Treasure Planet Part 2
I guess I'm lying 'cause I wanna
I guess I'm lying 'cause I don't
Chapter specific trigger warnings: self-harm
Also, just assume a blanket warning on guns while we're here. Treasure Planet has no shortage of guns, even if they are laser guns.
Sora woke up to a woman standing over him. She had long, curly black hair and a worried expression in her dark eyes. At first, he got the impression she was the same age as his mother - she had the same fine lines around her mouth and across her forehead. But as he watched her and became more aware, they disappeared and he realized she was closer to his age.
"Sora?" she called softly, one hand on his shoulder.
He sat up carefully, holding his head. Something felt strange, but he couldn't put his finger on what. As he moved, she backed away, still watching him with concern. Her terra-cotta colored skin was a couple shades darker and warmer than his own at high summer, back when he'd spent nearly every waking second on the play island. Strangely, she was in his people's historical clothes, layers of fine dyed barkcloth and woven mats. How did she know his name? He'd never met her, and they weren't anywhere near home.
"Who are you?" he asked, folding his legs in front of him. Standing felt like too much just yet.
She took a deep breath in through her nose, squaring her shoulders. The intricate tattoo - a moko kauae if he remembered correctly from history class- that was under her lower lip projected authority that carried through her voice as she said, "I am Moana of Motunui, now part of what is called Destiny Islands. I've come to collect your debt."
He swallowed, clenching his hands to stop the tremble that went through them. His heart should have been thudding against his ribs. His heart - he couldn't feel his heartbeat. He looked down. His legs were glowing pale blue, the same as the light that had haunted him before. They were translucent, and he could see his own hands, the ones made of flesh and bone, through them. He was sitting on his body.
Sora leapt upright, whirling around to stare at himself. He lay curled on his side, eyes closed, unmoving.
Moana placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're not dead yet," she said quietly. He met her eyes, and she changed in front of him, going from young woman to his mother's age again. Her expression was gentle, full of genuine concern. "At least, not completely," she amended.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Your situation is a bit… unique," she explained. "You've lost and regained parts of yourself in so many ways that now you're struggling to hold together." An affectionate smile crossed her face as she brought his attention to his wrists. Woven golden bracelets wrapped around both. "You're very lucky you have such good friends," she said.
Sora blinked at his hands, then at her, not understanding. "But isn't Hades after me? He's the one I broke my promise to."
Her eyes hardened, chin lifting as she squared her shoulders. "Hades has no power over you," she asserted. "You are one of my people, and only I get to lead you into death. That's my role."
"But why now?" he asked, voice cracking around the final syllable.
Moana sighed, a sad smile on her face. "You are so young," she lamented. "So much has been placed on your shoulders. You've done well, Sora. I want you to know that."
"I don't regret it," he said stubbornly, fists clenched, shoulders steady. "I'd do all of it over again, exactly the same way."
"I know," she said with a chuckle. "You save them; they save you - it's a fair trade, for the most part. But you tricked a god of the dead, and that always has consequences." She paused, turning at the sound of footsteps. Shoving aside a clump of dense pitcher plants, Kairi appeared. Her eyes went wide as she spotted Sora's body.
"Riku!" she cried, throat tight. "I found him!" She didn't wait for a response, dashing over to kneel at Sora's side. She passed right through his spirit and Moana, unseeing. Riku bolted into the clearing a moment later.
"Is he…?" the silver-haired teen asked, dropping to one knee on Sora's other side.
"Breathing? I think so, but it's faint."
Moana placed a hand on Sora's arm. "They'll heal you and bring you back, but it can't go on like this forever. I'll find you again, and when I do, you need to be ready."
"You'll find me? How? What's going to happen?"
"The tattoos I gave you help me reach-" she stopped, cut off as together Kairi and Riku worked their strongest healing magic. With a cry, Sora was pulled back into his body as his bones returned to their proper places, bruises and cuts melting away in the warm glow of the spell. His eyes closed, and when he opened them again the only people he could see were his friends.
