Me: What, did you actually think that I would leave you on my cliffhanger of doom for a full four months?
All: Yes.
Digitaldreamer: (rolls eyes) Everyone knows only I am capable of such procrastination.
Me: This disappoints me. Army..... ATTACK!
Army: WOOKAYA! (goes to Wendy's leaving their master unguarded).
Me: Oh yeah, yeah, that's real nice! Really nice of you.
Digitaldreamer: And now you must face the next part of your training young padawan: Facing your readers after threatening to go on hiatus or after a cliffhanger.
Readers: (smirk)
Me: (gulp) Errr...... read! (runs like hell)
Riku: Get her!
All: (grabs torches, scythes, and pitchforks)
Sora: CHARGE!
Me: AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disney Castle
Once the group had finally gotten some food in them (Yuffie was a happy ninja) they walked aimlessly around the castle for a little while, trying too kill the time. They'd been at this for an hour, the silence between them broken every now and then as they asked each other the time or expressed their boredom. Tension fumed through the air like fog, choking them in its emptiness. Nobody could stand it for much longer until.....
There was a burst of some sort around five feet away from them. It was like a clod of dirt exploding; only it was just a thick dust that vanished instead of showering them in filth. Fire and Crystal gasped when the dust cleared away, showing a man with wings who looked extremely angry.
"Hee hee, hiya Ozen," Fire said nervously.
"What's up?" Crystal asked, a bit of fear in her features as she tried to appear that this was normal; she was failing miserably.
"What's up?" the young man roared, his brown wings spreading in his frustration. "I'll tell you what's up.... at the moment, the Realm of Trial is up above our heads... the place you two should be at right now!"
Fire and Crystal frowned. "It was boring up there!" the brunette claimed. "There was nothing to do but wait for that dumb Trial to end!"
Everyone else watched the heated exchange with their mouths slightly open, hovering awkwardly in the background.
"That Trial is far from 'dumb'!" Ozen retorted. "Not only is it not dumb, it's also done! And if you two were still up there, you would know what happened!"
Kairi gasped. "What happened, is Sora coming back?" she asked excitedly.
Ozen puffed his chest out importantly. "It is not my job to tell you, it's theirs," he told them, nodding to the two messangers.
Crystal snorted. "In other words," she whispered to the others, "he doesn't know either."
"I heard that!" Ozen said, his face turning red as the others fought to contain their laughter. "You two, get your asses up there! Right now! Before I fire you!"
Fire rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh, sure you will."
"You love us, and you know it!" Crystal told him, smirking. "That and last I checked you couldn't do fire magic."
The corners of Ozen's eyes twitched slightly as if about to laugh, but he managed to keep a straight face. "I don't care! You two, get up there now!"
Crystal rolled her eyes and said to the others, "Don't worry, we'll be back in a bit with Sora."
"It shouldn't take that long," Fire added. Ozen was tapping his foot impatiently, the sounds echoing through the hall.
"WE'RE COMING!" they both roared at the same time. And with a last smile to the others, the three angels burst and floated back to the Realm.
"Please, Sora, please be all right," Kairi murmured, a single pearly tear running down her cheek.
Realm of Trial
Sora blinked, not sure if he had heard right. "What did you just call me?''
Menti smiled. "You do not know?"
"How am I supposed to know? What do you mean by 'majesty'?" Sora asked, greatly confused
Kentali cocked her head to the side. "You mean, the king has not told you?"
"Told me what?" Sora asked impatiently.
Menti frowned. "I am not sure if it out place to tell you, your majesty."
"Would you stop calling me that?" Sora snapped.
"It is inevitable," Menti pointed out as if he knew what was going on and was just too stubborn to accept it. "People will be calling you it eventually."
"Why would they do that?" Sora asked angrily, blue eyes darting along the staff as if one was holding up a sign that would tell him the answer. "They only call the King that."
"But you are the king!" Heshki jittered.
There was a long moment of silence in which Sora turned his head slowly to face Heshki. "What do you mean I'm the King?" he asked hoarsely. "Is this some kind of joke?"
Menti shook her head. "This is no joke," she said evenly. "It is as plain as day, you are the one destined to be King."
"King of what?" Sora said in the same low voice. "King of a World?"
"I'm afraid not, Sora," a voice said behind them. They looked around to see Linna in the doorway, walking in with Ozen, Fire, and Crystal.
"What happened?" Crystal questioned. "Sora, did ya' pass?"
Sora just nodded his head mutely, eyes still on Linna. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked as Fire and Crystal jumped up and down in joy.
Linna sighed deeply. "You are the next King of all the worlds," she told him. "You will take over after King Mickey, which will be in a couple of years. Sora, you are the new king, as chosen by fate."
