Kate. If you are reading this, Aura? Yeah I almost felt like screaming and wanting Akari to start swearing.
XI ~ Thorned Hearts (Part 2, First Visit)
Village...
After much watching, Aura knew the type of fight the Purest of all Hearts was and... she was not impressed. In fact the girl's performance was far from what she had previously expected. She knew from the beginning that Akari's fighting skills won't exactly be in par with her own - that would be a miracle - but Akari was just sad. Wanting to clear her head, Aura decided to visit the outer regions of the world beyond the castle and stumbled upon a not so welcoming community. She could even hear the whispers that were exchanged between nearby villagers.
"Look at that girl... must be a ruffian with the way she dresses..."
"At her age? It's not that surprising."
"Her mother must be so embarrassed to have a daughter like that. I'd have sent her to reform school in a heart beat. I mean look at her! So unlady like."
All Aura could do is roll her eyes at their expected reactions. People of other worlds are always like that whenever they see her, so she couldn't really do anything but just ignore them and just go on with her business. Even if she 'accidentally' told anyone about outside worlds, they'll just look at her as if she was a mad woman. Just like all the rest. "I wonder if Jade was able to arrive at her destination," Aura ponders out loud. "Choco is with her to give her every single means to travel in case she breaks the Gummi Bike again." There was a moment where Aura thought of going after Jade to check on her current progress. However, as the older sibling she knew she has to have faith in her sister.
Even just a smidget amount. 'Better find some place to rest before I make my move,' she thought. There was a tavern not too far away. Despite her current appearance, Aura knew she couldn't say or do anything to get people like them to shut up. Although she's only gone to at least three or four worlds prior to the task given by Yen Sid, she couldn't help but hate for having been born with sharp ears. She can easily hear the voices of others even from a mile away. 'Maybe it was to do with where I was born,' she thought to herself, staring at the window of a bar with a blank stare. That is until someone abruptly opens the window and tosses beer directly in her face.
She was able to seal her mouth shut and close her eyes in time, but that didn't stop the fluids from entering her nose. "And his name's G-A-S-T-" Aura takes the swinging mug and bashes it into the man's face. Seeing as the singing was still continuing from inside the pub house - despite the passed out drunk laying on top of a now broken table - Aura decided it was to to go back to the castle. She eyes the window one last time before leaving. As she was leaving, a small old man accidentally runs into her as he was blindly running into town and falls backwards to the ground. "Are you alright?" Aura calmly asks, bending over and extending a helping hand. Brushing the snow off his head, he eagerly takes her hand, then refuses to let go once up his feet. "Please! You have to help my daughter!" he begs, dropping on his knees.
"T-There's a beast keeping her captive! You have to help her, please! She may die in the same dungeon I was placed in before I got tossed out!"
Aura felt bad for the him, going on his knees reflects just how desperate he is to have his daughter rescued, but she knew she couldn't help even if she wanted to. 'Don't interfere, you know this is known of your business,' a familiar dark voice spoke in the back of her mind. Before, her spine would shiver at the amount of malice laced from every word that came out of its voice, now she simply ignores it. When she can. "I'm sorry," she said in a monotone voice, "but what happens to your daughter is none of my concern." Roughly taking her hand back, Aura struggles to keep her expressionless mask on as she walks past the man, distraught at the girl's rejection to help his daughter.
Little did he know that Aura was internally struggling to hold back her inner demon from taking control after she lost control a small bit of her emotions.
Dungeon...
The room was absolutely empty by the time we arrived. There was only hay, cobwebs and furniture laying all over the place. "There's no one here," Sora states after checking the room. "You mean there's nobody to rescue?" Donald asks, distraught at our failure. I step a bit closer into the room until I was standing right at the center of the room, my eyes scanning all over the place for any possible exits they could have escaped through. Except that's the problem. There was none. No matter how you look at it, Sora's right, there's no one in here. I turn to the three, asking, "What do you think happened to them? Could they have escaped?"
Sora shakes his head. "I don't think so. We should have seen someone by now besides the heartless." Goofy gulps, saying, "Gwarsh you don't think they were turned into heartless, do ya!?" I felt my heart drop at the idea. I cover my mouth and look at Sora with horrified eyes, who stared back at me with sad eyes. Somehow deep down I knew he was taking it into consideration, I just know it. "It can't be. We came all this way to rescue them!" I exclaim, throwing my arms up. "Did someone say 'rescue'?!" a voice spoke in a deep french accent from behind. Surprised, I turn around as Sora and the others walks up to where I was.
Another voice shushes the other, "Keep quiet! It might be THEM." I jump a bit and grab Sora's arm, frightened at how close the voice was. "Oh, they look like nice people to me!" This time it was a woman's voice, an elderly one at that. We look at one another curiously then back around the room. "We are nice. We're your friends!" Goofy said in hopes they would come out. Whoever it is that we're talking to. "Yeah," I nod, loosening my grip on Sora. "Belle sent us to find you," he informs them. I finally let go to get a better look at the furniture, which were curiously placed on separate wooden chairs and seemed in great condition for something that's not been used.
The clock suddenly opens one eyes after bring my face a bit closer, earning a surprised yelp as I quickly back away and bump into Goofy. "AAAHHHH!" I scream as the clock started to move. More followed in suit much to my horror. Sora places his hand on my shoulder and assures me, "It's alright Akari. They must be under the spell the Wardrobe mentioned." All of them approach us as we crouch to their level, still in awe at the sight of living furniture. "I'm very sorry for frightening you," the teapot apologizes as she looks up at me with sad eyes. I shake my head and said politely, "No, I shouldn't have screamed. I'm the one that should be sorry."
Sora introduces us to the four one by one, "I'm Sora. Akari. Donald. And Goofy." We were all surprised went Donald suddenly forward and grabs the clock for closer inspection. "... D-Don't touch! I-I'm self-winding, sir!" he warns the duck through his stutter. Goof got curious as well and joined Donald as he started shaking the poor guy! "Hey!" I smack the back of Donald's head and scowl, "Don't mess with them! They're people too, so don't go shaking him!" Donald puts the clock down, but not before angrily muttering something to himself. I shot him another look that dared him to say it louder, and that seemed to surprisingly shut him up.