"Sora!" Kairi cried, eyes brimming with tears. He started to sit up, and she threw her arms around his neck. Automatically, he wrapped an arm around her, using the other one to hold up their combined weight. "You scared me," she whispered against his shoulder.
"Sorry," he murmured, holding on a little tighter.
"Well, it appears we're all accounted for," Captain Amelia said, striding into the small clearing made by Sora's fall. Jim and Dr. Doppler were behind her. Her appearance had Kairi pulling out of Sora's arms, wiping at the tears still on her face. Riku stood, offering both of his friends a hand up. They took it, regaining their feet as the rest of their party reached them.
"What now?" Sora asked, forcing the words out. His face was pale, hands reluctant to let either Kairi or Riku go.
"Provided you're as miraculously restored as I am," the captain replied, "then we press on. We need shelter and a new plan."
"Silver and his men are following us," Riku added, voice low.
"Then we'd better hurry," Sora heard himself say. He felt a million miles away from everything.
They left the clearing, wandering through the alien landscape. The ground was hard and covered in a thick carpet of moss. Twisted, bulbous trunks rose towards the sky bearing heavy fungal heads. At their bases grew strange egg-shaped structures from which they ground dipped, forcing the group to slide down into a depressed valley. Here, strange spherical bushes grew thick amid the towering mushrooms. They were interspersed with clumps of large viridian pitcher plants and moss covered roots. Everyone was quiet, peering into the foliage.
The group had arranged itself in a rough line, with Amelia at its head. Dr. Doppler and Jim moved behind her. The teenage boy had a laser pistol tucked into his belt; the captain a rifle slung over her shoulder. Behind them came Sora, Riku and Kairi, with Riku at the back. He kept a watchful eye on their surroundings and on Sora, still pale and clinging to Kairi's hand. As they entered a particularly thick belt of foliage, a familiar sensation brought the Keyblade wielders up short.
The fungal canopies above their heads allowed in no sunlight. Around them, the looming shadows of the forest brought forth their hoard - Possessors and Neoshadows, Darkballs and Earth Cores, over twenty Heartless in total. They charged towards the group in a rough crescent, quickly flanking them.
Immediately, Keyblades were summoned. Leveling an arc of dark flames, Riku pushed back the closest attackers. Kairi squeezed Sora's palm tightly, then leapt forward to clash with an Earth Core that had erupted at Dr. Doppler's feet. Sora rolled his shoulders, dashing at a Darkball to Jim's left. Face grim, he laid into the creatures around him with acrobatic efficiency.
Captain Amelia had her rifle out, pushing Heartless back with a skilled spread of shots. She cleared a cloud of Possessors. A Darkball she was aiming at vanished mid-thrash. Side-stepping a Neoshadow's swing, she bumped shoulders with Dr. Doppler. "Stay behind me, Doctor! We'll put these benighted bogles in their place shortly!"
Arms over his head, he replied, "You don't have to tell me twice!" As he spoke, Jim rolled in front of him, taking out a Possessor flying in fast. The five fighters made quick work of their adversaries. The struggle left the group breathless and exhausted, sweat drenched from the planet's hot and humid air.
Riku paced a slow arc around them, Braveheart still raised. "There'll be more of them."
"We should keep moving," Kairi suggested.
"Indeed," Amelia agreed. They pushed further into the forest. The sense of darkness grew rancid, wrinkling Riku's nose and leaving Kairi clutching her necklace. Sora's shoulders ached. Dr. Doppler stayed close to Amelia and Jim, who were scanning around themselves warily, firearms at the ready.
The next wave of Heartless caught them less by surprise. They made short work of it, but ate through the remainder of the laser guns' ammunition. Not wanting to stay where they could easily be found, they kept moving.
This time when Heartless appeared, the group ran, hoping to lose them in the thick foliage. It worked for a moment, until they ran straight into another cluster of them. Wrapping their unarmed friends in a protective bubble, the Keyblade wielders fought on both fronts. Spread thin and struggling, their teamwork was weak, and it took longer than it should have.
