.
Chapter XXI: An Intermission of Memories
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost,
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
~JRR Tolkien
The quiet of Radiant Garden hung around Sora like a blanket, but he could not sleep. Trusting his friends was tough when he felt so useless. What were they doing here? Just hanging out at Radiant Garden forever until something happened? There were absolutely no leads to go on—and it seemed like a bad plan to just go visiting worlds at random. Something in his heart didn't sit right with that. But what else could they do? It'd be even worse to just sit here and wait (to his shame, Sora wondered if this was how Kairi had felt waiting back on the islands and promised himself to never leave her behind again).
The day spent with Pooh and his friends had been wonderful, and had given Sora a small respite of purpose, but then it had all ended up back at Kairi. Laying on that hill where she had once given him her lucky charm and where he had promised to return it only made his heart ache—that charm was still in his pocket, unreturned, and Kairi was now further away from him than ever. How was he going to get it to her now? He should've gone back to her sooner…
Then there was that mysterious blonde girl in the white dress who seemed so familiar. She reminded him so much of Kairi. What was her story? Why did she apologize to him? And what did she have to do with the Organization and Axel?
Sora rolled over to look out of the attic window over the darkened roofs of the Garden. The full moon glinted off of pullies and chains and cranes, as much of the town was still under construction-whether because of the recent Heartless assault or because it had never been rebuilt in the first place. In fact, apparently the entire southeastern quadrant of the city remained uninhabited. This town had suffered so much, but yet here they were rebuilding, expanding, thriving. Sora wanted so badly for his friends here to have a good and safe life-another reason why he had stop Organization XIII, but even that was a question mark. Where to even begin?
Suddenly, a shadow caught Sora's eyes. Something tall had moved, smoothly and weightlessly, between two distant rooftops. Rubbing his eyes and moving closer, Sora tried to catch the form in the dark. In a moment, he saw another dash and leap.
"Donald! Goofy!" Sora said as loudly as a whisper would allow, "Wake up!"
"Wh—whaaat…?" Donald mumbled.
"There's something outside!" Sora announced.
"Gee, Sora…" Goofy rubbed at his eyes, "The whole town's outside!"
"No, no!" Sora shook his head—this was a something and there was no way he would ignore even the possibility of a lead, "It's someone, jumping across rooftops!"
Donald shook his head, "Right. Goodnight, Sora."
"Hey!" Sora grabbed at Donald, "You can't go back to sleep! We gotta go investigate!"
"No way!" Donald quacked, trying to shake Sora off, "We should all be sleeping!"
"Look, we've been staying here just waiting for something to happen!" Sora looked to Goofy for support, "And here's that something! We have to go look into it!"
Donald sighed, "Well, if weird shadows are enough to get you going…"
"It must be pretty important to ya!" Goofy finished, "Let's go, Sora!"
"Right!" Sora nodded, grinning and quickly ducked into Merlin's house below.
A place of constant company, the house held a great deal many obstacles. Quietly, Sora, Donald and Goofy tip-toed past Merlin, snoring in his large armchair, and dodged around the frequent and jerky movements that Yuffie made in her sleep on the couch. Cid was resting over the main computer, its low light of flashing screens and buttons illuminating the hall, and Aerith had dozed off in a chair beside him. Leon must've been elsewhere.
Sora loved how close everyone was here. To his knowledge, only Aerith actually lived with Merlin. Yuffie and Leon were apparently rroommates elsewhere, much to the latter's chagrin, while Cid had his own house. Yet, here they were, always together and working to help their world. Their friendship was enough to make Sora homesick for his own Islands, with its familiar faces and beautiful beaches…
Passing silently through the outer door, Sora took a deep breath of the cool and crisp night air. "You guys ready?"
Donald yawned and Goofy nodded. "Where're we off to?"
"Uhhh…" Sora paused, spinning in a circle to get his bearings. "I think—I think I saw it over there!"
Donald sighed. "Riiiight. Looks like we won't be getting any sleep tonight."
"C'mon!" Sora beckoned and took off at a light run toward the southern side of the town.
