Sorry for the delay, but Fang and I have made excellent progress in writing the story in advance!
By the way; the cover image is my own. I made it with Photoshop. You can see the full image at DeviantArt, my account name is Actionfreak12.
In response to a review from a guest: No, Sora will not have a harem. But some characters from other worlds will.
Also, throughout this story, there will be fourth wall breaks, because I love them so much! XD
Now then, Kairi...
Kairi: "gamePsycho11 doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix or anything else used here. If he did, my potential wouldn't have been wasted by becoming a damsel in distress again! Seriously Nomura, WHAT THE FUCK?!"
I feel your pain girl!
Chapter 2: Sora's Powers
The Mysterious Tower
Sora, Kairi, Riku, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Lea stood in front of Master Yen Sid.
"Now that you've had time to recuperate, we can discuss what our next course of actions will be," the old wizard began.
"Master," Sora interrupted. "Sorry to interrupt, but while were at the Islands, I found something that I think you all should see."
He summoned the mysterious Keyblade and placed it on Yen Sid's desk.
The Sorcerer and the mouse King both nearly gasped at the sight of it.
"It can't be...!" Yen Sid whispered in disbelief.
"Aqua's still alive...!" King Mickey muttered.
"Who IS Aqua?" Sora asked. "That's the third time I've heard that name."
"Aqua is a Keyblade Master who disappeared ten years ago," Yen Sid explained. "She and her friends, Terra and Ventus faced Xehanort to stop him from forging the X-Blade."
"Ven was originally Xehanort's apprentice, but he refused to use the darkness in his heart to fight," Mickey continued. "Having lost his patience, Xehanort used his Keyblade to unlock Ven's heart and forcibly extracted the darkness from it. With it, he created a being of pure darkness, which he called Vanitas."
"...Vanitas..." Sora whispered.
"Ven was left in a comatose state, but Terra and Aqua's master, Eraqus, helped him recover," Mickey continued. "The three of them became very close friends. Terra was manipulated by Xehanort to use the darkness in his heart as a weapon, this made him easier to become his vessel."
"Fearing that there was no other way to stop Xehanort's plans; Eraqus tried to kill Ventus," Yen Sid continued. "Terra came to his defense and fought his master. Having been weakened from their battle, Xehanort interrupted and killed Eraqus."
"Terra, Aqua and Ven went to the world where the Keyblade War took place, and engaged in a fierce battle against Xehanort and Vanitas," Mickey continued. "Xehanort unlocked his heart and took Terra's body as his own, while Aqua and Ven defeated Vanitas. However, Ven lost his heart, but his body didn't fade away. So his heart went somewhere, we just don't know where..."
"Aqua took Ventus's body to an unknown location to hide him from Xehanort," Yen Sid went on. "Then, she went to find Terra, not knowing what terrible fate had befallen him. She defeated Xehanort in an attempt to release Terra from his control, but he was about to fall into the darkness. So, she sacrificed herself to make sure that did not happen. Terra, possessed by Xehanort, remained in the Realm of Light, while she fell into the Realm of Darkness."
"We thought she was gone," Mickey sighed sadly. "But, during your first adventure, where you defeated Xehanort's Heartless; I saw her while I was searching for the Dark Realm's Keyblade. She saved Riku from a large swarm of Heartless, just before we closed the Door to Darkness."
"So...this Keyblade...is hers?" Sora asked.
Yen Sid nodded, "It originally belonged to Eraqus, till he passed it down to her."
"...So if it's here," said Sora, "What happened to Aqua."
"She must have lost it," Yen Sid answered. "It's possible that Aqua might have fallen to the Darkness as well..."
"NO!" Sora yelled. "Aqua would never fall!"
Everyone looked at him in surprise, then he placed his hand over his heart.
"…I think I know where Ven's heart is..."
Kairi's eyes widened, "You mean...?"
"Of course!" Mickey exclaimed. "Why didn't I realize it sooner? Roxas looked just like Ven, this must be why!"
"This was partly why you took the Mark of Mastery," Yen Sid said. "Not only to become a Master, but also in the hopes that you would acquire the power to wake Ven from his slumber in your heart. However, the darkness nearly took control of you, and your grasp of your new abilities leaves much to be desired."
Sora hung his head at this news.
"Oh..." Donald muttered in concern while Goofy put his hand on Sora's shoulder.
