The Promise
Chapter 4
Sora was never used to staying in places for more then two days. He was beginning to feel cramped up in the boarding house as he waited for Cid to come in. He wanted that upgrade on his arm, and as much as he hated it, he would have to wait.
Sora found himself getting more rest then he was used to, leaving his body bored, and after the first two days, he got fed up and began going outside for training. On occasion Zell would fight him for fun, saying he "liked beating up old guys".
Sora was reminded of himself when he was twenty when he would fight Zell. Zell was loud, but he was tough enough to back it up. Sora remembered once in a while when he would bite off more then he could chew whenever he fought in the stadium, especially in the Hades cup when he would fight without any potions or healing items with him. Phil said he took too many unnecessary chances, but hey, that's what happens when your young and overconfident. You have to have someone beat the tar out of you before you wizened up.
Once in a while, Barret would come out when they were fighting and yell tips to them, to the disliking of Sora. Eventually, Rinoa, Squall and Marlene began watching the two duke it out.
"Am I too quick, old man?" Zell asked in a joking tone as he dodged Sora's front thrust.
"Nope, but your leaving a disgusting trail. YAH!" Sora smacked Zell in the leg with a side swipe, nearly knocking him off his feet.
Zell had more energy to boot, that being his advantage some times. But Sora still had more experience, and could judge at times what Zell would do next. This went on for 4 days, and Zell got bored.
That was the night before Squall challenged Sora.
"Are you sure?" Sora asked when they were out in the field in the midmorning's sun. "I don't want to embarrass you in front of your woman."
"I've gotten a little better over these past ten years." Squall said, a half smile on his face.
"C'mon Squall, show 'em whatcha got." Barret bellowed from the side line, where Rinoa was watching politely.
"I hope you've gotten better." Sora said as he brought out his Oathkeeper Key blade.
"I've gotten an upgrade or two as well." Squall brought out the Lion Heart gun blade.
"Impressive." Sora said, feeling a bit of envy. He turned his head to where Marlene was standing. "Marlene, if you'll do the honors?"
Marlene nodded and raised her arm vertically. She took a step back and brought her arm down quickly.
"Begin!" She said loudly.
Both men charged forward. Their weapons clashed, sparks flying as both tested their strength. Sora took a step forward, then another. He sent a thrust of power into his key blade, forcing Squall back and opening up a section of attack for Sora.
Squall brought his gun blade up in defense, causing more sparks to come from both weapons. Again and again they would bring back their weapons for an attempt at a hit, but the metallic weapons continually clashed. When one would take a step to his right, the other would do the same. When one would bring his weapon back to attack, the other would be ready to block.
"We gotta hit each other at some point, Leon." Sora said in a tense voice.
"You're doing good for your age, Key bearer." Squall replied. "And don't call me Leon!"
Squall brought his blade back, and as Sora thought he would just bring it back in a thrust, rather the SeeD jumped back and sent a fire attack at the old warrior.
Sora countered with a blizzard, which gave Squall enough time to get behind the key bearer. Squall began to bring his blade down into Sora's back, but Sora quickly turned around in time to narrowly block the gun blade's edge.
"So we can use magic, eh?" Sora said with a grin.
"Whatever you need to fight, old boy." Squall said with a laugh, as they continued their spar.
"You're getting worse, you know that?" Wakka, 19, said as he smacked Tidus, 17, in the head with his blitz ball.
"I'm just giving you a fair chance, Goat boy." Tidus said, referring to the sprig of hair on Wakka's chin.
"You're only jealous." Wakka replied, stroking his chin before again tossing the blitz ball at Tidus.
"Whatever!" Tidus whacked the ball back at Wakka, then charged in at the older boy with his staff ready.
"I don't see what their trying to prove." Selphie said in a snooty tone as she and Kairi watched the two boys fighting.
"I think their trying to impress you." Kairi said in a teasing tone.
"Oh hush. Those two are a couple of clowns. I remember having to beat them a couple of times, along with Sora and Riku-oops." Selphie bit her lip. "Sorry…"
Kairi shook her head.
"It's okay." Kairi began. "It's good to know their memory is still alive."
"GAAAAAH!! YOU HIT MY EYEBALL OUT YOU SICKO!!!" Tidus yelled from his spot on the beach, where he had been knocked on his rear and held a hand over his left eye.
"I did not, you baby! Now get back up, or else you forfeit!" Wakka yelled, shaking his fist in the air.
"Find my eye, you psycho!" Tidus yelled back.
Kairi and Selphie gave each other a look, then both began laughing.
Before the spar could go into overtime, Rinoa wisely suggested the two call a draw. Neither were making any progress on the other and it was close to dinner. Zell had gone in out of boredom, and only Barret and Marlene were really watching.
Just as all were about to go inside though…
"What's that whistling sound?" Sora asked, stopping to listen.
Both Rinoa and Squall looked about for anything, Barret trying to hear whatever Sora was. Finally Marlene spoke up.
"It's Cid! He's coming!" She said in a loud excited tone, jumping up and down in anticipation.
All five of them looked to the sky. Indeed a gummi ship was coming. It looked like it was going to crash.
