in place. She dashed out of the way just in time, but now there was a strange ice block on the ground. Joker shook his head, snapping his fingers and making Arsene use a weak Agi attack to melt the ice. "I know how to read a room, been doing that for a while now."
"...Is that a problem?" She asked so quietly, that no one would have heard her. Joker, being a master at sneaking around and having his special second-sense ability, he could hear his fellow allies feet above and below him. Noticing he heard her, Strelitzia's face turned a shade of red and started playing with her fingers.
"Right now, nah," Joker answered, walking around and playing with his dagger. "But when you both head home? Yeah, it's gonna be an issue." Joker spun his dagger on his index finger, walking around the room. "See, I know what it's like to have two girls falling for you. It… It was something I had to handle." He paused walking, his eyes looking at the dartboard across from them. "Sora though, his eyes are on one target." Joker threw the dagger right at the dartboard center. "And it's that Kairi girl." She looked at her hands, knowing this, but it still hurt being told this information. Joker walked toward his dagger and pulled it off the wall. "He will always be your friend, but know that his heart's already taken. You shouldn't steal a heart that is already stolen." Joker started walking out of the room and turned around, giving a warm smile. "But you knew all this already. Just figured I remind you. Don't want my friends making the same mistakes I did."
"T-Thanks…" Strelitzia muttered, with Joker nodding on his way out the door. She looked at the dummy, which was on the ground. She slowly put it upright, her hands shaking. Summoning her keyblade, she violently smacked the thing backhandedly, making a frustrated scream. She clenched her teeth, trying to get a handle of her emotions but the confusion just wouldn't leave her heart. Remembering what Master Ava told her, she closed her eyes and focused on happy memories.
"When you feel darkness tempt your heart, remember who your light is."
"But my light doesn't know I exist…"
"Make him know you exist."
"...I don't know if I can."
"You can wield the keyblade and you are the future. May your heart, be your guiding key."
Opening her eyes, Strelitzia took a deep breath and entered a more composed battle stance. "I will fight. You may not know or understand, but you are my light." She started making various slashes with her weapon, with Joker watching from the nearby stairs. Having a somewhat relieved smile, he fixed his coat and went back to the tavern.
7 - Thank you for your kind words.
redlox2 - It really is funny when you put it like that. It also shows how important it is for those who eventually do get the keyblade, earning the right to 'officially' use one is something to be prideful of. And my favorite keyblades in KH3 were the Wheel of Fate, Nano Arms and Hunny Blasters (the last one is so easy to upgrade and it's really funny seeing Sora just shoot a giant honey bee at people). And you bring up a very good point that I didn't even think about; Xigbar comments on a reward for Sora for all his trials. Him becoming the MASTER of all Masters is a pretty damn good reward to get I would imagine. Wonder this concept is really going to be something Namora plays with.
H.R.C. Stanley - Kairi's fighting style is something of a mixture between Sora's and Mickey's, so it's fun to play around and explore what she can pull off.
Dom2040 - You will see soon enough :).
TrinityXaos - And it's no problem asking questions! I love people engaging with my writing, so never feel bad about asking them. Anyway, your question about Vanitias is simple; the guy had red eyes in Birth By Sleep. After KH3, there are two running theories (one I'm not running with due to conflicting with my story) but the other theory is that he literally becomes Sora's shadow and/or joins with Ventus post-KH3's ending. Not being under Xehanort's influence any longer, there is no reason for him to have the yellow eyes. Plus, it's for a stylistic choice, with Sora's blue mixing with the more violent red is such a stark mental image.
Lil' Chaos - Like I said to Trinity, never feel bad about asking questions. I can't answer all your points right now for your latest review, but I will say a few things. Firstly, I love writing Luxu too. The whole idea of the Organization members being whole again is fun, as they can play with more complex characterizations and writing (them growing hearts vs having fully restored hearts equates to the later realistically having a more defined personality). So Luxu and the others are a hoot to write. Splitting up the Foretellers was a writing choice I'm happy I went with; I'm already juggling a ton of characters, don't want things to get too messy. Your point about the MoM is great and I will be sure to address more of his character pretty soon actually.
Sentinel07 - I like to imagine that the keyblades Ven, Terra, and Aqua had during BBS the base ones from when you start their adventure. I say that mainly due to how they aren't back at square one per say, but unlike Sora who still has all his keychains from KH3, they lost a lot on the path becoming 'complete' again. So I will be sure to clear up Aqua's and Ven's keyblade soon when they show up again. HTTYD is my favorite movie series as well, so great minds and all that :).
KingJGamer - I'm going, to be honest with you, I have no clue on who you are referring too. I never mentioned a Travis in my story at all. But how Sora turns into the MoM and vice versa will be addressed as we continue.
blackpackager - Good points and I guess we can say Sora is into Red-Heads :').
prince of underbrush - I don't know what you're talking about at all buddy ;)... But Charity did piece things together, just had a bit of delayed reaction. And you think THAT's interesting, well, imagine Ven realizing he had more friends than just Terra and Aqua...