The streets of Radiant Garden were mixed and matched—at times, you could walk for ages through winding streets, walled in on both sides by interconnected houses and other buildings. But, just as often, you would suddenly break out into wide and open plazas filled with trees and gardens, leading up in steppes upon which more homes were built. At one moment, you'd be in an open market—the next, a twisting back alley. Much to Sora's benefit, though, no two buildings looked the same. Unique architecture sprung up from the town like flowers in a garden; each its own color and shape.
But as Sora followed the markers of towers and domes, he noticed that "the garden" was slowly wilting around them. New constructions gave way to dilapidated and disheveled ruins as the three entered the unfinished southern zones. There, the remnants of the old town still lay rotting. The streets were no longer smooth and finished, nor did the homes stand together; instead, each resembled more a minimally organized pile of trash rather than an actually building. The moon's light was sufficient enough to see, but the half-collapsed structures created strange and misshapen shadows of their own.
"Gawrsh…" Goofy gulped as he glanced around, "This place is awful spooky!"
Donald nodded vigorously, "Sora, are you sure you know where we're going?"
Sora kept staring ahead, trying to separate the darkness—shadow from black, and black from the moving form he had seen. "Uh, well…I think?"
"What?!" Donald half whispered, even he too afraid to be loud in this strange "dark side" of Radiant Garden.
"Well, I—hey look!" Sora pointed ahead, where the rubble cleared into an open court. "I can probably figure it out from there!"
Donald followed after him hesitantly, "Yeah, and we're gonna head back if you can't."
Pushing ahead with optimism, Sora strolled into the first great plaza they had seen this side of town. The remnants of old fencing lay scattered around it, while the buildings that dotted its edges showed sign of intense fire. A cracked and dry stone fountain lay at the center of the courtyard, facing opposite the remnants of an enormous building. Perhaps half the width of Hollow Bastion's base and several stories tall, it still retained most of its siding—although it was clearly a burnt-out husk. One corner had fully collapsed to the ground, bending the rest of the large structure with it. On its face, Sora could just make out a few letters: S-H-I-N-R-
"Did Cloud accompany you?"
A deep and soft voice startled Sora. At once, all three whipped around, weapons drawn—and Sora's heart dropped as he saw the figure standing across from them. Long, silver-grey hair. Stunning blue eyes. Sweeping black leather, an unimaginably long nodachi and a single purple-black wing extending from his back.
Sephiroth.
"I see that you did not." Sephiroth continued. "Well, slaughtering you will goad him out, nonetheless."
"We'd like to see you try!" Donald snapped, only Sora able to detect the slight quiver to the duck's tone as he stepped up to his side, Keyblade ready.
"Ah, yes. The Keyblade." Sephiroth acknowledged the weapon, holding his own nodachi loosely by his side, "I was there when they were first minted. And when they were first lost."
"Then you know how tough it is!" Sora fiercely responded.
"We shall measure its strength." Sephiroth smiled and reached out a gloved fist. Immediately, dark vortexes of energy formed around Sora, Donald and Goofy, just as they had back at Olympus Coliseum when they had first been utterly defeated.
Sora smirked. But they had improved a lot since them.
"Reflect!" he and Donald called out simultaneously, creating a double layer of honeycombed gold around them. The dark vortexes crashed inward and exploded, but the spell held. Sora let out a breath. Just getting past that was a relief.
Suddenly, Sephiroth moved, appearing almost to dash through the air like a bullet, and brought his enormous sword down upon the shield. Sora shuddered as Sephiroth, with rapid-fire slash after slash, cut the shield to ribbons. The explosion of the failed spell tossed Sora, Donald and Goofy back, tumbling across the ground.
As Sora pulled himself to his feet and the smoke cleared, Sephiroth appeared standing completely still—as if he hadn't moved at all. His bright eyes landed upon Sora and, with another dash, fell another dozen blows upon him—even a spell from Donald and tossed shield from Goofy only distracted this terrifying man for only seconds. Sora struggled to keep up, but with block after block he was forced back. He knew he was falling behind.
One upward blow, only just barely checked, tossed Sora upward into the air. He had to move faster. But how?