"That's Cid alright." Squall said in a tone that suggested he was used to this.
"Crap, can't that guy drive?" Sora demanded.
"He can, he just likes to show off." Rinoa added with a laugh.
Squall was right, just as it looked like Cid would nose dive straight into the grass, he pulled up quickly, doing a barrel roll and landing neatly 10 yards from the house. His gummi ship was, from what Sora could remember a Hyperion but with serious modification, but it was still impressive.
"Wow…" was all Sora could say.
"Beautiful ship, huh? He's still good at that kind of stuff, even after 3 years of retirement." Squall said as he stepped up next to Sora.
"Retire?" Sora gave Squall a disbelieving look, then turned back to look at the ship. "He doesn't seem like the type."
"That's what I said, but he said he just wanted an excuse to go on a long vacation. Gepetto owns his accessory shop now."
Sora had to jog his memory a bit before the name Gepetto came back to his memory. The guy was probably dead in his time. He wondered how that puppet was doing, Pistachio or whatever his name was. He came back to reality when he noticed Squall receive a hard smack on the back by a graying haired Cid.
"It's been a year or so, hasn't it, youngster?" Cid said with that familiar gruff tone as he greeted Marlene and the others who had gathered around him. Sora stood stone still. He wondered how Cid would react to who he was.
"You guys got a new boarder or something? Who the heck is he?" Cid asked, pointing at Sora.
Squall and Rinoa looked at each other uncertainly, wondering how to explain this. Barret didn't seem to want to bother with it.
"Cid." Sora said firmly, getting the mechanic's attention.
"Yeah, that's my name. Now what's yours?" Cid stomped over to Sora.
Sora noted he was less threatening then Barret, but he still didn't want to get on this guy's nerves.
"It's me…" Sora gulped. "Sora…"
Cid stayed quiet for a second, blinking in disbelief.
"You lyin' son of a-!" Squall cut him off by clearing his own throat.
"He's telling the truth, Cid." Squall said, his voice reflecting that even calm tone he could use so well.
Cid looked to the Rinoa, who nodded, then to Barret, who at first grunted a bit then added "He's right, Cid."
Cid turned around and looked Sora square in the eye. Sora didn't step down, nor give any hint of wanting to.
"Prove it." Cid said in a tough voice.
"Where's Mog?" Sora asked in the same tone.
"How do you know about Mog?" Cid asked.
"He and a few other Moogles ran a synthesis shop up stairs from your accessory shop. He used to work for you." Sora said, remembering the odd looking creature.
"That don't prove anything." Cid spat.
"Wait…Remember when I came into your accessory shop when I was 14, and you had me deliver a book to Merlin. It was where I met Pooh. I told you about it when I came back to your shop. Remember?" Sora begged.
"Pooh?" Squall said in a confused tone.
"What the heck is a Pooh?" Barret asked.
After some odd glances between one another, Cid's face relaxed a bit.
"Well…." Cid began, bringing out a cigarette and just putting it in his mouth, not lighting it. "I don't know any man who would want to lie about something like that."
Sora didn't know whether to laugh or to feel insulted right then.
"I thought you defeated Maleficent." Cid exclaimed inside the house in the parlor where Sora and Squall were explaining about what had happened, Sora doing most of the explaining.
"I did, but she was alive. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself." Sora replied. He was getting more and more annoyed by the idea of Maleficent being alive the more he told everyone. Yet, he thought, it was possibly that feeling of helplessness that annoyed him.
"Well, this ain't good." Cid said.
"I won't argue there." Sora replied.
"I can't believe you fell for that though." Cid said in a more parental tone then Sora cared for.
"Well a beggar told me about it and gave me the gummi to get there. I figured if it was a trick, I should make sure no one else falls for it." Sora attempted to defend himself.
"Well, you're not doing a very good job of it. We have to get you back to your time some how."
Cid paced the small area once.
"She took my ultima key chain when she sent me back. I think she has something planned with it." Sora added.
"So she sent you back to a certain point in time and took your best weapon." Cid chuckled a bit. "Dang, it sure sucks to be you."
"Thank you for that update." Sora replied dryly.
"I didn't mean it in a way to depress you." Cid cleared his throat and continued. "She wants you vulnerable. Something's going to happen at this point in time that I'm gonna guess is supposed to make you kick the bucket."
Sora's arm sparked loudly right then, getting attention away from the current topic the three were talking about. Sora was astonished that he hadn't felt any pain that time.
"You need that fixed, kid." Cid said in a concerned voice.
"Well, everyone's told me you can sell me parts that can build a replacement that's way better." Sora replied.
Cid stroked his chin once and grunted a bit, as if he were debating something. His eyes rolled to look up and he cleared his throat hard. He took a step towards the exit, and gestured to Sora.
"Come with me." He said.
Sora looked to Squall, then back to Cid and nodded.
The two men were outside, Cid leading the way to his Hyperion ship. He brought out a remote looking device and punched in what Sora thought was one button, but in reality was a series of smaller buttons. The two stopped about 10 feet from the ship. Cid crossed his arms in an impatient gesture. Sora began to ask what was going on, but a platform came down from the bottom of the ship. Cid stepped onto it and gestured for Sora to follow suit.
