Long chapter so want to keep this A/N short but I'd just like to say that it's unfortunate that Leonard Nimoy passed away this week. A good Master Xehanort and an amazing Mr. Spock. LLAP. Weirdly enough, Master Xehanort's JP VA also passed away back in January...
Chapter 25
Era of Renaissance
The World was changing and so too should those who interfere in it. Those were the words from Neuge that stirred in Riku's mind as he slammed his Keyblade against Max's shield. It was akin to drastic times call for drastic measures, or at least if felt that way. After spending so much time trying to stop Xehanort and his multiple others, who dabbled in other worlds' affairs, Riku felt it seemed almost hypocritical to be accepting the very thing they had been fighting against.
"Riku, you seem distracted by something. You okay? We can stop if you want…" Max checked noticing Riku's strikes had been a lot weaker. He had personally asked for the training himself. He had taken on a change of heart as to whether he should follow in his father's footsteps it seemed. Gone was the indecisive teenager who wished to have a normal life like all the others his age and in that person's place was now a determined young Knight intrigued to discover exactly what such a title meant. That's what seeing other worlds did to you. After some time it was impossible to think as one once did, and it felt like a more focused person had emerged from the fog that previously covered their heart. Riku knew the feeling all too well.
"No, I can keep going. Let's continue," Riku affirmed before striking harder. Max raised his shield and the Keyblade hit against the metal and deflected of its surface. Even then the impact was so powerful that Max lost his balance and fell onto his bottom. "You can't seriously think you'll stand a chance against the Heartless if a simple blow like that will send you to the ground."
"You really hit hard that time," Max protested.
"And the Heartless will hit even harder," Riku said before helping Max up. "Look, no one ever said this would be easy. It's not easy getting back up when you fall, and it may even get annoying to constantly hear it, but it's how I learned."
Max sighed, a frown appearing on his face. "Maybe I'm not ready for this then. I thought I was but…"
"It's all in your head," Riku offered pointing at his own forehead. "You remind me of Sora actually. We were kids back on the islands, sparring with each other every chance we could. We were really competitive and most of the time I always won. One day Sora seemed pretty down in particular about a loss and told me that there was no point if he was never going to beat me. So here's what I told him: "Sora, each time you fight you get just a little bit stronger. You learn bit by bit and soon, maybe, just maybe, but unlikely, you might be able to beat me." What I didn't tell him was that I learned from him as well. You're never perfect no matter how hard you try, but the best thing you can be is ready."
"Did Sora eventually beat you?" Max asked.
"Let's just say it wasn't pretty," Riku answered.
Max nodded at this with a renewed smile of confidence before readying his shield again. The next few minutes saw Riku attempting to strike from different angles and Max blocking or at least attempting to block accordingly. Every once in a while, the Knight in training was knocked back onto the ground and Riku would have to give him a boost of encouragement. Other than that though, he was free to go back to his previous thoughts.
He had to wonder what Master Yen Sid was thinking, no, what everyone was thinking. This wasn't just a threat that worried him. Everyone was worried that if even just one wrong decision was made, it could put the worlds in jeopardy. To that end, it was slightly aggravating not knowing what Yen Sid in particular thought was the right course of action, even more so with Moira's Crescent breathing down their necks.
The next intrusion in his pondering happened much sooner than expected. He looked over his shoulder to see Namine watching, looking as lonely as ever. Her eyes held an undeterminable sadness and her body was rigid and timid. While not something uncommon for the blonde, for some reason she seemed lonelier than ever today. Had something happened he wondered?
"I think that's enough for today. Get some rest, you deserve it," Riku congratulated Max with a pat on the shoulder. Without waiting for a response or to see Max off, he turned and made his way to Namine. "Something wrong?" he asked.
Namine smiled weakly and clutched her arm. "Not really. I guess I just don't really feel all too good today. That, and no one's really around."
