Inverted Sky: KH Chain of Memories
Chapter 9: Castle Oblivion part IX
Sora took a few steps toward Larxene, as said blond crossed her arms and raised a brow. "What? You think you'll be able to beat me without your friends' help?" she demanded with a roll of her eyes, making a quick gesture to Kairi, Donald and Goofy with a hand.
"No...I was actually just wondering if we could talk." the brown-haired girl suggested, shrugging her shoulders slowly.
This made Larxene blink a few times and raise a brow in a somewhat apprehensive manner. "And why would I wanna talk to you? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not here to be all 'buddy-buddy' with you." she retorted in a clearly mocking tone.
"Maybe..." Sora started silently as she looked down for a brief moment.
"...but I'd still like to try, since I feel like you guys can't be all bad." she finished while offering a small smile to Larxene.
Said blond gazing at the younger teen with an almost dumbfounded gaze, to which she just sighed heavily. "You're really annoying, you know that?" she whispered, yet it seemed mainly to herself.
Though, her tone was much different during these words, as she sounded far less mocking or annoyed than normal. Larxene then placed either hand to her hips and simply sighed; "What the heck brought all this on in the first place? You were always trying to talk during our fights...which was also annoying...but now you're stepping up your game by confronting me about it." she stated, gazing to the teen in seemingly actual curiosity.
After these words, Sora's gaze briefly shifted toward Kairi before turning back to Larxene. "What can I say? Friends bring out the best in me." was all she answered with, smiling softly as she did.
Despite the blond rolling her eyes and groaning from this, she then looked at Sora once more with a bit more of a serious gaze. "Look kid...it's cute how nice you are and all, but that's only gonna get you so far. So I'd suggest you lose that 'bleeding heart' of yours, as it'll definitely come back to bite you." she stated, yet the way she phrased it made the others wonder if it was coming from a place of experience.
Sora however, just smiled once more while shrugging. "Maybe...but so long as I have my friends, I'll be able to keep going." she declared in a confident and almost urging tone.
Her obviously attempting to suggest that Larxene let them become friends, so that she too can feel this way. The blond though, just sighed and shook her head. "Ugh...people like you are infuriating to talk to." she muttered silently before lifting both hands up and summoning her daggers between each finger.
"I think I'm gonna need to blow off some steam!" the older teen declared as an excited grin curled her lips.
While it still held the somewhat sadistic nature she naturally had, it was ever so slightly softer than usual. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Sora, to which she summoned her Keyblade and merely nodded. "Well...after what happened before, I'm looking to do the same." she stated with a small grin of her own, just before the pair rushed forward to begin their clash.
Meanwhile, many levels down, Riku sat together with King Mickey. Neither one speaking for a few long moments as they were currently resting. And while the latter of the two wasn't feeling tense about their mission, the former certainly was. The teen trying to keep himself from using the darkness as they moved through each floor. But he found himself slipping every so often, particularly when fighting against a foe too powerful for him to handle on his own. Which he knew would give Ansem an easier time in taking over, yet he kept resorting to the darkness over and over again.
'I have to do something...and fast. I'm not only slowly losing control over myself, but I'm also holding the King back.' he claimed in his mind, tightening one of his hands into a fist.
"Something the matter?" Mickey suddenly spoke up, tilting his head slightly to the side, instantly snapping the boy from his thoughts.
"H-Huh? No...not at all." he responded quickly, yet it was still all too clear that there was something bothering him.
However, the mouse simply offered a smile to the teen while curling and uncurling his thin tail. "Well...if there was something bothering you, what do you think it could be? Just hypothetically speaking of course." he hummed out curiously.
As Riku blinked a few times to his words, he could tell that Mickey was trying to help him open up. Looking down briefly and letting out a heavy breath, the boy eventually nodded his head. "Honestly, I've been feeling kind of lost...and even a little useless." he started, his gaze drifting to the floor once more.
"I know I haven't really received much formal training, even when I was being taught by Maleficent. But...I still feel like I'm not being any help, to you or anyone." Riku continued as his eyes slowly closed, hiding the sadness in his eyes.
"I've been relying on the Darkness and other people's powers all this time. So I don't even have my own strength anymore. Or maybe...I never had any to begin with." he finished in another heavy sigh, to which his eyes reopened to look at Mickey.
Whom blinked a few times in a bit of surprise from all this, leading him to look down thoughtfully. "That certainly is a tough thing to be dealing with." the mouse said, him taking a few moments before finally lifting his eyes to look at Riku again.
"Relying on others can be tough to do, as you can sometimes feel like you're not offering enough in return for what they do for you. But always remember, you can be relied on in many ways...and it might not always be in the form you expect." he declared with a slightly wider smile to the teen.
"Though...if you want some training to gain your own power and strength, then I can give you that." Mickey claimed happily while pointing to himself.
This time, it was Riku whom blinked a few times at the mouse's words. But just as he was about to deny this offer, the king held up a hand to stop him from doing so. "And your first lesson is to not refuse help whenever it comes your way." he stated in a soft tone, making the boy just stare for a moment before simply nodding his head.
