Great Plateau: Evening…

Roxas and Link were both in their stances as they stared one another down. Only when the wind blew, did they charge one another. Roxas clashed Oblivion with Link's blade. The hero moved back causing the Nobody to stumble forward.

Link then swung his sword, but Roxas was quicker to recover than the monster he faced earlier. The Nobody managed to avoid the blade before striking Link in the stomach with his keyblade knocking the hero into a tree. He slid down the trunk but managed to stay standing.

"Okay." Link grunted. "You got a mean swing."

He caught his breath before coming at Roxas again. The Nobody decided to meet him head on and slashed out towards the hero. Link managed to block and push the keyblade away with his shield. Roxas found himself on the defensive as he started weaving around Link's strikes.

The Nobody used his keyblade to bat away one of his slashes causing the hero to momentarily stumble himself. Roxas then closed the distance only for Link to drop his sword, grip his shield with two hands, and lunge forward right into Roxas' gut.

The Nobody managed to skid back while the hero scooped up his sword. He then looked up and saw his opponent was already charging him again. Roxas managed to sidestep the coming attack while Link was already mid-swing.

With him off balance, Roxas moved darted around him and slammed his keyblade into Link's back with enough force to knock him down. Link didn't resist and instead rolled into the fall managing to get back to his feet.

Roxas charged forward only for Link to now drop his shield, grip the blade with both hands, and whirl around to block the keyblade. The metal clanging reverberated around them. When Link noticed his blade was cracking his lept back.

"I figured you'd be good after what I've seen." Link grinned with a look of admiration. "Even I didn't expect this."

"Thanks… you too." Roxas was surprised to find a smile forming on his face.

He was honestly having fun. Many of his fights had encompassed a life-or-death scenario, so this feeling of excitement was new to him. It wasn't laced with the usual fear creeping in the back of his mind. If he lost this fight, it didn't mean it'd cost him his life.

Knowing that he could lose and still come out of this okay felt reassuring. It made the action that much more fun for him. It really did help that Link was at least decently keeping up. All of that didn't mean he was planning on losing though.

"Ready to finish this?" Link asked as he exchanged swords and scooped up the shield

Roxas' only response was a quiet nod. Link charged and began slashing at the Nobody who nimbly avoided him with a step to the left or right. When he saw an opening, Roxas capitalized on it managing to strike Link hard enough to knock him back.

This time, the hero hit the ground. The Nobody was there before he could get up putting his foot on Link's chest and holding the keyblade over his throat. The hero contemplated trying to fight before deciding to release his hold on his sword.

"I yield." Link stated. "You win."

Roxas let out a deep breathe before having his blade vanish and holding out his hand. Link took it allowing his partner to help him to his feet.

"You didn't use your second keyblade, so I guess a good goal to aim for would to be making you use it." Link nodded. "Then, my next goal after that will be to overcome you."

"Uh, sure…" Roxas stated trying to sound confident, but it came out awkwardly. "I'll do my best not to let that happen then."

The pair walked to the shrine and were glad to find that Link could seal and unseal the chamber with the Sheikah Slate. Once the pair were sealed in, Roxas shared the last of his apples. Even though it wasn't comfortable, they ended up falling asleep eventually.

Morning…

Link and Roxas eventually came to with neither feeling particularly too bad but sleeping in a stone chamber wasn't exactly the best. Still, even Link knew that safety was better than comfort after yesterday's battled with the Bokoblins.

The pair exited the shrine with Link turning to his comrade. "We're up now, and we've had our spar yesterday. What was the next step after getting the tower to rise?"

"Open the map function on the slate." Roxas replied.

Link did and noticed that the location of the tower had a dimly lit, blue diamond symbol to represent its location. "Now what?"

"Now, press the symbol." Roxas put a hand on his shoulder. "As long as a place looks like that on your map, you can teleport to it via the Sheikah Slate. If someone or thing manages to get a hand on you, they'll come along."

Link raised an eyebrow at that, but he did remember that the slate said it had a Teleportation Rune. "What do I have to lose?"

