Me: WWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sora: (Jumps three feet into the air) What the hell?
Me: I hit the forty review mark! SSSQQQQQQQQQQUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All: YAY!
Me: Even though the last reviewer threatened to send her boyfriend after me if I didn't update, I still feel special! And thank you so much to ElegantArrow 64, Digitaldreamer, and M.D. Sora for all of your help! (teardrop)
Kairi: I still haven't forgiven you for killing Sora.
Me: Whatever. (Is chewing on something)
Leon: What are you eating?
Me: Cinnamon gum.
Riku and Sora: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! THE BURN! (runs in fear)
All: o.0
Me: Yeah, a certain evil somebody took advantage of my simple-mindedness and tricked me into licking the wrapper and sticking it to me forehead.... (Looks at Digital)
Digitaldreamer: (Is whistling innocently and avoiding KairiQueen's glare, speaks in obviously fake accent) What eez dis "cinno-man goom" zat joo speek ofs?
Me: (twitch) Well, this is a bit of a confusing chapter, so I'll give you a full explanation at the end. ENJOY!
Realm of Trial
Sora blinked a few times as the bright light invaded through his eyelids, blinding him with its merciless glare. He held them tightly shut before the light faded into a soft glow. He opened them and saw a sight that he had hoped he would never see again. He gasped as he took note of where he was standing..... though you wouldn't really call it standing. He was hovering in mid-air, and to his sides were the five main trial women, Yanti standing in the middle.
"Now we shall see,'' Yanti whispered, and the five watched as the scene passed before them.
The Scene That They Are Watching
A nine-year-old Sora walked down with his friend, Wakka. The path they walked upon was jagged along a steep cliff, along some sort of wide split that had come across one of the islands. The only way across was an old, beat up bridge with rotting boards and weakened ropes; the bridge had not been used for years.
Wakka sighed and stopped for a moment and looked at the bridge that they had just reached. Sora blinking, stopping too and looking at Wakka "What's wrong?"
Wakka just shook his head. "It's nothing; I just wish that this old thing was still usable..... it would cut our travel time in half and we could stay here longer without leaving early."
Sora peered at the bridge. "It doesn't look like it can't be used anymore to me."
Wakka laughed. "Yeah right! You could never get across that bridge!"
Sora pouted. "I can too!"
Wakka just rolled his eyes and smirked. "I bet you that you would never make it across there without falling down into the water." Sora looked thoughtful
for a moment and Wakka chuckled. "Come on, we're meeting Riku at the hut. Move it!"
Wakka moved a few yards before he realized that Sora was not with him. "What are you do...." But Wakka stopped in mid-sentence as his jaw dropped a good foot and his eyes grew to twice their size; there was Sora, moving slowly across the bridge that swayed dangerously with each step he took. The rotten boards creaked and were slippery with green moss. Sora was already about a-third of the way there, and he held his hands out for balance; there were strong winds today.
"Sora!" Wakka screamed, "Get down from there!"
"Why should I?" Sora teased.
"Because, if you die, then I die!" Wakka yelled.
Sora turned his head back to look at him, but kept on walking. "Why?"
Wakka groaned. "Because, if you die, then Riku will hunt me down and kill me. Then, he'll bring me back to life to kill me again. Then, he'll teach Kairi to fight so he can bring me back to life so Kairi can kill me! Then, he'll bring me back to life so he can kill me again!"
Sora rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He had now reached the half-way point on the bridge and was about to step on an extremely rickety board. Wakka saw it and shouted "No, don't step on that board!"
Too late. Sora had already put his weight on it and the board snapped in half, sending the board flying into the water below, splashing next to some razor sharp rocks that covered the bottom of the river. If Sora were to fall on these, he would be shredded to bits. The boy gave a small gasp and backed up, his foot falling upon the thin left rope of the bridge.. The pickets that held the bridge to the ground tore out, sending the entire left side of the bridge, boards and all, into the water. Sora flailed his arms, and struggled to keep his balance. Eventually, both feet came to rest on the single rope, which could snap at any moment.
"Ahhhhh!" Wakka cried. "Lean forward! Too much forward! Back a little.... just a bit more....."
Sora held his arms out and kept his balance, praying that the rope would hold long enough for him to inch back to Wakka. "Sora.... don't move a muscle," Wakka said very slowly. Sora took a deep breath in an attempt to keep his knees from shaking.
