Sora could feel the warmth in his heart fade with every time he shot off a fireball. It took time to recover the warmth, but without a weapon he could only rely on magic so much. Still, gripping his hands together, he looked up with a bright smile on his face even though he was beaten and battered.
" I can cast magic." He whispered to himself, unable to hold back the pure bliss that threatened the tears he was holding back. "Riku, Kairi, I can cast magic now, I can't wait until you guys see…"
[What is it that you seek?]
"Who's'at?!" Sora asked, on guard as he glanced around, no one in sight, a cold chill running down his spine as the palms of his hands held flames.
[A being of neither light, nor darkness.]
"Can you take me to my friends?!" Sora asked suddenly, throwing caution to the wind, gripping his fists as the flames disappeared.
[Alas, that is not within my power.]
"Oh…" Sora held his head in disappointment, the hope in his heart quickly fleeting.
[Whoever…]
"Huh?"
[Should they find their way into darkness, all I can do is guide them to these hallowed halls. But if things remain the way they are within the castle, they will be greeted by your own enemies.]
"My, enemies?" Sora crossed his arms, gasping slightly as he lifted head up with realization. "Those guys in the black coats."
[Rid the castle of them, and I shall do all within my power to aid you.]
Sora thought for a moment, closing his eyes as the seeds of mistrust were already planted. As it turned out, people from the outside world could be cruel. He already found that out the hard way with Axel, tossing him around like he was a rag doll. Still...he couldn't shake the feeling this person was a threat.
"Okay." He agreed, nodding his head even though there was no one around him.
[Then we have reached an agreement.]
The voice disappeared as Sora sighed, never once did he think that traveling to other worlds would end up so badly.
...
As Sora pushed through the door to the next room he heard something up ahead of him, looking down the hall he saw someone small looking around the room.
"Hmmm, well this is a peculiar sight." The cricket said to himself as he looked around the white hall. "Wonder where everyone is..."
"Hello?" Sora spoke up as he walked towards the little guy.
The cricket looked up, removing his hat respectfully as he introduced himself, "Well hullo there young man,, names Jiminy Cricket, but my friends call me Jiminy. Beg pardon but would ya mind tellin' me where is it I am?" He asked.
Sora stared at the cricket as he took the moment to kneel down in front of the cricket so they were closer to each other's level.
"This place is called Castle Oblivion."
The cricket placed his hat back on, thoughtfully tilting his head. "Castle Oblivion huh? Do ya live here?"
Sora shook his head, "No, I came here a while ago, and I've been wandering around ever since."
"Hm…" The cricket, Jiminy, pondered to himself.
"Are you looking for someone?" Sora asked curiously.
"Yeah, my friends." Jiminy remarked. "We were in a giant whale and then we all got separated once they defeated a monster inside the whale."
"A giant whale?! You fought a whale?! Sora exclaimed in excitement glossing over Jiminy's words. But the cricket couldn't help but smile at the child's amused expression.
"Well, I didn't fight, my friends did. All I do is keep track of our adventures in my handy journal. That's my job after all." Jiminy said pulling out a tiny journal.
"Still, the most exciting thing I've ever done is almost beat my friend in a race. He's always one-upping me but it's alright, I'll catch up to him one day." Sora said thoughtfully.
"Sounds like you two are pretty close." Jiminy remarked with a smile on his face.
"Yeah," Sora nodded as he smiled in melancholy at the memory of his island. "But now, I'm looking for my friends as well. See, there was this storm on my island and all of these monsters showed up and swallowed it in darkness. Next thing I know, I wake up in front of this castle, these guys in black coats start attacking, and I start hearing voices in my head."
"Sounds like you've had a tough time there son." Jiminy said placing a hand on Sora's knee comfortingly, with sympathy in his eyes. "I know what it's like to lose your home."
Sora smiled at his empathy, feeling some reassurance. "So how did you end up in here?" he asked holding Jiminy in the palm of his hands.
"Well, I don't really remember, but I think I may have ended up in a dark place, all I know is that I heard footsteps, followed the sounds, and next thing I know I'm here."
"Looks like you've had a tough time too." Sora remarked. "Do you think your friends are in here as well?"
