Copyright notes: Every character here belongs to Square-Enix and/or Disney. The song is 'final distance' by Utada Hikaru. And this chapter is dedicated to my pet goldfish, which died Friday morning. Don't laugh; any pet you've had for more than a month is worth something special.
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 70: Last Days
There was some relief on Sora's part, as the great billboard signaling Traverse Town came into view. It was a comforting sight, the sign pointing to a place of rest, a place that he knew well. Traverse Town was like a second home to him, and he was returning to it.
But only if he could go back to his real home, to Destiny Islands…
A clear blue sea…soft white beach…trees beyond…a thriving town, pastoral, full of happy people…a small black-and-white fish waiting for him in the shallows, waiting for food…and laughter, young childish laughter…
Shirozora!
" Sora!" Goofy exclaimed. " Look out!"
" What – wha!" Sora pulled at the controls and the gummi ship shot straight up to the sky. He had nearly broadsided the sign he admired so much.
" Watch where you're flying the ship and stop daydreaming!" Donald screamed at him.
" Sorry!" Sora screamed back, purposely nose-diving the gummi ship to prove his point. Which really didn't.
" Sora!" Donald yelled. " What's wrong with you?"
" Nothing!" the brunet snapped back, feeling an anger in his heart.
How could Kairi do this to me? Why? Does she still love me? Or is it too late?
And then he remembered the slightly beat-up gummi ship they passed by on the way to Traverse Town. He had never seen the gummi ship before but knew immediately that it was not a Heartless Ship. In fact, it looked like something more of the Cid make.
Who would Cid give a gummi ship to?
And then he remembered the shuddering feeling that came over him as they passed by each other. A flash of silver lodged itself in his mind –
Riku!
The ship had gone slightly off-course at that moment, as Sora tried to realize what it was that he saw. Could it be? After the long weeks of searching, after a year and a half had gone by, has Riku returned? Has everything begin to come together at long last?
But what Kairi said…
And he knew, deep in his heart, that nothing was complete. There was still Aozora. He knew that despite the anger he held for that look-a-like of his, there was a deep bond between them. They were both Keyblade Masters, this he was more than sure of. Both of them suffered one way or another…and more than that, they were so alike it was ridiculous. He was the Guardian; Sora was the one he was to guard.
But I don't understand. Why must he guard me? Who must he guard me against?
" Hey the garage is right there, you idiot!" Donald suddenly hollered in his ear. " Watch where you're going!"
He pointed at the welcoming hangar that Sora nearly broadsided.
" Gah!" Sora turned the controls abruptly and the ship went flying. He then pulled hard and turned the ship around one hundred and eighty degrees. " Maybe you could've warned me earlier!"
" That's what Goofy was doing," the duck snapped back, jabbing his thumb in the direction of a stunned Goofy.
" Oh…" Embarrassed, Sora decided to focus on getting the gummi ship into the garage.
" Hey, look who's down there!" Goofy pointed at the mass of people that were huddling under the gummi ship. " That there's Cid!"
" He works here, Goofy," Sora reminded him.
" Oh yeah…"
Shaking his head, the teenager carefully steered the gummi ship inside and sought out a place to park it. That really wasn't hard; the only gummi ships occupying the hangar were Cid's thirty beauties. And that odd little pod-shaped thing crunched in between two lethal gummi ships near the far left of the hangar. Oh, and count Gepetto's twenty custom-made gummi ships.
" Park…very…gently," Donald hissed through his beak. Sora cringed at his breath.
" Donald, go get a mint, blegh," he winced.
The wizard glared at him, then stomped off and began packing. " At last I can get some decent rest!"
" Besides that tasty lunch back home," Goofy grinned, rubbing his stomach. He then picked up his shield and strode to the door. " Are we gonna land yet?"
" Just hold on," Sora gritted his teeth and pushed a lever. He was rewarded with the sound of wheels descending from the bottom of the ship.
" Steady…" He carefully settled the ship between two large Gepetto gummi ships to the right and gently brought the ship down.
" Yippee!" Goofy yelled, slammed a button open, waited impatiently for the hatchway to open up, then jumped out. That was followed by what sounded like a crash and the sound of something made of metal sliding across concrete.