"Okay... now listen." Wakka said. "You're gonna have to come back here very slowly or the rope will snap."
Sora was just about to move when something caught his eyes..... a certain silver-haired something....
Rikus eyes narrowed as he took in the sight before him. "Wakka...." he said in a dangerous voice."Please tell me that Sora is not stuck up there."
"Who, me? Nah couldn't be!" Sora said with sarcasm, an edge of fear in his voice. "I'm just practicing for my flourishing carrier as an acrobat; I can get you some free tickets to my show if you want!"
Riku glared at Wakka. "I'm going to kill you, bring you back to life, and then kill you again!" Wakka gulped nervously.
Sora yelled at them, "Riku, can you kill him later?!? I need some help over here!"
"Oh, yeah...." Riku said. He looked at the rickety rope that Sora stood on; it was going to break. Then, a strong gust of wind came flying right in Sora's face, making his body fall off balance. "SORA!" Riku and Wakka cried out.
As Sora fell backwards, he hooked his feet onto the rope. His body dropped vertically, his feet still attached to the rope. Sora had never been more afraid in his life, wide eyes staring at a knife-sharp rocks now pointing at him, some ways down. Falling would send him right into the rocks. Gulping, Sora scrunched up his legs enough so that he could reach the ropes with his hands. He grasped it and pulled himself up, and then stood back up. Riku and Wakka let out the breath that they had been holding in for a while.
"You're going to give me a heart attack, and I'm only ten!" Riku yelled at his stupid, spike-headed friend.
"How the hell do we get him down?" Wakka asked.
Riku and Sora gaped at him. "Ooooooohhhhhhhhhh....." Sora said, "Selphie will kill you for swearing!"
"Yeah, well she'll have to get in line," Riku growled, massaging his knuckles.
Another round of wind blew, causing for the rope to once again sway in the wind. And although Sora did not fall of this time, more strands of the feeble rope snapped.
"Okay, okay, no more messing around!" Riku snapped. "Sora, try to get back over here!"
Slowly, Sora began to inch towards his friends, but this just caused more of the weak points on the rope to snap a bit more. "It's no use!" Sora yelled. "I can't get over to you without falling!"
Riku and Wakka started fighting over different ways to get their friend back to them, but every second of time was precious and they were losing a lot of it. Sora's eyes scanned around the crack, looking for something, anything, that could help. His eyes fell on a flat ridge that stuck out of the cliff. If he jumped, he might make it. But then again, he might not.
Darn it, what it I don't make it? Fear won't get me anywhere, though. Just a bit of courage might get me there..... just believe it.
Sora squatted down, eyes fixed on the ledge. This was something that Riku and Wakka were quick to notice. "Uhhhh, Sora? What are you doing?" Riku asked nervously.
Wakku spotted what Sora was looking at. "No, Sora, don't!"
Riku saw it too. "Sora, don't you dare jump! You can't make it!"
But, once again, it was too late. Sora held down his fear with an iron fist and jumped with as much strength as possible. He stuck his hands out, as if he were flying. He closed his eyes and felt the cool, crisp air stream through his hair. The whole world seemed to hold it'd breath and the jump seemed to last for eternity. Sora opened his eyes and gasped..... he wasn't going to make it! Sora clenched his jaws and flung his arms out further, trying his hardest to make it.
After what seemed like forever, Sora finally managed to cling to the side of the ledge. He struggled up and fell back onto the wonderfully solid ground, panting. I did it.... I DID IT! Sora was brought back to his senses when he heard relieved laughter from above him. He looked up to see Riku and Wakku, each grinning and waving for him to come up. Sora grinned and started to climb...
Realm of Trial
There was another flash of light and Sora found himself sitting back in the chair at the Realm of Trial. Everyone around him was talking about what they had just seen. Sora was extremely confused, his head spinning. While he watched the incident, he noticed that at certain points his body seemed to glow from the inside. He remembered those times very well, and knew that those were the times when he had the most courage.
"Order, order!" Menti yelled over the noise. Everyone fell silent and looked at her. She smirked and said "It is now time to decide whether or not he has passed the Test of Courage."
Yanti stood up and spoke. "I believe that Sora has indeed passed the Test of Courage. It is left to the Court to decide otherwise."