"Hm, tough to say, as far as I know I'm the only one here."
"I could show you the exit from where I came from if you want." Sora suggested.
"Well, that'd be mighty helpful of ya sonny, but what'll you do?"
"I need to keep looking for my friends, I think they might be lost in here just like us. And if they are then I need to get them out fast, there're some really mean people here."
Jiminy frowned, concern lightly up his eyes, "Well then, I can't leave you all alone here then."
Sora placed Jiminy down for a moment as he placed his hands down towards in pocket. "It's alright, I'll be okay so long as I have...huh?" In a panic, he patted down all of his jacket and pant pockets, panicking as it appeared he couldn't find something.
I didn't drop it did I?! Aw man, Kairi's gonna kill me...
"What did you lose?"
Sora sighed, hanging his head. "My friends good-luck charm. I know I had it with me when..." He groaned, hanging his head.
"Aw, I'm sorry." Jiminy apologized, "Hey, maybe it'll turn up again?" he suggested hopefully. "I'll even help ya look for it."
"What about your friends?"
"They can take care of themselves for a little while, after all, something tells me that you're the one who could use a friend right now."
Sora smiled thankfully, grateful that he'd found someone genuinely kind in this lonely place.
"What's your name sonny?"
" Me? I'm Sora.
" Well Sora, nice to meet-" Jiminy paused for a moment, processing this information as Sora tilted his head in confusion.
"Um, Jimin-"
" YOU'RE SORA?!" The cricket suddenly erupted, jumping up in shock.
" Huh? Uh, yeah?" Sora nodded, now more confused, as he caught Jiminy in the palm of his hands.
" Oh my word, I've- I'm mean we've been looking all over for you!"
" For me?"
" Yeah! Kairi's been worried out of her mind looking for you."
"Kairi?!" Sora's eyes lit up. "You know Kairi?!
"Yup, and you know what? We even found your friend Riku as well."
"Riku too?!" Sora's heart raced with excitement and concern. "Are they okay?! Can you take me to them?!"
"Both of 'em are fine. Kairi's with two of the best people I know, and from what I saw, Riku could take care of himself just fine." Jiminy's relief was now replaced with disappointment as he could see the hope in the young boy's eyes. "But I'm sorry Sora, even if I wanted to, I don't have any way to travel to other worlds. I just write in a journal... although," Jiminy looked down at the journal in his hands thoughtfully. It was under order's of the King that he record all of his adventures with his friends, with the user of the keyblade, but that didn't seem to be possible anymore. "It seems like I'm gonna have to start all over again."
"Oh." Sora's head drooped for a moment as he sighed. "It's okay, at least I know they're alright."
"That's true, and who knows, our friends may even be waiting for us to find them as we speak."
"Right. So, I guess we're in this together now."
"Would you really not mind the company?" Jiminy asked as he jumped on Sora's shoulder.
Sora chuckled slightly, nodding with a smile on his face, now informed that both of his friends made it out of the islands in one piece."Of course not, after all we're looking for the same people. I just hope we'll be able to see them soon." Sora remarked as Jiminy jumped into his hood. Comfortably sitting down as he took out another journal, one with a crown on it. To himself he smiled hopefully, imagining the day where he could see the faces of all his friends reunited together, one where they'd have no more worries about fighting against the darkness...
"Whatcha drawin' there, Namine?" Axel asked as he rested his hand on her chair, leaning over to look at her drawings. This time, it was of the boy along with the Keyblade Master and the Princess of Light, all holding hands together.
Namine didn't respond, continuing to color in her sketch. A picture of four people lined up, all holding hands together.
"Your 'friends'?" Axel asked with an amused smirk on his face.
She didn't respond again, used to Axel's little jabs here and there, but it was better than dealing with the other members of the Organization.
"Oh yeah, I got you a little something."
Namine lifted her head in surprise as she saw what looked to be a good luck charm made of shells held right in front of her. It had 5 colorful shells arranged in the shape of a star having a funny little face drawn on one of the points.
"I snatched this from your most precious 'friend'. Maybe you'll be able to find some use for it." Axel smirked to himself as he placed it in Namine's hands, walking away as the the girl lifted the charm up, examining it closely a feeling of envy growing where her heart should have been.