He pressed the symbol turning himself and Roxas into blue particles which moved into the sky. They ended up rematerializing on top of the tower.

"Whoa." Link commented in amazement. "Guess I really shouldn't doubt anything being possible."

Roxas pointed to a structure. "Do you see that right there?" Link looked where his partner was pointing and spotted a glowing, orange structure causing him to nod. "That is a shrine. There are four on the Great Plateau, and we must visit each one."

"What exactly is a shrine?" Link asked.

"Long ago, a highly advanced tribe, known as the Sheikah, inhabited these lands." Roxas informed. "The power of their wisdom saved this land, but their technology was lost for a time. Now, their shrines and various towers have been activated through you grabbing the slate.

Right now, we need merely concern ourselves with the four on this plateau." He nodded. "Once we've been through them, there will only be one more, small thing we must do before you can get some answers. From here, use the slate's scope to pin all four shrines."

Link peered out at the wilderness. The simplest one to pin was obviously the nearest one to the tower. Two others were upon the mountains nearby while the last was among some ruins. That last one wasn't all that far from the one nearest to them.

"Alright, that's four shrines." Link declared.

"Then, let's get started." Roxas returned.

They got down the same way as yesterday before walking on over to the shrine. Link ended up making a misstep and fell into the river before Roxas could catch him.

"Link, are you okay!?" Roxas yelled.

Link broke the surface with a smile. "Don't worry because I'm fine." He came up a little more showing he now held an armful of fish. "Look, I even got food for later."

Roxas helped the hero out of the water allowing him to store away the fish in his bottomless pockets. They then make their way up to the shrine with Link holding the Sheikah Slate up to a familiar pedestal. A travel gate was formed, and the wall of the shrine opened.

The pair now saw a circular stone platform which they warily walked onto. Without warning, the stone lurched and moved down taking them with it. They were lowered into a massive, underground room. The walls were smooth, cold, and seemed man-made.

"To you who sets foot in this shrine… I am Oman Au. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial."

The voice came to the pair telepathically exactly like the person who seemed to be inside the castle in the distance. Link looked to see another pedestal, and put his slate in. It had a large rune above it, exactly like the tower, and began to 'distill information.'

As Roxas joined him, neither were quite sure what that meant, but watched curiously as another droplet of information fell from the base of the eye onto the rune. It lit up with a new display which showed information on Magnesis.

"Magnesis Rune… Functional."

Link lifted the Sheikah slate and read it with a new interest. "Magnesis… grab onto metal objects using the magnetic energy that pours forth from the Magnesis rune. Objects held in the magnetic snare can be lifted and moved freely."

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the giant metal slabs on the floor. They looked like doors, and it was clearly the only other way out of this room without leaving the way they came. Roxas watched intrigued as his partner selected the rune and pointed it towards the first slab.

Link was shocked to feel it come into his grip, light as a feather, so he lifted the slate before tossing the large metal door off to the side. His eyes lit up in amazement at this new discovery. A new way to interact with the world.

"Whoa, check it out Roxas!" Link exclaimed as he began moving the metal again. "Something like this could be so useful."

"No kidding." Roxas was staring at it closely. "Especially with your bottomless pockets."

Link lowered the metal away from the unveiled hole.

"What do you mean?" Link asked.

"Well, if you're ever desperate, you got a real last-ditch effort there." Roxas replied. "Let's say you're backed into a corner against an enemy. Simply empty every bit of metal you have on you and use that rune to pick them up.

One after another, you can launch them at your opponent. It could even be done in ways they don't expect especially with the control you can develop. For instance, if you grabbed a sword and shot it at your opponent, they block, and you suddenly whirl it around to hit their back."

"That's actually a good point." Link acknowledged only to notice that Roxas had summoned Oathkeeper. "Is something up?"

"Something about that rune of yours put a spell into my head." Roxas replied.

"Does that happen with you?" Link inquired.