After they introduced themselves, they proceed to tells us the story - while I kept a keen eye on Donald after catching him poking at Cogsworth - as to how they all became furniture and how the beast became what he is now. "Wow... that's quite a story," Sora said, almost speechless. "All this just because he said no?" I ask, stunned after they finish the story. Mrs. Potts nods and sadly adds, "He was just a boy when it happened. I know he was a spoiled Prince, but there could have been some other punishment for him instead of growing up as a beast."
(Fun Fact: So I just saw the Christmas special... and jesus the enchantress is an even bigger dick than her live action version. He was 11 when he became the Beast!)
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Goofy asks the four. I place a hand on my chest and offer, "We could look for a way to break the spell." Out of nowhere, Donald blurts out, "Let's get the enchantress!" I shake my head and stare at him with wide eyes. He honestly thinks we can take on such a person? We may have faced Heartless, but I know for sure not many of us are too keen on angering a being that was powerful enough to enchant and entire castle. "Oh no, dear!" objects the teapot. "We already know what needs to be done, but with the master out of sorts..." Lumiere trails, not needing to finish as we all know what he was going to say.
"So he was never like this?" I ask Sora. "Well... he is but..." he nervously coughs a bit then answers, "a little bit more friendlier than when he said 'hi' to us." "It's like he's forgotten to trust others," Mrs. Potts stats while Chip sadly nods. "You don't suppose he's been turned into a Heartless, do you?" Cogsworth questions much to our surprise. "A HEARTLESS!?" the boys exclaim. I was more surprised that he knew about the Heartless.
"You know about the Heartless?"
"Oh yes! They appeared when someone came to kidnap Belle. After her and the Master returned from god knows where they came from, Belle told us what those creatures were."
Lumiere shivers at the mention of the Heartless, "I couldn't believe such a story, but ze Master warned us they might appear again. Didn't know they would really roam the castle and hide in the shadows." I felt bad for them. With the number of Heartless that have popped up, I can see why the castle appeared so empty. The other servants must be carefully hiding by pretending to be the furniture they've been cursed to be. Whoever it was that kidnapped Belle and brought the Heartless to this world must really have been a bad person. "If they're a part of this," Sora places a hand on my shoulder and continues, "then it's a good thing we're here."
There was this strange warmth in my chest when I stare at the way Sora was grinning. Ignoring it, I nod and grin back, "Right! Let's go find the beast!" Donald summons his wizard staff as he pumps his fist up in the air. "Yah! The Heartless are nothing against us!" "Splendid!" Lumiere claps his hands(?) together before hoping off the wooden chair, with the others following him not long after. He was the first to stand in front of the door. "Follow me, messieurs and mademoiselle. I know a short cut." With a guide to lead us around this huge place, I'm sure it'll be easier to get away from any enemy for now. The other walk on ahead of us. Before I could follow, Sora suddenly grabs my hand.
I turn and tilt my head, confused. "Is everything alright?" He doesn't answer. Instead, he takes something out of his pocket and holds his hand out. "This is something... I've been meaning to give back to you for a while since we left Hollow Bastion. I know the timing is bad, but I felt that the sooner you got it back, the better." In his hand was some sort of seashell, half in fact, attached to a thin silver chain. He proceeds to explain as I kept staring at the trinket, "When you were still asleep, I found this in your pocket. It was a little cracked so I kept it with me until I found some way to get this fixed. The Fairies were happy enough to help."
When he lifts up the necklace with a look silently asking for permission to put it on me, I instinctively close my eyes and slightly bow. I know we shouldn't be having this conversation NOW and he really should have given this to me earlier but... "Thank you Sora!" I smile as I happily lift my hair to expose my neck. For some strange reason, I felt really happy to have him put the necklace on me. After I hear the clicking sound, I stand up straight at marvel at the shape of the shell, feeling a strange sense of pride to wear it for all to see. Sora smiles at me for a brief moment but his eyes turned sad when he brings his eyes to the seashell.
"I'm sorry..."
"For what?"
"Everything. But like I promise, I will help you get your memories back. If we can't find them all, I'll make sure you gain happy ones."
Before I could say anything, Cogsworth calls out to us from outside the room. "We must make haste! The Heartless could come back any moment now!" He was right, and Sora knew as well how dangerous it is to stay here any longer, but the way he was looking at me showed that there was more he wanted to say. "We can talk about this back at the ship," I told him as I brought my hand to his cheek. "Neither of know where the future will lead us, one thing thing's for sure is that everything will turn out okay. I may have very little memories of Kairi and Riku and the island, but someday soon you will all be back together."
I stop and realize what I had just said. It just came out of the blue. I don't know what brought me to say it that way. "I-I'm sorry! I don't..." I want to tell him all four of us will be together again, but there was this sudden doubt in my heart that's making me think I don't belong there. "It's alright." This surprised me. When I stared into his eyes, it felt like as if we've had this talk before with the exact same words. "C'mon, the others are waiting." The moment he takes my hand and starts pulling me along with him, this wave of nostalgia was starting to make my heart ache. I fought back the tears as I thought, 'I'm sorry I can't remember. I want to remember everything soon!'
Secret Passage...
After finally getting pass the four suits of armors that were blocking the door on the upper floor, they all enter the surprisingly large secret passage, dark and empty just like the rest of the castle. To Akari, she prefers it that way. "Alright, how do we get out of here?" Sora asks furniture, snapping the girl out of her trance. Lumiere answers, "I'm afraid we won't be marching out so easily." Somehow, that seemed a little bit expected to the others seeing as how they are walking through a secret passage, there's no way they can get out that easily.
"You see, the door leading to the other side is concealed by a sort of contraption."
"What kind of contraption?"
While the were talking, a small figure passes by the group, unnoticed by all except for Akari, who just happened to catch sight of it at the corner of her eye. She tries to ignore it but then there was laughter that started to echo throughout the empty walls. Curious, Akari was about to follow it until she remembered that she was with her friends, so she remained at Sora's side. For a few seconds. "C'mon slow poke!" a child's voice rang in her head. She clutches her head and cries out, "STOP IT!" The moment Sora was about to put out the enchanted flames from the lantern with his keyblade, everything seemed to freeze in place, leaving only Akari to move about.