A feather could be heard hitting the ground at the silence that now took over. Fire and Crystal had stopped jumping and were looking at Sora as if they had never seen anything quite like him. Ozen and Linna appeared to have known this fact a long while ago, and the rest of the Trial waited to see the reaction of the Keyblade master.
So many questions filled Sora's head he didn't know where to begin. I can't be the new King.... they must have me confused with someone else. "How do you know I'm the King?"
Menti looked at him as if she thought he was trying to be funny. "Because the combination you used that was shown in the Test of Strength was not ordinary. Only the King can use that attack when he thinks his people are in danger. You used it to defend the inhabitants of your island, showing the power of the King inside of you."
Sora just shook his head slowly. "No.... he whispered. "I-I can't be the King! I just can't! I'm normal, I was going back to Destiny Islands with my friends! I- I...."
But he had stopped as Menti just shook her head sadly. "I am afraid you are destined for much more then that, Sora. Ever since birth you were meant to be King, as Fate saw that although Riku was meant to have the Keyblade, you would eventually be the wielder. Fate chose you above all rest to be King, and it never chooses wrong. Whether you like it or not, you can not change your destiny."
Sora sat there, completely dumbstruck. No way.... this can't be happening. I was going to go get rid of Malifecent, and go back to Destiny Islands with Riku and Kairi! How can I if I'm tied down at some dumb castle?!?
Sora was so lost in his own thoughts that he did not notice that Menti, Heshki, Middi, Kantali, and Yanti had all stood up. Sora was brought to his senses as all of the Trial and room disappeared, leaving only the five Mistresses foating in midair, their long, delicate capes rippling in a non-existent wind.
Yanti glowed a blue color, and bellowed "Sora, you are of Courage!" She held out her hands and blew a beam of blue light at him, causing his to stagger as he heard a rushing in his ears and an immense sense of courage that he was going back...
Middi glowed yellow, and said "You are of Trust!" Once again he was hit by a beam, this one yellow. He felt his trust grow at the thought of his friends waiting for his return, knowing he would come back, trusting him...
Heshki glowed with a pink aurora and called "You are of Love!" She hit him with a pink light and his mind was instantly filled with thoughts of Kairi, her laugh, smile, charm....
Kentali glowed purple and yelled " You are of Friendship!" As the purple light hit him, his thoughts changed to Donald, Goody, Yuffie, Leon, Aerith, Kairi, Riku.....
Finally, Menti was surrounded by a blazing white light that enraptured them in a sense of security. "Sora, you are of Strength!" she called with a godly voice. A huge wave swept at Sora, giving him a strong will both mentally and physically...
"Sora!" Menti shouted. "You are of the five elements! We grant you your life! Take it as a gift, as a treasure! You have much to live for, don't throw this away! You have our powers, and our faith! Be free, Sora, King..... KOOTANYAI!"
At the last word, the five members, glowed their respective colors, and glitter drained from them, forming a blazing energy that soared at Sora with it's five colors. Sora's eyes grew wide and, just as it hit, his mind went blank.
Office of the Realm
Sora blinked and found that he was once again in the office of the Realm of Trial. He spun around to see Linna, Ozen, Fire and Crystal standing there, grinning broadly at him.
"Sora, you did it!" Fire squealed, hugging him. She was cut short by Crystal, who heaved her off of him.
"I'm confused," Sora said, pointing out the dead obvious.
"King Mickey will answer your questions," Linna assured him. "But first, we have gifts to bestow upon you as well." When Sora raised an eyebrow at her, she just giggled a bit. "Ozen?"
Ozen stepped forward. "Congrats, Sora!" he said. "I think you'll need this back...." Sora saw a shimmering at his hand, and the Keyblade took its shape.
"My Keyblade!" Sora explained, holding it up to make sure it was real.
"Crys and I went to get it from Hollow Bastion!" Fire said happily.
"The heartless weren't all that keen on giving it up, but we, errrr, persuaded them," Crystal said with a wink, her hand still firmly on Fire's arm just in case the girl tried to glomp Sora again.
"And here is my gift to you," Ozen said, holding something out in his hand. Sora picked it up and grinned; it was a new keychain.
It had a simple gold chain, and the pendant on the end was a silver orb that was surrounded by a white fog that circled it continually. Sora put his finger up to the vapor and discovered it was like cool mist. When he hooked on the chain, his blade changed. It was now a sleek, pointy silver that had a misty rope twirling around it. The key part was made of large, heavy diamonds that stuck out in lethal points; blue electricity charged between the two points. The hilt was made of a blue stone that glinted with a powerful force and small diamonds lining the bottom.