"Kind of." Roxas sighed reluctantly. "Let's just say that the magic I do know kind of just came to me over time." He studied his keyblade. "Though, this time feels different from the four spells I know." He pointed the keyblade at the remaining slab over the hole. "Magnet!"

White energy flowed over the remaining slab before Roxas' eyes went wide and he suddenly snapped his wrist sending the slab flying. Link was about to question why until he noticed that Roxas' magic almost immediately disappeared after he threw it.

"Looks like you can do what Magnesis does, but it doesn't last long." Link commented.

"It should get stronger the more I train with it." Roxas informed. "Any magic I can use has three levels to it. Spells like Magnet are just the first level. Spells that end in 'ara' are second level spells. Spells ending in 'aga' are third level spells. I can use any previous level as well."

"Really?" Link questioned. "How many spells do you have and how strong are they?"

"The spells I currently have are Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Cure, and now Magnet." Roxas informed. "Out of those five, the first four are at their third level of strength while I did just acquire Magnet."

"Oh, so that Thundara you used yesterday was Thunder's second level." Link stated feeling as though he understood.

"That's right." Roxas nodded. "I try not to waste my magic, and Thundaga would have been a waste on those two. Anyways, we really should move on with this."

Link agreed before the pair took the ladder down. They ended up on a pathway near some water and pressed on through the tunnel as it was the only way to go. They then came to a staircase into a new room where they saw stone blocks barring their path.

Though one was clearly metal, so Roxas pointed his keyblade at it using Magnet to gain control. He then sent it suddenly sailing forward dislodging the block above it as well and giving the pair a clear way to continue over the last block which was easily scalable.

"I'm not certain how much use this spell will be even if most weapons are metal." Roxas contemplated. "After all, the Organization has some powerful magic users, so they may have a way to nullify this advantage. Though, it could still be useful and worth training."

Link noticed his partner was spacing out. "Hey Roxas, you there?"

Roxas closed his eyes before opening them. "Sorry, I was just preoccupied." He walked over to the pathway and lept atop the stone block. "Come on, let's proceed."

Link found he did like Roxas as a person, but the lack of answers was really getting to him. "At least I've found out I'm the curious sort that doesn't like unanswered questions."

At the very least, he could take solace in finding that out about himself as he joined the Nobody. Almost immediately after getting to the other side, they heard a whirling. The pair looked up to spot some sort of spidery creature.

It looked like a miniature of the statues they'd seen back at the temple, but this one was clearly alive, lit up, and staring at Link specifically. It reminded them of the Sheikah Slate yet made itself clear that it was an enemy by firing a shot at them.

Roxas summoned Oblivion and held it out. "Fire."

The fire met the laser managing to cancel it out. Link then lunged forward while drawing his sword. He rapidly slashed into the machine, and it only took a few hits before their enemy broke into pieces. He tentatively picked up some ancient screws it left behind.

"That was… something." Link commented.

"Well, you couldn't really expect Bokoblins to be our only enemies." Roxas stated plainly.

The rest of the puzzle was relatively simple since all they had to do was walk across a metal slab, pick it up, and place it down in a way that allowed them to keep walking. Link took this one with the Sheikah Slate. Then, there were metal doors at the end which Roxas handled opening.

This revealed to the pair the tomb where the monk, Oman Au, was waiting for them. He sat patiently and looked to be ancient. It was to the point that the two of them doubted he was even alive. As the approached the blue barrier, it shattered.

The monk then proved he was alive by speaking. "You have proven to possess the resolve of a true hero. I am Oman Au, the creator of this trial. I am a humble monk, blessed with the sight of the Goddess Hylia and dedicated to helping those who seek to defeat Ganon. With your arrival, my duty is fulfilled. In the name of the Goddess Hylia, allow me to bestow this gift upon you… Please accept this Spirit Orb."

From within the monk's skeletal body, an orb appeared before moving into Link's chest. Despite what had just happened, even resulting in the hero lifting his hand to his chest, Link didn't feel any different. He then felt his Sheikah Slate vibrate, and when he looked at it, new symbols appeared.

