Sora had completed most of his chores and duties around Captain Jack's ship, the Interceptor. Currently he was sitting on some of the rigging, his feet dangling out to sea while he messed around with some twine in his hand.
The sea. His mind kept backtracking there. He inhaled its scent deeply, almost feeling peaceful. He never thought he'd smell it again. Just pure salt and water with a misty tang. It was barely noticed at Neverland, too drowned out by the muggy scent of jungles and tropical flowers. He stared at the choppy, grayish blue waters, suddenly realizing that this sea wasn't like the Destiny Islands. It was rougher, crueler, far more vast. The water around his home was a tame little lake compared to this. And yet... that choppy motion seemed so smooth, so reassuring-
"She's beautiful, isn't she?"
Sora turned to William- the one who had been so concerned about his hangover earlier -and saw him leaning against the railing below. He turned back to the sea "Yeah." he then added "I haven't seen her in a long time..." He paused, then sighed "Not since a lot of things happened a long time ago..." Defying Sora's expectations, Will didn't reply.
Sora then unknotted his twine again "Say, remind me... Why was I hired?"
Will gave him an odd look "Well, I figured you'd remember using that funny sword of yours." he scratched the back of his head "A key-"
"Keyblade." Sora cut him off. He sighed a little "I was hoping that wasn't it."
Will shrugged "Well, surprise and a good skill with a sword are very valuable qualities on our mission." He rolled his shoulder a bit "Well, you got the surprise and I got the swordsmanship."
Sora laughed "If you knew me better, it wouldn't be much of a surprise." He felt for Vanitas's darker presence to make sure he was there, then wondered if he could do something this far out at sea... He had a half hearted grin on his face "You wanna see a real surprise?" He brought his hand to his mouth and whistled sharply.
Moments later, a small, flitting blue creature perched on his shoulder. It chittered, Vanitas abandoning his interest in what Sora was doing to catch up on his little minion's news.
He wondered absently if it could go check on Kairi-
He stopped that thought abruptly, then tossed the creature away "Get out of my sight." Kairi was now a sore subject. He just wanted to curl up and sob and yell and scream and shout and let it all out. Will's voice pierced his thoughts "Is everything well?"
"Just peachy." Sora grumbled.
Will left to do other things. Sora furiously knotted his rope, gritting his teeth and hoping his tears wouldn't show. He didn't want to think of the light anymore. All he wanted was darkness. Darkness to hide the hope that made his life worse.
The thought of Darkness shifted him over to Riku, the horrible image of him staring at Sora with the worst look of betrayal and confusion. "Why... Why Sora?" He could imagine Riku's lips moving as he uttered that painful question as his life dripped away.
Sora sat there, numb to everything but the image in his mind's eye. He then added another furious knot to his rope and tossed it out to sea with a frustrated sob. He beat his hands on his head as he curled up, unable to repress his grief and blame. "You idiot...! You idiot you could've ran away... o-or something!"
After a moment, he shoved the grief away and took a deep breath, then wiped away his tears. No, he was leaving that all behind, wasn't he?
"The past can catch up when you don't want it to, ya know." Vanitas caused him to sigh.
Sora sank into the rigging a little more, letting it cradle him. He then hopped off and went below decks "Let me know when we get there."
He plopped down into a hammock, and closed his eyes, and too soon he was drifting through dreams.
...
The little dinghy they used to get into where the Black Pearl was being held did little to ease Sora's conscience. Jack had called this island the "Isla de Muerta". Sora managed to recall a rough translation being "Island of the Dead." Certainly fit the dreary mood.
As Jack continued rowing them deeper into the cavernous rocks, Sora and Will peered over the side, marveling at the gold and treasure sparkling through shallower water. Sora felt Vanitas grinning with greed "Look at all that loot..."
"I wouldn't, mate." Jack said warningly. He didn't elaborate, though. Sora felt his stomach sinking as he looked away. Indeed, that gold looked... too gold. He nudged Will's shoulder, and Jack added "Further proof, William: obsessed with treasure."
Will glared at him and backed away from the edge "I'm not a pirate."
"Well I missed something while taking a nap." Vanitas blurted out "What's this about sissy pants here being a pirate?"
Neither replied because they were looking at a skeleton with a sword sticking out of its chest as a macabre warning. It looked like he had tried to crawl for help at some point.
Sora leaned away a little "Well, what happened to him?"
"Pirate's code:" Jack declared very simply "If you can't keep up, you're left behind."
So they landed their craft and quietly slipped deeper in, riotous sounds getting louder and louder. But Sora briefly stayed behind, starting at his reflection in a small pool. He looked downtrodden, miserable, mean and vicious. His journey had come pretty much full circle, from misery back to misery. He wondered what Ventus would think of it.
He probably hates you, being so tied to the darkness. Vanitas said, deciding to be polite and engage in thought-to-thought communication. He hated me. Sora blinked at how somber and serious the dark boy was, unable to reply. He hated me because I was everything he wasn't. I was his darkness. You know how everyone shuns the shadows. He was just as hateful as the rest. He hated me just for existing and reminding him of his failures.
"He had reasons." Sora saw his reflection, and swore he saw Vanitas staring back "You're not the most pleasant person."
Okay, maybe you're not as big a chump as I thought. Vanitas was grinning. It then flickered away: But can you really blame me as a fragment of a heart that everyone adored more than the darkness? You became bitter for the same reasons. No one loved you, no one cared if you lived-
Sora splashed the water "SHUT UP!" He heard Will and Jack quickly silence him. He glared back at them, then at the pool. He sighed and covered his face "I'm losing my mind..."
Moments later he felt a pair of hands grab him, dragging him elsewhere. He squirmed and bit until he tasted blood instead of the leather that covered the hands, but in a brief time he was shoved into a more secluded cove, face first into shallow water. He leapt up, Keyblade in hand, and attacked his assailant. He felt his stomach sink at the black cloak. No way, please, no it can't be, he couldn't-
His Keyblade was intercepted by a beam of red light and a deep chuckle. Sora saw Xemnas's smirk Illuminated by the glow of his blade and the moonlight reflecting off the water. He backed off "What do you want?"
Xemnas held out his hand "My thirteenth member."
Sora backed away some more "For what? How did you find me?"
Xemnas shook his head and turned away, dismissing his blade "Perhaps you are not ready to join the darkness." He summoned a Dark Corridor "Although I wonder how you didn't notice. Your flesh bears the sigil, and so you are known as that of a recusant."
Sora blinked, he'd heard something along those lines before from Xemnas. "HEY!" He stormed after him as he began, but fell short as he felt something hit the back of his head. He fell to the ground, realizing Xemnas had sidestepped his charge and decided to knock him out.
"What do you... Mean..." Sora whispered, and then slipped into unconsciousness.
THE PLOT THICKENS.
...
after a good couple months of waiting...
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in a very bs way...
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sorryguysjustgoddamnportroyalishardtowritewithformethere'sgonnabeanotherlongwaitinstore...
BUT HEY WE HIT 50 CHAPTERS AND WAY PAST 80K WOO
