Sorry that I've been pretty much late for all of these chapters, a lot of things have gotten in the way. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one. ;)
Inverted Sky: Kingdom Hearts II
Chapter 53: Dark Age England part VI
Sora slowly glanced over her shoulder to Aurther, whom stumbled backward before falling onto his rear. Him just appearing completely mesmerized by the girl as her now glowing red hair, was flaring around her like so many embers within a flame. Yet she just gave the boy a small smile and spoke with a quick wink at the end. "But you did sound and look pretty cool just now."
Soon after her words, Sora turned her now narrowed gaze back to the Heartless. The Light around its fist was still pushing against her, but it was to no avail as the energy was forced in nearly every other direction. Though the teen only glanced to this for a brief moment, she still noticed that it was mainly her crimson aura that was keeping the Light back. "Huh...neat." she whispered silently before pushing the Heartless' hand to the side with a simple swipe of her hand.
Immediately following this, the large beast stumbled backward slightly. The energy around its fist having vanished after the girl's action, to which the creature then lifted its other hand up and over its head. A huge sphere of Light starting to generate over its palm and continued to grow by the second. It being clear to everyone that this attack was going to be much larger in scale compared to its previous strikes. "Looks like it knows to use 'area-of-effect' attacks when in a possible pinch." Sora muttered silently to herself, obviously quite impressed.
This serving to deepen her interest in the Heartless, but even more so in the orb currently inside of its chest. But she then took on a small smirk before almost seeming to disappear for a split second. Her then returning back to nearly the same spot, only a step or two to her right side. Along with this difference, she was now holding both Keyblades in either hand, of which were in a reverse grip. However, for Namine and Maleficent, they still noticed a blur of red and black circling around the Heartless multiple times in the split second had Sora vanished.
Yet a brief moment after Sora reappeared, indents started showing up all across the creature's form. These seeming to to just appear one after another until there were almost a thousand visible on its body. Instantly following this, the Heartless began violently snapping in multiple directions as if finally feeling the strikes that made these indents. In the process, the ball of Light disbursed harmlessly as the beast's concentration was broken.
"This thing is pretty tough." Sora muttered silently as she watched the Heartless finally fall to the ground once the aftershocks came to an end.
All the while, a lightning bolt began generating above the Heartless. But it quickly vanished with a snap of Namine's fingers, her able to break the spell she and Sora made before it could activate again. The blond then let out a heavy breath as she regretted suggesting the spell in the first place. Despite its utility and the fact that no one could have predicted this, it still severely backfired in this situation. Though she didn't think too hard on this as she looked to Sora in a thoughtful manner. Yet the question she was asking herself, was one Maleficent had already been thinking about.
'How did Sora deflect the Light energy to save that boy?'
Of course, Sora herself didn't bother with this question as she was too focused on the fight. The girl then moved into a more battle-ready pose, all while taking on a small grin. "I guess it's time I get a little more serious." she whispered as the red aura around her began to expand.
Immediately after this, the teen became a blur that even Maleficent found difficult to follow. Yet it was still enough for her to see that Sora's new target was the orb within the Heartless' chest. Upon hitting it with one of her Keyblades, Sora watched as sparks flew off the sphere's smooth surface. The sound of metal hitting glass filling the courtyard, but it almost didn't seem to reach any further. Though as Sora swung her second Keyblade down, the creature started to pick itself up. Due to the sheer force of her strike however, the Heartless just slumped back down. It being unable to get up at all as the brown-haired teen then began swinging her weapons down on the sphere in rapid succession.
As the creature lay there, simply enduring these hits, it slowly started to glow. This light being a mixture of white, yellow and red, obviously being a combination of the powers the Heartless had absorbed thus far. Even after seeing this, Sora just kept striking without any delay as the very ground was starting to rumble and shake. Something of which started to worry Namine, her knowing that while she might be able to protect the castle from the attack, yet she couldn't do anything to help Sora. But at the same time, all of the commotion going on was without a doubt going to attract Merlin's attention.
Though, as the Darkside's glow reached its brightest threshold, everyone either had to shield or close their eyes to keep from being blinded. Yet the blond girl brought her hands out in order to cast her protective magic as she couldn't take a chance anymore. "Refle-" she started, but was cut off when the echoing sound of a crack was heard.