"Isn't Kairi available? Come to think of it, I haven't seen her much recently. Training with Yen Sid?"
Namine shook her head. "She's at the library most of the time. When I asked her why, all she said was that she was interested in something and needed to confirm it. I guess she couldn't trust her own Nobody."
"I'm sure that's not the case. She probably trusts you more than anyone else actually—that and you're technically not a Nobody anymore. When the time is right I'm sure you'll be the first to know," Riku told her. It did seem weird to him however that Kairi would choose not to be so open to a person who had once been herself.
"Everyone has a secret nowadays," Namine said as if reading Riku's mind. "I draw and draw, thinking I can capture what a person is thinking, but I'll never really know. The heart is an unknowable thing. It has its secrets and falsehoods. No matter how deep I were to dive into Sora's heart, I can only see what's on the surface."
"You're talking about the feelings attached to the memories, right? I wonder… Yeul, have you drawn her before?" Riku asked. She was right about everyone having secrets, but he felt Sora's were doing more harm than good. What better a place to start than with the person who had control over his memories?
Namine looked startled at the mention of the name before recovering and answering. "I've drawn her several times. Not just for Sora but for me too. Even though I usually can't sense emotions behind memories, Yeul was the exception. Maybe it's because I was also there or maybe the memory holds a special and powerful resonance within Sora's heart."
"And what do you feel?"
"Sadness… and supressed anger as well. It's a hurt unlike any I've ever felt before," Namine described.
"It's definitely not your feelings, I can tell you that much." Riku closed his eyes and felt the warm glow of the sun heating his face. It reminded him of the home he missed so much. At least there he, Sora and Kairi were always together, always smiling and laughing with their worries far behind them. Kairi's belief that both Sora and Riku were on a different wavelength to her when it came to using the Keyblade was only a half truth. All three of them were on different wavelengths and it wasn't just when it came to fighting either.
Riku figured that today would have been a normal day like any other. Aside from Goofy asking him to help train his son, he had assumed his day would have been the usual taking out Heartless mission. Not today however, because it seemed fate had other plans in store for him.
One look at Namine told him he wasn't going to get a chance to ask another question, and if he was, it was going to be something completely different from what he'd intended. Namine's eyes glazed over and whatever expression had once been in her face was now gone.
"Riku… no, please… close your eyes… don't listen… please!" Namine urged in a voice that was unlike her own.
"Namine? What's happening? Namine!"
"I…" Namine froze as if imitating a still life painting before becoming animated once more, but her next words were not something the Namine he knew would say: "The hero of light falls. His heart cracks and falls like shards of glass raining from the heavens. It cuts deeply and the World shall cry tears of blood in his name, a name that has touched so many hearts and worlds alike, before drowning in those tears."
The words would not leave Riku's mouth, even after Namine had returned to her normal self. He could not lie to himself here. He was genuinely frightened by what had just happened, and that was something that seldom happened. Namine's expression took on one of confusion in response to Riku's horrified one, as if she had no idea what had just taken place herself. But Riku supposed staring at her like she was something from a different universe had probably helped her to realise it soon enough.
"No… don't tell me I…" She took Riku's silence as her confirmation. With that she slumped onto the ground and covered her eyes to mask her tears.
"I need to talk to you for a minute," Sora insisted after Astra opened her bedroom door in response to his knocking.
Astra chuckled before letting him in. "I'm sensing some Déjà vu here. Okay, you want a minute, I'll give you ten."
When Sora entered, he found himself overwhelmed with a room that was messier than his own. His justification was that his was a smaller room in comparison, and yet Astra's was littered with posters of different bands, a mini fridge, a desk with sweet paper wrappers littered all over and on the floor several assorted items such as a hockey stick, a soccer ball among other things that made the room seem like a complete death trap.
He took care in stepping over these objects while making his way to the desk and took a seat. "I kind of expected your room to be… tidier. Not that mine is any better really," Sora remarked.