"What?" She slowly reaches out to Goofy. "Guys? You okay?" When she taps his cheek with her finger, she yelps as Goofy's body leans to the side and falls, still frozen in the same position. "You gonna get that?" She jumps and instinctively summons her keyblade. "Whoa there! It's just me, you know from that other princess' world?" Ciana exclaims after stepping back from the keyblade. Surprised at first, Akari lowers Starlight and watches as Ciana suddenly pulls down her hood. Her wild, curly pink hair barely falls over her shoulder and opens her eyes only to grin at the stunned other, however, Akari paid more attention to her face.
Both looked exactly alike, Akari couldn't even tell who was the copy due the the other girl's striking resemblance. She smirks at her reaction. "Surprised? I wouldn't blame you, I felt the same thing when I saw my first Forgotten. They rarely show up to... anyone actually. Only the Purest of all Hearts has met at least one or two of them in their life time before they're- what's the word?" Ciana playfully taps her lips then gasps in an exaggerated manner. "Oh right, KILLED!" Akari flinches at the girl's dark sense of humor as she starts to bend back and laugh excessively.
"But don't worry-" the Forgotten straightens up and stares at Akari with empty eyes, sending shivers down the girl's back. "You're the lucky one that gets to live." Before I could react, something about the air had changed. Something felt off. "You really like to wander off from your Protector." A sudden ice spear stabs the ground beside Akari, causing her to trip on her own feet and fall to the side. Not long after a figure jumps down not too far away and slowly walks to her direction. Akari was about to call out to the Forgotten but realizes - much to her horror - that she was alone to face this new stranger.
Just as Akari was about to get back on her feet, she freezes in place and gasps as she comes face-to-face with the sharp end of the spear. Her eyes travel up until she comes in direct eye-contact with the person before her. Every bone in her body told her to get ready to fight, but the longer she stared at those cat-like, yellow eyes the more she felt the air in her lungs disappear. With her free hand, the stranger creates a ball of fire to light up the dark room. "You're just making things so much easier for the heartless and nobodies to take your heart," she said darkly as her face is revealed.
(Author's note: The theme that inspired me in making this scene was Broken ties; made by KayinOne. It's a fanmade OST for KH3, so if you like to listen to something for this part, I recommend you search that up on youtube. :) )
"W-Who are you!?" Akari stutters, internally struggling to keep herself together an remain strong. "Aura," the older girl briefly answers. She never expected she'd get an actual answer, then again there's a lot of things she never expected after waking up in Hollow Bastion. Aura coldly stares down the girl, briefly eyeing her Starlight keyblade every now and then before disappointment becomes more apparent to the petrified girl. "You're weak," she states. Shocked, Akari retaliates by angrily jabbing her keyblade at Aura, who suddenly disappears in place in a puff of snow.
"Too slow."
The next thing she knew, Akari was sent flying to the other side of the room. "AAAAHHHH!" she cries out in pain after colliding against the wall. Using her keyblade as support to get back up, Akari immediately enters her Guard form the moment Aura comes charging at her with how two spears of ice. Both weapons harshly collide, the ice slowly cracking against Akari's force. "See? You're so weak-" Aura kicks Akari in the stomach, causing her to buckle of her knees and lose her grip. "That you rely on the strength of others to get through even your weakest of fights." Suddenly pulling back, Akari nearly falls forward only to find herself pinned against the wall with a giant ice spike that shot up from the ground.
Aura suddenly makes the room darker than it previously was.
"The master has always spoken very highly of you, it almost made me jealous how a girl that's never gone through the Inheritance Ceremony could suddenly gain a keyblade."
Unable to get herself out through her own strength, Akari uses Earthshaker to shatter the ice and free her. Aura partially reveals herself to Akari. Her voices echoes throughout the room, "The Purest of all Hearts, more pure than the seven princesses themselves. You're so important that it makes them look like nothing." Frustrated at the taunts being thrown at her, Akari charges with both keyblades individually glowing a brilliant white light. Just as Akari was about to slash, an arrow suddenly pierces through the darkness, flying past her head and goes straight to her raised arm.
The arrow lightly taps Earthshaker, and by the time Akari realizes what was happening, the larger keyblade was suddenly flung from her hand and sent flying to the wall behind her. She skids to a stop to see the ice arrow shattering and freezing Earthshaker to the wall. Without it, her Guard form immediately cancels itself. "Your back is turned again~" a voice taunts into her ear. Infuriated, Akari spun around and raises Starlight for the attack to find no one was there, again.
I shouldn't be afraid. Heartless are far more scarier than people. We shouldn't even be fighting in the first place! "Why are you doing this? We should be fighting against the darkness together!" I yell as I circle around in place with my keyblade ready. The darkness was suddenly lifted and I look up to see Aura standing on a pillar of ice, and in her head was a ball of light. 'Wait... that's-!' Upon recognizing the small object in her hand, anger began to well up the longer she holds it up. "Give that to me! I need it!" I cry out in desperation. "Oh this?" Aura twirls it around her fingers in a taunting manner. "You won't need it. You're not strong enough to handle such memories."
My heart stops when I see her crystallize it in a ball of ice. Stepping off the pillar without a care in the world, Aura dives face front with a bored expression. I held my keyblade up in preparation to guard when I see her create several more spears, some surprisingly made out of lightening. 'Can you even do that with magic!?' I push those thoughts aside and dodge. There's no way I can block that many without getting at least a cut in the process. It was horrifying to watch a rain of spear pierce through the brick floor with ease, even the ones made of lightening didn't have much trouble leaving a nice large crack on the floor before violently exploding.
She drops to the floor and quickly grabs a spear, coming at me with full force. She was sure never to leave herself open for an attack as each time I thought I spot one, she would reach quickly my summoning one of the spears to aid her. "You're too obvious where you're going to strike," Aura taunts, sneering at the annoyed looks I was giving her. With each strike I could feel a wave emitting from all around us. The shock wave was so strong at one point that it caused many of the spears to shatter. "Is that all you got? Ha! Pathetic!" Aura would disappear every now and then, using the darkness of the room to her advantage and then dive back in when my back was turned.