Omake:
Sora pouted as he glanced down at one of the missing boats on the pier. He furrowed his brow in annoyance at Riku who, once again for the hundredth time, had left without saying anything. He simply sighed almost missing the rapid succession of footsteps running behind him. Before he could react he was trapped in a headlock that was far too tight, meaning there was only one person.
"Tidus!" Sora rasped as he patted the boy's arm as a signal to let him ago, but as usual; Tidus didn't care. Oh how Sora wished to throw sand in his face again just like when they were kids. Of course he had gotten in trouble when his mom found out, but over the course of dealing with the boy's obnoxious nature for years; he would've congratulated his younger self for being merciless.
"Waiting for Riku again? Too bad I already saw him go this morning, he didn't even wait for you to show up."
"So?" Sora rasped, still struggling to escape the headlock of death, but Tidus was being difficult.
"He probably finally realized how annoying you are."
Annoying?
Sora finally escaped from his clutches as he stepped on Tidus's foot, catching him off guard enough to back away with an annoyed expression. "Riku's my best friend, he doesn't think I'm annoying!" Sora argued.
But Tidus just held that cheeky smile, "Oh yeah? Then why doesn't he even wait for you to show up before he leaves? He probably only hangs around you because of Kairi."
"Wha- What're you talking about?!"
"Come on Sora, you know they're way closer than you and Riku ever were, it's no wonder they like-like each other."
Sora's world was shaken as Tidus spoke, and it wasn't just from the lack of oxygen.
"N-No they don't!" He argued, but Tidus's smile just grew larger as the sight of Sora scrambling over his words.
"Oh yeah? Then how come they go off together sometimes without you? It's so obvious, you're still just a little kid to them." He mocked, almost causing tears to well up in Sora's eyes. He hung his head as Tidus laughed at him, then suddenly yelling as there was a slash.
Sora looked up to see Kairi with a bright pretty smile on her face as she folded her hands behind her back, it made his chest hurt just looking at her innocent smile. Ignoring the fact the she literally had just pushed Tidus in the water, the boy choosing to flee rather than face the, "Don't be mean to Sora" death glare.
"Hey Sora." Kairi glanced at the boats, sighing in with a understanding smile on her face. "Riku leave us behind again?"
"...yeah, he can be a real jerk sometimes." Sora muttered under his breath as he glanced towards the island.
"Sora." Kairi said firmly as she placed her hands on her hips authoritatively, he flinched slightly as he recognized her "Don't be mean to your best friend" pout.
"We both know that Riku has to do his own thing sometimes, it's not because of us, that's just the way he is sometimes." Kairi sighed as she stood next to her best friend, understanding her friends irritation as they both looked towards their island. "But, he'd not going to realize if you don't tell him you know. You two are similar like that." She smiled, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Now come on, we have a raft to finish." Kairi remarked as she turned her back towards him preparing the boat, not noticing her best friend's heartfelt frown.
His heart ached hearing how well she knew him, how well she could understand their friend more than the person who'd known him longer. But, wasn't something that he could ever dislike her for, Kairi and Riku had always had a special bond, something that went beyond just a normal "friendship", something that always excluded him. Their secret whispers, the way the two went off on their own sometimes while he just stood and watched them walk away. It wasn't like he could just say "Don't go.", they had a right to their own feelings...even if such a thing excluded him more often than not these days...
He smiled at her, nodding in agreement, "Yeah, I know. It just feels like I'll be chasing after him the rest of my life."
Kairi giggled at his words, "You'll catch him eventually." she said, holding his hand as the boat wavered under their feet.
Fun Facts:
- I goddamn hated Tidus in KH1, (Final Fantasy 10 doesn't count in this) he was the true villain of the story.
- The relationship that goes beyond "Friendship" in this case is, a rivalry and mutual pinning for your best friend.
- Jiminy and Sora are going to be doing their best.
- The voice from this chapter and the last are difference from different people :3
- (Also double correcting but, The first Omake arcs of the story all took place when the Destiny island trio were little kids, just for the record. The COM omakes are when there KH1 aged.)