"Awesome," Sora murmured as he flipped it over in his hands to view it from all angles.
Ozen grinned at him "You'll need it."
Linna now stepped forward. "I have something for you also," she told him. Sora lowered his new Keyblade slowly to look at her.
Linna held up both of her hands. One glowed yellow, the other blue. She brought them together with a loud clap and green smoke poured from them. The green turned yellow, then a lighter shade, and then white. The smoke became some sort of flowing liquid, now silver, that split into two sections. Both sections went to Sora's shoulders and hitched themselves there. Then, very slowly, the mold spread out into the shape of two dazzling wings, spread out to their full extent of a fifteen foot wing span.
"Whoa...." Sora whispered in awe as he flexed his newly acquired wings, making them longer then before. "I have wings...."
Crystal laughed. "Of course you do! All people that come here eventually end up with wings, whether they pass or not."
"Yeah, me an' Crystal and Ozen and Linna all came here for Trials," Fire said happily.
"What?" Sora cried out in surprise. "You four were held on Trial too?"
Linna nodded sadly. "Yes. Me and Ozen did not pass ours. We both died around two hundred years ago; we met each other then."
Sora just gaped at her, then turned back to the other two. "What about you guys, you didn't pass either?"
"Oh, we passed!" Crystal exclaimed. "But we died in battle. When we came back to life, we died again and they didn't let us have another Trial."
"Yeah, it really sucks," Fire said mournfully. "I died around twenty years ago, Crystal around thirty. But Oz gave us jobs as messengers, and we do get to visit other worlds sometimes to deliver messages, so it's not all that bad."
Crystal nodded in agreement. "Well, how about trying them out? We need to get you back to the Castle; the others are waiting for you."
Sora eyes brightened. "Really?" he asked excitedly. "I can go back now?"
Fire nodded. "Yup, and since only people who work here can travel with glitter, you'll have to fly down."
Sora smirked and said, "No problem. Flying can't be that hard, can it?"
Ozen laughed. "It's not as easy as it looks, you know."
Sora frowned. "I can do it!" he insisted. He spread out his wings again and flapped, but nothing happened but wind being blown from below him as he continued his fruitless attempts.
"Nice breeze," Fire commented. "But somehow, I don't think that will be enough to actually lift you off the ground."
"Then will you teach me how?" Sora asked.
"Yup!" Crystal said cheerfully. "The trick is how you hold your wings. The way you were doing it is like trying to fly with pieces of paper, you were holding your wings straight down. Spread them right across. There you go," she added as Sora held his wings out the way she had told him to.
"Yeah, then you flap your wings. Don't do it that fast!" she exclaimed as Sora flapped his wings quickly and lost a few feathers. "Use big, powerful strokes, like this." She brought her wings above her wings, and then pushed them down with a lot of force and she shot up a few feet. "Just do that and flap your wings steadily to hover."
Sora watched her movements, and then saw Crystal do the same thing. I can do that, he thought. Sora spread his white-silver wings up, and then brought them down. He gasped as he felt his feet leave solid ground. He beat his wings in a steady rhythm until he floated up to where Fire and Crystal were.
"Very good!" Crystal exclaimed happily. "You got this much quicker then Fire; it took me forever to teach her!"
"It did not take me that long!" Fire protested.
"Oh yes it did!" Crystal insisted. "I pushed you off the building to see if you would get anywhere and you fell into a tree and a baboon started beating you with a stick! Remember that, huh?"
Fire just stuck her tongue out at her.
"Is that the time I had to go get you because you were being chased by lions?" Ozen asked; he and Linna had come up.
"We got out eventually!" Fire told him as she turned red. Sora started laughing his head off and flipped over in mid-air. "Shouldn't we be getting Sora back now?" she asked, hastily changing the subject.
"How do we fly through space?" Sora asked, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Oh, don't worry about that," Linna assured him. "The nice thing about this place is that it sort of shadows over all the worlds, so no matter where you want to get to, you just hop off this place and fly down; you'll get where you want to go."
"Okay...." Sora said, still not entirely convinced.
"Come on, we need a good head start," she said as she flapped up through the air until she was a good twenty yards from the floor.
"A head start for what?" Sora asked apprehensively as he too flew up.
"To get through the floor!" Crystal said.
Sora's jaw dropped. "The floor? Are you insane?!? We can't get through a damn floor, it's solid!"
"Not this floor!" Fire said. "Watch Oz."
"Don't call me Oz!" Ozen snapped.
"Just go!" Linna said.
Muttering something about pushy women, Ozen straightened his wings to his back so it was sort of like a jet, and he shot towards the ground like a bullet. Sora watched in amazement as he went through it like water.
