Omake:
Sora smiled to himself in amusement, looking at Kairi's good luck charm with the funny face that she sketched on it.
"Hm?" His eyes widened for a moment as he sat up, getting a closer look at all the shells that were woven together. "Did she save all the shells we found together?" He asked himself aloud, recalling the days where the three of them would scour the beach together when they were younger. He felt his heart go sore, feeling guilty as he gripped the charm a little tighter. He glanced towards the island, thinking about his oldest friend.
I haven't been a very good friend lately...
He thought to himself, wondering if Kairi had managed to drag him home as it was already especially dark that night.
"Sora, dinner's ready! Come on down."
He looked towards the door where his mom called, then glanced back at the island in the distance. He grumbled in frustration. Quickly running down the stairs and popping his head into the kitchen.
"Mom, I'm gonna check if Riku and Kairi made it home okay!" He called, seeing her in front of the stove, turning her head towards him with a smile on her face.
"Alright, but be careful, looks like it'll get stormy tonight."
"I will!" He promised, quickly giving her hug from behind and a peck on her cheek. "Love you!"
She chuckled at her son's affection, returning the gesture by squeezing him tightly. "I love you too Darling, come home soon."
He nodded with a bright smile on his face, running through the backdoor towards the docks.
…
Sora felt his heart almost stop as he saw the Riku and Kairi's boats weren't docked next to his. He could feel a terrible foreboding as he could feel the winds pick up, looking towards the island he saw a terrifying sphere hovering before it.
"Riku! Kairi!" Sora called out at the top of his lungs, his heart racing as every part of him told him to run the other way. But that cowardly thought only remained for a moment as he could feel the charm that Kairi lended him, heavy in his pocket. The decision was obvious.
...
As soon as Sora's feet hit the sand, he could feel a familiar chilling fear. Glancing around, he saw monsters that emerged from shadows, surrounding him. Sora tried to strike them with his wooden sword that he always kept in his boat. But every time he tried to do so, his sword just seemed to faze through the monsters. A few of them knocked him back, growing rapidly in numbers.
[ So much to do, so little time... Take your time. Don't be afraid. The door is still shut. Now, step forward. Can you do it? ]
"What are these things?!" Sora rasped as he saw an opening, sprinting towards their secret place in hopes that they would have hidden out.
"Riku!" Sora called out, his heart racing as his friend was standing before the door that was always locked, but looking down between him was Kairi, unconscious. "Kairi!" He called out as he knelt down to cradle her body.
"Wha...what's wrong with her? Riku, what happened?!" Sora demanded as he saw shadows begin to form around Riku's feet.
[The closer stand next to light, the greater their shadows will pull.]
"The Door will open soon…" Riku remarked as he placed his hand on the sealed door before him. "I've waited so long for this day, ever since I could feel the shadows behind it. Sora," his turned around with a smile on his face that made Sora feel unsettled. Riku never smiled like that, like...he was proud of what was happening. "Now we can go to the outside world!"
Sora's eyes widened in confusion, "What are you talking about?! We have to help Kairi!"
"Kairi's going to be fine, but she'll only slow us down." Riku informed calmly, walking towards Sora, far too composed as the air around them tensed. "Sora, this could be our only chance. I know you're scared, but I'm not afraid of the darkness anymore, we can finally leave this prison. " He said as he reached out his hand towards his friend as the darkness began to consume him, beginning to turn his form black.
"We'll go together."
Fear captured his heart, confliction, as he could feel the reassurance in Riku's words. He felt like a child again, looking up towards the sky terrified of the thoughts of what kind of world would allow to stars to fall from the above. Instinctively, he reached out towards his friend's hand, he didn't want to be afraid anymore…
"But we can't just leave Kairi alone."
Riku winced as Sora pulled back his hand, grasping his friend closer as the monsters from outside began to make their way in. He saw Riku turn his head away, gripping his fist angrily, a scowl drawing on his face.
"So you're choosing her over me?" Riku asked. "Fine." He muttered as he turned his back to his two friends. But before Sora could respond, the locked door that stood before the three suddenly flung open, erupting a horde of those monsters headed straight for them.
"Riku!"
[If you give it form... It will give you strength.]
[There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong.]
[The day you will open the door is both far off and very near.]
[But don't be afraid. And don't forget...]
Sora reached out to grasp his friends hand as his entire body became consumed with darkness. Their hands touched for a moment, only for a second as Sora could feel his best friend slip from his grasp, unleashing a powerful light as he and Kairi were swept up by the monsters.
...
Nghh...huh?
Sora opened his eyes, on the beach of the island. All he remembered was Riku and the door and the monsters. In his hand was a key shaped weapon that felt light in his hands. He looked at his weapon of light surrounding him within an aura of light, he could feel the darkness being pushed away.
[The Kingdom Key]
His eyes widened as he looked around furiously, for his friend. His heart easing slightly as he saw her lain a few yards away still unconscious. As he ran towards her the swarm of monsters separated the two, menacingly towering over them.