Link: 1

A moment later, the Monk began to disappear into the air like ash. "May the Goddess smile upon you both."

"Roxas, was that supposed to happen?" Link asked.

"Roughly." Roxas admitted. "I didn't know about the Spirit Orb, but it seems this is what we're meant to get from these shrines." He started walking back. "Come on, we still got three more to go."

Upon exiting the shrine, it wasn't hard for the pair to decide on heading to the ruins. After all, that was where the next, closest shrine was. They ended up stumbling into a monster camp where a Blue Bokoblin blared his horn.

That was something new, and they didn't have to wait long to find out what it meant. A Blue and Black Bokoblin emerged from the nearby stone skull while the one on the platform knocked an arrow. Link grabbed out his dagger and hurled it at that monster nailing it in the head.

The Blue Bokoblin fell off his platform with said dagger clattering to the ground as the monster began to dissipate. Roxas moved to greet the other two monsters as he summoned Oblivion. The Blue Bokoblin wielded a massive wooden club which he swung at the Nobody.

Roxas swatted it away before slamming his keyblade into the monster's gut knocking it into the Black Bokoblin and knocking them both into the ground. The Nobody wasted no time in thrusting his keyblade into both downed monsters making them dissipate as well.

Link recollected his dagger along with a bow, a spiked, wooden shield, the massive club, and an axe the Black Bokoblin had been using. After tucking it all away, the partners nodded and continued to the next shrine.

As they reached the ruins, near the location of the next shrine, one of those big statues activated revealing that all of them may have been like this. The machine lifted its great head, lit up in red and blue, and stared them both down with a single eye.

"I don't think that's a good thing if the little one was anything to go by." Roxas commented as he quickly thought about what spell to use. "I think I…"

"No, I got this." Link took off his shield and ended up staring at it as the idea of how to handle this situation suddenly popped into his mind. "I think I know how to beat it."

Before Roxas could speak, the machine's eyes flashed, and it fired on Link. The hero was too slow to act, so Roxas reacted for him managing to tackle the hero behind a pillar. Since this monster couldn't move, it couldn't line up another shot. Link shook his head to clear it.

"Are you sure you can take that thing down?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah, I know I can." Link nodded firmly. "Sorry about that, but I am focused now."

Roxas knew he could handle this himself; however, teaming up with Link kind of reminded him of his time with Axel. Unlike the other members of Organization, they were a genuine team. What that meant was understanding each other which Roxas felt was happening between them.

So, when Link told Roxas he could handle this, the Nobody genuinely believed he had a way to achieve it. "Alright, go out there and take care of this; however, I'll be there to pull you back if you can't."

Link nodded happy to have Roxas' trust. The hero stepped on out, and the machine immediately took aim at him. Link held up his shield and waited for the moment the eye began to flash. When the laser fired, the Hylian parried it right back into the monster.

His shield ended up shattering as a result, but the machine ended up exploding leaving behind some ancient screws and a shaft. Link collected these parts as well while Roxas was given the idea for another spell. Unlike Magnet, this one felt more in line with the first four he knew.

"Aero… I feel like this is a spell I should have already known." Roxas thought. "Is this because of my connection to Sora? Maybe, but that's not completely it… When I focus on Aero, it feels natural to me. What could that mean?"

Roxas sighed and shook his head as he decided to join Link. For now, he'd ignore Aero, but he knew that couldn't always be the case. After all, he needed every ounce of strength he could get to achieve his goals. The pair entered the shrine.

After being greeted, Link gained Remote Bombs which came in spheres and cubes. Roxas got a new magic known as elemental bombs. Essentially, he could take an elemental magic he may have, turn it into a bomb, and launch it at his opponents. The pair then exited the shrine.

"Alright, this means we only have two more shrines to go." Link looked towards the mountains and frowned. "Though, I'm not certain about our chances of survival in the cold for as long as we'd need to be there." He looked to his partner. "Do you know something Roxas?"