"Furthermore, Xehanort nearly made you his vessel, and in the process stripped you of most of the power you had gained by then," Yen Sid continued.
"Not quite."
Kairi jumped at the voice she just heard, "Who said that?"
"Master Yen Sid-" Riku was about to say.
"Not him," Kairi interrupted. "Some female voice said, 'Not quite'..."
"I didn't hear anything," Lea said. "And you're the only girl here."
"That's not entirely accurate," the voice spoke again, only this time, everyone heard it.
Out of thin air, appeared the transparent forms of Roxas and Naminé.
"R-Roxas!" exclaimed Sora. "Naminé!"
"Hello, Sora," Naminé smiled. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Roxas!" Lea exclaimed.
"Hey Axel!" Roxas smiled at him.
"You know what; Axel sounds better than Lea, so let's stick with that," Axel decided.
"Naminé, were you the one that spoke out?" Kairi asked.
"Yes," Naminé nodded. "You see, Sora's abilities are just asleep in his heart. He didn't lose them completely; he just has to look deep inside and find them."
"How do you know?" Donald asked.
"Since I have power over Sora's memories, I also know what's in his heart, even now," Naminé explained.
Sora's eyes widened, "Power...over my memories...?"
Naminé turned slightly sad, "You don't remember when we first met...but I can help you with that."
She raised up her right hand, and it began to glow brightly. Then, Sora, Donald and Goofy all developed major headaches as their lost memories of Castle Oblivion returned to them.
Meeting Axel the first time, seeing Twilight Town, Vexen, the Riku Replica, Larxene, Marluxia, then going to sleep.
Sora gasped as he stumbled back for a moment, but Kairi caught him.
"Are you okay?!" she asked.
"Uh...yeah," Sora answered as he held his hand. "Ugh...talk about a headrush."
Jiminy Cricket hopped onto Sora's shoulder,
"That must've been why my journal didn't have any record of our first adventure."
"Are you sure that Sora's abilities aren't completely lost, Naminé?" Yen Sid asked the blond girl.
"Positive, Master," Naminé smiled. "Kairi and I can help him recover them."
"That's right," Kairi smiled. "We'll help you, Sora."
"Great!" Sora exclaimed. "So, what do we do?"
Naminé walked over and placed her transparent hand on Sora's back. Then gave Kairi a very...embarrassing instruction.
"Okay Kairi, kiss him."
"...Excuse me?" Kairi asked with a blush on her face.
Even Sora's face turned red.
"As a Princess of Heart, you can use your pure light to do many things," Naminé explained. "That includes unlocking someone's locked abilities."
"But...why do I have to...?" Kairi couldn't even finish her sentence, as her face turned redder than her hair.
"You won't always have to, but in this case; it IS Sora," Naminé said, winking. "Right~?"
"Besides, you two still have yet to discuss that drawing?" Roxas added, with a teasing smile.
Kairi gulped while Sora stared at her in disbelief.
Riku tried hard to stifle his laughter, Donald and Goofy were shaking in anticipation, King Mickey smiled, and Axel snickered.
Steeling herself, Kairi walked over to stand directly in front of Sora. He noticed her violet-blue eyes were sparkling.
She reached out and held his cheeks, then closed the distance between them, and kissed him full on the lips.
Sora's eyes widened at the feel of her lips on his, before he wrapped his arms around her waist and returned it.
Just as they were starting to enjoy it, everything went black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dive to the Heart
(Cue "Destati" from Kingdom Hearts II)
Sora opened his eyes...and he found himself standing on a stained glass window of himself.
The portrait had a light blue tint. Now sixteen, the Sora in the picture was leaning against the left side of the portrait. The Kingdom Key was held in his right hand. He was looking up at the sky with a smile at something the viewer couldn't see. Behind that Sora was island scenery that showed mostly a cloud-filled sky. The outer ring was made of Sora's crown emblems. There were seven rings on the portrait, for Riku, Roxas, Naminé, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Axel. There was also a heart with Kairi's picture in it.
After admiring the picture (and wondering if his feet had always looked that big), Sora looked around, but there was nothing important to be found.
Then, all of a sudden, something appeared in front of him: it looked like a mirror.
Strangely, there was no reflection.
Sora walked over to it, then touched it. It pulsated and blew him back.
