Enamis09: Thank you! I really appreciate all of your compliments! I will do your request at some point, but I'm going to have to put it off a while longer. Once you read my author's note below, I think you'll understand my reason and won't mind the delay.
Daughterofapollo12345: Thanks! Glad you liked it. And thanks for voting, results are below in the author's note. :)
Angie-ange: Aw, thanks, I'm so glad you liked it! Don't worry about the writer's block at all, it was totally my fault for waiting until the last second ha.
xOneSkyx: Thank you so much! I'm glad it didn't seem forced to you. I appreciate your feedback, and thanks for voting!
Coolmegan123: I'm glad you liked it, and didn't think it was corny! Yes, bravo Riku, for speaking up for yourself for once haha. Thanks for the review, and the vote!
A/N: I just wanted to take a second to say thanks so much to everybody for all the super sweet comments I got on the last chapter. You guys really know how to boost a girl's confidence!
The results of the poll are in – two votes for twice a week, two votes for "I can't decide!", and I was already leaning toward twice a week. So, twice a week it is!
Also...today is going to be the last oneshot for a while. If you have another request in mind, feel free to still send it in, but there's at least going to be a little bit of a break because...I'm ready to start posting Inferno's Edge! I haven't decided yet if I'll post the first chapter on Saturday or Wednesday. I originally had planned on starting on a Wednesday, but I may get impatient and not be able to wait that long haha. I'm still actually working on my last read-thru, but I've already started regaining my confidence that it's ready to go. Even if I end up changing some stuff in later chapters, the first ones are definitely ready.
So yeah, keep your eye out! And so that it doesn't throw you off, I'm planning on adding a series name to both Sorrow's Promise and Inferno's Edge, so that it's easier to see that they go together. I'm excited, and I hope you all are, too!
Today's request originally came from darkenedharmonies, and was also mentioned by BlissfulNightRain. It's Sora bonding time! Or at least, a glimpse at what Sora and Meli's relationship was like while they were traveling together. We'll get a different side of their relationship pretty soon, in Inferno's Edge. I had fun writing this, since it was my first time doing Sora in first person. Had to challenge myself a little bit to find his voice, and not use all of the same vocabulary that I would use with other people. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 34.5...again!
(Falls in the middle of chapter 34)
Sora's perspective
Landing in a brand new world was, without a doubt, my very favorite part of traveling. There was no way of telling what kind of adventures were in store for us ahead, and though it was kinda terrifying in a way, it was a delicious terror. Like, the watching horror movies, telling scary stories at night, staring down the first hill of the roller coaster at the carnival kind of terror. I could just hear Riku in my head, matter-of-factly stating, "That's called adrenaline, Sora." I didn't care what it was called, though. I was gonna call it delicious terror.
The world that we had just walked out of the Gummi Ship into was particularly terrifying, in a way that raised goosebumps on my arms. It reminded me of Halloweentown, except that instead of dilapidated houses and a guillotine, I was looking at a deep, spooky forest, and a castle that was probably even bigger than the one in Hollow Bastion. The huge iron gates were definitely meant to discourage visitors, but of course that never stopped Donald, Goofy, and me. We were marching right up to them when I realized that Meli wasn't with us.
Stopping in my tracks, I spun around and spotted her still standing next to the ship, looking lost in thought. Of course, she looked like that a lot, almost all the time when she wasn't fighting Heartless or being talked to by one of us. "Hey, Meli! You coming?"
"Hm?" She broke out of her daze, staring blankly at me. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." She did that a lot, too – apologize for little things. "I just...this world..."
I glanced around at the dark, towering trees again, then grinned. "You scared?" It was half teasing, half genuinely concerned. She didn't seem like the type to be easily spooked, but then again, I barely knew her. She had hardly spoken a word at Yen Sid's tower and in Hollow Bastion, and in Land of Dragons we had been so busy the whole time that there wasn't any time for chatting. All I had found out about her there was that she was good with her Keyblade, and a natural in big Heartless fights. In between worlds, on the Gummi Ship, we all tried to talking to her when we weren't taking turns sleeping, and while she was more than willing to carry on a conversation, they always ended without me feeling like I had gotten to know her any better.
"No," she answered quickly, shaking her head. "It just...reminds me of...some things." There it was again, that sad voice she kept using, the one that sounded like her brain was actually in a totally different time or place. But just as quickly, she met my eyes and broke into a smile. "Sorry to hold things up. I'm ready now."
We walked through the gates together, into the courtyard where Donald and Goofy were waiting for us. Donald was tapping his foot impatiently, of course, but Goofy just gave us one of his warm smiles and turned to lead the way toward the castle.
"Wait...are we actually going in there?" Meli asked incredulously.
"Sure! Why not?"
"Well, um...'cause it looks like it might be haunted?" she ventured. "Or, you know, might belong to someone...or something...that really doesn't want us here?"