Sora glared at the monsters, gripping the weapon in his hand. "Get out of my way!" The monster spawned other monsters around him. This time when he swung the weapon the monsters were destroyed at contact. He charged towards the swarm, able to destroy a few but the swarm kept reforming.
"There's no end to them..." Sora panted as the swarm just seemed to grow larger every second. He lifted up his weapon to defend as the swarm charged at him, but it maneuvered past him towards-
"Kairi!"Sora called out as his weapon disappeared in his ran as he sprinted towards his friend, able to at least cover he as the swarm consumed them both.
Continued:
Sora looked down at the star charm in his hands as he lagged behind the Silver haired boy.
Who was it? Who's most important to me?
He tried to recall the memories, the faces from before that sparked a familiar warmth in his heart...
"Nothing…" Sora sighed sadly as he stopped walking.
"Trying to remember again?" The silver haired boy asked, looking back.
Sora nodded, "Yeah. I can only remember the memories of Naminé, it feels like everything else is just slipping away…"
"What?!" Larxene exclaimed. She stood before Marluxia in annoyance while Axel rested against the wall near where Naminé sat, flinching at the tone of Larxene's voice. "Why do you want to still keep her around, she's useless now that the kid's memories are unraveling."
"There is much you have to understand Larxene." Marluxia mused with a smile on his face.
The smaller women scowled at him."Maybe I'd understand if you'd actually explain what exactly you need with this kid." She retorted crossing her arms.
Marluxia smirked at his comrade, glancing towards Naminé. "Sora is the key to destroying the Organization, I take it that you haven't even begun to notice the boy's hidden talents."
"Huh?" Larxene cocked her head slightly, "Well of course not, we only found out about the kid because he suddenly popped up here, simple as that."
I thought that was why Vexen made the effort to make the replicas, worked with number 14 didn't it?"
"Yes, but it appears that there is more to Sora than meets the eye, and in order to unlock the power that was taken from him, there must be steps taken towards releasing it."
"So the replica and Naminé were what? A way to push him towards the edge?" Axel asked, lifting his head towards them.
"In a manner of speaking." Marluxia remarked.
Larxene snorted as she then erupted with laughter. "Is that all? Well if that's what you wanted, then allow me to be the one to throw him off."
Marluxia gave her an amused expression, "As you wish Larxene, though I must warn you. Should you underestimate Sora, he will be your downfall."
"Please," Larxene chided, "What could a broken toy do to me?"
"Well, you do have a tendency to lose your temper." Axel remarked as only a second later a knife was sent hurling towards his head as Axel only tilted his head to evade it. "My point exactly." He remarked as the woman radiated anger.
"So, do you at least have a name?" Sora asked as the Silver haired boy walked in front of him, unable to take the silence any longer.
He stopped for a moment, clutching his fist. "My name...is only a copy of someone else's." he remarked.
"Hm," Sora crossed his arms for a moment, tilting his head, "But you're your own person aren't you? Doesn't that make you different?"
The silver haired boy turned towards him with an insistent expression, "I'm not, everything I am comes from him, all the rest..." He hesitated from a moment.
"Is mine right?" Sora finished as the silver haired boy nodded. "Then you can't be an exact copy." He smiled placing his hands behind his head with a cheeky smile on his face. "Oh, how about I give you a name?!" Sora then grew excited taking a step forward with a bright smile on his face.
The silver haired boy smirked which swiftly turned into a hearty laugh as he saw Sora's face flush red with embarrassment. "What's so funny?!"
Which caused him to laugh even more, "Sorry," he remarked trying to catch his breath, "It's just...that is a terrible idea."
"What?!" Sora exclaimed, offended. "I can think of a good name!"
The silver haired boy just shook his head, poking his forehead. "I'm part of you remember? I know for a fact that you can't think of anything decent."
"Wha-" Sora rested his palm on the spot where the Silver haired boy poked him, puffing up his cheeks knowing that he was being teased. But didn't have the argument to dispel the Silver haired boy's claims so he simply crossed his arms, turning his head away in defiance. "Fine, I'll just call you, My friend."
"That isn't a name."
"Well you're not going to name yourself, plus, once we leave this castle with Naminé, everyone will know that we're friends!"
"Ah." The replica was taken aback, pushing away Sora's smiling face as he could feel his own cheeks beginning to feel warm, unable to understand his kindness. "No way."
Sora giggled pushing away the replica's hand, but then his smile faded as he suddenly pushed his friend out of the way, being struck by lightning and blacking out for a moment.
"Sora!" He heard his friend call out, but then heard a crashing as Sora lifted his head to see a familiar woman with yellow hair holding down his friend.
"Larxene!"
"Ugh, could you be anymore disgusting?" She remarked as she held the Replica down under her grasp as he struggled.
"Well well, looks like not only are you a failure, you've actually sided alongside the broken toy."
"Let him go!" Sora demanded.
"Or what? You'll destroy me? I'd wipe this kid out long before that would happen. Turns out that my boss gave me the okay with wipe the two of you into oblivion."