Instantly following it, the light literally seemed to just 'turn off'. Allowing everyone to slowly crack their eyes open to see what was going on. Each of them then blinking a bit upon witnessing the Heartless shrinking down to become a normal Shadow. Along with this, the orb had become a fist-sized ball and rolled away from the creature it had been attached to. There now being a large crack within the sphere, yet it still appeared to be mostly intact despite this.
"Well...that went well. I just had to hit it really hard." Sora commented with an almost proud tone as most of the others just sighed silently, though they soon noticed that she was now in her normal form.
This leading for both Namine and Maleficent to wonder if there was more to the teen's victory than simply hitting the orb harder. But the blond just came closer toward the girl with another, yet more brief sigh. "It was pretty risky just continuing to attack it like that."
"What if you didn't break the orb when you did? This whole castle might have been destroyed." she continued, glancing down to the small Heartless as it actually appeared to be unconscious.
"Well...I was confident you would have been able to contain the blast." Sora responded, giving a grin along with these words.
While the blond slowly nodded, she then let out a silent huff and delivered a pout toward her friend.. "Well...I'm glad you have so much faith in me. But just make sure that it's not only for times of danger like this." she said as a somewhat tired smile curled her lips.
"Of course." Sora said, giving a smile of her own before looking over to Aurther.
Whom was still just sitting on the ground gazing at Sora, his expression being one of pure awe. "Amazing..." he whispered, his eyes almost shining from being completely mystified by the girl.
"Thanks. But more importantly...are you okay?" Sora questioned as she walked toward the boy and reached out a hand to help him up.
"Y-Yeah..." Aurther responded, slowly taking this offered hand.
"I don't mean to demean your intentions or anything, but why did you rush out here like that? It was really dangerous." the brown-haired teen asked, lifting him back to his feet before releasing his hand.
"W-Well...it seemed like the right thing to do. P-Plus...I never got your name." was all the boy could think to say as he was still a bit dazed from everything he saw.
"Oh...well my name is Sora. What's yours?" the girl introduced, a grin curling her lips as she was now in 'friend-making mode'.
"I-I'm War-I mean, Aurther...Aurther Pendragon." was his response, almost saying something by mistake, or possibly out of habit.
"Aw man...that's a really cool name. It's nice to meet you Aurther." Sora said with a wider grin, yet it just made Aurther himself flush slightly.
After this introduction, the brown-haired girl then briefly glanced to the side. Her immediately returning to the situation at hand, reminding her that it wouldn't be a good idea to stick around for much longer. "Unfortunately...I actually have to get going, but I'll see if I can stop by again sometime. Alright?" she said, offering the boy a small smile and a wave of her hand.
"A-Alright." was all Aurther managed out before Sora vanished together with Maleficent and Namine.
Strangely enough though, the Heartless and orb had already seemed to have disappeared before then. The only indication that a battle even occurred was the magical residue in the air, yet it too dissipated in a matter of seconds. This just leaving the boy in a state of shock while he looked around, to which Merlin came walking up after a few moments. "What are you doing out here? I thought you were heading off to bed." the old wizard commented with a curious tone.
"Merlin...I just met the most amazing and brave person I've ever seen!" Aurther called out, his child-like excitement showing through.
All the while, Sora let out a heavy breath as she looked over to the other two. Maleficent having been the one to get them out of there since she likely noticed Merlin's approach. Her teleporting them onto the Northern most patrol path, directly atop of the castle walls. The brown-haired teen then peaked over the edge of wooden walkway in order to see the two in the courtyard. Yet he then moved back once more and gave to two a quick shake of her head. Them simply waiting for Merlin and Aurther to continue their conversation inside, before finally coming out of the shadows.
Upon doing so, Sora then let out a sigh and simply hopped over the castle wall and onto the ground outside. Once she landed, the girl then moved to the side as the other two as they followed her lead. After taking a moment to move away from the castle, they finally let out a breath of relief. Them knowing that if Merlin didn't show up by now, then he didn't notice anything about their arrival. Though it then sparked Sora to turn to Maleficent with a huff. "And where you during that whole thing?" she demanded, her unconsciously pouting slightly while doing so.