(Cue "Fragments of Sorrow" from KHII)
He rolled on his back to get back on his feet. The mirror was gone, and in its place was a being he'd hope to never see again.
Shadow-Sora.
Sora gasped before he summoned his Kingdom Key, then charged!
The shadow blocked his attack with his own black Kingdom Key, then pushed him back.
The shadow charged at Sora, blade poised to strike. Sora ran to meet it with a lunge at its stomach.
The Keyblade passed through air, and Sora stumbled to the other side of the shadow.
He caught himself, and spun around to face it. It came on with a flurry of powerful strikes, which he barely managed to block. He searched for an opening, retreating across the platform to avoid injury.
He nearly fell off the platform, and he looked at the shadow. It charged at him again, and right before it reached him, Sora ducked and swept the Keyblade at its legs. Nothing happened.
The shadow wound up outside the platform, but floated in the air as if it was standing on a floor. It just stared at Sora, who was getting very worried. He couldn't hurt it, and it wasn't like he could hold out against it forever.
'Why can't I hurt it?!' he thought in frustration. 'Am I really not strong enough?'
"Don't give up," Naminé's voice echoed around him. "Your courage is your strength, your heart is your guiding key. Listen to it..."
Sora closed his eyes, and felt a surge of strength course through his body.
His clothes changed red and white with the fleur-de-lis emblem on each sleeve and pant leg. His hands glowed light red and flickered with red electricity. In his left hand was another Keyblade, the Ultima Weapon. (KHII Version)
Sora gasped happily; he'd regained his Valor Form!
"Yes!" he cheered. "I did it!"
Shadow-Sora got it's bearings back and ran at Sora yet again. He charged as well, raising his Keyblades. The shadow brought it's Keyblade down, and Sora blocked it with the Ultima Weapon. He then used the Kingdom Key to knock the fake Keyblade from the shadow's hand. And then he beat it with killer dual-wielding techniques.
He sighed in relief before the two Keyblades vanished.
(End "Fragments of Sorrow")
And he exited Valor Form.
The scenery changed to the large clocktower in Neverland.
Sora almost fell when he was left in midair, but remembered how Peter Pan and Tinkerbell taught him how to fly.
While floating in the air, he looked around, wondering why he was brought here.
"You have regained the first bit of your strength," Came a voice from above. Sora knew it, but not the speaker. "But there is more that you must do."
Flying in from Sora's right was an eerily familiar Heartless: the Phantom!
(Cue "Sinister Shadows" from KHII)
Sora knew he had to be careful with this one: when that countdown hit zero, game over!
What's more, hurting it was going to be hard; depending on what color the orb under its cloak was.
Just as the clock started counting down, Sora tried to remember how to use the Stop spell.
He didn't have much time to think on it, though.
So, he just decided to wing it,
"Stop!"
To his relief, the clock hands stopped.
"Phew..." he sighed in relief, only to gasp as he ducked under the Phantom! "Hey, watch it!"
The orb appeared under its cloak, red in color.
"Okay, feel the fire around you," Sora reminded himself, then shot a blast of fire at the orb, which then turned white.
Then he flew at it, striking the orb with his Keyblade, twice.
The Phantom stumbled a bit, then floated over to the front of the clock.
Sora flew to another side of the tower, casting another Stop spell for insurance.
'Okay, I've got the basics back, but I'll need more,' he thought. 'Please, if your still with me; help me.'
Right after he said that, his clothes glowed white again! When the glow was gone, his clothes were blue and black, with an emblem, resembling blue flames, on the ends of his pants and sleeves. His Keyblade had also changed, to Star Seeker.
He'd regained Wisdom Form!
Sora flew back to where the Phantom was, shooting blue magic bullets at its orb.
Thankfully, the orb was white, then it turned yellow.
But this time, Sora was ready for it.
"Try this!" he shouted as he used his Thunder magic!
Then the orb turned blue.
So, in accordance to color, he used Blizzard, and defeated the Phantom for good!
(End "Sinister Shadows")
The scenery changed back to the stain glass window platform.
Sora returned to his normal form, wondering what would he have to do next.
"One last test..."
Sora turned around, his eyes widening when he saw his last opponent.