Donald sighed and shook his head as he marched for the door, watching Sora shut down the engines. " Goofy sometimes gets a bit too excited for his own good."
" But that's why we love him," Sora grinned, pushing himself out of his seat and stretching his limbs.
" Well…that's true," Donald admitted. " Hurry up, Sora. The others are waiting."
" Half a year…" Sora mused as he followed Donald out of the silver ship. " Half a year since we all woke up in the middle of the town square in Traverse Town…"
""
" Don't really look to be worse for wear," Cid noted as he walked around the trio. Sora felt like Cid was studying a gummi ship before buying her. And the gummi ship was him. " Look a bit on the thin side…obviously you three have been through tough shit…"
" But the gummi ship," Gepetto, Pinocchio's creator, noted, a dreamy look in his eyes. " That was beautiful…"
" That's King Mickey's personal ship," Leon said softly, staring at the fire in the fireplace. " Why would Queen Minnie lend it to you?"
" Well, she did want us to travel in style," Sora recalled as he laid back in the couch and set his feet on the coffee table.
" Hey, feet off!" Cid hollered. Sora ignored him.
" So, what have you guys been doing?" Yuffie asked cheerfully as she sat on the counter next to a disgruntled Cid.
" You know the usual: going around the Universe, kicking Heartless and Nobody butt, trying to figure out what the hell is going on here…" Sora rambled off a short but impressive list.
" I think we should focus on that last part," Cloud noted. He had been quiet for some time now. Sora was relieved he was finally showing some sign of life.
" Well, there's not much we can say, is there?" Aerith said worriedly. " Well, actually there is something I think you should know, Sora."
" Really?" Sora, who had his eyes closed, opened them. " Fire away."
He closed his eyes again.
" Riku, Tarzan, Pooh, and Sally left about an hour ago, just to let you know."
Sora suddenly spasmed and fell off the couch, He quickly sat up and smacked his head against the coffee table in the process.
" WHAT!" Sora shouted at her, rubbing his head in the process. " Ow, shit…"
" No yelling," Cloud said in a low voice.
" Sorry, sorry," Sora apologized quickly. " But – but Aerith, Riku was here?"
" Yes, he just came back from a little excursion into Hollow Bastion. Learned more than he intended to."
" Hollow Bastion? How-"
" There were no Heartless," Leon remarked. " That was his report. There were only two Heartless, actually, to challenge him but other than that, his little visit was remarkably…quiet…"
Sora stared at him, then narrowed his eyes. " You're hiding something."
" Well we'd tell you some but…" and here Gepetto got up, " there are others who you should talk to first. One of them, I'll find right now."
With that the old man left Cid's shop. Sora then looked to the others. " What is he talking about?"
" Us."
Not even five seconds after Gepetto left the store, the doors swung open and two people strode in. Sora stared.
One was pale, with silver hair and eyes more green than aqua. He was wearing a dark blue vest with a lighter blue shirt underneath and his pants were slate gray. A dark blue bandana was tied around his forehead, keeping his long hair out his face. He was holding a staff with a clear crystal on top and with wings sprouting out from the side.
The other was a girl, lightly tanned. She was slightly taller than the other and had long red hair that went past her shoulders. Her bangs stood out harshly against her. Her eyes were stormy blue and cold. She was wearing a green tank top tunic with a pink one underneath. She wore a leather belt over the shirts. She wore rather tight dark jeans. She also wore a leather sheath with a large sword inside.
Both were sharing the same black boots that Sora had seen before…on Domitan and Axel…
" Who are you?" Sora demanded.
" Hi, I'm Kobi, Ansem's son, nice to meet you," the silver-head said matter-of-factly as Donald and Goofy dropped in from the upstairs Moogle Shop.
" What!" Donald squalled.
" Oh shit, my ear," Leon winced, rubbing his right ear.
" You're Ansem's son?" Goofy pointed and gaped.
Sora turned on the teenager, demanding an explanation with a very furious expression on his face.