Twisting in the air, Sora saw Donald and Goofy charging repeatedly at Sephiroth, only to swatted away like flies. He was totally unconcerned with them. But that was it, wasn't it!
Quickly, as the ground hurried up to meet him, Sora concentrated on the rush he had felt before, trying to put those same feelings back into his heart-and, in a flash, it happened. The world blinked in and out, Donald and Goofy vanished, and then everything sped up around him.
Valor Form.
Landing with a flourish, now two Keyblades in hand, Sora charged toward his enemy with blinding speed. Keyblades snapped at Sephiroth like the jaws of some beast, strong and precise. A small smile passed over Sephiroth's face as he responded in turn with blocks and redirects that seemed entirely impossible for a weapon as long as his. A vague voice in the back Sora's mind expressed concern that Sephiroth still appeared completely unfazed—each maneuver and strike of his own was performed with meticulous calm and, it seemed, not a single movement more than was absolutely necessary; whereas Sora never stopped moving, dodging, lunging and even just jumping in place, Sephiroth feet remained firmly planted where they always had.
Leaping over him, Sora charged again. The speed was exhilarating; he felt like every muscle in his body was brimming with energy ready to explode; every slash of each Keyblade was like a strike of lightning.
As Sephiroth blocked a downward strike with both Keyblades, he finally stepped back. As his block became a cut that pushed Sora and his Keyblades back, Sephiroth shook his head.
"That's enough."
And with a movement so fast even Sora's energized eyes couldn't see it, Sephiroth was suddenly past him, looking as he if had just completed one expert slice—
Then it hit Sora, with a second's delay. Cut after cut, strike after strike—a thousand attacks hidden in one moment beat against Sora's drive form until he collapsed to the ground—crying in pain—as the form was beaten out of him.
Falling to his side, Sora gasped. Donald and Goofy now lay beside him and, turning around to face them, was Sephiroth. Sora's whole body ached; every inch of him had been pummeled—but still, Sephiroth came. Every muscle screamed, but he had to do…he had to do something quick or Sephiroth was gonna-!
Groaning, Sora tried to stand. He…had…to…
As he fell back to the ground, Donald's wand caught his attention. Sora didn't know if it would work, but anything was worth a try now.
Taking a breath, he concentrated again, now on a different feeling—an elevated feeling, from back at Disney Castle…
Another moment, and another flash—Donald and Goofy were gone again and Sora was floating on his feet, supported by the air underneath him.
Wisdom Form.
Aiming the Oblivion Keyblade, Sora began to fire bolt after bolt of crisp blue energy at Sephiroth's approaching form while skating away from him. With a single twist of the wrist, Sephiroth blocked every one within reach and dashed closer to Sora, swinging his long nodachi from yards away.
Sora twisted up in the air, now hanging upside down, as the blade passed beneath him. Another cut, and Sora was on his side, still firing bolt after bolt.
As Sephiroth closed in, Sora kept skimming back. What was he supposed to do? This guy was unstoppable!
"Thundaga!" Sora called out, trying out the new ultimate spell Merlin had taught him. With a clap of thunder, a great bolt of lightning—augmented by the drive form—descended from the sky. But instead of hitting Sephiroth, the one-winged angel simply used his weapon as a lightning rod to catch the energy and redirect it into the ground.
Oh, this was bad. Sora noticed his exhaustion, only temporarily covered by the power of the drive form, was beginning to creep back into his mind. His smooth air-sailing stumbled, almost causing him to face plant, as he tried to slide further away.
"What's wrong?" Sephiroth asked, voice calm, "Are you scared?"
Before Sora could even think to respond, Sephiroth had raised his open hand and from the ground around him erupted tremendous pillars of fires. Four roaring infernos in all, the explosive power of the combustion emanating from Sephiroth caught Sora by the foot and sent him flying into the collapsing rubble of the nearby streetcorner. Crashing through wood and brick and mortar, Sora felt his drive form vanish again as the fire singed his skin. Donald and Goofy reappeared next to him in a pile of rubble and dust that caved in around them.
Looking up through the remains of the wall they had crashed through, Sora saw the fire fade—leaving Sephiroth standing, untroubled.
What was he?