"Alright that's it!" I pull my arm back then threw my keyblade as hard as I could, watching it as it flies towards Aura like a boomerang and miraculously knocks her off her feet. "Yes!" I cry out in triumph as I pump my fist in the air. I lift my hand up in preparation for Starlight to fly back to me, only for Aura to suddenly appear off the ground and grab it in mid air. "Hey! That's not fair!" I yell. The moment her foot touches the ground, I was stunned to see the entire floor become covered in ice. I took a few steps back when the ice started to travel in my direction and nearly slip once the ground below me is layered over.
"Master told me to go easy on you, but I still need to see if you truly deserve to have your memories back. No weak heart deserves such responsibility if they cannot handle it. The darkness can't wait forever for your choice."
"Shut up! I'm not weak! Even without my memories, my heart is strong! I won't- I will not remain a burden!"
Aura starts to skate around the room, much to my frustration, then starts to create thousands of frost bubbles. The first one bursts right in my face - after stupidly thinking it was harmless - temporarily deafened and blinded by the unexpected blast. I scream in pain and drop my keyblade so I could cover my ears from to the constant ringing I was hearing. I knew more bubbles were coming my way, but I could barely see which direction they were coming from, let alone hear properly. With nothing else I could do, I allow the bubbles to come at me. "AAAAH!" I scream as each bubble blasts against my body at full force. It hurt.
This pain was far stronger than anything I've ever felt. I eventually lost grip of my keyblade as I began to feel numb and lose so much energy from the amount of hits I was receiving. Buckling on my knees, I pant and hug myself as I struggle to remain standing, glaring at Aura as she slowly skids to a stop. She holds her head up eye and says in a monotonous tone, "Someone like you doesn't deserve the keyblade. Get that stupid little protector of yours to get your memories back, I'm sure he'd mindlessly follow the orders of his damsel in distress." I watch as she turns her back on me, holding up my heart fragment, using it as a way to continue mocking my inability to defeat her.
There's no way I'm going to let her look down on Sora like that. I know I'm weak. I know I'm not strong without my memories. But no one - no one insults my friends. Especially Sora! Trying to catch my breath, I grit my teeth as I painfully bent over to pick up Starlight with shaky hands. Reaffirming my grip, I aim the blade at her and yell, "NO ONE insults my protector!" She stops in her tracks, slowly looking over her shoulders and gives me another cold stare. "Oh? So you're finally serious," Aura said, now interested in fighting me.
"Sora will save all worlds! He will restore the light and defeat the darkness! He has far greater burdens than you can ever imagine!" I yell as I got back into my fighting position. "I don't deserve the keyblade... but I want to protect him! All of them! I will use whatever power I have so I can't fight by his side! Not have him always protecting me!
Aura does the same, but this time without creating any weapons.
"Then come at me. Prove to me just how worthy you are of your precious memories and keyblade."
Taking a small step back, I launch myself forward, which seemed to surprised Aura as I easily struck the side of her head, temporarily stunning her. I took this chance to swipe at her six more time before she breaks through my attacks and starts to furiously retaliate, irritated that I was about to easily catch her off guard. "Don't get cocky!" she yells before attempting to stab my face with - "CLAWS!?" I exclaim. I pulled my head back just in time as Aura thrusts her fists at my face, suddenly summoning (extremely) sharp metal claws. With wide eyes, I shove her back and cartwheel away before her other now-equipped hand claws at me.
Aura marvels at the weapons on her hands, tracing her finger across on of the metal blades with a glazed look in her eyes, as if it was the first time in ages she's had them. "This must be your lucky day..." she starts, slowly bringing her cold gaze back to me. "You get to see what I'm truly capable of." There's no way. How can she not be done? I can barely keep up with her, let alone stand straight. "Same for me... I'm not backing down until I get back what I lost! So get ready!" I raise my keyblade up to guard when I see Aura prepare for what I truly hope is her final assault. Then something weird happened.
The Fragment that she was holding on to started to glow, as if it was reacting to the things I've been saying. "I couldn't have said it better myself," a girl's voice echoes in the room. Shocked, Aura takes it out of her pocket to inspect it only to let it go as it brightly shines into her eyes, temporarily blinding her. I took a few steps forward and watch as the Fragment flies over to me and stops about a few feet away from where I stood. I shield my eyes at the sudden intense light. When I felt that the light had died out, I lower my arm and gap at the person who stood before me. For a second I thought she was one of the Forgotten I've faced until I noticed she was wearing a black coat and had her pink hair in a pony tail on the left side of her head.
She sadly smiles at me much to my confusion, before changing the form of my younger self. For some reason I automatically knew I was looking at my fourteen year old self. Seeing that her hair was shorter than mine, I reach for my now waist-length blue locks and curiously eye it then back at her. She runs up to me then stops, holding up with both hands a star. Taking it, I eye the small trinket. It was made of stained glass with silver frames. The center of it was red while the tips were light pink. Just staring at it brought tears to me eyes. "He's waiting for you," she said. I look up to see her body transforming to a body of light.
I was about to say something until I caught sight of a now recovered Aura charging straight at us behind the Fragment's back. I wrap my arms around the younger me and turn us both around so my back was facing the girl. I shut my eyes in preparation for another harsh attack only to hear her slash at something else. Slowly looking over my shoulder, my jaw hangs as I stare at the back of the summon version of Sora. He didn't even try to block it. I don't know what happened next, because the moment the Fragment disappeared and enter my heart all I saw was red.
After her sudden disappearance, all Sora could think about was finding Akari as soon as possible. Although he said helping Beast first was important, his mind kept racing back to searching for the girl even while they were fighting Beast, but he knew he couldn't. Akari made it sure that she can protect herself and he had to trust her on that, even if that means she disappeared from his sight. He trusts her, but something was telling him that something was wrong. "Where did you last see her?" Beast asks after being told of the events that transpired when they arrived. Stunned, Sora answers, "Back in the secret passage. We were barely in there for a minute and she just... vanished."
Beast hums to himself for a moment. "I've combed those passages since Heartless began appearing in my castle. We can find her together." "What? But what about Belle?" Sora couldn't believe Beast was willing to help him, especially at a time like this. Placing his giant paw on Sora's shoulder, he assures him, "You helped me find and save Belle. Let me return the favor. With Xaldin still within the castle's walls, there's no telling what will happen unless we act now." After he pulls away, Donald and Goofy silently offer their help by standing at his side. Words could not describe how grateful he was. With a determined look in his eyes, Sora nods.