Donald scoffed. "Your imagination is just as bad as Sora's. We'll be fine! Besides, we've got to check the place out for Heartless."
I thought I heard her mumble something under her breath about "beasts", but didn't have time to dwell on it. Goofy had given up on knocking already and was opening the gigantic front door of the castle and strolling inside. Donald ran in after him, not about to be left out, and Meli and I brought up the rear.
A long, red carpet stretched out in front of us, with stone columns standing on either side. The only light in the room came from a few candles, and they made the shadows in the dark corners dance eerily.
"Hey, what is this place?" I asked as Donald and Goofy came to a stop in the middle of the room.
"It's huge!" Donald exclaimed.
"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy commented.
"Well there's the understatement of the century," Meli muttered from just behind me.
"I wonder who lives here?" Donald continued.
Just then, a thundering roar shook the castle. Donald leapt so far off the floor that it would have been hilarious, if I hadn't been just as startled myself. Gulping, I glanced at Meli, who was giving me a look that said something like, "Didn't I warn you?"
"Hey, does anybody else recognize that?" Goofy asked.
I crossed my arms and put a hand to my chin, thinking, as another roar echoed around us. It did seem a little familiar. "Hey! That's the Beast!"
"Yeah," Donald agreed.
"Wait, you guys know whatever that thing is?"
I turned to grin at Meli. "Yeah, of course! Beast helped us out on our last adventure!"
"Maybe we should check up on him," Goofy suggested.
Behind him, a darker shadow than the rest in the room slipped quickly across the floor. "Look!" I pointed as the Heartless crept through a nearby door.
"C'mon!" Donald shouted, and all four of us took off at a run to the next room.
Donald was the first to arrive, poking his head through the door and looking around. "Where did it go?"
Goofy, Meli, and I followed, but there was no sign of the rogue Heartless anywhere. Even its shadow seemed to have vanished. The only things to be seen were a roaring fireplace, a few paintings and sculptures, and a rose underneath a glass dome sitting on a table.
"Found it!" Donald squawked.
At that moment, several other Heartless popped up out of the floor, too, nearly surrounding us. Mega-Shadows. They definitely weren't the worst enemies possible, but put enough of them together and they could be a major pain, which is exactly what these turned out to be. They just kept coming, and coming, and coming, until all of us were panting and sweating and ready to drop.
"Aw, c'mon, enough already!" I groaned.
"Somebody help us!" Donald yelled.
Right on cue, the door burst open, and Beast prowled in. Heartless jumped at him from all sides, but he just swatted them away like they were flies, and they vanished in puffs of smoke as they smashed into the walls. Donald and Goofy and I watched him happily, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Meli take several uncertain steps back. I couldn't really blame her, Beast was a pretty intimidating guy if you didn't know him.
When the Heartless were all gone, I grinned and waved at him. "Just in time!"
His response was to stalk right past, knocking me to the side with a single sweep of his arm. Donald and Goofy got the same treatment with the other arm. Only Meli was spared, since she had retreated to a corner out of the way. Beast picked up the dome with the rose inside, cradled it to his chest, and turned and left the room without a single word.
I sat up to watch him go, more bothered by his behavior than by the rough fall, but as soon as he was a safe distance away, Meli stumbled to my side. "Are you okay?"
Glancing at her, I saw genuine concern and fear in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine, no big deal. Takes more than that to hurt me."
"But...he hit you." Her voice came out all trembly sounding, and that surprised me. She didn't seem like the type to let something so small get to her.
I scratched the back of my head, a little uncomfortable and definitely confused by everything that had just happened. "Yeah...weird, huh? That really wasn't like him." Her expression still didn't change. "But I'm okay, really. I promise."
Clambering to my feet, I joined Donald and Goofy in staring at the door. "Do ya think maybe he forgot who we were?" Goofy mused.
"With this many Heartless around, something must be up," I responded.
Donald massaged the side of his head irritably. "Why'd he have to do that?"
"Maybe we should go." Meli stepped up next to me, rubbing her hand up and down her arm. "It doesn't seem safe here."
"No way, Beast is our friend!" I shook my head vigorously. "We've gotta see if we can help him."
We found Belle first, who was immensely happy to see us, and thankfully seemed to get Meli into a little better mood by giving Donald a huge hug and making him mad. She told us that Beast just hadn't been himself lately, and asked us to help some friends of theirs that he had locked up. After we had done that, and had heard the story of how an enchantress had cast a spell on all of them, we went to Beast's room to try to talk to him.
Unfortunately, when we got there we found some Organization dude. He left pretty quickly, but Beast was still not in the mood to talk to us, and we ended up having to fight him, much to my dismay. Finally, he seemed to come to his senses. When we told him that he had locked up his friends, he was upset. He told us that Xaldin, the Organization dude, had tried to control him using his anger.