" He is Kobi. He is Ansem's son and believe me, there is no love lost between them. Kobi hates his father's guts to hell. Me? I'm Lorien, nice to meet you Sora. We're Aozora's friends, were a part of the Society, got found out, escaped the Gathering, landed in Hollow Bastion, ran into Riku and his three odd pals, took the train to Traverse Town and we've been waiting for Riku, you, Kairi, and Aozora. Any questions?"
Goofy slowly raised his hand. " Can you say that again? Got…der…lost after the first half."
Lorien sighed impatiently.
" How's Riku?" Sora asked. " Is he okay? Any problems? And who was he with again?"
" Riku's six feet, fine, fit as a fiddle, a bit on the blind side, and quite good at kicking ass if needs be," Lorien informed.
" He's with Tarzan, Pooh, and Sally. Tarzan from Deep Jungle, Pooh from Merlin's book, and Sally from Halloweentown," Kobi added. " Thanks to Kairi, Deep Jungle and several other worlds are returning to the Real Universe; Cid Number Two found Pooh's book somehow somewhere; and Halloweentown was destroyed in a battle between Riku, Jack, Tarzan, Pooh, Sally, and Oogie Boogie and the Heartless."
" Halloweentown was destroyed?" Donald gasped.
" Pooh fights!" Sora asked quizzically.
" He uses magic, yes," Aerith nodded.
" Holy…" Sora went and sat down on the couch. " Tell me something I don't know."
" Tidus is alive."
" Oh and what about Wakka?"
" He's still in the world of Spira," Cid said, champing on a toothpick. " Most of your friends landed there after Deep Destiny – and Destiny Island – was destroyed the first time around. Wakka somehow landed in present-day Spira. Tidus ended up in millennia-ago Spira. Lucky for us, Auron got him back on track."
" We know Auron!" Goofy exclaimed. " We met him back at Ancient Greece!"
" We know that, thanks Goofy," Cloud said.
" Anyways, it turned out that Tidus was a dream, as in he wasn't really alive. So after he helped a girl named Yuna save Spira, he disappeared. Lucky for us the Fates got him back to life. Wakka, on the other hand, has a new life now. With Lulu."
" I'm sorry?" Sora yawned, scratching his head. He had dozed off while Cid had begun his speech.
Yuffie could tell a vein had just popped in the poor man's head.
" Sometimes Sora, I wanna get my hands around your neck and choke you to death!" the man griped. " Get him to bed before he falls asleep on us again!"
" Too late," Lorien said quietly, gesturing at Sora with her head.
The poor boy had fallen asleep again.
""
" It's been nearly a week; what the hell are we doing lounging around here?" Sora demanded as he sat next to the fountain where he had first closed the Keyhole to Traverse Town.
" Waiting for word," Lorien said quietly as she joined Kobi and the Keyblade Master.
" From who? About what?" Sora fired.
" Riku, for one. Aozora, for another. And lastly…" and here she looked at Sora icily, " Kairi."
He jolted. The name took hold of his heart, refusing to let go. Kairi…
Sora stared down at the clear waters of the fountain. Traverse Town hadn't changed, was the same as it always was one and a half years ago. At times, the memories walked about these streets. He could still remember how happy he was, bringing her back to Traverse Town safe and sound a year and a half ago…before he went to the End of the World to face Ansem…and lose both his friends…
" Riku and Aozora need to close Kingdom Hearts and Kairi needs to close the door to In Between and – are you listening?" Lorien turned on the black-clad teenager.
Kobi gazed at her sternly. " Shut up Lorien. He's not paying attention to you."
" Oh my god, when will he ever-"
" Shut up. You're not helping him. Leave us alone if you're not going to help."
Lorien stared at her childhood friend and saw the coldness in his eyes. She bit her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes.
" Bastard."
She strode off. Kobi then turned to Sora. " Listen, I'm sorry about Lorien but…"
Sora wasn't even listening to him. He was staring at the waters, saw the images, felt the pull of her hand, the echoes of a promise, at the moment they parted…
I'll come back to you. I promise!
I know you will…
And the growing island pulled them apart.
" K-Kairi…" Sora whispered, touching the waters softly with his right hand.