"Is that why you knocked on my door?" Astra asked apathetically.
"Uh, no, of course not. I just wanted to know why you hate you me so much," Sora admitted. "I haven't really gotten a clear answer from you and if we both really do care for Luna I think it's best we settle whatever differences we have right now. That way when she comes back from Kit's Bakery, she can see that we're willing to work together."
Astra jumped backwards and sunk into her bed. "Huh, trying to warm your way into my heart are you? I'll make this clear since you clearly didn't get it before and you don't seem to even now. You're a danger to Luna. Heck, you're a danger to most of the things you touch. Now granted I've been told that you've saved the worlds before and for that, I obviously don't hate you, but look at Luna…"
"What about Luna?" Sora asked. "I know I haven't done as well I could be doing to protect her, but I'm trying."
"Trying means very little to me. You either do or you don't. Besides, that wasn't what I was talking about. She's obsessed, with you, with seeing other worlds, to the point where she'd jump off a cliff if you asked her to."
"Oh don't be ridiculous. Are you insinuating I'd ask her to do something like that?"
"No, but she may just do it for you anyway," Astra said. "I've said my piece. Don't you dare toy with her like you did that Seer."
At the mention of his deceased friend, Sora sprang from the seat with his fists clutched and teeth gritted. "Her name was Yeul. And don't you dare bring her into this."
"Or what? Does the truth hurt that much? That you failed to protect her and did the same thing to Luna?" Astra asked sitting up and confronting him directly.
Sora's eyes soon relented and shifted away from her though. It was like her to try and intimidate him but he wasn't about to play her games. Instead he just smiled. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
And Sora really would do nothing. He would retreat to his bedroom where he would spend some of the time looking outside at the empty street below him and awaiting Luna's return. A few houses up the street, Sora became entranced by the garden sprinklers automatically turning on creating a slight rainbow effect as it watered the grass. This gave to the belief that there was some life on the street, but had a rock not just smacked against the window he was viewing these things from, he would have described the street as otherwise inactive.
He jumped back with quick reaction time but the glass in between prevented the rock from fully hitting his face. Curiosity lit up Sora's bored features and he stepped towards the window once more, scanning the area from left to right, down and strangely enough, even up. No sign of the stone thrower remained.
"Maybe it was just a random bird throwing stones, or a sneaky little kid... Now that I think about it the latter makes a lot more sense," Sora told himself and shook his head. He needed to sleep in any case since he was completely drained from being out and about all day.
He turned his back and was about to leave when the same CLANK sound of the hard material hitting against the glass. He spun around again and looked back outside. There was no way this person was not deliberately targeting this window in particular, and choosing to hide after the fact made him more suspect. Sora felt like an old man having to shout to some rascally kid to leave him in peace, but it had to be done. He slipped into his shoes before leaving the room. Mainly out of bitterness but also out of need not to worry her, he walked straight past Astra's room and tiptoed down the stairs slowly. Reaching the landing, he took one last look upstairs to make sure he hadn't alerted Astra's attention, before opening the door and heading outside.
Sora slipped out of the house without closing the door behind him and walked out into the street to search it more thoroughly. A simple projectile of ice whizzed past him and hit a lamppost creating some frost on its vertical surface. It had been an intentional miss unless the person's aim was incredibly bad.
Sora turned quickly in the location of the shot and immediately spotted someone in the distance with what Sora had to guess was a Keyblade in their hands. They were too far away so he couldn't be sure at first. The next attack left him doubtful however. The blade of the weapon suddenly extended forward at such an incredibly fast speed that he failed to notice the cut on his cheek until after the blade was just past him. Feeling the sting, he placed his hand on his face and withdrew it to find a smear of blood on his fingers.
"That speed was… incredible!" Sora uttered in shock. He looked up in time to see the blade retract in length and to return to its owner's side. The person who Sora was just able to make out was female, raised her hand and gestured him to follow before taking off. Sora had no choice but to follow. He felt he had a pretty good idea who it was and if those suspicions were true, he had to find out the answers to the many questions he had.