"There's an old cottage relatively close to the next shrine we should go to." Roxas replied. "Inside, there was an old diary detailing something called a Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry. Supposedly, it can give someone the ability to weather the cold. There was just one problem."

"What is that?" Link asked.

"Well, there appeared to be three overall ingredients; however, the person that wrote the journal could only remember spicy peppers and raw meat while the third ingredient escaped his memory." Roxas informed.

"Peppers… raw meat." Link rubbed his chin as his mind was on the cusp of figuring this out. "That accounts for spicy and meat… All that's left is seafood." His eyes snapped. "Seafood! I have the missing ingredient on me, so all we need are peppers and raw meat. Do you have any?"

This wasn't Roxas playing dumb because this was just another small thing Hylia and the king had forgotten to tell him. In the end, this one might have been intentional since he had heard Link was a masterful chef.

"I don't have any on me; however, I have seen where I think we can get the ingredients from." Roxas replied.

What followed was Roxas showing Link to some wild boars, Link using his bow to snipe them down, and the pair collecting plenty of spicy peppers. With everything in hand, the Nobody decided to bring them to the cabin since it had a cooking pot.

Upon arrival, Link got down to cooking while Roxas decided to take care of securing the area for their lunch of a necessary meal. That was only after he used Fire to light the wood under the cooking pot. Link got to work.

He took an armful of peppers and tossed them into the pot followed by the raw meat and fish. The more he cooked, the more it felt just like combat to him. He quickly picked up on techniques to help improve the flavor and potency of effect to make the cold resistance last.

When Roxas returned from slaying all the Bokoblins in the area, he couldn't help his mouth from salivating at the smells. "Whoa, food back with the Organization never smelt like this." As he sat down, Link handed him a plate. "This looks really good."

"Well, I think I was someone who never settled for just getting the positive effects of a dish." Link sat down next to him with his own plate. "Even if I wasn't, I am now. Anyways, let's dig in, but don't eat too much since we'll have to get moving to make the most of it."

Roxas didn't need to be told twice, and the pair ate a hardy, yet reasonable, meal. With full bellies, as well as already feeling decently warm from the effects of the food, they were confident they could finish off the shrines by day's end.

Link even took the liberty of taking the leftovers and storing them just in case the cold resistance they had wasn't enough. With Roxas directing them, Link pulled out the Sheikah Slate and teleported them back to the Shrine of Resurrection.

The pair then walked over to and around the Temple of Time where they reached a path which would stretch into the mountains. As they started their trek, their feet sunk into the snow. This told them this section of the journey would be slow going.

After a few minutes of walking, they came across a lake with Link pausing to stare at the waterfall. While it was beautiful, his eyes seemed to be picking up something behind it. He then noticed the raft which sat on the lake.

"We could very well traverse around the lake, but I think I have another idea to get us across it faster." Link looked at him. "Also, I'm getting a good feeling about there being something useful just behind that waterfall."

"That's good; however, the dock which the raft rests near is broken halfway." Roxas stated. "While we have cold resistance from your food, I don't think soaking our clothes in cold water is the right move."

Link spotted a nearby tree. "We don't need to go in the water." He brought out his axe. "With this, I can cut down that tree in just the right way to give up a bridge"

"Well, you are right in that crossing the water would ensure we finish this before the night comes." Roxas stated. "If we're already out there, I don't see a reason why we couldn't check out your hunch."

Link smiled before approaching the tree. He took a deep breath and squared his hips towards the lake before swinging. The tree shook while needles and pinecones fell silently to the snow below along with a giant leaf.

It almost didn't look like it belonged to a pine tree, but Link tucked it away as he figured it might help him sail the raft. He hit the tree a few more times, and it toppled. The tree flowed in the lake ever so slowly to replace the dock that had been broken.

Since Link was the one to suggest this, he was the one to step aboard the tree first. When it held, he clambered onto the dock at the end and boarded the raft. When he did, Link looked out over the water while Roxas was quick to follow him aboard.