A suit of Keyblade Armor. Its helmet was mostly gold, except for its black visor, and it sported two red prongs (one on either side of the helmet) that pointed upwards. The arms, legs, and ribs of the Keyblade Armor were black and had orange patterns decorating them. Its knee guards, gauntlets, breast plate, and armored boots were gold, and there were other, smaller pieces of gold armor on its legs. It wore black pauldrons with gold edges. The front of the armor on its torso was red, as were small pieces of armor on its lower legs and gauntlets. It also had gold anklets with red spikes on the back that curved upward sharply. It also wore a cape that was gold on the outside and dark blue on the inside.
It was kneeling in front of a large Keyblade.
It was a textured, dark brown color, with brass edges. It was long and extravagant with three hammer-like points on both sides at the tip of the blade. The guard was an off-blue color, elongated to form a wing-like shape.
Sora gazed at it in awe before he reached his hand out,
"Who...or what are you?"
"Where is...Xehanort?" The armor asked, slowly.
"Not here," Sora answered.
The armor was silent for a minute, before it stood up and pulled it's Keyblade out of the ground.
"You...are not ready...to face him."
(Cue "Rage Awakened" from KHII Final Mix)
Sora gasped as he stepped back, but then summoned his Kingdom Key.
This was going to be really difficult.
The armor flew at him, but Sora rolled to the left to evade it.
Then, Sora charged and their Keyblades clashed, creating sparks as they hit!
But the armor was stronger, so it knocked him back, then performed it's triple Rush Attack.
Sora got the wind knocked out of him from all three hits.
However, he wouldn't back down. Not now!
His clothes turned yellow and black, with a cross motif on the sleeves and pants. His hands glowed yellow and flickered with yellow electricity.
His right hand held his Kingdom Key, while his left hand held Sleeping Lion telekinetically in front of him.
He'd regained Master Form!
However, the fight wasn't over yet, so he charged back at the armor and clashed with it again, this time managing to push it back!
"Rrrgh...!" Sora growled as he kept pushing as hard as he could.
The armor vanished, and reappeared behind him, it's Keyblade turned into a Drill Fist.
Sora gasped before he got knocked into the air, but he used his Aerial Recovery move to keep himself from falling!
The armor turned it's Keyblade into a glider and zoomed across the platform.
Sora was barely able to dodge, but he managed to knock it off the glider and performed his Master Strike combo on it.
The armor teleported again, and started preparing to unleash it's Super Wild Dance!
It's helmet glowed with red electricity, then it flew at Sora, unleashing a lighting fast, killer combo!
Sora was just able to block it, before it turned it's Keyblade into two giant rotating gears!
They spun so fast that they knocked Sora's Keyblades out of his grip and pelted him with attacks!
Finally, it's Keyblade turned into a giant axe-like weapon, and it kept teleporting, hitting Sora every time! It's final spin attack knocked Sora out of Master Form, and pushed him along the ground.
He struggled to get up, coughing a bit. He looked up, seeing the armor standing over him, Keyblade pointing at his face.
"Submit," The armor told him.
Sora almost thought about it, until he thought about all of his friends from every world. If he gave up now, he'd be letting them down, and he'd never do that!
He held his hands out at his sides, where two Keyblades appeared in them; Oathkeeper in his left hand, and Oblivion in his right hand!
"NEVER!"
A large force of wind, and pulse of power blew the armor back as Sora glowed again!
When the glow disappeared, Sora's clothes were now silvery white and black, with the symbols on his pants somewhat resembling an eye with a wind pattern. He was floating above the ground, and his hair and clothes slowly flowed as if he was being held by the wind. His clothes also systematically glowed white on and off. There were also two large sparkles of pure white light that moved randomly around him with a white wisp following them. His Keyblades floated behind in a crossed "X" pattern, seeming to represent folded angel wings.
Sora had regained Final Form! (MY FAVORITE DRIVE FORM!)
(End "Rage Awakened")
Sora stood over the armor...which was cracked and broken as it lied on the ground.
"...Finish me," the armor said...but Sora reached his hand toward it, instead. "W...what is this?"
"That's not my style," Sora smiled...while the armor grabbed his hand, allowing him to pull it back up.
"...You pass," the armor said as it kneeled before him. "Save...my friends...please."
"I will, I promise," Sora told it, having some idea on who or what this armor was.
The scenery changed one more time, to the Destiny Islands.
(Cue "Kairi's Theme" from KHII)
Waiting for Sora on the beach, was Kairi, who turned and smiled brightly at him, her violet-blue eyes sparkling like never before.