"Excellent! I'll inform the others," Cogsworth said, ecstatic at the positive turn of events. "We'll remain hidden until your return." Sora was the first to leave the room, practically running as he led Beast and the others to where Akari was last seen. Not too far away was Ciana and Aura, both watching in the darkest corner as the group runs right past them without notice. "Now you see why we have to watch over her?" Ciana asks while Aura continues to watch the retreating back of the protector. She nods and proceeds to heal some of her wounds, "I never thought a fragmented heart like hers could be so fragile... Can the Purest of all Hearts truly be be trusted in the decision of this long war between light and dark.
It was a expected reaction. Ciana and the remaining Forgotten are too familiar with what happens if the darkness takes control of them.
"Not like we got a choice in all this. The next time she loses her heart it will be for good, and I'm sure as hell not excited to see her become one of us. That's a life I want no one else after us to experience."
"But what I saw..."
Aura closed her eyes as she tried to mentally push back the images of what transpired.
"I know it's pretty ugly... The truth behind our curse is something I'd like to forget too."
Aura suddenly finds herself being thrown back by an unknown force. Her weapons immediately disappear and all the ice she created melts on the spot. "What-" She is abruptly cut off when a hand suddenly grabs her by the throat. Struggling to breathe, Aura tries to pried the hand off by force only to had her neck further squeezed. Slowly feeling herself look consciousness, she cracks open one eye and nearly stops struggling at what she was staring at. It was Akari but something was off. It was like the color was completely drained from the entirety of her body. Her eyes and mouth were covered in white bandages, the skin of her arms with faint cracks, and the hole in her heart...
To see her heart floating and exposed while wrapped in bandages sent shivers down her spine. "Akari!" The sudden voice of the summon caught the girl by surprise, her grip loosening as her attention shifted to the body. This gave Aura enough time to make her escape. But not before being attacked with a barrage dark magic, almost the same way she had attack Akari earlier.
Shaking the memory out of her thoughts, Aura silently create a Corridor of light to her left. "Don't tell anyone about us, alright?" Ciana requests when she senses the girl leaving her side. Without saying a word, Aura just bows her head and leaves. "Is everything alright...?" a small voice asks. She turns to her fellow Forgotten, who was shyly hiding behind one of the statues. "You can come out Phoebe! All the monsters are gone!" Stepping out was a little girl, no older than seven based on her appearance. Just seeing the child made Ciana grimace at what could have happened for the former Purest to lose her heart at a young age.
"Where's Leora?" asks the girl upon realizing the child was alone. "Over here!" Ciana almost bites her tongue at the sudden appearance of the said girl revealing herself right in front of her face, hanging upside down with her legs on her skateboard. "Hahahahaha! The look on you face!" Leora cackles, only stopping whenever she lost balance. Ciana groans, "This is what I've become... a babysitter for a child and a toddler trapped in a teenager's body."
Secret Passage...
"Akari!" Sora continues to call out for the girl. Beast had them spread out while he remained where he was to attract as many heartless as possible so he could steer away as many heartless as possible from them while they're off searching. "Akari, where are you!?" To only hear the echoing of his voice and footsteps was slowly starting to agitate him. He wants to remain calm, but the longer it takes to find her the more he's starts to for the worst on what has happened to the girl. "So...ra...?" a voice weakly calls out to him. Sora turns and couldn't believe what he was looking at. Akari was still her - much to his relief - the one thing that caused his heart to stop was how badly beat up she appeared.
He takes a step forward only to be suddenly embraced by the girl. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Unable to figure out the proper words to say, Sora simple hugs her back. Not too far away was the three Forgotten, crying due to the overwhelming amount of emotions that was flowing from the girl to them. As her previous lives, they felt what she felt. And what they were feeling from her right now is... regret.
"Sora! Wake up! Sora!" I cried as I kept applying pressure to his chest. I don't know what had happened. One moment we were on the bridge talking, and the next thing I knew, Sora pushed me out of the way and suddenly fell through the floor. Usually swimming wasn't a problem, but today is high tide and Sora didn't come out of the water immediately like I expected him to. Placing my palm on the Sora's forehead and gently tilting his head back, I then with the other hand, gently lift the chin forward to open his mouth and press my mouth on his. After breathing a few times, I pull back and start pumping my hands on his chest again.
"Don't die on me Sora! Not when we finally became friends again!"
"Watch out!" Sora pushes me out of the way before the Heartless could reach me. I watch in horror as he is struck in the back. "SORA!" I scream. Pulling his back as Goofy bashes the heartless away, I held him protectively in my arms as Goofy and Donald fend off the remaining enemies. My shaky free hand digs in my pocket for the potion he gave me in case I get hurt, I kept my eyes on him as he remains motionless.
Tears brim in Sora's eyes as he tosses the wooden sword to the ground. I reach out in an attempt to comfort him, but stop after having second thoughts. "You should have gone with him Akari... I can't protect you like this," he said, refusing to face me. Bring my hands close to my chest, I helplessly watch as Sora goes on his knees and bows his head in shame. "I don't have the keyblade anymore! I didn't deserve it like I thought I did... I don't deserve you either. I don't deserve to be called your Protector..." I shake my head, saying, "Even if I was given the chance to choose, either way I'd still choose you as my Protector. With or without it, you're strong in your own way."
"Akari..."
"Now chin up! We have to save Kairi, remember?"
I know I was trying to cheer him up, but the sudden smile on his face on the mention of Kairi made my chest ache.
"C'mon Akari, it's easy!" Sora shouts as I stare down at the city with wide eyes. It may seem easy for the boy to just jump and fly away while thinking of happy thoughts, but that was above the ocean not a giant clock tower. "Oooooh no! I am not going to leap to my death!" I vehemently object. I raise my arms up defensively when I see Sora eyeing Donald and Goofy with a mischievous look in his eyes then looks at me with a playful smile. "Sora...! I swear if you do anything I will-" Before I could make a turn and run for it, Sora abruptly appears at my side and suddenly hooks his arm around my waist to keep my from escaping.