Sora tried to move, tried to stand, tried to breathe—but nothing came easily. His mind was used up. The Keyblade had vanished in his fall and Donald and Goofy were totally knocked out. Sephiroth lowered his hand and began to walk toward them. What was he gonna do? What would happen to Riku and Kairi?! He couldn't…not like this…
Cloud looked out over Hollow Bastion from his position on one of the enormous walls. The night sky was oppressive and dark, interrupted only by the moon's light that shone alone through all the shadows. He couldn't just stay here forever—Tifa, or one of the others, would inevitably find him. He had to get away before they got hurt. Would he have to steal Cid's gummi ship; the one that Yuffie had used to drag him back from Olympus last year? Couldn't be ruled out.
Why had he let her do that, anyway? Why had he given in? Did he think things would be different with all of them around? No, it was only worse. Even after all these years, he could barely even talk to Aerith and the shadows still followed him. This place, this castle, only made it worse.
No, he definitely had to leave.
"Pardon me, good sir." A smooth and measured accent suddenly interrupted him, "Are you Cloud Strife?"
Cloud turned, hand poised to grab the buster sword from his back. A black coated figure stood down the wall from him, watching him from underneath a darkened hood.
"What'd you want?" Cloud grunted.
"I am loathe to disturb your…troubled ruminations," the man responded, "But it would seem that a mutual acquaintance of ours is desperate for your aid."
"What're you talking about—" Cloud began before a tumultuous explosion of fire erupted from the southern, unconstructed side of the town. Shock coursed through his body, "What—"
"Well, that would be Sora in the Shinra District with…Sephiroth." The man responded, matter-of-factly.
"No!" Cloud exclaimed and leapt from the wall. This could not be happening!
"May Lady Luck shine upon you!" came the hooded figure's ignored, but strangely encouraging, cry from behind him.
Even the light of the moon was now kept from falling by the shadow of Sephiroth. Breathing ragged, Sora tried again to lift himself, only to collapse back into the rubble.
"Your strength is impressive." Sephiroth looked down upon him, "But she has chosen this end for you."
Sora winced as Sephiroth raised his blade for one final strike, but it never came. Instead, a figure jumped between he and Sephiroth and caught the blade of his sword between their palms.
Sephiroth raised one eyebrow, "Interesting."
The figure dropped low and kicked Sephiroth's chest, knocking him back with enough force that he had to flap his single wing in order to steady himself out into the plaza.
Sora tried to speak, but the figure turned and silenced him with a finger to his lips, "Don't worry, I'll be right back. Hang tough."
He recognized that voice—it was the girl who was looking for Cloud: Tifa.
Sora's suspicion was confirmed when the figure emerged into the moonlight of the plaza after Sephiroth. Long, dark brunette hair matched with equally dark brown eyes. She tightened up her thick fighting gloves and took a ready stance against Sephiroth.
"Now, you must have brought Cloud?" Sephiroth wondered aloud.
Tifa smirked, "Nah, I'm just standing in for him."
"An impossible exchange." Sephiroth sighed and struck at Tifa from a distance. With every slash Tifa ducked or twisted around it, slowly moving her way toward Sephiroth. Even dazed, Sora was shocked by her agility.
Breathing deeply, Sora tried to roll over to reach Donald. It seemed like his two friends, while unconscious, had been able to avoid the brunt of the attack by being hidden within the drive forms. Sora shook the mage gently, hoping to wake him.
Outside, Tifa had reached Sephiroth and struck at him with blow after blow, mixed with assorted kicks and attempted takedowns. Sephiroth coolly shifted his weight to avoid each strike, even while still maneuvering his great blade in such a short space.
Sora smiled weakly as Donald began to waken, "Hey, Donald…"
"Sora!" Donald mustered, himself sounding exhausted. "What's-?"
"We gotta…we gotta help Tifa." Sora responded, looking outside where he saw her grappling with Sephiroth over control of the hilt of his weapon.
Donald nodded and picked up his wand and cast as weak of a cure spell as he could, just enough to get Sora standing. Even such a spell was enough to dizzy the court magician, though, who Sora had to catch before he collapsed again. A sudden crash led Sora to stumble out from the ruins to see Tifa, apparently tossed into another building, slowly stand to her feet and brush herself off before charging at Sephiroth again. She was gonna get herself killed, too!