"We know you're good inside," Goofy assured him.
"He's right, Master," the clock named Cogsworth piped up. "We've all seen how kind you can be. After all...Belle can see the goodness in your heart, but I'm afraid you've yet to..."
"Belle!" Beast exclaimed suddenly. Then he hung his head with a sigh. "I've mistreated her...I've mistreated her and been so selfish."
I heard a small noise, maybe a huff of air, from Meli, and cut my eyes over to look at her. She had been super quiet most of the time we were here, even more so than usual, and when I had seen her right after the fight with Beast she looked a little shaken. Now, though, the expression on her face was one of anger. I wished I could figure out what was going on in her brain, why it was that this particular world seemed to have her so on edge.
We talked Beast into going to talk to Belle, and headed off back through the castle to find her. Meli trailed several paces behind everyone else, and I dropped back to walk next to her. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
I raised an eyebrow at her curt response. "You don't seem too fine."
"I just..." She raised her head, glaring at the back of Beast. "I don't like him. At all."
"Aw, Beast really isn't a bad guy, I swear. You heard what Cogsworth said, he's got a good heart. It's just the Organization that's got him messed up in the head right now."
She gave a short laugh that didn't sound like she was at all amused. "Yeah, there's always some excuse, isn't there?"
I wrinkled my nose, confused. "I don't–"
"Listen." Meli stopped walking suddenly, and I did the same, turning to face her. "I don't know what Belle's story is, why she's here, but...if he's hurting her, she needs to get out. We need to get her out."
Was that what she was so worried about? "I'd be really surprised if he had hurt Belle. He cares about her way too much. And like I said, he's actually a good guy–"
"It doesn't matter! They're never bad guys, they always care!" I blinked at her in shock as she recovered from her outburst by running her fingers through her hair. "Sorry. But..." Taking a deep breath, she met my eyes. "I need you to swear to me, Sora, that if we find out that he's hurt her, even once, we'll get her out of here."
Slowly, I nodded, and forced a small smile onto my face. "Yeah. Yeah, no problem. We can do that."
Her shoulders dropped a tiny bit, and she nodded, too. "Thanks."
We started walking again, quickly now to catch up with the others, but my mind was spinning from that conversation. Every time I hoped I would learn a little bit more about Meli, I just ended up being more bewildered. It would have been so much easier if she would just tell me what she was thinking, instead of speaking in riddles and avoiding questions.
Belle was in the ballroom, but of course, so was a giant Heartless that took forever to defeat. Once it was gone, Beast and Belle were able to reunite, and they both seemed relieved to see each other.
"Belle... I-I'm sorry, I...wasn't myself. I hope I haven't done anything to hurt you."
Meli was standing right next to me with her arms folded rigidly across her chest, watching the exchange intently. After our conversation, even I went a bit stiff then, waiting to hear Belle's answer. She didn't speak yet, though, only smiled and shook her head, and both Beast and I visibly relaxed. Meli, on the other hand, did not.
"Forgive me," Beast continued.
"I know you weren't yourself. You don't have to apologize," Belle replied.
A couple of minutes later, my Keyblade appeared in my hand on its own volition, and I was able to unlock the gate to the next world. When the light had cleared and my vision returned to the ballroom, Meli had pulled Belle over to the side and was talking to her quietly. Concerned, I crossed to them.
"Everything okay?"
Belle flashed me her usual bright smile. "Yes, everything is fine." Turning to Meli, she placed a gentle hand on her arm. "Thank you, Meli. You're very kind to worry about me. But please, rest assured that I'm alright. I trust Beast not to harm me, and I'm confident that we'll be able to get past all of this soon."
Meli still didn't seem all that convinced, but she smiled, anyway, then backed off to rejoin Donald and Goofy. Before I could walk away, though, Belle grabbed my shoulder.
"Look after that one. She carries a deep sadness with her."
Frowning, I looked to Meli, then back to Belle, before smiling again. "No worries. I will."
That night, lying on my back in the Gummi Ship bunk as we hurtled through space, I started thinking about what Belle had said again. Meli was...sad. I had known that already, really, though I hadn't necessarily thought to put a name to it. I wished I knew what it was she was so sad about.
Furrowing my brow, I tucked my hands underneath my head and tried to think if I had learned anything else noteable about Meli that day, through all the weird, confusing moments we had had. Meli...didn't trust very easily. That was another thing I had already suspected, based on her interactions with the three of us, but today had kinda confirmed that for me. She didn't want to trust Beast, no matter what anyone else had to say about him.
I remembered her rushing to check on me after Beast had hit me, and her talking to Belle to make sure she was really okay, and thought of one more trait that actually made me smile. Meli...cared about people. She might not want to admit it, but it was definitely true. And that...that was something we had in common. That made me realize that despite whatever differences or walls came between us, she was the type of person who could be a friend.
Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!