All I could at this point was absolute fear and utterly betrayed by both my Protector and our so called friends for allowing this to happen by acting like bystanders. "No! Stop it Sora. I'm serious I will hit you if you even think of pushing me off this building!"
Just as I was about to run to my friends aid as all three fought the Giant Armored Unverse, the Masked Boy suddenly appears in front of me and starts to drag my away. "Let me go! You're not going to stop me from helping my friends!" I yell as I try to take my arm back. "And what are you going to do when you're there?" he asks, causing me to stop struggling. His grips looses as he brings me closer, but before he could touch my face I pull my head back, refusing to have him touch or look at me. He proceeds to degrade me out of spite, "You're useless, you know that right? Can't perform magic, no keyblade, just a little princess who needs her human shield to protect her from all sorts of bad."
"Your protector? He can't even protect himself. He has no idea what my master has in store for him. In fact, I think he'll be losing his only title 'Protector' very soon. Someone like him isn't worthy."
"And you think you are!?" I snap as I successfully force myself out of his grasp. "I chose Ven as my Protector! Out of everyone I have ever met since I was born, he's the only person I connect with! Don't even think for a second that you can take his place like that. He will always and forever be the one I choose to have by my side!"
Out of nowhere, a ball of light begins to appear in my hand, blinding both me and the Masked Boy. By the time my eyes had adjusted to the light it had began to take the form of the last thing I ever expected to appear - a keyblade.
*Mystic Form Obtained*
- This form allows Akari to use magic, however, in this form she is incapable of performing physical attacks and defense is partially reduced in this form. Despite the fact she is unable to use magic out of this form (due to a connection from her past life to one that specialized in magic) she displays a certain amount of proficiency in the ability.
Form Level: In this form, you level up based on the number of spells successfully performed.
Wields: 2 Keyblades
Keyblade Transformation: Bow
Special Abilities: Just like her current and future forms, Akari can combine two of her currently equipped keyblades into one. When combined, her use in magic increases as well as the potency and effect of each spell she casts. Akari is unable to perform any defensive ability, however, her increased agility acts as a compensation. Akari is capable of skating around but only for a certain amount of time and glide. Like Sora's Wisdom form, the Attack Command changes from 'Attack' to 'Shoot'. This enables Akari to target enemies and fire magic-shaped arrows at them from great distances, as well as pierce frontal defenses of certain heartless. Each spell that is casted changes the property of the arrows.
Appearance: Akari's clothes change slightly in appearance while the color scheme changes drastically. The shirt becomes black and blue with two pink intersecting straps over her chest with a badge at the center. Her usual fishnet gloves are replace with long, white finger-less gloves that reach below the elbow. Her pants remains black, but has large white cross stitches on the sides of her legs. The knees on her pants become light grey, with a pattern of glittering bubbles. A sky blue sash is tied around her hips which drapes only one side. One her right arm, attached to her glove is a piece of armor. On the circular piece is a symbol of a splash of water.
*Un-Form Obtained*
- Unlike Akari's other forms, this form activates at random. This form will keep occurring the more memories that Akari recovers. The only way to counter this is by fully evolving all current forms. This form not only represents the darkness that took control of Akari in the past and her broken heart, but also acting as a symbolization for the number of time the Purest of all Hearts was reborn. Players are unable to fully control Akari's actions when in this form.
Form Level: None.
Wields: No weapons.
Special Abilities: Her attacks are random most of the time, ranging from scratching to bashing her head at the targeted enemy. Akari cannot defend herself in this form and her defense stats decrease tremendously. The more her Memory Forms level up, the more powerful and erratic her attacks become in this form. Fair warning though, the amount of damage taken increases with each form that levels up.
Appearance: Most of the color from Akari's body is bleached off, leaving only a faint shade of blue on her hair and certain parts of her clothing. Some of her clothing is torn and her skin appears cracked, giving off the appearance of an old ragged doll. Her heart is exposed from a large gaping her chest. Both her heart and eyes are covered in white bandages.
I still couldn't wrap my head around what I just saw. 'Just how many times has Sora...' I slightly glance at Sora as he continues to carry me on his back. I push the thought aside and ask the Beast, "So you're the friend Sora's been talking about? How did you two meet?" "He helped me get back what I lost and now I'm doing the same for him," he cryptically answers while eyeing Sora. I caught sight of Sora's ears turning red for a moment. "We're just glare you're alright Akari," Goofy said. Donald agrees but voices his anger, "This place is filled with Heartless! Don't go off running on your own, understand? There are a lot of things we can and can't do!"
Ashamed of myself, I bury my face into Sora's shoulder. "Ease off Donald, she's fine and that's all that matter," Sora said. I knew on the spot he was lying; his shoulders were shaking and I could tell his smile was forced when he looked at me. I can't imagine how much trouble I put them through to find me, all that time I was focusing on defeating Aura and regaining my memories I hadn't once thought of them. Sora made me promise never to do anything reckless, and I broke that promise. I never understood back then why he was bent on me keeping my promise. Now I know why. "Sora...?" I mutter for only him to hear.
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry... for never listening to you. I always thought that if I was just as strong as you, you wouldn't have to worry about me. But all I did was make things worse. I'm sorry."
He got hurt so many times in the past, and there's a hundred percent chance it will happen again, as he's not only my protector but also my most precious friend. "I-" Before he could say anything, Beast opens the door to Belle's room and instead of being greeted by the young lady, it was the wardrobe we met earlier. "Master!" she gasps in delight upon our arrival. "Everybody's safe now," he informs her. She was ecstatic at the news, "Wonderful! Thank you!" Sora allows me to stand by myself, though made sure I wouldn't fall by keeping his arm around my waist. "Where's Belle?" Beast asks. Something tells me he's not gonna be happy with what the wardrobe's about to say.
"Why, she left in a hurry. Something about going after this... man in black."
I clutch onto Sora's back when Beast's roars, "WHAT!? Why doesn't she do as she's told?!" Goofy was chewing his fingernails off while Donald also hides behind his friend, both terrified at Beast's explosive anger. The Wardrobe turns around in a huff, "Temper! Temper! Her spirit is what makes belle so special!" "We'd better go find her!" Sora said. I add once I got over my fear, "We have to stop her or else something might happen to her!"