"This isn't working," Sora complained, wiping at a cut that kept bleeding into his eye.
"I'm afraid I must agree," Amelia said, shoving stray hair out of her face.
Kairi nodded, stepping one leg onto a rock so she could drizzle a potion over her scraped knee. "We need somewhere safe, but where?"
"We'll find something," Riku reassured them. "We just need to get out in the open."
"This forest feels like it goes on forever," Sora groused. As he spoke, something rustled behind him. The group whirled just in time for a coppery metal figure to launch themselves at Jim, screaming.
Riku lunged, shoving the assailant out of the way with the point of his shoulder. They hit the ground, putting up no resistance to speak of. It was a robot, with an oblong head, protruding eye sockets that hosted twin screens, a bulky chest compartment emblazoned with what looked like a compass and skinny limbs jointed with large gears. The robot didn't seem perturbed to be knocked over. He stared at the sky with huge green eyes, limbs splayed out like a starfish.
"Wow," he gushed. Springing up all at once, he darted back towards Jim, grabbing for his face. He pulled on Jim's hair, then pried apart his lips to examine his teeth. "Carbon based life forms come to rescue me at last!" he exclaimed as Sora and Dr. Doppler yanked him off the startled teenage boy. Jim backed up, running his tongue over his teeth to banish the taste of metal.
Sora shoved the robot farther back, leveling the tip of the Kingdom Key at his head. After a quick up and down scan, he announced, "He's not a Heartless!" over his shoulder to Riku and Kairi. They had moved in-between them and the rest of the group.
"Oh, ah, sorry! Sorry!" the automaton blurted, hands up placatingly. "It's just been so long-"
"State your name," Captain Amelia ordered, striding to stand next to Riku. The silver haired teen lowered his blade, but kept it drawn, nodding at Sora once to have him do the same. Slowly, Sora lowered his Keyblade, shoulders relaxing.
"My name?" the robot asked, appearing baffled by the question. He looked around at the group, battered and bleeding and heavily armed. "Right, of course. Sorry, my manners just aren't what they used to be." He threw an arm around Sora's shoulders suddenly, startling him. Getting no resistance though, he continued on, "You know, after being marooned for a hundred years you GO A LITTLE NUTS!" he bellowed, leaning forward and gesturing by his temple with his free hand. His eyes spasmed, wires sparking out the back of his head. Sora winced at the change in volume, trying and failing to shrug out of his surprisingly strong grip. The rest of the group flinched back, looking at each other with raised eyebrows.
"A little?" Dr. Doppler asked Jim sarcastically under his breath. "He's as sane as a Borogravian deity." Jim sniggered.
Sora finally slid out of the automaton's awkward side hug, gently putting the arm back against its owner's side. "That sounds awful. What's-"
The robot cut him off, waving his hands, "Oh, don't get me wrong, solitude's fun and all," he said, pacing among the group, gesticulating. "What with all the running from monsters and time to ponder the mysteries of the universe and even more monsters but, ah…" he paused, "you let me know when I'm rambling…"
"You're rambling," Jim deadpanned. The robot glanced at Sora, who shrugged apologetically, holding up his hand to gesture "a little bit".
He straightened, taking in their expressions. "Oh, uh, sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm… um…" He frowned, clutching at his head and studying the ground. "My name is…" His eyes darted back and forth, chewing on his metal lip.
Sora came over, putting a gentle hand on the robot's shoulder. "It's okay," he said, bending slightly so that his eyes were level with his. "It'll come back to you." This earned him a crushing hug. He chuckled good-naturedly, even though it made his shoulders smart. Just as suddenly, he was being put down.
"B.E.N.!" the robot shouted. Then, collecting himself a bit, "I'm B.E.N. - Bio Electronic Navigator," he added, sweeping a grand hand out before him.
"Nice to meet you, B.E.N. I'm Sora!"