Sora gaped at her, his heart beginning to thump in his chest.
She walked over to him, hands behind her back,
"You did it! I knew you could!"
Sora chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.
"So, the drawing..." Kairi said, in a calm, flirty tone. "I found it after the Islands were restored. Why exactly did you add onto it, Sora?"
"...Uh...well..." Sora muttered before he swallowed.
"Is there any chance...that you might...have feelings for me?" she continued, in the same calm tone, walking even closer to him.
"...Yeah," Sora answered. "I...I always have."
"Me too," Kairi smiled, holding his face in her hands.
This time, he initiated the kiss. Innocent at first, then more passionate. He wrapped his arms around her waist, she put hers behind his head.
After a minute, they broke apart, breathing heavily,
"I love you," they said at the same time.
(End "Kairi's Theme")
Everything went white, and the two teens were back in Yen Sid's Tower.
"Done," Naminé said.
Though surprised, Yen Sid nodded and gave a small smile,
"Well done. It seems you have latent abilities that have yet to be discovered, Kairi. You'll have to get a better understanding of them during your training."
"Yes master," Kairi said.
"Training?" Sora questioned. "What training?"
"Oh, right," said Kairi. "Lea and I are training to be Keyblade Masters. Merlin is gonna help us!"
"It's Axel, got it memorized?" Axel corrected her.
"And Sora, before you say anything; I wanna help you this time around," Kairi said. "Frankly, I'm tired of being the "damsel in distress"."
"Okay, but you'll need some actual experience in battle as well," Sora said. "So, how long will the training take?"
"It will take a long time," Mickey answered. "But Merlin's going to take them to a special world where time won't effect them."
"They'll spend a year there, but they won't age," Yen Sid continued. "What's more; when they return, only a day will have passed."
"That sounds vaguely familiar, like something from an anime with the letter 'Z' in it," Axel muttered, looking towards someone only he could see.
"Who are you talkin' to, Axel?" asked Goofy.
"Never mind," He responded.
"Now that you've regained your sleeping abilities; Sora, you, Riku and Mickey will go to the Realm of Darkness and find Aqua," Yen Sid instructed. "She'll be able to tell us where Ventus's body is located."
"Finding Terra will be harder, because we don't know what happened to his body after Xehanort returned," Mickey said.
"I think I know where part of him is," Sora said. "Donald, Goofy and I saw him..."
"We did?!" Donald asked.
"Where is he, Sora?!" asked Mickey.
"We actually saw him, before," said Sora. "Twice, in fact."
"Twice?" Goofy asked.
"Remember that armor we fought, that one time?" asked Sora.
"Oh yeah!" Goofy exclaimed. "It spoke of Aqua, Ven and Xehanort before it attacked us."
"Terra's Keyblade Armor," Mickey surmised. "You're saying it was alive?"
"Yes, it was," Donald answered.
"I'll look into this," Yen Sid said. "For now, proceed with the tasks you have been given."
Everyone stood at attention, like they were in the military,
"Yes sir!"
"I also have some gifts for you, from the Three Good Fairies," Yen Sid waved his hand, and four briefcases appeared out of puffs of smoke. "Sora, Kairi, Riku, Mickey, these new garments will provide you with protection from the darkness."
Another huge puff of smoke erupted from Yen Sid's right, and from it emerged a familiar old wizard with a long white beard, round glasses, garbed in blue.
"Good day, everyone~!"
"Merlin!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy exclaimed, happily.
"I'm here to pick up Kairi and Lea," said Merlin.
"Axel," Axel corrected.
"You guys be careful out there," Kairi said, grabbing the briefcase with her name on it, then walked over to Sora. "You especially."
"You know me," He responded, before giving her a brief, but tender kiss.
Kairi smiled before she and Axel walked out with Merlin.
"Well, it's about time," Riku teased.
Sora smiled his signature grin, blushing.
"Now, the best way to find an entrance to the Realm of Darkness will be in the World That Never Was," Yen Sid explained. "But be warned: going in is easy. Coming back will be difficult."
"We'd be happy to go along with them, Master," Goofy offered.
"Yeah," Donald agreed.
"Very well," Yen Sid nodded.
Yep, I had Sora and Kairi get together early on~!
And yeah, Axel will be the source of fourth-wall breaks, along with Genie and some other characters. XD
Read and review, please!