Luna twirled the broomstick in her hand before dancing it backwards in a zigzag pattern across the floor. She was determined to get every last inch of dust. Of course, while she wasn't able to get all of it, what she had gotten was enough to make the shop look spotless, as it once had. She flipped the broomstick upside down and tapped twice on the wooden floorboards to let Aunt Kit know that she was done.
"You've done a mighty impressive job Luna!" Aunt Kit praised as she finished lining empty but beautifully weaved straw baskets on the window display. Tomorrow these would be filled with an array of freshly baked doughy treats and the shop too would be open for the public once again. "I'm guessing you were the one who kept the place tidy while you were away?"
"Not exactly," Luna laughed and proceeded to grab the rug from the wall and lay it down on the floor. She stood back up and clapped her hands in proudness at her work. The shop, once looking rundown and abandoned, now had a sense of life breathed into it. It had been given a second chance, and Aunt Kit was determined not to let it slide away.
"So are you gonna tell me where you've been this whole time? I'm not sure what it is that would make it not worth telling me." Aunt Kit watched as Luna walked over to the counter and picked up the cat shaped clock to wind it.
"Time's purrrecious! It's 8 o'clock. Meow!" Luna imitated the voice as it spoke before winding it to its real time. She used the stool behind the counter to place it on the wall. "I guess it's time I told you, but you have to promise me something. No matter what, you won't allow it to change your mind on keeping the shop open."
"Luna, what's this about-"
"Promise me," Luna repeated turning to meet Aunt Kit's sunken and tired eyes. When Aunt Kit eventually nodded, her eyes eventually wandered off to the empty shelves. "You remember how I always told you that I wasn't satisfied with Alexander? How I've wondered if there was something more out there? I've found them. Other worlds with their own identity and beauty."
"Luna… what are you talking about?"
"I'm not lying, Aunt Kit. I've helped protect three Princesses from imminent danger and prevented a forced political marriage, I've saved a bunch of Dalmatians from a kidnapping plot, I even saw to the end of a rivalry between clans. From desert to the data world, I've seen things, and there's a lot more for me to discover."
"Luna, please-"
"I saw the stars, Aunt Kit. Just like I said I would," Luna concluded her fiery speech with a satisfied smile.
"Luna, you're not making any sense."
"Ask Sora then, or even Astra, she's been outside this world too. Here, I'll even show you." Luna raised her hand and with a flash of light the Keyblade was in her hands. Aunt Kit stared on in bafflement. No doubt it was all too much for her to handle and Luna quickly dismissed Dream Seeker and ran to the older woman's side in support. She led her into the kitchen and carefully lowered her down onto a chair before taking a seat beside her. She reached forwards and placed her right hand on Aunt Kit's thigh.
"Luna, what in the world was that?" Kit asked with a slight tremor of fear in her voice.
"A Keyblade. It's how I save worlds and how me and Sora have been fighting the Heartless."
"The Heartless?"
"Those creatures that have been attacking people lately. You have to believe me Aunt Kit. I know it's hard to take in but every single word of it is true."
Aunt Kit blinked multiple times looking down at the hand on her lap before moving upwards to look at its owner's eyes. "I know you wouldn't make these things up Luna. I believe you. So… how was it?"
"Amazing! Out of this world, quite literally! I wish you could see them," Luna answered ecstatically. She was happy that the bakery owner could take so quickly to the concept.
"Well maybe I still can. I'll have you know I'm still pretty youthful and hip with the kids these days," Kit said with a courageous grin.
"I don't doubt it," Luna chuckled. "But I really need you to stay here and keep the business going, especially with what I'm going to tell you next. I-"
"You want to keep seeing other worlds, don't you?"