As Sora boarded the platform it began to go up, startling the key bearer a bit. The platform reached the point where it reconnected to the ships floor, and Cid immediately began walking to the right, which was a corridor that looked like it had not been cleaned in a while. Cid entered a door to his left, Sora following at a respectful distance. They were inside what would've been a large room, if not for the various tools and weapons hung in various places on the wall, each with either a label telling it's purpose or it's history. Cid walked over to a table far across the room, past various guns and swords, and a very impressive collection of lances.
"Here it is." Cid said proudly after he had reached the table. He was holding up a cloth wrapped item that looked to be the size of a loaf of bread. He turned to face Sora, who had stopped to admire a large broadsword with round gems embedded in it. Sora watched as Cid unwrapped the parcel.
"I was working on this for Barret. It was a special order sent to me about 3 years ago, before I had met him. And well…" Cid chuckled a bit. "The only problem was I had made it for the wrong arm!"
Sora's eyes widened as he looked at what he thought had to be the most impressive piece of mechanical craftsmanship he had ever seen. It was a left mechanical arm, and except for the chrome color it looked almost exactly like an arm. The knuckles of the hand looked made for punching, but all in all it probably wouldn't receive a second glance on the street.
"You'd be surprised how much artillery I put in this thing. I remembered Barret was a bit trigger happy, so I stuffed a small cavalry in this. I have millions of alternate weapons for it that you can summon through a system I developed from the gummi block alternator." Cid cleared his throat, allowing the introduction of his work to sink in.
"And for melee combat I was trying to decide what weapons to put in there. That's when I came up with this." He tapped the index finger twice and the hand went back into the arm, and to replace it came what looked like the end of a staff. "When we were talking, I remembered this function of the arm. I think I can make it compatible with your key blade."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"Well, if I can make it compatible with a key chain, you could have two weapons at your disposal. All I have to do is get the wiring hooked up and you'll be all set. We can make it into the key blade once we've got it hooked up to your arm." Cid waited a minute before continuing. "So what do you think?"
Sora lifted his current left arm and looked it over. Every dent and scuff had a story. He realized how much the arm meant to him, and how many times it had saved his life. It sparked once, a sizzle sound following that.
"Well?" Cid asked again.
Sora looked to the mechanic and nodded.
"Alright, let's get started."
When Sora had lost that arm, he remembered how weak he had felt. He could never actually feel in that arm, and he had been called a sort of freak because of it.
He didn't remember the exact day it had happened, but as Cid operated on his arm, he reminisced of how he could've prevented the whole thing.
It had been when he was in his early twenties. He had been on his own for a few months, and as he had traveled from world to world, closing doors to heartless and saving lives he had earned quite a bit of fame.
Whenever he walked down the street, people would wave to him, call out his name, and offer him food and drink. Women would swarm to him, hanging all over him and offering certain pleasures he was hesitant to decline at times. Whenever he was in town or on a certain world, any who had fought the heartless gave up their practice for the time that he was there. They didn't want any unnecessary work.
It was on a certain world, Dionysus Moon as it was called, named for the Greek god of celebration. Sora had come there out of a rumor that a large heartless was terrifying the city there. He was arrogant, laughing aloud as the mayor of the city told him about the heartless. Sora began to leave the city to take care of the problem, but he was being given more attention then he had in past cities.
He was offered a banquet to replenish his strength before he left. He ended up staying for two hours there. He was given a certain wine by the barrel as a gift of thanks from a winery there. Bags of munnies flooded to him, making him waste another three hours of packing all of the gifts onto the Ragnarok. Night had fallen and he had wanted to set out, but the mayor had planned a party for him.
"Oh c'mon, sir, I need to get going." He had protested.
"But we planned all of this just for you. Everyone will think you are rude if you leave before the party ends." The mayor replied.
Sora gave in and attended. The music blared as people ate and drank until their bodies would not allow them. Women were hired to dance for the men. Sora joked that he was not going to be able to leave the town because of how much fun he was having.
Hours passed. People lay unconscious on the floor. Some of the men had been carried off by hired entertainers for the night. Sora had wisely kept to only so much wine. Some part of him had been yelling at him to leave ever since the beginning of the party, but he had ignored it for so long it was just more noise in the back ground.
He felt tired and sick, and began to leave for his ship. But there was one woman left.
"I have to go get some sleep for tomorrow. It's very late." Sora had said, his speech a little slurred from the wine.
"But do not leave me alone. The shadows will come in the night and steal my heart." The woman had clung to him in a desperate way.
"You should go home too then." Sora replied.
"But don't you want my company, my lord?" The woman ran her hands through his shoulder length, slightly spiky hair in a loving manner.
"I..I really need to go-" Sora had backed up a bit, but the woman had followed his step on cue.
Sora's breath came in quicker paces and his body felt more and more stiff as the woman edged closer and closer to him. She ran her hands all over his chest, finally, both on his shoulders. She stroked both of his arms slowly as she moved her head to the side of his.