Said witch raised a brow and just chuckled lightly; "I was busy making sure that Merlin didn't sense any of the magic, hear any of the sounds, or feel any of the quakes caused from your reckless fight." she answered back in a somewhat condescending tone, as if knowing she was the only one who could do such a thing.
Even though Namine wanted to finally start her accusation of the woman, she suddenly found herself a bit speechless. As not only did Maleficent save them from being discovered, she also heeded the warnings of their mission far more so than she and Sora did. Something of the witch likely knew as she threw the blond a rather vain glance. Though, Namine simply narrowed her eyes as she decided that she wasn't going to wait any longer to bring up her allegations toward the woman. "And what do you plan to do with the Heartless and that orb?" she questioned while crossing her arms in a firm manner.
"I know you took them when Sora was talking to Aurther, so there is no use in denying it." the girl continued as her eyes narrowed a bit further.
"Oh~?" Maleficent hummed out as she just smirked softly, not even appearing to care that she was caught.
"Well if you must know...I plan to do something very special with them." she continued after a few brief, yet tense moments passed between her and the blond.
Namine herself opening her mouth as if to continue her interrogation, but she instantly paused when another enormous wave of pure energy rolled toward them from the North. The three tensing up for a moment as it came closer, but as it continued on and over the castle, they knew the Heartless must have been the target once more. "Well, at least this confirms our next destination." Maleficent claimed with a small smirk, as if pretending that she wasn't just accused of plotting against the two teens.
However, before the blond could say anything in retort, Sora spoke up first. "True...and now that we've also taken care of the strongest Heartless, I think we can leave the castle to Merlin."
After these words, Namine turned to her in shock and a bit of panic. Her feeling as though she lost the chance to convince Sora of the witch's treachery. But just as the other two were about to continue on their way, she clenched both hands into fists and spoke out in a tone that demanded their attention. "We can't let Maleficent continue with us!" she stated in a firm manner.
Upon these words, Sora turned to her with a blinking gaze in obvious confusion. But the other girl simply kept going as Maleficent merely raised a brow in what could only be described as annoyance. "She's obviously up to something. The fact that the door here practically looked like it was made by her couldn't be a coincidence." Namine claimed as she turned her gaze toward the witch.
"Plus with how she always seems to be more knowledgeable than she lets on, is very suspicious. I mean, she was the one whom lead us to the library. And it was a direct path there, she didn't make any mistakes in getting us there at all." the blond continued, the look in her eyes appearing more and more accusing, as well as desperate.
"And now she has both the Heartless and the orb, which gave us so much trouble. So...I just can't travel with her knowing that she's up to something and probably leading us into a trap!" she finished, taking in and letting out a few heavy breaths afterward.
With a few seconds passing between the three, Sora actually just glanced to Maleficent briefly before the two ended up laughing in unison. This making Namine blink many times in confusion while looking between the two multiple times. Yet the brown-haired girl eventually waved a hand and offered a small smile to the other teen. "It's alright Namine, I've known she's been up to something since the second she walk through the doors in Mickey's castle." she stated with a shrug of her shoulders.
"I'm always suspicious of Maleficent...that's basically our whole 'bond' as teacher and student." Sora continued, glancing over to the witch while doing so.
"We might appear like we're friends, but we know one another more than just about anyone else. So there is no way I'd let my guard down around her." she claimed before turning back to Namine with a soft smile.
"We simply have a mutual understanding that there will be times that we need one another for something. Whether it's for good or bad...is all up to how well we can work around the other's deal." the girl finished, offering a reassuring wink to the blond.
All the while, Maleficent merely chuckled and nodded her head in agreement to these words. "Indeed, the moment you stopped being wary of my every move, or stopped being useful to me...will be the time that I finally decide to kill you." she said in a simple, yet very threatening manner.
Following this exchange, Sora and Maleficent just laughed once more. Them actually seeming to be fine with such a strange arrangement, which just increased Namine's confusion. The only thought on her mind right now being; 'What a strange and complicated relationship they have.'
That's putting it mildly, but who knows how things might evolve in the future. ;) Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.
