Shadows of a Dream
Chapter Twenty – Better Left Unanswered
Donald curled up in his blankets happily, dreaming of life back at the palace with Daisy. Unfortunately, his happy dreams were always interrupted as the dream versions of his nephews always ended up doing something stupid. Sometimes this caused him to wake up and think about how much, even if they got on his nerves, he did care about his nephews; most of the time it caused him to wake up wanting to zap them all with his thunder spell.
Suddenly Donald was interrupted from his sleepy musings. He looked around with confusion and saw Goofy sit up in the bed across the room from his. They both looked at the door with confusion before getting up and running out, their weapons in hand.
What they found was a confusing sight at least.
King Mickey had taken the autopilot off and was starting to fly like a madman (it made Donald miss Sora's flying from the first time the boy tried to fly the gummi ship), obliterating anything that crossed their path. Midori was standing in the middle of the room, her eyes wide with confusion, looking at the ceiling. She was holding on to one of the poles, having lost her footing in Mickey's take over of the ship and Riku was…stuck to the ceiling? Donald didn't want to know how that happened and he quickly silenced Goofy, who was going to ask about Riku.
"What's going on?" Donald asked as he approached the King. He kept his respectful tone, but as a friend he wanted to strangle Mickey for waking him from his sleep. They had a difficult time at Olympus Coliseum and would have ended up as Heartless if it wasn't for Hercules getting a Keyblade.
"We got a transmission from Disney Castle," Mickey explained, panic evident in his voice.
"What happened?" Goofy asked, suddenly alert.
"The Nobodies," Mickey said with a grim look. "The Nobodies are there. They haven't got into the castle yet, but Chip and Dale say it's only a matter to time."
Doanld quickly jumped into his seat to help make the trip easier and as fast as possible, Goofy doing the same as he jumped in the other seat.
Midori managed to get her footing back and winced where she had hit her cheek against the pole. Rubbing it with her gloved hands her eyes turned and looked up at Riku curious. They stared at one-another before Midori asked, "Hey Silver?"
"What?" He had long accepted this name, after unsuccessfully trying to put her off of it.
"Two questions: One, how are you sticking to the ceiling? And two, where did this pole come from?"
He blinked and said, "I'll be honest Midi, I have no idea."
Some questions were just better left unanswered.
VVVVVVVVVVVVV
Some questions were better left unanswered. That was what Sora had decided. He rubbed his head as he stood outside of the Beast's Castle (Or rather Prince Adam's castle? He wasn't too sure what to call it). Kairi stood beside him and Roxas and Naminé were both standing a little bit away from them, waiting for their Others to move. The question that floated around in his mind for the past few worlds they had passed through was: can things get any worse? The answer was yes, but he wished he hadn't gotten an answer at all.
"I wish we had stayed in Christmas Town," Sora said with a groan.
Kairi looked up at him and was surprise when she saw tears of frustration in his eyes. Her gaze followed him as he fell to the ground beside her. He repeated slammed his fist into the ground, until she could see some blood coming through the fabric of his gloves.
She knelt down next to him quickly and grabbed his hand and said, "Sora, calm down."
"Calm down? How am I supposed to calm down?" Sora yelled, causing her to back away from him. "I thought things were going to get better since Halloween Town. I was so sure of it. It's gotten worse. Every—single—world—we—have—gone—to—has—already—been—attacked!"
If she didn't know better, Kairi would say he was having an asthma attack, or possible a heart attack.
"Don't yell at her," Roxas snapped as he walked over to Sora. Sora was about to retaliate but Roxas growled and grabbed him by his collar, hauling Sora to his feet and pinning him against the wall. "No! I know it sucks! We're losing. I get that! Don't take out your anger on the people close to you though!"
Kairi stood up beside Naminé, both looking on with alarm.
Both boys took a few deep breaths before Roxas let go of Sora's collar, causing him to slump to the ground and bury his face in his hands.
Kairi was beside him again in an instant, rubbing his back and hugging him comfortingly. It wasn't often that she had to be the strong one, but she was actually thankful for the opportunity.
Roxas looked down, feeling slightly ashamed of his reaction. He looked up as Naminé hugged him tightly and said, "It's alright, you did what you thought was best."