"-want to keep seeing other… yeah." Luna rubbed the back of her neck suddenly overcome with a strange sensation she couldn't quite place. "I'm sorry I can't stay with you to work the shop but I've seen and learned so much and I'd like to continue, but I can understand if you don't want me to."
Kit nodded and smiled. "If you're mother were still with us, I know she'd definitely tell you to follow your dreams and never let anything or anyone else stop you. It's your life, and if I were in your place even I'd want to go," she said in an understanding tone.
Luna took her hand away from Kit's lap and instead wrapped both her arms around the baker to give her a tight hug and followed up with a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you thank you thank you sooooo much!" Luna exclaimed in joy.
"Oh, you might have broken something dear. I guess I'm not as young as I thought I was after all," Kit said giggling.
"Oh dear. Sorry," Luna apologized, easing up a little.
"So why don't you tell me about the rest of your adventures then?" Kit asked. Luna smiled broadly and engaged to tell her all the intricate details of her adventures and the friends she'd made. She even pulled the crimson ribbon from her hair and showed it to her as proof. By the time she was done, Aunt Kit looked as if she had been struck by some earth-shattering revelation, which Luna supposed it really was.
"And Sora? What do you think of him?" Kit asked.
"What do you mean? He's a great guy. Always protective of those around him and tries his best to keep smiling even when everything seems lost."
"That's all?" Kit raised her eyebrows in curiosity. When Luna imitated the action in response, Kit laughed and stood up. "I remember your mother when she was working at the bakery as a part time job. I was just young and starting out, your mother was even younger. One day some boy came in along with his friends and from then on, your mother and his relationship took fruit. Just before they officially started going out, I remember her coming to me and talking nonstop about him and I went "Is that all?"'
"Are you asking if I have…" Luna's voice trailed off and her eyes grew big before backing away and shaking her hands in protest. "No. That's just… ridiculous! I don't think about Sora like tha-" Luna's mouth closed as she noticed a rising heat coming from her cheeks. She attempted to cover them but it was too late. Kit had already seen her blushing cheeks and didn't hesitate in exploiting the situation.
"I knew it. Luna's got a cru-ush!" she sang childishly.
"Hey, I didn't help you set the shop back up just to hear this," Luna said but smiling all the same.
"So you're not denying it then?"
Luna had no idea what to say to this. She must have hoped that someone would bring the topic up because she couldn't stop smiling no matter how hard she tried. It would have been impossible not to have at least thought about it for the many months she had spent with him, but now being confronted with the idea, what did she think of him? Well, she certainly could see him as being more as a friend but-
"Earth to Luna. You still with me here or were you fantasizing about your special someone?" Kit interrupted her thoughts.
"Even if I did like him that way, there's someone else who's also a really good friend of mine. I'm sure she has feelings for him and he probably feels the same," Luna explained.
Kit placed a hand over her mouth and looked down at Luna's ribbon. "In other words, they're not together yet? You know there are some things in this world that are worth fighting for, or I suppose it would be out of this world?"
"Are you saying I should steal him away from her?" Luna asked in surprise.
"No, of course not. Stealing is wrong… provided that he belonged to her in the first place."
Sora's chase had taken him into the woods, only a couple of ways from Astra's street. High trees surrounded him and the mystery female as she finally stopped and turned to meet him face to face. He recognized her face instantly. The excessive amount of pale makeup that would even Selphie recoil in horror, the cute smile on her face that had more intentions than what would first be thought obvious, and the very same, or at least an identical, French maid outfit that she had worn at the café.
"You're the one who poisoned my coffee. Delcia, wasn't it?" he asked summoning the Kingdom Key.
"That is what some call me, though I'm better known by my actual name," Desiree replied.
"Which is…?"
"Desiree Elegia Skye, at your pleasure," she curtsied before pointing at him. "You look angry monsieur. Do you hate me? Is your time really better spent bearing a vendetta against- Say, answer this question for me. If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Sora asked puzzled.