Just as the group was about head out, Akari gasps as she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest.
"Roxas!"
There was strong pang of guilt that began to overwhelm her.
"Kairax stay back!"
Twilight Town...
"Oh no..." Namine gasps and drops the necklace she was holding. "They're trying to overlap her memories..."
Mysterious Tower...
Yen Sid stares out the star-shaped window and watches a certain star dim with much apprehension. "Is something the matter?" one of the fairies ask. He did not bother turning to see who it was that questioned him. "They're forcing her nobody's memories onto her. They all felt the disturbance in her heart and now want to prevent it by filling the gaps. This is far worse than I feared..." Flaura approaches his side and asks, concerned, "What will happen to her?" Yen Sid takes off his hat and clutches it close to his chest. "If Akari doesn't fight back or retrieve her memories soon then the Purest of all Hearts will be forced to be reborn again into a new being. The cycle will resume if we lose her, and that is something we cannot afford. Her life hangs in the balance between light and darkness."
As much as he wants to go and help, he knew he must remain where he is, as it is no longer he no longer bears the title of Protector, it is now Sora who must be the one to keep her safe.
Beast's Castle...
"Akari, you alright?" Goofy asks. I shake my head and saw that all of them - excluding Beast - were still in the room and looking at me with worried eyes. "It's nothing!" I tried to wave it off and force a smile, but the pain was still there. Who's Roxas? Who's Kairax? Why does he look so much like Sora? I need to know. "Belle!" Right after we stop Beast from wrecking his own castle. I grab Sora's hand and face the others, saying, "Well? Let's go!" I could hear the Wardrobe cry out as we exit the room, "Be careful you four! The master won't hurt you as long as you don't get in his way!" While running, I could still hear the voices.
It became even harder to ignore them as my surroundings would changes every now and then, changing from the dark castle walls to a quiet city with an endless sunset.
Ballroom...
"Belle!"
The moment we got into the ballroom, Belle was at the other end of the room and had already gone out to the balcony. "I'm alright!" she cries out before shutting the door. The second we got to the center of the room, a giant heartless suddenly drops in from above and blocks our way to Belle. Sora instinctively steps in front of me as we all back away from the Shadow Stalker. The amount of chains around it gave a definite impression that this wasn't your average heartless. It dove straight into the ground, spilling darkness throughout most of the ballroom in a heartbeat, warping it into a darker version of the once formal room.
The Shadow Stalker immediately began its assault before any of us could comprehend how much it had possessed the ballroom. Sora and I raise our keyblades to block after the Shadow Stalker flies into the windows and proceeds to fire a series of dark ripples across the room. Just as I was about to charge at the heartless, Beast shoves me away moments before the chandelier above our heads comes crashing down. He holds it above as the others proceed strike. I follow by sending several fast, wipe backhanded strikes at the chandelier. I could feel of my keyblade vibrate with each strike against the metal, nearly making me lose hold of the hilt every now and then if I hadn't loosened my grip between slashes.
We all jump back after Sora aims his keyblade at the chandelier and shoots a stream of like, freeing the chandelier from possession. After several times of dodging its attacks and releasing it from the various parts of the room it possessed, I realized there was only one thing we could do to end it. It's a long shot, but from the memories I've recovered, I think we can pull it off, just like the numerous times we've done in the past. "Sora!" I call out to him. He looks over at me, confused. Hoping I can still pull off the signal, I take a deep breath as I twirl Starlight in my hand until I held it straight. There was a sudden shine in Sora's eyes that told me he knew what I wanted to do.
Since my usual fighting style is backhand, Sora came up with a signal for me to show whenever I wanted to do THAT. "Let's do it!" We both nod at one another then turn back at the heartless. "Guys! Grab the chains!" Sora orders the others. Beast was, of course, the first one to do so, following with Goofy (although he did get smacked in the face) then Donald. Mirroring each others movements, we took one step back then start to run in opposite directions. Sora skids to a stop and turns, crouching as he hold his Kingdom Key up as he would if we was blocking. I take several more breaths to calm my nerves. "You go this Akari... Sora trusts you enough to do it."
Once I got a tighter grip on the handle, I charge as fast as my legs could carry me. Once I jump in the air, Sora gets prepared to push me above the Shadow Stalker. I land on his keyblade and felt myself being pushed up bellow my feet. But before that, I grab hold of his keyblade with my free hand while he lets go. My body felt weightless again as I found myself being pushed back up in the air, this time directly above the head of the unknowing heartless. With both keyblade's in hand, I dove downwards and struck it as many times as possible. I felt that I was getting too close for comfort, I move back and give Sora back his keyblade.
For one last assault, we automatically held hands and I start spinning in place. I felt dizzy at first but I kept pushing myself until I felt we had enough momentum for me to throw Sora towards the Shadow Stalker. "GO!" I let go and watch as Sora slices through the heartless with ease. I thought it was all over and allowed myself to sit on the floor, tired both mentally and physically for having go through so many long fights this many times in one world. We've only been here for a day! When he turned to grin at me, I thought it was all over, but then I notice the room hadn't revert back to normal, and the next thing I knew, the heartless changed form. It looked even more monstrous than Beast!
"Guys, protect Akari!" Sora yells after the heartless roars. "What?" Just as I was about to protest, Goofy jumps in front of me with his shield up and Donald shooting a barrage of Thunder spells at the heartless.
"Wait! I can fight too!"
But it was already too late. By the time Akari could push the two aside, the Beast and Sora had already defeated the Dark Thorn and were victorious, much to her dismay. The room quickly reverts back to normal. "We did it!" Sora cheers as he pumps his fist in the air. She was about to yell at him for not letting her continue fighting until an unknown voice spoke. "So you think." They all turn to find a man in a black cloak, standing in front of the large ballroom doors with his arms behind his back as he stares on at the group from under his hood, particularly Akari. "Xaldin!" Beast roars as he charges towards the man.
Akari was about to follow as the others proceed to charge with him only for her head to start hurting again. "Xaldin... I know that name from somewhere," she said to herself. Akari ponders for a moment whether to ask Sora or not if they knew him from until Belle's voice was heard from the other side of the hall, snapping her out of her thoughts and making her forget what she was supposed to ask. "You're alright!" she cries out, relieved to see us as she walks to the center of the ball room. "Belle!" Akari nearly falls over after Beast accidentally bumps into her while running towards the woman. Luckily, Sora was there to catch her. "You okay?" asks the boy as he helps her stand.