Sora looked up at Roxas suddenly, staring at him oddly. He seemed to be studying every part of his Nobody, searching for something that only he could see.
"What?" Roxas asked, feeling self-conscious.
"How did you do that?" Sora asked slowly. "How did you physically grab me?"
That question startled all of them.
"I-I don't know," Roxas said. "I didn't even think about it."
Sora looked down before looking into Kairi's eyes. He hugged her back and said, "I'm sorry Iri. I didn't mean to yell."
She shook her head and said, "It's alright, even the best of us feel like we've hit rock bottom at times."
Sora stood up, pulling her with him. He looked and Roxas and Naminé and said, "I'm sorry to you two too. Without you we'd still be back in Enchanted Forest. No, we'd be dead back on Destiny Islands."
Both smiled and Naminé said, "It's alright."
"If it makes you feel better, we know Riku and the other's are alright," Roxas said while nodding to the castle. All of the inhabitants had been turned into what looked like trees of the people. However, they did find Riku's cellphone, obviously having fallen out of his pocket, and they found some feathers that came from Donald.
Sora grinned but that quickly turned to a frown and said, "Or that they were. They were here at some point of time, probably when this happened. I just wish that we could have been more useful in Oaky Oaks, Narnia, Sherwood Forest, or Neverland. All of the children were taken from those places, which is ridiculous."
"They're making a last minute grab," Naminé said nervously. "At least, that's what it seems like."
Kairi nodded and said, "She's right. I don't want to rain on us or anything, but we're running out of time. It's not all bad news though, because we found out that Peter Pan had a Keyblade too." No matter how much she tried the bad still outweighed the good, and they all knew it.
"Let's go," Roxas said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "If we don't have much time we shouldn't waste it anymore."
They all nodded and once the black portal was created and the two nobodies were securely in their others, Sora and Kairi walked through the familiar passage, not knowing where they were going.
VVVVVVVVVVVVV
Minnie's dark eyes held panic in it as she rushed people farther into the castle. The gummi ship docks were sealed off, and everyone was gathering in the Throne Room. Nobodies surrounded the castle, but luckily Heartless still couldn't stand the light from the Cornerstone to join them.
It was still a mystery how the Nobodies could come so close to the castle, but they weren't taking any chances to find out. The palace was well guarded and everyone else was gathered together. Queen Minnie decided to use the strength in numbers approach.
"What's happening Aunt Daisy?" Huey asked her.
The Lady-in-Waiting turned to the little ducklings, all three whom she considered her nephews. They were all brave and adventurous, but at the moment all of them were shaking and clinging to her.
There was a yelp and everyone turned around. Max jumped away from a black hole that appeared in the middle of the room, fear evident in his face.
"They're coming," Dale yelled.
"Everybody hide!" Chip added.
The silhouettes of two people appeared, but they couldn't make out the features. Everyone watched, tense and wary, but as the figures started coming into focus Minnie gasped.
The first thing she recognized was the outline of spiky hair, and she knew who it was.
A second later the portal vanished and the two figures looked around in confusion until the male said, "We're in Disney Castle."
"Sora!" Minnie cried out with relief in her voice. She quickly rushed forward towards the Keyblade Master, and stopped a few feet in front of him. "And Princess Kairi! You're both alright!"
Sora looked down at the miniature Queen and saw tears in her eyes. A surprised look appeared on his face as he knelt down next to her and said, "What's wrong? What's happened?" He jumped as the Queen suddenly threw herself at him and hugged him tightly, but only for a moment.
"It's terrible Sora," she said. Everyone saw the tears now, not having noticed them coming from their strong Queen before. "Nobodies are surrounding the castle, we don't know exactly when Mickey and everyone else will be back, and we thought you two were gone for good."
Sora stared at her and didn't look up as Kairi came up closer to them and placed her hand on his shoulder. Her eyes stared into Minnie's as she said, "We'll go outside and fight the Nobodies."
"There's hundreds of them missy," Scrooge McDuck said while tipping his top hat in a sign of respect for the young Princess.
Sora looked down at the floor before looking up and saying, "We'll hold them off until Mickey and…who's with him?"
"Donald, Goofy, Riku and this girl named Midori," Daisy said to Minnie while she came over and hugged her mouse-friend.