"Just that we both stand tall like trees and if one of us were to fall here, no one would ever know that that person fell. Things only ever become material when they are made so by others and we right now stand on the border of the material and immaterial. I say border because really only one of us could ever come out alive and know the other's fall as having existed."
"And let me guess. That'll be you, right?"
"How did you know? With that kind of knowledge, you must be a Seer," Desiree applauded sarcastically.
"Is that what this is all about? Yeul? You're with Moira's Crescent, right? Tell me, who are they?"
"All these questions, and I'm sure you'd find satisfaction if I told you. But what's the point? Even if I told you the answers, you would not remember them because you would be dead," Desiree held up her hand and summoned her Keyblade. She moved it up to eye level and inspected it carefully before lowering it. "They were against my coming here, but they'll understand that it's better to deal with a problem now rather than later. Wouldn't you agree?"
"I'm… a problem. I don't understand. How?" Sora cried out in anger. "I thought I could just go on and live a normal life after Abraxas. I was going to find Luna and then try and find my own islands, but then you people came into my life and you've tried your hardest to make it a complete and utter hell. I deserve to at least know why you're doing this."
Desiree appeared to ponder this for a while however it was clear that she had already made up her mind. "I suppose I can tell you," she said finally. "Shall I quote? 'A boy of light who defied plight thrice, where he hath saved the world, he will also bring it to ruin for he knows not that the biggest plight yet lies in his humanity. And so the halcyon peace worked hard for may shatter all too easily, and the ancient door of the past will open to greet the beating drums'. Do you understand now?"
"What? I don't…"
"Oh you can't honestly be this stupid. Fine, I'll spell it out for you mon cher. Yeul was an absolute flower to Moira's Crescent. The first person she came into contact with after her world was destroyed by Maleficent was the man you know as Abraxas, that's what he went with after Xehanort's heart took over him. His real name is Kyle. He took her to us and we cared for her like she had been with us all her life. Our leader knew who she was immediately after we had experienced her first vision. She was a Seeress, the last one alive and we had a duty to protect her. We obviously failed that, you don't need to tell me that.
"Anyway, one of her many visions included one about a boy bringing destruction to the worlds, the one I just told you. I've heard it so many times that I can recite it word to word now since we save each prophecy recorded. Do we even have to go over it? A boy who saved the worlds three times, in other words, you having saved the world that many times against Xehanort. I think you get the idea. It did not exactly take that long to find someone fitting that description. Any questions?" Desiree finished sagaciously as if she were teaching a student.
"This is… insane. There's no way," Sora muttered shaking his head.
"You can choose to believe it or not but when you're a Keyblade wielder you'll find not all truths are pretty. Actually I don't believe you need to be a Keyblade wielder to know that," Desiree said. "You are the destroyer of worlds. The prophecies never lie."
These haunting words weren't connecting with Sora. He couldn't comprehend it, no, it was more like he refused to comprehend it. His mind was trying to connect dots and constantly failing and he couldn't get anything out. He wanted to call her a liar or say anything to counter what she had said, and yet he knew he would just have been deluding himself. An invisible heavy anchor that had been on his chest suddenly became much more painful and obvious. He was paralyzed with something that he shouldn't be visibly showing to the enemy and yet he was. It was the anchor of fear that would no doubt crush him if he didn't overcome the obstacle presented right then and there.
"This is the way it has to be. But I hope you provide me with some fun while we are here so I can at least say to the others that you went down in a blaze of glory," Desire said before flying in at full speed towards him. Sora could barely compose himself in time to dodge the multiple slashed of her Keyblade. She quickly thrust her hand forward, pushing Sora back and off his balance so that she could attack again, managing to cut into his arm as he tried to guard with it.
Sora jumped backwards and tensed his arm to ignore the pain. Desiree jumped back before sending out a barrage of Firaga and Thundaga Shots. Sora ran towards the trees and used them as cover to dodge each blast.