"Boss?" Sora questioned.
"Marluxia." The silver haired boy replied as Larxene tightened her grasp.
"Hm, turns out that you're more useful that we thought Sora."
"Huh?"
"So much so that I have to go out of my way to erase everyone else you may grow attached to, what a shame…" She smirked, as she casted a powerful thunder spell point blank at the Silver haired boy.
"NO!" The Sora haired boy called out, firing off a powerful fire spell that Larxene evaded. She jumped back, smiling as she saw Sora kneeling next to his friend, an expression of fury growing on his face.
"But you know, not really." Larxene smirked as she attacked again, smirking at she raised her hand towards the sky as the air around them began to spark with electricity. Sora looked up to see a supremely powerful lightning attack aimed directly at him and his friend, the attack sending smoke as it made contact with it's target.
Larxene couldn't help but laugh as her stomach began to bubble with what she remembered amusement. Faltering as the smoke cleared from her attack, seeing that the replica was knelt down next to Sora who had his arm raised as he summoned as the barrier contained her lightning. A lesser second later her thunder spell was launched towards her, hitting her as she began to cackle.
"You idiot, did you really thing that my own spell would-" Her eyes widened as when she looked up again, the replica had critically damaged her, using her own magic as a cover, following it up with a few more strikes as it then jumped back near Sora's side.
"You..." She rasped angrily. "LITTLE TWERPS!" Larxene roared as she was then encased in a lightning armor, her knives extending into claws of some sort as she furiously attacked the replica again. But it did nothing as a familiar ice wall blocked her from reaching him. For a second she was thrown into confusion. "That's..." she narrowed her eyes at the boy who just glared at her. "Quick learner." She remarked as she casted another supremely powerful lightning attack, breaking the ice as the Replica stood next to his friend, his weapon drawn. But was met with a smirk as Sora triple-casted the three elements he mastered.
"Surprise!"
The powerful magic hitting her back as her knives disappeared, she stumbled back, trying to grasp her break as her rage wavered. "No... No! I refuse to lose to such a bunch of losers!" She rasped as her body began to dissolve in a darkness, Sora took a step forward instinctively, reaching out, reminded of what happened to Vexen. But the silver haired boy grasped his shoulder, pulling him back. "I'm...I'm fading?! No, this isn't...the way I... I won't...ALLOW-" But she never finished her sentence as there was nothing left of the women they had just defeated.
"She's..." Sora's voice wavered. "Did we..."
"All she was a Nobody, they don't have any right to exist just like replica's." The silver haired boy said, lowering his head, but lifted it as he felt his hand being grasped. He glanced towards the smaller boy with a certain expression on his face. " I'm a fake. I can't remember why I was created or where or when... All that's inside of me-is time within this castle and a past with Naminé. But I know those memories are not real."
"There's no such thing as a "right to exist". Who cares if someone created you? You are you and nobody else. You have your own heart inside you. Those feelings and memories are yours and yours alone. They're special!" He insisted.
The silver haired boy simply glanced down at him, a melancholic smile drawing on his face as he wrapped his arms around his face into a hug.
"Ah-" Sora was taken aback by the forward gesture, unsure of how to respond, but felt a longing as his friend pulled back with a warm smile on his face.
"Sora, you're a good friend." The silver haired boy remarked. "Even if you can be ridiculous."
"What?" Sora exclaimed as his friend laughed, turning towards the next floor.
"It's alright, the other me is the same way..."
Omake; Continued:
…
….
Kairi looked up towards a light shining in the distance, as though she were under the surface, falling into darkness. Her senses felt fuzzy unable to comprehend what happened, but thought that there was a voice calling out towards her. In a daze, she felt her hand being held, gripped tightly as she turned her head towards the source, seeing a familiar face that she couldn't recognize...
In their held hands, then appeared a weapon of light, surrounding her in it's aura of light, pulling her towards the light above them. She could see the darkness begin to consume him, just as it did her, but even so, he smile hopefully as he grasped her hand tighter for a moment, before he loosened his grip.
"I'll come back to you again, I promise!"
She felt a pain her heart as she lost his grip, watching as he reached out towards the trailing light that guided her towards safety. Closing his eyes as he was consumed by the darkness...
[You are the one who will open the door...Sora.]
/Notes/
- Magic: Surprise! lv3, Thundaga, Reflect, Blizzaga
- Tragic Protagonist Trope: Hero tells their parent that they love them just before they disappear forever (tbh that part actually made me sad to write)
- I think my actual notes for the original concept was, "RIKU TELL YOUR BF THAT YOU LOVE HIM YOU GOD DAMN DRAMA QUEEN" Ah well. :T
- The organization really has a habit of bullying middle schoolers
- No matter the version of Riku, he's always gonna be soft to his bf.
- Sora is a Aqua-coded protag, and like her his story doesn't end there. :3c
- This is around the time that Naminé and Roxas were born, and Kairi eventually woke up in Traverse Town.
- I always am reminded how much Sora loves his friends, no matter the model.