Mickey returned this nod with his smile continuing to widen, to which he then stood to his feet. "Alright...I'll make sure to train you to be a great Keyblade Master, just like Master Yen Sid did for me." he claimed confidently.
"I'm looking forward to it."" Riku responded, a smile also beginning to curl his lips.
As the two began their training, Sora and Larxene slammed hard against opposite walls. The two breathed heavily while gazing to one another with narrowed eyes as it was clear their fight ended in a tie. "Tch! Look who grew up a bit." the blond muttered under her breath, sounding rather bitter about the fact that she didn't outright win.
Sora however, merely took on a small grin and nodded her head. "Well, after all those fights you started with me...you were basically the one who helped me get this far." she claimed, giving a quick wink.
With a blinking gaze to these words, Larxene then growled silently and let out a quick huff. "Oh shut up! You're so annoying!" she declared loudly before disappearing in a corridor of darkness.
Once she had, Kairi approached together with Donald and Goofy as they each smiled to their friend. "Weirdly...I think you're getting through to her." the auburn-haired girl hummed out, her tone and smile being a mixture of confidence, surprise, and even slight amusement.
Sora turned to her briefly while cocking her head to the side a bit; "Really? You think so?" she questioned, appearing quite happy about this possibility.
"Though...it does got me wonderin'." Goofy started, slowly tilting his head down in thought and tapping the side of his cheek.
"Why are ya so determined to make friends with these folks? Aren't they the ones makin' ya forget all these things?" the dog continued curiously.
Upon finishing this question, Sora offered her signature smile to the three and shrugged. "Because...making friends is what I do." is all she claimed in a soft chuckle.
Hearing her response made the trio to simply smile and nod their heads to the teen; "True. And if you need any help, we'll be here for you." Kairi declared happily, earning another nod from Donald and Goofy.
"Thanks you guys." Sora hummed out, to which they then made their way to and through the next set of doors.
Their previous conversation being temporarily forgotten about.
As they emerged on the other side though, it revealed to be Destiny Islands. Particularly, the area in which the trio had been building their raft. Taking in the sights, sounds and scents that were all too familiar to Sora and Kairi, the pair shared a brief glance with each other. The two forming a small grin on their features as they simply let themselves enjoy this feeling of being 'home' again. All the while, Donald and Goofy were just taking in the scenery of this rather beautiful island.
"Man...it feels like it's been forever since we've actually been here." the brown-haired teen muttered silently as if to herself.
"Yeah, it still has that nice charm to it...making you feel welcome." Kairi added with an agreeing nod to her friend's comment.
"Lets just hope that this is a memory of the original...and not a...different one." Sora said as a sheepish smirk formed on her features while each of the four made their way across the beach.
As they walked, Sora glanced around slowly. Her recalling all manner of things for nearly every area they passed. Whether it was something exciting, something scary, or even something sad...there were a great many memories on this island. However, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't recall any memories with Namine. This led for her to look down slowly in a bit of a sigh and shake of her head; "I hope I remember everything soon." she uttered aloud, to which the others each turned toward her.
"What do you mean 'remember'?" Donald said while arching a brow to the teen.
"Gawrsh, have you been forgettin' stuff?" Goofy added in a concerned tone.
"Sort of...though, I did thankfully remember 'her' name from an outside source. But now that I'm aware, I should be able to remember her." Sora stated in a happy tone while looking between the three.
"'Her'? Who is she?" Kairi questioned with a blinking gaze, unsure of whom Sora had forgotten.
"Na-" the brown-haired girl began, yet was cut off by a sudden corridor of darkness opening directly in front of them once again.
"Welcome...heroes." a voice called out from within this portal, to which Zexion slowly stepped through.
As the group swiftly readied their weapons, they narrowed their eyes upon this young man. Whom merely smirked softly and wave a hand, as if to create the idea he wasn't here to fight. "Have you been enjoying your trip down memory lane?" he questioned while slowly approaching the four.
"If you gave us a bit more time to take in the sights, maybe." Sora whispered with a silent huff, stepping ever so slightly forward and in front of Kairi in a protective manner.
"Well...you'll have plenty of time for that afterward." Zexion claimed, briefly waving a gloved hand through the air.
This action causing a thick black and silver tome to appear and float down into this hand. "But before that...I should introduce myself. I'm Zexion...it's a pleasure to meet you...Keyblade Master." he said with a respectful tone, yet there almost seemed to be a hint of resentment in his voice.
During his words though, the book opened and the pages swiftly seemed to move all on their own. "Now then...lets begin."
Something I overlooked in my original story was the fact that Sora could have mentioned Namine's name to Kairi and likely gotten suspicious about all of these memories. So by adding the interruptions, it makes it seem more like a 'behind the scenes' race of whether Sora will say something before it's too late. Though, now that the idea of there being some memory loss has been brought up...it's possible that the suspicions will arise soon. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed. Until next time.