Luna arrived at Astra's house shortly after her rather embarrassing conversation with Aunt Kit and a heap load of stories about her parents to find the door ajar. A growing worry soon took hold and she rushed in calling both Sora and Astra's names.
"I'm in my room Sea Salt. There really isn't any need to shout your head off," replied Astra just as loudly from upstairs. Luna ran upstairs and past Astra's room, heading to Sora's first.
"Sora?" she called out but no reply came. She opened the door and looked around but to no avail.
"Luna, what's going on?" Astra asked having come out of her room to check on her.
"Have you seen Sora?"
"Shouldn't he be in the room?"
"I wouldn't have asked if he was. That, and when I came in the front door was already opened," Luna told her. All fatigue was lost from Astra's face and she hurried towards Luna's side to check that Sora was in fact missing from his room.
"Astra, I don't want to jump to conclusions too quickly but I have a bad feeling about this. We need to go and find him," Luna insisted and took off back down the stairs without waiting for Astra's reply. She wanted to believe that Sora had just gone out of the house for some fresh air or something, but he surely wouldn't have needed to go that far away from the street for that. If he wanted to take a walk, he would have told Astra. An unpleasant queasy feeling began to form in Luna's stomach, and no matter how much she tried to shake it off as she ran down the street in search of Sora, it latched on, unwavering and resilient.
"Are you trying to burn down the entire forest?" Sora muttered to himself before using Blizzard projectiles to deflect and counter her magic. He aimed to close the gap between by quickly moving in between attacks and flinging out his arm for a horizontal slash. The Kingdom Key locked against Desiree's Keyblade but seeing a ball of fire forming in her free hand, he had to cut it short and danced around her in time to avoid the attack.
"You're too predictable." Desiree sighed and turned to meet him before swinging her Keyblade up and down. The blade itself suddenly became limber like a whip, and its metal hit down on Sora's right shoulder blade hard. Sora gasped in pain and gripped his shoulder with his left hand while backing away and raising his right hand to guard.
The whip transformed Keyblade slammed against his own repeatedly with Sora being unable to switch out of a defensive position. He could feel his arm beginning to give in to something that seemingly had no end to its steadfastness. The worst part however was that Desiree didn't seem to be trying at all. That alone annoyed Sora more than the fact that he couldn't retaliate.
"Please tell me you're holding back because this is just sad if you're not," Desiree said as she continued her onslaught. Sora gritted his teeth and let go of his shoulder to hold onto the guard with both hands before activating Ars Arcanum. A gold light formed around his body and he lowered the Keyblade quickly before swinging it upwards to counter the whip.
The deflection left Desiree vulnerable, something that he took full advantage of by immediately surging forward with Sonic Blade. Just before he could land a hit however, a raised barrier appeared in front of her. Sora couldn't pull back the attack in time and the attack hit the barrier and knocked Sora away and into a nearby tree.
He grasped at the dirt almost pathetically as he tried to bring himself back up but his legs always gave in before he could even make it halfway. Finally after several attempts, he stopped trying and gave in. The earthiness of the terrain entered his nostrils and he even felt some of the soil roll onto his lips which he had to constantly spit away as he lay there awaiting his death. It wasn't exactly the place he would have chosen to go, nor was he ready to go at all, but he had nothing in him left.
Desiree frowned and shook her head. "Non non non, this is all wrong. Heal!" She raised her Keyblade in the air and a green light appeared above Sora's body. The pain that had once been there started to decline until it had been completely rescinded. Sora blinked and pulled himself back up quickly staring at Desiree as if she were mad.
"I'm not interested in taking out a little boy who does not fight back. I told you before that I want you to come at me with your full strength!" she exclaimed in frustration before pointing her Keyblade once again at Sora.
There was only thought that was constantly swirling in Sora's mind at the moment. That this woman was going to kill him.