He watched the ripples, watched the lights of Traverse Town reflect in the surface of the fountain…
…was that Aozora? Where is he? What happened to him? Who could beat him up like that? Why don't they leave him alone…
…Riku was talking with the two people he, Donald, and Goofy met back at the Bell Tower in Twilight Town. Ashita and Yuri. He seemed so…so happy…
…where is Kairi? Why is the world around her so gray? What road is she walking? Where…
…there was King Mickey! Who's he talking to? What's he drinking? Where is he now…
…Hollow Bastion, the world of all the answers…
A tear fell in the ripples, creating its own ripples and countering the fading ones from his hand.
Riku didn't need him anymore. It seemed that he had forgotten about Kairi, too. He looked so happy, being with Ashita and Yuri…especially Yuri.
Kairi was in a world of gray, He had been told that she had gone to In Between with Selphie…but he never understood…until now.
And Aozora. What more had he done? What more had been done to him?
Another tear fell, creating another ripple of its own.
Why can't I be happy for once? It's becoming so tiring, so…hopeless.
In the ripple he saw a hazy image of a world destroyed, wreckage and ruin. There were people there. One, with an undistinguishable moving lump on its shoulder, was fuzzy, obscure. But the other two he saw with sharp, stunning clarity. The very image shook his heart.
He had seen the look of peace upon Kairi's face when Aozora held her. His blood did not boil but a heavy doom fell upon his heart.
Could it be…that he had lost Kairi…to him?
Kobi watched him quietly as tears continued to fall. It was a beautiful, tragic disturbance of the water's surface, as the teenager looked ready to break down for the first time since he was first given the Keyblade.
And that pulsing darkness…
Kobi narrowed his eyes as he watched Sora tremble, as the tears fell faster. He had heard of the darkness in Sora's heart; he knew why it was there…but he could now see it was growing. Somehow Sora had started thinking about something that caused that darkness to spread…like a cancer…
The weight of the world upon his shoulders will break him! He's gone through what I would never hope to go through. And now…time grows short…and the darkness spreads. If I tell him that his enemies are going to kill him if he reaches Hollow Bastion…how will that affect him?
He came to a decision, as the tears poured into the growing sea of sorrow.
Sora will not know of what is waiting for him at Hollow Bastion. If his heart is too weak by the time he reaches that world, he will die!
Sora's light was fading…
" Well, this is most unexpected…"
Kobi looked up at this rude intruder. " What are you doing here?"
" I came here to talk…but it looks to be bad timing for the most part. I'm really sorry…"
Sora turned around, the tears still falling. " Who-who are you?"
The intruder smiled sadly and bowed his head. Sora stared at him, at what he was wearing. The Society… " My name is Zexion. I am the one who is most at fault for tampering with your memories-"
" What about my memories?" Sora whispered. Then he hiccupped, tried to fight back the tears.
" Why don't you recall a part of your life, Sora?"
" Which part?" he asked, wiping his eyes on his arm.
" Between closing Kingdom Hearts and now."
Between saying goodbye to Kairi and realizing that she may be lost to him…
" I…I don't recall anything."
" There are those I know who could give you the answer…if you are brave enough to find them."
Kobi stared at him. What was Zexion talking about.
" Sora, do you see this?" the blue-purple haired young man pushed aside his bangs and pointed at his cheek. " My brother did this. My own older brother. His name is Domitan. I'm sure you've met him before."
" He – he fought Aozora…back in China…"
" He personally beat the crap out of me for betraying the Society. Thanks to a whole bunch of Australian teenagers, I made it out alive. But barely. Aerith took forever fixing me up."
" What's your point?"
Kobi wondered as to what this guy was getting at.
" Find my brother's friends. They know what happened to your memories. Find them, ask them…then beat the shit out of them. I'd be more than happy if you kill my brother. He nearly killed me, tried to keep Aozora from reaching you in China, and tried to rape Lorien. He's done actually a lot of fooling around with girls in each world he's gone through…and tore off a few heads in the process of doing dealings with others. He deserves to die."
" Is that – is that why Lorien's like that?" Sora ventured to ask, unsure of the response.
" She's been like that…ever since our home was destroyed," Kobi answered. " Truth was, she loved Aozora…and she turned cold once we figured out that he was dead. After all we've gone through in the Society, she…lost all emotions. It all nearly came back when the three of us met again but…some things just don't change. I think the run-in with Domitan in Hollow Bastion added to it."