Menti stood. "I do not believe that he has filled the expectations."
A man stood up from his seat and boomed, "I wish to know how he did not. I think it took a great deal of courage to swallow enough fear to make it across."
Menti cleared her throat. "So what? He had a lucky jump! Big deal."
"It is a big deal," another court member said. "If he had been afraid and with no courage, he would have fallen."
"We shall clear this in short term," Yanti said. "All that believe Sora has passed the test, raise your hand." Twenty three people raised their hands. "All in favor of a strike?" Menti and one other raised their hands. Yenti smirked. "Majority rules, Sora has passed the Test of Courage."
"Yes!" Sora cried triumphantly, punching the air with his fist.
Yanti smiled at him and sat down. Another woman stood up, her looks representing the fact that she was Japanese. "I am Middi," she said clearly to Sora. "I am the Mistress of Trust. Trust is to believe in others in grave situations, and to put other worries aside and let your fate rest in another's hands. We will see if you have the power to trust...."
Disney Castle
Everybody was sitting in a large room with fluffy sofas, colored a rich red. They were all silent and, at the moment, sipping hot chocolate. Kairi was trying not to cry again, and she was winning; for the moment. They just stared at the floor. Goofy was asleep, snoring gently. Yuffie was drifting off to sleep as well, her head resting upon Leon's chest as he gently stroked her hair. Riku had his head in his hands and Aerith was sitting with a sad look on her face. Donald was talking with Queen Minnie and Daisy, filling them in on the present situation. King Mickey was taking to the Magician. Linna had left earlier to go check up on Sora.
King Mickey came back into the room, and everyone looked up at him.
"Well, we've got a lot more bad news," he said. "The heartless are here, and they're terrorizing' the worlds again."
"Do we still need to shut the second door to the darkness?" Aerith asked.
King Mickey nodded. "I'm afraid so. But we can't close it without Sora, so it's useless without him."
"So now we have to wait?" Riku asked, seemingly slightly bewildered.
"I'm afraid so," Mickey said sadly.
Leon gave a frustrated hiss of breath. "Damnit...." He snarled through clenched teeth. "It's like everything is falling apart and there's nothing we can do! All we can do is wait for Sora to come back!"
They were silent. Nobody spoke for a while. The silence engulfing them like a thick cloud, suffocating them.
Donald walked in, grinning. "I just talked with the generals, our troops our off to protect as many worlds as they can."
"That's good," Goofy said quietly. He felt like he had to say something, him being the head knight. No one spoke again, and King Mickey finally said "Well, we'd best turn in. Nothing else we can do now." Everybody filed out of the room, except for Kairi. She just sat there, lost in her own world.
Yuffie saw this and walked over to Kairi, sitting beside her, wrapping her arm around the younger girls shoulders. "Hey, don't worry," Yuffie said soothingly. "It'll all be okay."
Yuffie hugged Kairi tight. Then she smiled. "You love him, don't you?"
Kairi blushed slightly and said "I guess,"
Yuffie giggled. "Then if he really loves you back, he'll be back before you know it!"
Kairi grinned and wiped away her tears. "Thanks Yuffie. Maybe there will be a 'happily ever after' after all..."
Done
Me: Done!
Riku: I'm still confused.
Me: Here's the deal. They look at different moments in Sora's past that represent Courage, Trust, Love, Friendship, and Strength. They watch the memory, like Harry Potter does in the pensive, and he glows every time he shows one of those elements. Then, the court decides whether or not he proved himself.
Sora: Oh joy.
Kairi: What's the next Test?
Me: Trust!
Digitaldreamer:.....and for those of you observant people, she mentioned this at the end of the first trial.
Donald: This will be interesting.....
Goofy: Yup!
Donald: Oh shut up you big palooka.
Me: No making fun of Goofy!
King Mickey: Yeah!
Me: Errrrrr..... Yeah, sorry about this being so short! Review anyway, reviews make longer chapters!
Digitaldreamer: Which makes more work for me, which means I get to be a mean ol' flame- I mean, Beta reader, yes.......stop reading this and go review...
Me:...... here we go.....
(by the way Digitaldreamer wrote all of the stuff that she said in the author notes, not me! She is evil! EVIL! Hehe, just kidding. she's nice.)