Once his partner was aboard, Link pulled out the leaf and looked at it. With a yell and a strong hit forward, the raft moved. Eventually, they reached the end of the lake with both jumping the gap. The pair then entered the cavern behind the waterfall.

"See, I told you I had a good hunch about this." Link declared.

The cavern contained a bow, special arrows with tiny explosives tied to the ends, and a sword leagues above any he had found so far. Link went about collecting it all.

"Well, looks like we may just have to trust your gut in the future." Roxas commented before turning around. "Come on, our tasks are waiting."

The pair began climbing the snowy mountain and pressed onto the next shrine. When they reached it, they realized just how much time had been saved by going over the water. It was yet to reach evening, so they quickly entered the trial.

When they left, Link came away with Cryonis; however, Roxas didn't gain anything. He theorized it was because he already have Blizzard. Regardless, they still had one shrine left, and it was roughly in the direction of the cottage.

This meant descending which made the weather more tolerable. Unfortunately, the shrine was in a somewhat hard to reach area. Roxas glided on down while Link carefully lowered himself down the cliffside and acquired a sludge hammer.

There was a large boulder, but both ignored it to enter the temple. It gifted Link with the power of Stasis while Roxas ended up learning Stop. Stasis was an interesting power as it allowed Link to lock the boulder in place, pull out a weapon, and hit it as many times as he could muster.

As the stasis faded, the boulder launched into the air. A smile stretched across Link's lips as this journey felt doable now. As for Stop, Roxas came to realize it could only affect people, Link let Roxas test it on him, rather than objects and people.

"So, we have four spirit orbs." Link stated. "Does this mean I finally get to figure out what's really going on?"

"There is still that last thing I mentioned; however, it's in the same area as the person who will tell you everything." Roxas put a hand on his shoulder. "Teleport us back to the Shrine of Resurrection, and we'll be heading to the Temple of Time."

Link nodded as he activated the teleporter function bringing them back to the Shrine of Resurrection. From there, it was a simple walk over to the Temple of Time. The pair soon entered its ancient doorway and started walking towards the statue of Hylia.

As they walked, Link saw that he had been mistaken in his earlier assumption that the Temple of Time hadn't seen the level of destruction visited upon other buildings. Though the western side of the structure had seemed almost whole, the eastern side had almost completely collapsed.

Roxas led them up to the statue which was glowing. "Link this is the primary being that told me everything I've known while we've been on the plateau. This statue is used to communicate with the Goddess Hylia."

Link didn't know how to take that, but any doubts that were starting to form about his partner were squashed when a female voice came from the statue. "You have done well to lead the hero throughout the plateau Roxas."

"Alright…" Link looked at the statue. "What exactly do I need to do?"

"I am here to help you on your journey." Hylia replied. "You hold the four spirit orbs which were collected through the efforts of you and your partner. With every four you claim, you can find one of my statues, and I shall amplify both your beings. Like this."

Link and Roxas glowed with a golden light making them feel stronger. It wasn't anything major, but both certainly felt the change within them. While Link was curious over this feeling, Roxas was glad to feel it. With this, he felt a small step closer to his goals.

"Now, go bring peace to Hyrule." Hylia informed.

"The blessing of the Goddess has made you more resilient, I see." An old man's voice spoke up drawing their attention to the roof which they could see through the hole it. "Meet me in the steeple. I wish to show you something, and there is something I wish to give you, Link."

"Roxas?" Link asked.

"I mainly spoke with Hylia, but he was there shortly before I left the temple." Roxas started walking. "There's a ladder just outside that hole in the wall." He looked back at his partner who hadn't moved. "If you want answers, he's the guy who'll give them."

That was all Link needed to hear because he immediately followed the Nobody. They climbed the ladder up to the roof before walking on over to the steeple where the old man, with his back to them, was waiting. He looked tall and strong.

As they entered the steeple, the old man turned towards them with a somber smile. "I must admit Roxas, that I had my doubts about you; however, you did quite well in guiding the hero. Link, you may lack your memories; however, your skills and nature clearly remain."