She was about to thank him until she remembered that Sora had had her protected and held back from assisting him in fighting. Pushing him away, Akari crosses her arms and turns so that her back is facing him, disappointed and hurt.
"Akari?"
"I thought you trusted me by now. What happened to us fighting side-by-side?"
"I know I said that, but I only did it because you were too worn out!"
"Worn out? We were only halfway way through that fight! I know when to tap out Sora. Guess I'm the only one that understands how I feel since you clearly thought otherwise."
"You've got it wrong! "
Donald and Goofy look back and forth as they began to argue. The rest of the servants arrive to see both pairs mirroring one another without notice, Belle turns to her side as Beast was trying to figure out what to say to her while Akari has her back completely faced to Sora with the exact same expression as Beast. "Ah young love..." Lumiere sighs. "It appears even they too are struggling," Mrs. Potts comments. "What d'ya mean?" Goofy asks. "Remember the Rose?" Lumiere said, earning shorts nods from the two. Sora and Akari overhear this and stop to listen to the story, though Akari was still peeved at her Protector so she kept her distance.
Cogsworth speaks up, "Precisely! You see, if the master can learn to love and earn love in return, before the last petal falls..." "... The spell will be broken!" Lumiere adds much to Cogsworth's annoyance, but was just as distraught as the others. Sora looks over the the two, voicing his concerns, "Really? You think he's gonna make it?" "We think so," Mrs. Potts comments with much hope in her voice, rubbing herself gently against her son. Goofy nods in agreement, "Yep, I think you're right." "I HOPE you're right..." the boy quickly adds, doubting the possible chances. This earns a light slap on the back of his head by Akari.
Crossing her arms again, she briefly glares at Sora then turns her gaze to Beast and Belle, smiling at the way the two were interacting. "If there's love there's a way," she said. "Beast may be a brute at times, but you can tell he truly cares for Belle. I mean, he did run around with us at Hollow Bastion just so he could find her." All three silently agreed with her, but immediately picked up on what she just said. Sora immediately grabs her by the shoulder, forcing her to face him. "You remember!?" he exclaims, overjoyed to hear more of her memories have returned. However, it didn't seem to be the case. Confused, Akari asks with her head tilted, "Remember what?"
"Hollow Bastion! Us fighting with him!" Sora points to himself then at Beast, desperately trying to pull the memory back, but all it did was further confuse the girl, much to his dismay. Distraught at how fast the memory had slipped from her mind so easily, Sora was about to try again until his keyblade suddenly appears in his hand and its tip starts to glow. Knowing he had to have to conversation with Akari again but this time in private, he reluctantly pulls back and proceeds to open the world's Gate.
It was amazing just how fast the keyhole appeared for Sora to unlock. Now that I think about it, this is my first time ever seeing him do it (A/N: I FORGOT TO ADD IT IN LAND OF DRAGONS! AH!) this close. "The gate is open!" Donald shouts happily, jumping in the air as he does so. I simply giggle at his excitement. Not too long ago he was too chicken to even step through this castle, now it looks like he's happy to be able to visit our second world so freely WITHOUT having to fight our way through heartless to get here. "Do you have to go?" Belle asks, saddened at our sudden departure. I assure her, "Don't worry Belle, we'll be back. And hopefully it'll be a longer visit."
I really want to get to know her better. Since she doesn't really know who I am (and I can only guess we never met), this may be a good time to make a new friend outside of those that I have yet to remember. Goofy teases the two, "Now, no more arguin', okay?" Beast and Belle glance over at one another before Beast nervously turn away, slightly embarrassed at the sudden eye contact. "We'll see to it," Lumiere bows. "Take care, dears," Mrs. Potts said. "You are welcome here anytime!" Cogsworth adds with a big smile. I was about to respond until Sora makes a sudden request to the group.
"If you hear anything about Riku or the King, the Heartless, the Organization-"
That's a whole lot to ask!
"-Anything at all, let us know!"
The sudden mention of Riku's name had a weird effect on me. At first I felt angry, then... sad? I don't know what kind of friend he was to me, and even though I still barely remember him, I miss him deeply. Maybe when I get more memories of him and Kairi then I'll understand why I'm experiencing these weird feelings each time their name is mentioned. "Okay, we gotta go!" Sora said as we all wave goodbye to the group.
Gummi Ship...
I'm still upset that Sora held me back in the middle of an important fight, then again he is right about one thing, I just got through a serious fight by myself. If I told him that, he'd go on pure Protector mode and keep me for the rest of our journey. He trusted me a lot in the first world, how come he's acting like this now? My frown deepening, I brought my pillow to my face to muffle my screams. "Ugh! He's so frustrating! Why is he-" A fuzzy image suddenly pops into my head. "Always..." I was in the exact same position, except younger. "Like..." The difference was I was crying back then. "...that?"
To Be Continued
I just want to say this, I know I'm not the fastest writer but it's better than having something rushed and the grammar & spelling all messed up like I did in the past. Please do not go to my other fics and beg there in the reviews for me to continue a different fic like Forgotten Hearts. For me it's a little rude as I am trying to get as many stories out as possible and trying to figure out what to prioritize right now. I know I kindly asked you guys to stop asking for me to update soon so often and stuff like that (as it was starting to get a little bit disappointing as that's all the response I was getting), but I'd rather have those requests on the same fanfic rather than others. So please, if it's possible, just be patient. Anyway enough about that, I will say this... I am surprised I was able to shorten Aura and Akari's fight! You see when I make fight scenes, I listen to music that will help me get in the mood and the OST I recommended? Welp. I had it on repeat for an HOUR. A FUCKING HOUR. By the time I was done with the scene I just felt like I put my OC through an excessive amount of torture and made Aura seem like a secret boss. Now if you want to have a proper idea of how Jade and Aura look like, my friend dear friend drew them. They're obviously not mine, just borrowed them under their permission, so I have no idea if it's fine to share where it is or not. Please R&R! I am open to opinions! But if it goes as far as bullying I will block you...