B.E.N. took his hand and shook it vigorously, ratting Sora's whole upper body. When he let go, the boy had to shake out his wrist. The robot moved on to Kairi, who was closest to them. "Carbon based and cute!" he gushed, smooshing both palms against his cheeks. "What's your name, gorgeous?"
She was less than amused, free hand on her hip, Destiny's Embrace still very much in her other hand. "Kairi. Not 'cute', not 'gorgeous', Kairi."
"Ah…right, of course!" he rubbed the back of his neck. "My mistake," B.E.N. amended, holding up his hands again. "Sorry, I just think nicknames make for a good bonding experience, you know?"
"It's alright," she said with a smile. "You could call me 'Kai' if you really wanted." Lea had called her 'Kai' sometimes.
"Really?!" B.E.N. gushed, springing into an enthusiastic pose. "You and I are gonna be best buddies! We'll have slumber parties and braid each other's hair, though I guess I don't have hair to braid but-"
"Ahem," Amelia cleared her throat. "I hate to interrupt this… lovely moment, but we have an urgent need for shelter. You wouldn't know any place sufficient to that purpose, would you?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but never got the chance. A swarm of Possessors flew out of the woods behind them, swooping and darting at everyone's heads.
"MONSTERS!" B.E.N. yowled, bolting into the bamboo.
"Wait!" Kairi called, darting after him. The rest of them followed, doing their best to stay together. The Heartless were right on their heels, more coming out of the forest surrounding them. B.E.N. led them on a helter-skelter path, seemingly at random. Sora, Riku and Kairi formed a loose triangle around the rest of the group, batting back threats as they kept moving.
Suddenly, they broke through the foliage and out into a clearing. In the center was a towering, moss covered metal structure. The bulk of it looked like a giant egg balanced on many metal slabs. It had a wide circular opening on one side.
"We can hide at my place!" B.E.N. called over his shoulder, not breaking his stride, arms out in front of him.
"Thank heavens!" Dr. Doppler wheezed. Jim caught his arm as he tripped over a stray root, helping to pull him forward. As they ran, more Heartless sprang up around them - Earth Cores and loping Shadows, Flutterings and two high flying Invisibles.
The keybearers pushed hard, running in circles around their friends. Kairi took point, keeping a path clear with strong swings and sharp spells. Riku and Sora fanned out on either side. When the occasion demanded, Amelia and Jim bashed enemies with the butts of their weapons, always mindful of the unarmed gentleman in their midsts. B.E.N. continued running blindly, eventually forced inside the protective shape of their group.
When they finally reached the structure, Amelia efficiently ushered Jim, Doppler and B.E.N. indoors. Riku used his last drop of magic to seal off the opening. Then he joined Sora and Kairi in wiping out the remaining enemies. It took ages and every last scrap of strength the three of them had.
Finally finished, they dragged themselves into the shelter. Kairi sank to her knees as she banished Destiny's Embrace. Sora slumped against the wall until he sat on the floor, head tipped back as he gulped in breaths. Riku leaned on one hand in the doorway, sword dragging on the ground.
"Well done," Captain Amelia praised, passing Riku one of the cups of water B.E.N. had fetched for them. Jim and Dr. Doppler were doing the same for Kairi and Sora. Outside, sunset was falling. "Now, you three rest," she ordered, stepping back so Riku could make his way over to the wall Sora was sitting against. Carefully he folded his legs, settling himself down in a way that hardly disturbed a dust mote. Kairi also came over to join them, sitting on Sora's other side, legs arranged modestly beside her.
Once they were still, the captain continued, "Gentlemen, automaton, warriors," she gazed at each group in turn, "First, I must thank our gracious host," she nodded towards B.E.N., "for sharing his humble berth with the likes of us." Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Though currently stranded tonight, we shall rest and restore ourselves. On the morrow, we must seek out our adversaries and best them to resume control of the Legacy. Our plan of action shall be to cut them off at the object of their desires - Flint's trove." She paused, turning her attention to Jim. "Mr. Hawkins, the map, if you please?"