Link remained silent as he stared at the man. "My name is Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. I was the last king of Hyrule." He paused before continuing in a softer tone. "A kingdom which no longer exists."

The old man was suddenly bathed in a strange, ethereal green light nearly blinding Link. When the light faded, the old man had changed. He no longer wore the old cloak, nor was his beard as bushy and unkempt. Instead, he wore a blue waistcoat with gold trim.

Additionally, he had a white doublet, trousers, and a pair of black leather boots that floated a few inches above the ground. He wore a large belt buckle with the Royal Crest on its face and a golden crown upon his head. The king still faintly glowed in the same light.

Link felt as though a bucket of cold water had been overturned onto his head leaving him chilled to the core. He took a step back only for Roxas to stop him. When the hero looked back, he realized he'd almost stepped over the edge.

"Now that I have revealed myself, it is time you know about the Great Calamity." The King stated.

Let's get the battle out of the way first. When Roxas showed up in KH 3, he clearly hadn't lost a step between games like Sora does. So, what you have here is a character who already completed a game up against a guy without any of his memories. The inherent skills Link can only get the guy so far. For those of you who say Link shouldn't have stood a chance here, your right. The point of this spar wasn't for Roxas to kick Link's butt.

Roxas came into this wanting to see just how strong Link was as well as help him shake off some of the rust (I.E. garner more of his skill). As for the shrines, going over all four of them with the detail used on the first would have weighed down the story telling. Then, there's Roxas gaining magic. It might have been down to the limitations of the DS game, but he only had four spells. Plus, he came back with more in KH3.

Sure, you could give that to him being within Sora's heart for his journey, but still I wanted Roxas to gain something from the plateau. Honestly, most magic earned through the games does tend to come from just defeating an enemy. That thing with Aero was a nod to Roxas' connection I feel he should have to Ventus. I mean, that heart being part of Sora is why Roxas doesn't just look like Sora. As for Elemental Bombs, it was a suggestion from DARKPHANTOM13.

Spirit Orbs/Roxas getting something from it: Hearts and Stamina are just a game mechanic. In that vein, I decided that collecting four spirit orbs pretty much boost everything about the person by a half. Pretty much think of it like this and keep in mind that the initial numbers used are not where this character currently is.

Link is at 1 and you add .5 making him 1.5. There are 30 total increases possible if they do every shrine meaning a total increase of 15 which would equal a 16 here.

As for Roxas reaping the rewards of this even though in game only Link does; Hylia is a goddess, and this doesn't take place within a game world. If three Goddess can create one third of an object that can grant any wish, then I think one Goddess below them can grant two boys a .5 increase to their overall abilities.

Finally, Roxas' magic list,

Fire, Fira, Firaga

Thunder, Thundara, Thundaga

Blizzard, Blizzara, Blizzaga

Cure, Cura, Curaga

Magnet

Elemental Bombs (Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Aero)

Aero

Stop

I know Magnet acted pretty much like gravity in certain games, but it's not uncommon for magic to change between Kingdom Hearts instalments. Honestly, Magnet is just a nice and easy, equivalent, name to Magnesis.

DARKPHANTOM13: Yeah, they can learn a lot form each other. No, I don't mind suggestions, and I even used it here. Thank you for that. Yeah, it's like the inherent skills to do these things is still within Link, but he won't remember where he learned to do them. Without the memory, it actually does impact his skills if only a little. No matter how much comes back to him, he'll be that little bit bad a cooking... fighting... camping... horses. Of course, these skills can get better as he goes about doing them, but it's like if he had his memories at any point, it'd always be better... if that makes sense. We'll see as we're nearing horses.

ultima-owner: There's a lot of ways they could use their abilities together, and that is one of them... The two of them just need to get used to be a team. For the longest time Link was a singular knight of Zelda and now he had no memories of anything. For Roxas, while he has worked with other members of Organization XIII, they didn't really get into combining their powers like what you would see Sora do with Donald, Goofy, and other team members. Basically, it's a learning experiance.