"Midori," Sora whispered. "That was her name." He shook his head quickly then said, "Come on Kai, let's make sure they don't get in here."
She nodded and they both quickly ran out of the throne room, everyone watching them run by.
VVVVVVVVVVVVV
"Sora, wait!" Kairi called while grabbing his hand. They were right in front of the main doors now, which were taking an awful beating from the other side. They wouldn't hold for much longer, both Sora and Kairi knew this.
Sora turned and stared at her, only to end up stumbling against the wall as she threw herself at him. His arms encircled her automatically but his eyes widen in surprise as she kissed him deeply, but only for a moment. His eyes closed and he returned the kiss with equal passion.
They stayed like that for what seemed like only seconds before breaking apart. Sora stared at her curiously and she whispered, "For luck."
Sora gripped her tightly and said, "Let's show them what they're dealing with."
Kairi held out her hand behind him and Oathkeeper materialized in it. She stared at the white Keyblade over his shoulder for a moment before nodding.
A loud crash echoed throughout the empty halls of the castle. In a quick movement, a split second before it happened, Sora used the magic from his Keyblade to erect a shield around Kairi and himself so the splinters of the door would impale them.
"Oh my god," Kairi whispered, her eyes widened as Nobodies started flooding through the broken door. They weren't high-leveled ones, they were only dusks, but there were hundreds, most likely thousands of them.
Sora already leapt into action, slaying anything that came within an arms reach. Still, he wasn't going as fast and he could with Heartless. Nobodies were stronger than their other halves after all.
They fought a never-ending wave of Nobodies, both not taking a second longer to stop and breath than they needed. Kairi soon felt her arms beginning to hurt under the strain, and a light wave of nausea passed over her as she realized the horrible truth: there was no way that they'd be able to hold all of these…monsters off for much longer.
There was a bright flash of light and Naminé appeared next to her. She held out her transparent hand and fire erupted from it, destroying several Nobodies. Quickly she looked at Kairi and said, "You concentrate of beating them with the Keyblade. I've got the magic covered."
Kairi nodded and turned so that her back was pressed against Naminé's. She didn't take the time to wonder why she could actually feel her Nobody, but she did take a second to look through the flurry of twisting white bodies to see that Roxas too had come out of Sora and was using magic while Sora was fighting with two Keyblades.
"No!" Naminé yelled suddenly. Kairi twisted around slightly to look behind her and saw the panicked look on the face of her Nobody. Naminé looked at her and said, "They got through! They're heading to the throne room!"
Kairi looked around for Sora, but there was no way that he could get away from the onslaught. He turned slightly and looked at her for a split second before yelling, "Hurry Kairi! Stop them!"
She nodded and started cutting her way through the Nobodies trying to get to the throne room in time.
VVVVVVVVVVVVV
Midori stared out the window of the gummi ship with wonder as it approached Disney Castle. She was the first one to see it and didn't know what to say to everyone else. She turned slightly and said, "Nobodies. Hundred of them."
Riku stared at the scene with terrified amazement; it was like watching a sea of flexible white water.
"The doors," Goofy said suddenly. "To the castle, they're opened!"
Mickey let out an angry grunt before saying, "Donald, I need you to put shields around each of us, but not the ship."
Donald stared with wide eyes before nodded and waving his staff; transparent blue shields quickly surrounded everyone.
"Brace yourselves fellas!" Mickey called out as he headed towards the ground, not slowing down.
Midori let out a small scream and grabbed a hold of Riku. He stared at her for a moment as she said, "He's going to crash the ship into the Nobodies."
Riku gulped and braced himself for the impact, holding onto Midori loosely.
Everyone closed their eyes as the ship slammed into the Nobodies, destroying them as the ship skidded and rolled across the ground.
VVVVVVVVVVVVV
There was a slight pause in the battle as the Nobodies seemed to watch the burning ship with fascination. This gave Sora the time to drink a hi-potion, only wincing slightly at the bitter taste, before the battle commenced.
He could feel his energy sapping away from him, and had to remind himself that both he and Roxas were using his energy to fight. His limbs ached and his head pounded as he slashed at one white figure after another.