He reached into his pocket, looking relieved as he pulled out the intricately structured metal ball. Almost immediately, it began to whir, levitating into the air. It split into its many pieces, those pieces quickly turning pink and revealing themselves to be Morph. The little creature was cackling, rocking backwards where it hovered and holding its stomach.
"Morph!" Jim shouted, leaping to his feet.
Still laughing, Morph swirled around, forcing Jim to turn in place to follow him. "Morph, where's the map?!" he demanded.
The little shapeshifter did what he did best, splitting into two to make the coil of rope and then the map itself in miniature. The map plopped itself neatly inside the rope.
"Are you serious?" Jim thundered, pointing accusingly at the sky out of the entryway, "It's back on the ship?!"
Morph scuttled off, ducking behind Kairi's shoulders. She looked at the little creature in surprise, feeling it tuck itself inside her hood.
Jim groaned, running a hand down his face.
"Ah, um, I'm sorry," B.E.N. interjected, "but did you say Flint earlier? As in Captain Flint?"
"Yes, I did," Amelia answered, one eyebrow raised.
"Who's Captain Flint?" Sora piped up from the floor.
"A pirate!" the robot exclaimed, pacing around, "Don't get me started on pirates! I don't like them. Captain Flint was one of the worst! I remember he had such a temper. I think he suffered from mood swings, personally, but-"
"B.E.N.," Jim interjected tiredly, "rambling?"
He winced, "Ooh, sorry!"
"Still," the teenager asked, walking over, "if you knew Captain Flint then that means… you've gotta know about the treasure." An eager smile spread across his face. B.E.N. didn't quite seem to know what to make of it, fiddling nervously with his hands.
"Treasure?" the automaton repeated.
"Yeah, Flint's trove?" Jim pressed. "You know, 'the loot of a thousand worlds'?" He spread his hands to encompass the grandeur of it, eyes lifted to the sky. Riku knew that look. He'd seen it on Sora's face a hundred times and worn it some himself. Glancing over he spotted it again, bright and beaming in Kairi's eyes and Sora's smile. It made it difficult to turn his attention back to the conversation at hand.
B.E.N. curled forward, hand to his forehead. "It's…. Well…" He started pacing again. "It's all a little, little… little fuzzy," he said, body and voice jouncing when a spark shot out of his wires. "Wait," he held up his hands, halting in place, "I- I re-remember." His head jerked, displays on his eyes turning yellow and flickering. "I do. I - TREASURE!" He shot forward, suddenly yelling, the sound echoing off the walls. His wires flickered with electricity as chests full of gold appeared in his eyes.
"Lots of treasure buried in the centroid- centroid- CENTROID of the mechanism!" The image in his eyes changed, turning red, and he deflated a bit, still twitching as he glitched. The group exchanged worried looks. B.E.N. went on.
"And there was this big door, opening and closing," Triangles of light appeared in his eyes, opening and shutting as he spoke. The compass panel in his chest sprang forward and back in time with his words, "And opening and closing and opening and closing…and Captain Flint wanted to make sure nobody could ever get to his treasure so I helped him." He twitched, voice cutting off as he winced. His head was shooting sparks as his body spasmed.
Suddenly he yelled, head jerking up, "Data inaccessible! Reboot! Reboot!" He continued to spasm, eyes filled with green and white lines of binary on a black background. The captain approached him, finger to her chin in thought. A quick half circle and her eyes lit up.
"Ah, here we are!" she murmured, reaching into the compartment on the back of B.E.N.'s head. Abruptly, he stopped moving, eyes going completely black. A moment later, Amelia withdrew her hand. His eyes flickered, lighting up like a person blinking away sleep.
"Aah, and you are?" he asked her.
"Captain Amelia, if you please. I've sailed with a fair number of automatons in my time. Proficient chaps, and you do pick up a trick or two. Think nothing of it."
"Of what?" B.E.N. replied, scratching his head.