As she approached, Sephiroth shook his head with a smirk and raised his arm. "Descend Heartless Ang—"
"SEPHIROTH!"
Sephiroth turned just in time to block a powerful descending strike from Cloud's enormous buster sword. The blast of air from the connection of weapons forced Sora to look away for a moment from the clash and, when he looked back, Cloud stood opposite Sephiroth, sword ready.
"At last." Sephiroth nodded, turning entirely away from Tifa. "I knew you would not let go. Your darkness will forever be my conduit."
"That's not true!" Tifa yelled as Cloud didn't respond.
"Tifa, stay out of this!" Cloud barked, acknowledging her for the first time.
Tifa shook her head, "I can't!" she implored, "How could I? I want to help you!"
"He can't be helped." Sephiroth responded. "His darkness is too well entrenched."
"I…" Cloud wavered, before charging forward. "Shut up!"
After trading a few blows, Sephiroth and Cloud crossed blades, each sharpened edges grinding against the other.
"Cloud, you can have my light!" Tifa cried out.
"The light doesn't suit you." Sephiroth demurred.
"It doesn't have to!" Tifa replied, moving closer to the two fighters. "It just needs to surround him—his darkness might still be there, Sephiroth, but in a place you can't reach."
Cloud glanced between Tifa and Sephiroth, clearly torn.
"I will kill her." Sephiroth nearly whispered, only just audible to Sora.
"Cloud…" Tifa stared back at him earnestly.
With a roar, Cloud launched himself high into the air. Sephiroth, with a great flap of his dark wing, flew up after him and, with a wave of his hand, a portal of darkness swallowed them both before vanishing.
Sora sighed, a mix of concern and relief, and leaned back against the ruined brick wall, his gaze shifting between the sky, then to Tifa, then back to the sky.
"What…what just happened?"
Tifa finally looked down. As her eyes fell on Sora, her face revealed that she had almost forgotten about him. "Oh, OH!"
She rushed over and caught him just as Sora's legs were about to give out. "He's…well, I guess he's gone again."
Sora sighed, feeling his eyes become heavy. "What…what're you gonna do?"
Tifa smiled halfheartedly, "Well, I guess I'll keep looking. He needs his light to guide him home."
"That's…a lot of work…" Sora mumbled.
"It's been a long seven years," Tifa responded, looking away to hide her blush, "He's an ass, but…well, think about what you've done for the people most important to you."
Sora nodded weakly, feeling his consciousness drift.
"Oh!" Tifa shook herself out of a reverie, "We should get you back! Aerith will be able to help!"
With a hoist, Tifa took him over her shoulder. The last thing Sora sensed before he fell into the restful darkness was her leaning over to scoop up Donald and Goofy, as well.
Here she was, another day in this cage and it was getting really, really old to Kairi. Keyblade Escape Attempt #11 had been unsuccessful, as she was unable to hide her work well enough. Now, she was stuck looking through the bars of her cell at the one who had "fixed" all her hard work, the strangest one of them all: Xigbar.
"What do you want?" Kairi muttered
"Well, y'know, we just saved you from the evil Axel threat! Not to mention the billions of times we've saved Sora!" Xigbar grinned, "We are just so damn generous, I thought you'd want to give me a big 'ole 'thank-you'!"
Kairi snorted and turned away with a slight smirk. "As if."
"Aw man, that might've actually been funny if I still had a heart!" Xigbar shook his head, "Y'know, if you just showed the boss that you could use that Keyblade, he might let you out. We're always looking to defeat more Heartless!"
"I think I'll pass." Kairi responded.
Xigbar sighed, "So you're just gonna stay trapped in there and pout?"
"I'm not trapped," Kairi returned, "I'm still just waiting."
"Hah, as if!" Xigbar laughed a hollow laugh, a sadness that Kairi was becoming accustomed to hearing. "At least the old man would be proud that you've grown up to be so patient!"
Kairi, not knowing how to respond to the Organization's ongoing cryptics, didn't.