She blew a bit of cold breath into his ear and whispered "But not right away…"
Her perfume was heavy, intoxicating almost all of Sora's senses.
"Gaah!!!" It was back in reality now. Sora was still 42, and a sudden shock running through his arm had awakened him from his daydream.
"Sorry 'bout that." Cid said, not taking his eyes from his work.
"Don't worry about it." Sora said quietly.
"What's wrong with you?" Cid asked in a concerned tone.
"Bad memories."
The only compensation Sora could think of for that night so long ago was that he had not slept with the woman. But he had allowed her to come to his ship with him and had been with her for what seemed like hours. And all he could think of during that night of sleep was Kairi and that hurt look on her face highlighted by rivers of tears.
He had set off early that morning, wanting to get that bad dream out of his head. He also wanted to get this mission over with so he wouldn't have to face any of the locals.
He had found the heartless. It turned out to be just an Invisible. Easy enough, right?
"Alright, monster, your days of terrorizing Dionysus City are over! Prepare to meet your doom!!!" Sora remembered yelling that.
The Invisible looked like it was chuckling as it looked the key bearer over.
"I've taken care of worse Heartless then you. C'mon!"
Sora almost cringed from how stupid he remembered that sounding.
The battle was a little harder then he had expected. The Invisible had pulled his invisible trick from the beginning of the battle. Sora knew when to jump exactly to avoid a whole mess of pain as the purple ring of fire began to surround him.
The Invisible was rather good from the past Invisibles Sora remembered fighting. He felt the effects of the previous night's party. His focus was off because of the wine and his calm was gone because of previous night's regrets.
But, his past battles instilled in him a feeling of knowing he would win. Whether the feeling was well placed was still waiting on judgment.
Finally, the Invisible began to show fatigue. He began to use the invisibility trick, and Sora knew exactly where he would be when he reappeared from where he had disappeared. He could almost taste the victory. All he had to do was place one well powered shot and it would all be over.
How right he was…
As the ring of fire was closing in, Sora jumped at the right second to avoid it. But, to this day, he didn't know what it had been, but the most simple details to have noticed at the crucial moment had missed the eye of the key master.
As he jumped from the ring, it was as if everything were paused. The Invisible must've planned this whole battle. As Sorabrought his blade down on where he thought the Invisible was, that heartless lived up to his given title. He came down on Sora from the human's right, his large broadsword gleaming in the morning sun. Sora turned to the right angle to avoid being separated from his torso, but at a slightly lesser price.
He let out a cry that sounded more animal then human, like a bear that just stepped into a trap. Before he knew it, Sora had sent a firaga into the Invisible, instantly killing it. As he watched the Invisible's body disappear in death, he looked to the sand covered ground, where a trail of splattered blood lay in uneven layers across the limitless grains.
He remembered having heard a slightly quieted thud from a few feet away, but had not paid attention to it. Not until now. His body trembled horribly, making any who gave him a slight glance think he had just come in from a cold blizzard. He looked in childish disbelief at the charred nub that was connected to his elbow's joint. The pain hit him like a 30 caliber shot.
He slumped over to where the trail of blood ended, where his arm lay, slightly twitching, but not noticeably. He threw aside his key blade and hesitantly reached for the arm. His hand pulled back a bit at first, but as he lifted the arm from the ground. He remembered he felt almost sickened at how warm it was. He never remembered seeing so much blood before then, especially so much of his own. He looked into the end where it had once been connected to him. The edges of the bone looked almost like splinters, yet from a distance it was a smooth looking cut, quick and even.
His arm, or what was left of it connected to him, was bleeding less then it had been earlier, but it was still capable of making him bleed to death.
He set his arm down near his key blade and sent a small blizzard spell onto the elbow's joint. He gritted his teeth, remembering how cold it felt.
Hours later, he came into town, carrying his dismembered arm in the crook of his right like it was a child or something. He received many odd stares as he passed a lot of people he had watched become drunk. He walked straight to the medical facility and there a doctor thawed his arm and helped stop the bleeding. The dismembered fore arm had been tossed in the furnace out of orders from the doctor. Sora recalled the doctor "not wanting that disgusting thing stinking his office up".
He had paid the doctor and left the world within the hour, not speaking to anyone or for that matter looking at anyone.
That same day, he went to Gaia 25 to get a refuel, and had met Emory Kai's father and boss, Thor Kai and had gotten his current mechanical arm there.
"All done." Cid said finally. "Go ahead and give it a try. I'm gonna bet it'll feel a lot more natural then that last arm did."
Sora lifted his arm from Cid's work table and looked it over. He twiddled the fingers in a rhythmic pattern, impressed at the reaction time. It was almost like had his hand back. He balled the fingers into a fist and began punching the air.
"This is great, Cid. I don't remember the last time I was able to punch so quickly." Sora said, feeling a nostalgic childish giddiness.
"Good. Lemme know whenever I can help you out." Cid said with a proud grin.
Sora thought for a moment.
"Actually, there is something you can do for me." Sora said with a serious tone.
END OF CHAPTER 4.