Jim stepped forward again. "Wait, what about the treasure?" he demanded.
The robot was stumped. "Treasure?"
"You know, the centroid of the mechanism or…" he gestured with his hands.
B.E.N. slumped. "I'm sorry. My memory isn't what it used to be. You haven't found it, have you?" he asked, looking first at Jim and then out at the crowd of them.
"I mean, not as such, no," Dr. Doppler muttered, clearly perplexed.
"You do seem to be missing something," Amelia observed dryly.
"My primary memory circuit," B.E.N. agreed, turning and pointing towards the back of his head. There was a very specifically shaped opening, and it was from there that all his loose wires emerged. He turned back around. "I've lost my mind!" He said it with a hysterical laugh, gesturing by both sides of his head.
"We can help you find it," Sora offered from the floor.
"You'd really do that for me?" the robot replied, shocked. Not waiting for a response, he rushed over and yanked Sora to his feet before pulling him into a crushing hug. "Thank you! I can't tell you, truly, what this means-"
"It's no problem," the teenager reassured him, chuckling despite the air being squeezed out of him by unyielding metal limbs. B.E.N. pulled back, wiping tears he didn't have out of the corners of his eyes.
Jim came up behind him, saying, "Uh, why don't you let Sora rest, and you and I can go… look for something to eat?" he finally landed on, shooting the trio of teenagers a chagrined look.
"Jimmy!" B.E.N. bellowed, throwing his arms in the air like he was about to embrace him as well.
"No hugging," Jim insisted, stopping him with a hand to the robot's chest. "And it's Jim."
"Jim, right. No hugging, no nicknames, got it."
"Good," the boy said, clearly relieved. The two of them ventured farther back into the crates and barrels and other random detritus that cluttered B.E.N.'s home. Amelia and Dr. Doppler stood a ways apart from the group, talking quietly amongst themselves.
Sora sank back down against the wall, trying and failing to hide his exhaustion as he settled. Both Kairi and Riku were watching him, expressions a mixture of worry and fatigue. Ignoring their glances in his peripheral vision, he started digging through his pockets. He hauled out everything - mega potions and ethers, panaceas and other restoratives, seemingly random stones and other detritus for synthesis, a few pieces of enchanted jewelry, a fistful of keychains, a pile of Heartbinders, loose bits of munny, his gummi phone and a little metal box with the same pattern as the trunks that had held their clothes from the Three Good Fairies. This was his usual habit, learned from Donald and Goofy and hard experience. When you had a moment to rest, you prepared for the next fight.
Riku automatically copied him, having learned a neater version of this routine from the King as well. While Sora pulled fistfuls of items and placed them all in one pile, he went piece by piece, sorting them as he laid them out on the floor in front of him.
Kairi, however, was lost. They hadn't needed to do this yet, not in the same way. Zootopia had Heartless, but not non-stop swarms of them. They'd always been able to go home to the Gummi ship and sleep, then pull new items for the next day.
Sora saw her confusion. "What all have you got?" he asked. "We should get ready for tomorrow."
She watched him for another moment, him and Riku. Neither of them seemed that distressed to be exhausted and cut off from their supplies. This was routine. That bothered her, the idea of them being stranded so often that it was normal. But, like it or not, that was their reality - then and now. So she went digging. She had a healthy supply of magic restoring draughts, the ribbon and chain Sora had given her for the gala, her good luck charm, her keychain from Zootopia, her gummi phone and a pouch of munny, but not much else.
Riku's pockets were deeper than hers. He had potions too, both mega and hi varieties, some hi-ethers, some synthesis materials carefully wrapped in scraps of cloth or leaves, his keychain from Zootopia, the enchanted cufflinks Sora had given him for the gala, his own pouch of munny and his gummi phone as well. Once everything was laid out, the teenagers took stock together.
"Here Kairi," Sora offered, passing over half his healing vials and taking the munny pouch from her. He scooped his loose change into it, then set the bag in his pile.