"You know, that really is a big change. You used to pull at my hair like a damn lever if you didn't get your way quickly enough," Xigbar turned to wander along the side of the cage, "You were really annoying, actually."
Curiosity finally piqued her interest and Kairi couldn't help but ask, "What're you talking about?"
"Oh!" Xigbar turned, snapping his fingers as if making a realization. "Y'know what? I just realized, me and the boss are the only ones left! Me n' him are the only ones that remember you!"
"Why should I believe you?" Kairi asked suspiciously. But truly, something deep in her gut was disturbed by the implication. What if these people had known her when she was child? What would they know? She had to push further. "If you did know me, where did we live?"
"In Hollow Bastion, of course!" Xigbar grinned. "I'm honestly hurt that you don't remember me!"
Kairi tried not to let the surprise register on her face. Xigbar was saying that her original home, before arriving on the Islands, was Hollow Bastion? The castle that Maleficent had taken her to? She didn't want to believe it, but it made some sort of strange sense to her—when they had been escaping, after rescuing Sora, the towering structure had seemed so strangely familiar…could it be true?
"Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Kairi continued slowly, "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
Xigbar smirked, "Why don't we save that tale for another time, eh, Princess? Maybe if you became, I dunno, more cooperative, maybe?"
Kairi paused. What if she could learn more about her past? There was so much she wanted to know…but she also knew she couldn't trust this Organization folks, even a little.
"I think I'll keep waiting."
"God-damn, that's nuts!" Xigbar's single eye squinted, "I give you a way out, but you choose to trust that dumbass, airheaded kid?" he paused, "Or is it the other one—the depressed, mopey dude that no one's seen in forever? Hah, as if!"
Kairi glared up at that single, yellow eye. "Don't insult my friends."
"Oopsy-daisy!" Xigbar shrugged her off, "C'mon, it's not like I drowned your kitten or something—don't look at me like that!"
Kairi finally refused to respond; in her mind, there was little more to say.
After a moment of watching her, Xigbar shrugged again. "Oh well, just remember that it was only ole' Xigbar who cared enough to visit you! I'll let you know if I shoot one of your friends. Bye-bye now!"
And with a wave, he vanished into darkness, and Kairi was again alone in the white cage.
Namine looked up at Axel, unsure, as they both stood quietly over the slumbering Sora. Namine's heart ached for him—he was so tired, looked so wounded by his recent bout with Sephiroth. She should've been watching him, maybe she could've gotten help sooner…he didn't deserve any of this—but she was glad he was resting.
Axel, too, was looking down at him. His narrow green eyes seemed quite contemplative, a look that Namine was unaccustomed to see him wear.
"Axel…?" Namine whispered.
Axel glanced down at her, "Right, right…go on, take my memory and stuff it into that big head of his."
Namine nodded and, overcoming her rightful hesitation, briefly touched Axel's gloved hand. Reaching out the other, she placed a hand on Sora's forehead, brushing a spike of hair out of the way. He felt hot and a little sweaty. Frowning, she gently wiped his forehead clean.
"Kairi…" he muttered in his sleep.
"Are we gonna do this or what?" Axel mumbled, bringing Namine back to reality.
She nodded, concentrating. "Oh, right, yes."
In a moment, she reached into Axel's memories. She was briefly tempted to look deeper into his mind, but ultimately decided against it—she didn't want to know. Instead, she took the single memory at the front of his mind: a dark portal, lingering from his hasty exit, in DiZ's simulation of Twilight Town. In another moment, she placed into the forefront of Sora's mind—it would probably appear as a dream for him any moment now.
"D-done." Namine whispered, returning her hands.
"And he'll remember it soon?" Axel asked.
"Yes, knowing Sora, he'll go right after it."
Axel nodded and turned to leave. "Good. Thank you, Nam."
Before he could, though, Namine suddenly spoke up, "T-that's the first time any of you have ever thanked me."
Axel paused. "Yeah, I guess."
"I'm glad you're doing the right thing, Axel."
Axel shrugged, as a portal of darkness appeared. "You deserved better than any of us, Namine."
With that, Namine was left alone with Sora and his slumbering friends in the attic of Merlin the Wizard.
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