"You go next," Fire commanded.
Sora gulped nervously. He stopped flapping and laid his wings out at a slight angle but enough to make him drop. Sora saw the floor rushing towards him and he closed his eyes, waiting for the crash; but a crash never came. He opened his eyes and fanned out his wings to slow down. He was hovering in a baby blue sky and below him was a large castle. Even though he never saw it before, Sora knew what it was; Disney Castle.
Sora just hovered there, taking in the view of the extremely large building as Crystal, Fire, Ozen and Linna fell down with him. Then it all came back to him. I may be in charge of this place.... no, we can sort this mess out. I'm not a king, I have no royal blood or any of that shit; this is just one big mistake. King Mickey will sort it all out. And then, we'll have to find Malifecent. Sora shuddered as the memories of his torturing came back to him in a rush, drowning him in coldness.
He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up to see Linna. "It will all be alright," she said gently. "What's in the past is done; you don't have to worry about it anymore."
"I do," Sora choked. "I can't get it out of my head. I'll never forget what they did to me..... and you know it."
"Time heals all wounds," Linna said quietly. "And the healing will begin as soon as we're over this whole mess. Now let's get down to the castle."
She and the others headed down, but Sora hesitated. He ran his fingers gently along some scars on his arm. "I think I'll need more then time for this," he said to himself. He then flew off with the others.
Disney Castle
Everybody was either sitting on the floor or pacing in circles. Riku was one of those pacing up and down in no apparent direction. He stopped and looked out the window. He squinted and saw five tiny black dots sailing down.
"Uh, guys?" Riku said, "What's that?"
They all looked out the window and saw the dots. There was a moment's pause, and they all rushed out the door and onto the large courtyard.
As the dots drew nearer and nearer, they began to take shape.
"Are those..... People?" Leon murmured.
Kairi gasped. "It's Sora!" she cried.
And it was. In another few moments, Fire, Linna, Crystal and Ozen landed, closely followed by Sora.
"Sora!" Kairi and Yuffie exclaimed, and instantly launched themselves onto him.
"You're choking me!" Sora said through his laughter. But Kairi and Yuffie were quickly followed by Donald and Goofy, and they all ended up on the ground.
It was a few minutes before they let him go. Sora stood up and was instantly seized by Riku who threw one arm around his shoulders and gave Sora a noogy with the other. "Hey, Sora!"
"Nice to see you too!" Sora said, laughing as he got himself out of Riku's grip.
Leon and Cloud grinned. "Nice to see you back among the living, kid," Leon told him as Cloud just nodded once to show that he seconded the opinion.
Sora grinned back. "Likewise. Cloud, when'd you get here?"
"When I heard that somebody was using you as a punching bag," he replied, eyes narrowing.
Sora's eyes shadowed. "Where'd you hear that from?"
"The King," he said, nodding towards King Mickey.
Then it hit Sora that he hadn't done what he had sworn to do as soon as he got back. He turned slowly to King Mickey and said, "What the hell do they mean I'm the King?''
Done
Me: Cliffhangers are fun! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (is still being chased by angry mob).
Angry Mob: ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER? RRRAAAAWWWWRRRRRR!!!!!
Digitaldreamer: (cackles)
Me: EEEP! Must run more (hides in a tree). But first this, I have a message for blackness44. Do not insult my beta reader! Not nice! No reason! No reason! Only I can do that!
Digitaldreamer: ;; Okay, okay, you can stop KairiQueen. Look blackness44, learn to take a joke. Any seemingly mean thing I say I'm joking about. And everyone knows KairiQueen only listens to half of the things I say and she'd never take a four month hiatus. That was a joke.
Me: What do you mean I don't listen to half the things you say?
Digitaldreamer: Hush, I'm not done yet. Also, Sephiroth showing up does not fit in with the plot and if KairiQueen messes up her own plot one more time I'll hurt her, so I doubt it'll be happening. Also KairiQueen has no idea who Sephiroth is, I know, but she hasn't a clue. If you want Sephiroth VS. Cloud; seek out my fic because I don't think KairiQueen can fit Sephiroth in the fic. Huzzah. This is the beta reader saying good day.
Me: Okay, Digital cannot hurt me, just to let you know. She is only bluffing about how she knows where I live, so all she gives me is empty threats (happy dance). And yes, I do mess up my plot but I'm re-writing chapters 1-6 so it dosn't count! And I do too know who Sephiroth is!
Kairi: Who is he?
Me: Some hot guy that all the fangirls swoon over.
All: (sweatdrop)
Me: Review! Nice ones!