"We could drink some of these," Riku murmured, gesturing to the lower potency ethers he and Sora had. Kairi's were all more valuable. One vial could restore all of them completely (provided they were close,) so those were best saved for battle.
"We'll be alright if we just rest," Kairi pointed out, reluctant to spare even the lesser ethers.
"And get something to eat," Sora added, stomach growling.
Riku peered around them quickly, then shook his head. "I wouldn't count on food," he said, voice pitched low to keep B.E.N. from overhearing him.
Sora groaned, but at least had the decency to do it quietly, dragging his hands down his face. "But I'm hungry," he grumbled, drawing out the last word.
"Too bad we can't magic food into appearing," Kairi chuckled wistfully.
"Even if I could get Little Chef here, I don't think any ingredients would come with him," Sora commented offhandedly, fiddling with one of the Heartbinders. She stared at him, completely confused by what he was saying.
"Is that what those do?" Riku asked. Yen Sid had been characteristically vague about the little badges when he'd given them to Sora, but the brown haired teen had seemed to know how to use them.
Sora nodded. "More or less. Each one's tied to a friend, and if I ask they'll come and help out for a bit. Takes all my magic though, and they only work for one person. I don't have one for Little Chef."
"You can call them anywhere? And they just appear?" Kairi asked. Merlin hadn't told her about this kind of magic at all.
"Well, not really them, not with these. I get sort of like an essence. This one's Ariel's," he explained, pointing to a teal one marked with a shell, "but when she shows up she's still a mermaid and she's kind of made of water. It's weird."
"Master Yen Sid said it was a power special to Sora," Riku added, filling Kairi in.
She chuckled, "Figures."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sora grumbled at her.
"You would have a way to call on your friends," she answered, smile going soft as she said it.
"I never could for either of you," he murmured back, looking at the ground. It wasn't like he hadn't tried, back when Riku was missing and Kairi was kidnapped. He'd struggled again and again to summon either of them, until Donald made him quit. He'd nearly passed out.
Kairi and Riku exchanged a look. "Well…" she tried, pointing at the Heartbinders, "You didn't have one of those for either of us."
Sora glanced at her good luck charm in her pile, but didn't say anything else. Hating the stillness, he scooped up the little metal box and shrugged out of his jacket. Kairi's eyes went wide, and Riku tensed.
"Sora…" Kairi murmured, staring at his arms. He followed her gaze. Previously hidden by his shirt sleeves, the tattoos had changed. The targets were now ringed in triangles turning them to blazing suns. Below that were thick, dark bands filled with a pattern of stylized ocean waves. They were streaked, just like the original tattoos had been the next day. Sora swallowed around the sudden tension in his throat and looked away from both his friends. He could feel their eyes boring into the top of his head as he curled around the little metal case in his hands. He opened it, pulling out a needle and spool of grey thread.
"Sora," Riku said sharply. His friend stilled, not looking up, muscle working in his jaw. Kairi shot Riku a look. His eyes were cold, spine stiff, as tall and imperious as he could be sitting down. She opted for a different route, leaning forward to try to catch Sora's gaze.
"Something happened," she pressed, putting a hand on his forearm.
He flinched, but didn't pull away. "Obviously," he grumbled.
"You didn't know," Riku said stiffly.
"Obviously," Sora snapped, glaring up at him. They glowered at each other for a moment.
"Leave him alone, Riku," Kairi cut in. Riku glanced at her, eyes icy and narrow. "He doesn't have to talk about it," she insisted.
"He does if he wants our help."
"What are you saying?" she hissed, mindful of the other people in the room.
"Yeah, Riku," Sora interjected mockingly, "What are you saying?" A subtle snarl wrinkled his nose, pulling back his lips. In his clenched fist, he pressed the point of a needle against his fingers, one at a time, unseen aside from the motion. Not enough to puncture, just to feel a little bite, just to keep moving.
His tone only made Riku's expression more removed. "We can't help you if we don't know what's wrong," he explained evenly, but the lack of inflection came off as distant.