Chapter 4
Sora was never used to staying in places for more then two days. He was beginning to feel cramped up in the boarding house as he waited for Cid to come in. He wanted that upgrade on his arm, and as much as he hated it, he would have to wait.
Sora found himself getting more rest then he was used to, leaving his body bored, and after the first two days, he got fed up and began going outside for training. On occasion Zell would fight him for fun, saying he "liked beating up old guys".
Sora was reminded of himself when he was twenty when he would fight Zell. Zell was loud, but he was tough enough to back it up. Sora remembered once in a while when he would bite off more then he could chew whenever he fought in the stadium, especially in the Hades cup when he would fight without any potions or healing items with him. Phil said he took too many unnecessary chances, but hey, that's what happens when your young and overconfident. You have to have someone beat the tar out of you before you wizened up.
Once in a while, Barret would come out when they were fighting and yell tips to them, to the disliking of Sora. Eventually, Rinoa, Squall and Marlene began watching the two duke it out.
"Am I too quick, old man?" Zell asked in a joking tone as he dodged Sora's front thrust.
"Nope, but your leaving a disgusting trail. YAH!" Sora smacked Zell in the leg with a side swipe, nearly knocking him off his feet.
Zell had more energy to boot, that being his advantage some times. But Sora still had more experience, and could judge at times what Zell would do next. This went on for 4 days, and Zell got bored.
That was the night before Squall challenged Sora.
"Are you sure?" Sora asked when they were out in the field in the midmorning's sun. "I don't want to embarrass you in front of your woman."
"I've gotten a little better over these past ten years." Squall said, a half smile on his face.
"C'mon Squall, show 'em whatcha got." Barret bellowed from the side line, where Rinoa was watching politely.
"I hope you've gotten better." Sora said as he brought out his Oathkeeper Key blade.
"I've gotten an upgrade or two as well." Squall brought out the Lion Heart gun blade.
"Impressive." Sora said, feeling a bit of envy. He turned his head to where Marlene was standing. "Marlene, if you'll do the honors?"
Marlene nodded and raised her arm vertically. She took a step back and brought her arm down quickly.
"Begin!" She said loudly.
Both men charged forward. Their weapons clashed, sparks flying as both tested their strength. Sora took a step forward, then another. He sent a thrust of power into his key blade, forcing Squall back and opening up a section of attack for Sora.
Squall brought his gun blade up in defense, causing more sparks to come from both weapons. Again and again they would bring back their weapons for an attempt at a hit, but the metallic weapons continually clashed. When one would take a step to his right, the other would do the same. When one would bring his weapon back to attack, the other would be ready to block.
"We gotta hit each other at some point, Leon." Sora said in a tense voice.
"You're doing good for your age, Key bearer." Squall replied. "And don't call me Leon!"
Squall brought his blade back, and as Sora thought he would just bring it back in a thrust, rather the SeeD jumped back and sent a fire attack at the old warrior.
Sora countered with a blizzard, which gave Squall enough time to get behind the key bearer. Squall began to bring his blade down into Sora's back, but Sora quickly turned around in time to narrowly block the gun blade's edge.
"So we can use magic, eh?" Sora said with a grin.
"Whatever you need to fight, old boy." Squall said with a laugh, as they continued their spar.
"You're getting worse, you know that?" Wakka, 19, said as he smacked Tidus, 17, in the head with his blitz ball.
"I'm just giving you a fair chance, Goat boy." Tidus said, referring to the sprig of hair on Wakka's chin.
"You're only jealous." Wakka replied, stroking his chin before again tossing the blitz ball at Tidus.
"Whatever!" Tidus whacked the ball back at Wakka, then charged in at the older boy with his staff ready.
"I don't see what their trying to prove." Selphie said in a snooty tone as she and Kairi watched the two boys fighting.
"I think their trying to impress you." Kairi said in a teasing tone.
"Oh hush. Those two are a couple of clowns. I remember having to beat them a couple of times, along with Sora and Riku-oops." Selphie bit her lip. "Sorry…"
Kairi shook her head.
"It's okay." Kairi began. "It's good to know their memory is still alive."
"GAAAAAH!! YOU HIT MY EYEBALL OUT YOU SICKO!!!" Tidus yelled from his spot on the beach, where he had been knocked on his rear and held a hand over his left eye.
"I did not, you baby! Now get back up, or else you forfeit!" Wakka yelled, shaking his fist in the air.
"Find my eye, you psycho!" Tidus yelled back.
Kairi and Selphie gave each other a look, then both began laughing.
Before the spar could go into overtime, Rinoa wisely suggested the two call a draw. Neither were making any progress on the other and it was close to dinner. Zell had gone in out of boredom, and only Barret and Marlene were really watching.
Just as all were about to go inside though…
"What's that whistling sound?" Sora asked, stopping to listen.
Both Rinoa and Squall looked about for anything, Barret trying to hear whatever Sora was. Finally Marlene spoke up.
"It's Cid! He's coming!" She said in a loud excited tone, jumping up and down in anticipation.
All five of them looked to the sky. Indeed a gummi ship was coming. It looked like it was going to crash.