Roxas groaned, somehow feeling physical strain. He wasn't sure why he was, but assumed that he was feeling Sora's body weakening, since it was technically his body too.
A strangled gasp suddenly escaped Sora, causing Roxas to turn around, but he knew what happened before he actually saw. A sharp, strong pain seemed to originate from Roxas' untouched shoulder, the same place that Sora was grasping on his body. Blood seeped through Sora's fingers from where the Nobody had impaled him through his right shoulder.
The Ultima Weapon seemed to shake in Sora's hand for a moment before it fell to the ground, vanishing as Sora was unable to hold it anymore. Still, Oblivion was held in Sora's left hand and he continued to use it, gritting his teeth from the terrible pain that took over his body.
"Sora!"
He looked up and felt his breath leave him for a moment. He saw a flash of silver and it took him a second to realize what he was looking at.
"Riku," Sora said as he watched his friend. Roxas faded back into Sora, unable to hold himself anymore.
Riku turned to look at his friend and felt a smile appear on his face, despite the circumstances at the moment. He was just glad to see his friend again. His smile quickly turned into a frown, his green eyes flashing in panic as Sora's eyes closed before he fell to the ground, unconscious.
Mickey burst through the crowd, glancing at Sora for a moment before nodding at Riku and heading towards the throne room. Riku ran to Sora's side, first checking for a pulse. Luckily he found one easy enough.
Midori appeared at Riku's side and asked, "Is he alright?"
"I hope so," Riku replied.
Donald and Goofy appeared beside them, still fighting but looking worried all at the same time.
Suddenly all of the Nobodies halted their advance. Donald and Goofy stared at them suspiciously, and Midori held out Twilight threateningly. Riku remained kneeling down next to his unconscious friend.
A loud scream was suddenly heard, causing Riku's hair to stand on end. All of the Nobodies vanished and as they did Sora's eyes flew open again and he shot up, ignoring the pain.
Sora's cerulean eyes looked around with panic and he yelled, "Kairi?" He struggled to push himself to his feet, but Riku quickly grabbed a hold of him.
"Kairi," Sora repeated again, staring at Riku with an almost helpless look before passing out again.
VVVVVVVVVVVVV
Author's Note
So everyone's together again, but what happened to Kairi and Namine? You'll find out at the same place, at the same time on the bat channel! No seriously, what did you think?
Speaking of Bat Channel I went to the midnight showing of The Dark Knight and I gotta say, people are not exaggeration Heath Ledger's acting. He did an amazing job! Like, over the top good! The movie itself was amazing and I've never been a huge batman fan.
My recommendation: GO SEE IT 10 TIMES OVER!
Anyways…
Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Pizza sized cookies for all! I know I replied to some of the reviews by PM but I'll still do it here too!
DAN88 – Thanks for catching the huge typo! I went back and fixed it. Or maybe it was done of purpose? Haha!
RockCityRoadStar – Rambling works! Kids are annoying. Holly is incredibly annoying, more so then you could EVER be. Yes, buy more movies! It's like an addiction to me. Some people do weed, others smoke, others drink a lot and I blow my money of DVDs XD ergo my lack of money. No, I'm not making fun of you, but that word amuses me!
Iaveina – Hahaha maybe the ghosts will be nice. Yes, Kairi was jealous. Crazy redhead, tricks are for kids…wait…lol seriously I did not mean to write that but I think I'll leave it there. I meant to write crazy redhead, Sora's so crazy for you it's almost pathetic. And yes, Santa is going to give Riku a raking! :D
J.A. Umberger – I wanted to add Axel to this story, but there was no part I could really work him in without going on a tangent from my main plot (even though I've already done that about a million times). No need to be sorry, I love Axel! But he won't be appearing in this story, but…well…you'll see…
The Key of Hope – To be honest, the reason I'm not taking three or four chapters for each world is because I think I would get too bored of the story too easily and stop updating it. Besides, they don't have time to goof around anymore.
Thank you all for reviewing! And anyone who has questions, comments, concerns or anything, don't hesitate to say anything!
Remember, at least 3 is the lucky number but 5 or more reviews makes me SUPER happy. (I would have updated faster this time, but I had no internet over the weekend).
Krystal Lily Potter