"I just told you, I don't know anything," Sora insisted. Riku tipped his own head up, frowning down at his friend to indicate exactly what he thought of that.
Sora looked away. "It's fine," he insisted. "I'm fine. We just need to finish up here and then get to Master Aqua and the others." Hastily, he started unwinding the spool of thread, grabbing a long loop that he cut with a comically small scissors. His hands were shaking as he threaded the needle.
Riku and Kairi exchanged a look. All her worry was in her face, but she couldn't make any sense of Riku's expression.
"I didn't know you could sew," she finally tried, watching as Sora worked his needle into the fabric.
He began to stitch across the nearly fist-sized hole in his jacket with rough, uneven stitches. "I can't really," he replied, all the fire and ferocity sucked out of his tone. He refused to look at her. "These are magic. The Good Fairies got tired of fixing my clothes."
Kairi tried to wrap her head around everything packed into that simple sentence. She had never personally met the Three Good Fairies, so she had no idea how many repairs would be too many… but she'd guess quite a few. Impatient people rarely got classified as "good" so often that it became part of their name. And every rip and tear, every puncture, had at some point accompanied a wound. She wasn't under any illusions about how violent Sora and Riku's lives had been the last few years. She'd seen their hardest battles for herself, after all, and fought in them to boot. She'd been fighting now. But it felt different after seeing Sora pinned to a mast, crying out in agony, hearing his bones snap. Those rips and tears were visceral now. She would never know how often and how badly her friends had been hurt.
Sora's stitches crisscrossed over each other as he made his way around the outside of the holes. They left awkward gaps and in general didn't patch the hole much. It was hard to understand how this would fix anything at all. Then, as he completed his jagged ring around the tear, it glowed, light flaring briefly. When the brilliance diminished, the fabric was restored. There was no sign of the damage or Sora's shoddy handiwork. He moved on to the other side, repeating the process.
"It fixes the defensive magic too," he added, muttering into his work.
Riku opened and shut the fist clenched on his knees. "Good," was all he could manage.
After another awkward pause, he began filing his items back into his pockets. Kairi copied him. Sora curled in tighter, shoulders hunched. His throat felt thick and heavy, clenched tight to keep anything else from spilling out. He continued sewing in silence.
"We could help, you know," Riku murmured, surprising both of his friends. Their eyes snapped to his.
Almost immediately, Kairi recovered and nodded, placing a hand on Sora's forearm. "It's what we're here for." Sora turned to her, expression softening slightly.
"Thanks, Kairi." He paused, glancing back at the older boy. Riku let his face relax just a little, just enough to allow a flicker of concern shine through.
"Thanks, Riku," Sora added. In the back of his head, all he could think was, But what if you can't?
Hello again!
Bonus points to anyone who gets Dr. Doppler's obscure reference.
In honor of Moana's official arrival into the story and in light of recent events, I'd like to direct your attention to a charity I recently stumbled across - The National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA). They're a fantastic federation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Asian American, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations. I know we're all here for a bit of escapism but they do incredibly important work and this is pretty much the only social media I engage in so I wanted to point them out where I could.
My heartfelt thanks to Sumo92, LikeVideos, LilCardboardBoxThatIsBig, grassfire101, LikeMy www-writemenow-fun, GreatAce2019, UchihaAxel and ehBray for favoriting and following!
I hope you all are staying safe and healthy in this seemingly eternal panorama we're stuck in. See you soon!
Edit: Thanks to a lovely comment on AO3 I remembered something I meant to put in this note originally. The idea of Destiny Islands and Motunui being connected is 100% not mine. I tripped over it on Tumblr many years ago and it stuck with me. I don't have an way to track down the original thread, but I know it contained a beautiful piece of fanart by ardinaryas (find him on Instagram!) of Sora and Moana piloting a canoe that never left my head. Moana is one of my favorite recent Disney films so I wanted to include her in this way from the beginning.