"That's Cid alright." Squall said in a tone that suggested he was used to this.
"Crap, can't that guy drive?" Sora demanded.
"He can, he just likes to show off." Rinoa added with a laugh.
Squall was right, just as it looked like Cid would nose dive straight into the grass, he pulled up quickly, doing a barrel roll and landing neatly 10 yards from the house. His gummi ship was, from what Sora could remember a Hyperion but with serious modification, but it was still impressive.
"Wow…" was all Sora could say.
"Beautiful ship, huh? He's still good at that kind of stuff, even after 3 years of retirement." Squall said as he stepped up next to Sora.
"Retire?" Sora gave Squall a disbelieving look, then turned back to look at the ship. "He doesn't seem like the type."
"That's what I said, but he said he just wanted an excuse to go on a long vacation. Gepetto owns his accessory shop now."
Sora had to jog his memory a bit before the name Gepetto came back to his memory. The guy was probably dead in his time. He wondered how that puppet was doing, Pistachio or whatever his name was. He came back to reality when he noticed Squall receive a hard smack on the back by a graying haired Cid.
"It's been a year or so, hasn't it, youngster?" Cid said with that familiar gruff tone as he greeted Marlene and the others who had gathered around him. Sora stood stone still. He wondered how Cid would react to who he was.
"You guys got a new boarder or something? Who the heck is he?" Cid asked, pointing at Sora.
Squall and Rinoa looked at each other uncertainly, wondering how to explain this. Barret didn't seem to want to bother with it.
"Cid." Sora said firmly, getting the mechanic's attention.
"Yeah, that's my name. Now what's yours?" Cid stomped over to Sora.
Sora noted he was less threatening then Barret, but he still didn't want to get on this guy's nerves.
"It's me…" Sora gulped. "Sora…"
Cid stayed quiet for a second, blinking in disbelief.
"You lyin' son of a-!" Squall cut him off by clearing his own throat.
"He's telling the truth, Cid." Squall said, his voice reflecting that even calm tone he could use so well.
Cid looked to the Rinoa, who nodded, then to Barret, who at first grunted a bit then added "He's right, Cid."
Cid turned around and looked Sora square in the eye. Sora didn't step down, nor give any hint of wanting to.
"Prove it." Cid said in a tough voice.
"Where's Mog?" Sora asked in the same tone.
"How do you know about Mog?" Cid asked.
"He and a few other Moogles ran a synthesis shop up stairs from your accessory shop. He used to work for you." Sora said, remembering the odd looking creature.
"That don't prove anything." Cid spat.
"Wait…Remember when I came into your accessory shop when I was 14, and you had me deliver a book to Merlin. It was where I met Pooh. I told you about it when I came back to your shop. Remember?" Sora begged.
"Pooh?" Squall said in a confused tone.
"What the heck is a Pooh?" Barret asked.
After some odd glances between one another, Cid's face relaxed a bit.
"Well…." Cid began, bringing out a cigarette and just putting it in his mouth, not lighting it. "I don't know any man who would want to lie about something like that."
Sora didn't know whether to laugh or to feel insulted right then.
"I thought you defeated Maleficent." Cid exclaimed inside the house in the parlor where Sora and Squall were explaining about what had happened, Sora doing most of the explaining.
"I did, but she was alive. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself." Sora replied. He was getting more and more annoyed by the idea of Maleficent being alive the more he told everyone. Yet, he thought, it was possibly that feeling of helplessness that annoyed him.
"Well, this ain't good." Cid said.
"I won't argue there." Sora replied.
"I can't believe you fell for that though." Cid said in a more parental tone then Sora cared for.
"Well a beggar told me about it and gave me the gummi to get there. I figured if it was a trick, I should make sure no one else falls for it." Sora attempted to defend himself.
"Well, you're not doing a very good job of it. We have to get you back to your time some how."
Cid paced the small area once.
"She took my ultima key chain when she sent me back. I think she has something planned with it." Sora added.
"So she sent you back to a certain point in time and took your best weapon." Cid chuckled a bit. "Dang, it sure sucks to be you."
"Thank you for that update." Sora replied dryly.
"I didn't mean it in a way to depress you." Cid cleared his throat and continued. "She wants you vulnerable. Something's going to happen at this point in time that I'm gonna guess is supposed to make you kick the bucket."
Sora's arm sparked loudly right then, getting attention away from the current topic the three were talking about. Sora was astonished that he hadn't felt any pain that time.
"You need that fixed, kid." Cid said in a concerned voice.
"Well, everyone's told me you can sell me parts that can build a replacement that's way better." Sora replied.
Cid stroked his chin once and grunted a bit, as if he were debating something. His eyes rolled to look up and he cleared his throat hard. He took a step towards the exit, and gestured to Sora.
"Come with me." He said.
Sora looked to Squall, then back to Cid and nodded.
The two men were outside, Cid leading the way to his Hyperion ship. He brought out a remote looking device and punched in what Sora thought was one button, but in reality was a series of smaller buttons. The two stopped about 10 feet from the ship. Cid crossed his arms in an impatient gesture. Sora began to ask what was going on, but a platform came down from the bottom of the ship. Cid stepped onto it and gestured for Sora to follow suit.
As Sora boarded the platform it began to go up, startling the key bearer a bit. The platform reached the point where it reconnected to the ships floor, and Cid immediately began walking to the right, which was a corridor that looked like it had not been cleaned in a while. Cid entered a door to his left, Sora following at a respectful distance. They were inside what would've been a large room, if not for the various tools and weapons hung in various places on the wall, each with either a label telling it's purpose or it's history. Cid walked over to a table far across the room, past various guns and swords, and a very impressive collection of lances.
"Here it is." Cid said proudly after he had reached the table. He was holding up a cloth wrapped item that looked to be the size of a loaf of bread. He turned to face Sora, who had stopped to admire a large broadsword with round gems embedded in it. Sora watched as Cid unwrapped the parcel.
"I was working on this for Barret. It was a special order sent to me about 3 years ago, before I had met him. And well…" Cid chuckled a bit. "The only problem was I had made it for the wrong arm!"
Sora's eyes widened as he looked at what he thought had to be the most impressive piece of mechanical craftsmanship he had ever seen. It was a left mechanical arm, and except for the chrome color it looked almost exactly like an arm. The knuckles of the hand looked made for punching, but all in all it probably wouldn't receive a second glance on the street.
"You'd be surprised how much artillery I put in this thing. I remembered Barret was a bit trigger happy, so I stuffed a small cavalry in this. I have millions of alternate weapons for it that you can summon through a system I developed from the gummi block alternator." Cid cleared his throat, allowing the introduction of his work to sink in.
"And for melee combat I was trying to decide what weapons to put in there. That's when I came up with this." He tapped the index finger twice and the hand went back into the arm, and to replace it came what looked like the end of a staff. "When we were talking, I remembered this function of the arm. I think I can make it compatible with your key blade."
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"Well, if I can make it compatible with a key chain, you could have two weapons at your disposal. All I have to do is get the wiring hooked up and you'll be all set. We can make it into the key blade once we've got it hooked up to your arm." Cid waited a minute before continuing. "So what do you think?"
Sora lifted his current left arm and looked it over. Every dent and scuff had a story. He realized how much the arm meant to him, and how many times it had saved his life. It sparked once, a sizzle sound following that.
"Well?" Cid asked again.
Sora looked to the mechanic and nodded.
"Alright, let's get started."
When Sora had lost that arm, he remembered how weak he had felt. He could never actually feel in that arm, and he had been called a sort of freak because of it.
He didn't remember the exact day it had happened, but as Cid operated on his arm, he reminisced of how he could've prevented the whole thing.
It had been when he was in his early twenties. He had been on his own for a few months, and as he had traveled from world to world, closing doors to heartless and saving lives he had earned quite a bit of fame.
Whenever he walked down the street, people would wave to him, call out his name, and offer him food and drink. Women would swarm to him, hanging all over him and offering certain pleasures he was hesitant to decline at times. Whenever he was in town or on a certain world, any who had fought the heartless gave up their practice for the time that he was there. They didn't want any unnecessary work.
It was on a certain world, Dionysus Moon as it was called, named for the Greek god of celebration. Sora had come there out of a rumor that a large heartless was terrifying the city there. He was arrogant, laughing aloud as the mayor of the city told him about the heartless. Sora began to leave the city to take care of the problem, but he was being given more attention then he had in past cities.
He was offered a banquet to replenish his strength before he left. He ended up staying for two hours there. He was given a certain wine by the barrel as a gift of thanks from a winery there. Bags of munnies flooded to him, making him waste another three hours of packing all of the gifts onto the Ragnarok. Night had fallen and he had wanted to set out, but the mayor had planned a party for him.
"Oh c'mon, sir, I need to get going." He had protested.
"But we planned all of this just for you. Everyone will think you are rude if you leave before the party ends." The mayor replied.
Sora gave in and attended. The music blared as people ate and drank until their bodies would not allow them. Women were hired to dance for the men. Sora joked that he was not going to be able to leave the town because of how much fun he was having.
Hours passed. People lay unconscious on the floor. Some of the men had been carried off by hired entertainers for the night. Sora had wisely kept to only so much wine. Some part of him had been yelling at him to leave ever since the beginning of the party, but he had ignored it for so long it was just more noise in the back ground.
He felt tired and sick, and began to leave for his ship. But there was one woman left.
"I have to go get some sleep for tomorrow. It's very late." Sora had said, his speech a little slurred from the wine.
"But do not leave me alone. The shadows will come in the night and steal my heart." The woman had clung to him in a desperate way.
"You should go home too then." Sora replied.
"But don't you want my company, my lord?" The woman ran her hands through his shoulder length, slightly spiky hair in a loving manner.
"I..I really need to go-" Sora had backed up a bit, but the woman had followed his step on cue.
Sora's breath came in quicker paces and his body felt more and more stiff as the woman edged closer and closer to him. She ran her hands all over his chest, finally, both on his shoulders. She stroked both of his arms slowly as she moved her head to the side of his.
She blew a bit of cold breath into his ear and whispered "But not right away…"
Her perfume was heavy, intoxicating almost all of Sora's senses.
"Gaah!!!" It was back in reality now. Sora was still 42, and a sudden shock running through his arm had awakened him from his daydream.
"Sorry 'bout that." Cid said, not taking his eyes from his work.
"Don't worry about it." Sora said quietly.
"What's wrong with you?" Cid asked in a concerned tone.
"Bad memories."
The only compensation Sora could think of for that night so long ago was that he had not slept with the woman. But he had allowed her to come to his ship with him and had been with her for what seemed like hours. And all he could think of during that night of sleep was Kairi and that hurt look on her face highlighted by rivers of tears.
He had set off early that morning, wanting to get that bad dream out of his head. He also wanted to get this mission over with so he wouldn't have to face any of the locals.
He had found the heartless. It turned out to be just an Invisible. Easy enough, right?
"Alright, monster, your days of terrorizing Dionysus City are over! Prepare to meet your doom!!!" Sora remembered yelling that.
The Invisible looked like it was chuckling as it looked the key bearer over.
"I've taken care of worse Heartless then you. C'mon!"
Sora almost cringed from how stupid he remembered that sounding.
The battle was a little harder then he had expected. The Invisible had pulled his invisible trick from the beginning of the battle. Sora knew when to jump exactly to avoid a whole mess of pain as the purple ring of fire began to surround him.
The Invisible was rather good from the past Invisibles Sora remembered fighting. He felt the effects of the previous night's party. His focus was off because of the wine and his calm was gone because of previous night's regrets.
But, his past battles instilled in him a feeling of knowing he would win. Whether the feeling was well placed was still waiting on judgment.
Finally, the Invisible began to show fatigue. He began to use the invisibility trick, and Sora knew exactly where he would be when he reappeared from where he had disappeared. He could almost taste the victory. All he had to do was place one well powered shot and it would all be over.
How right he was…
As the ring of fire was closing in, Sora jumped at the right second to avoid it. But, to this day, he didn't know what it had been, but the most simple details to have noticed at the crucial moment had missed the eye of the key master.
As he jumped from the ring, it was as if everything were paused. The Invisible must've planned this whole battle. As Sorabrought his blade down on where he thought the Invisible was, that heartless lived up to his given title. He came down on Sora from the human's right, his large broadsword gleaming in the morning sun. Sora turned to the right angle to avoid being separated from his torso, but at a slightly lesser price.
He let out a cry that sounded more animal then human, like a bear that just stepped into a trap. Before he knew it, Sora had sent a firaga into the Invisible, instantly killing it. As he watched the Invisible's body disappear in death, he looked to the sand covered ground, where a trail of splattered blood lay in uneven layers across the limitless grains.
He remembered having heard a slightly quieted thud from a few feet away, but had not paid attention to it. Not until now. His body trembled horribly, making any who gave him a slight glance think he had just come in from a cold blizzard. He looked in childish disbelief at the charred nub that was connected to his elbow's joint. The pain hit him like a 30 caliber shot.
He slumped over to where the trail of blood ended, where his arm lay, slightly twitching, but not noticeably. He threw aside his key blade and hesitantly reached for the arm. His hand pulled back a bit at first, but as he lifted the arm from the ground. He remembered he felt almost sickened at how warm it was. He never remembered seeing so much blood before then, especially so much of his own. He looked into the end where it had once been connected to him. The edges of the bone looked almost like splinters, yet from a distance it was a smooth looking cut, quick and even.
His arm, or what was left of it connected to him, was bleeding less then it had been earlier, but it was still capable of making him bleed to death.
He set his arm down near his key blade and sent a small blizzard spell onto the elbow's joint. He gritted his teeth, remembering how cold it felt.
Hours later, he came into town, carrying his dismembered arm in the crook of his right like it was a child or something. He received many odd stares as he passed a lot of people he had watched become drunk. He walked straight to the medical facility and there a doctor thawed his arm and helped stop the bleeding. The dismembered fore arm had been tossed in the furnace out of orders from the doctor. Sora recalled the doctor "not wanting that disgusting thing stinking his office up".
He had paid the doctor and left the world within the hour, not speaking to anyone or for that matter looking at anyone.
That same day, he went to Gaia 25 to get a refuel, and had met Emory Kai's father and boss, Thor Kai and had gotten his current mechanical arm there.
"All done." Cid said finally. "Go ahead and give it a try. I'm gonna bet it'll feel a lot more natural then that last arm did."
Sora lifted his arm from Cid's work table and looked it over. He twiddled the fingers in a rhythmic pattern, impressed at the reaction time. It was almost like had his hand back. He balled the fingers into a fist and began punching the air.
"This is great, Cid. I don't remember the last time I was able to punch so quickly." Sora said, feeling a nostalgic childish giddiness.
"Good. Lemme know whenever I can help you out." Cid said with a proud grin.
Sora thought for a moment.
"Actually, there is something you can do for me." Sora said with a serious tone.
END OF CHAPTER 4.