Lorien loved Aozora…but he doesn't love her…anymore…
" So…" and Sora studied Zexion, " does Axel have anything to do with this?"
" Plenty," the other nodded his confirmation. " Honestly, Sora, I think you should talk to him more than others. Besides a man named Marucia. Both of them…know much more than anyone else. Me included. I? I just did what they told me to do. It was either that or a slow death."
" A slow death…" Sora sighed as he slowly rose to his feet. " Decay…"
Kobi looked at him strangely.
" Listen, Sora," Zexion said, gripping Sora by both upper arms and looking him in the eye. " I…I'm sorry for all you have gone through. I know how hard it is…when it seems you've lost everything in the world…everything. I lost my parents…and then my brother. I have no family, no true friends…but you, you may have Donald and Goofy by your side but there's so much more you've lost. You've lost your childhood. And there's nothing that will replace that. Once you've lost your innocence…there is no going back."
Sora nodded numbly, tears forming in his eyes again.
" There is nothing more evil than to grow up too fast. That is your fate, Sora. You were chosen by the Keyblade. With it comes much responsibility…and sacrifice. It was noble what you did, stabbing yourself to release the hearts within you. But you have experienced near-death…and only Kairi's light saved you. Don't lose that light, Sora. It's all you really have left in this world."
" I…I think it's…too late…" Sora barely spoke, looking down, opening his fears. Tears were falling…
" Nothing's ever too late," Zexion said sternly. " I thought it as too late for me to be saved…and then the Australians literally saved my ass. Sora, just hang on. The last days are coming. I know they are. If you do well…you'll return home. Although you'll never look at the world the same way again, you'll be home with the ones you love and care. You're lucky in that sense. At least you'll have a place to go to once it is all over. And there will be those you will go home with, those you love and hold to your heart."
Riku doesn't need me anymore…
" Life goes on, Sora. But the Universe will unfold like it will…and you will be happy once more."
I don't think Kairi remembers me anymore…
" Be strong, Sora. She would have wanted you to."
Be strong…
And still he remembered her last words.
" I know you will!"
She knew he will come back, no matter what.
I wish I told you then what I thought of every day…
Zexion let him go and stepped back, watching as Sora, crying as he was, smile and nod.
" Thank you, Zexion."
" I am always willing to give help to those who need it most."
" I know…"
Sora looked up at the night sky, at the few stars that still shone in the darkness. There was a hope there…a hope that he will use as the candle in the dark.
" I will find the Door of Light…and I will come back. I promised…"
Kobi looked to Zexion, who looked back and grinned uncharacteristically. The silver-head mouthed the words: you're incredible!
Zexion grinned, glad that his work was done.
Sora has been put on track, this time to find the answers he so desperately needed. He may not know some of the questions but once he finds out the truth, everything will fall into place.
And hopefully he'll find the Door of Light and open the gateway to Paradise…so we can all go home…to the ones we love and cherish forever in our hearts.
''
" And what are you up to, Cid?" Yuffie declared, watching as Cid finished installing what looked like a pair of loudspeakers to the roof of his store.
" Installing a radio," the man grumbled back. " We need life in this town. Too quiet for me!"
" Now you realize that?" Leon remarked in amusement as he walked up the steps to join Yuffie in staring at Cid. Well, not exactly; he was busy reading a telegram.
" Is that from your lover?" Yuffie asked nosily.
" None of your business," Leon grumbled back, his face turning pink.
" Is that from Rinoa?" Cid hollered, jumping off the roof with a hammer.
" Yeah…what in…"
Shaking his head, Cid strode to the stairs and surveyed his work. A quartet of loudspeakers had been fashionably stuck onto buildings all around the town square; more were posted in the two other districts. Finally, some music into this quiet night world!
" Well, better go and turn on the radio!" Cid said happily, turning to his shop. " Oh, and just to let you know, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are leaving."
" They are?" Lorien asked, walking out of the store that Huey, Louie, and Dewey ran. Donald's nephews had earned quite a fortune and had expanded their shop.
" Lorien, are you trying to drive my store out of business!" Cid hollered at her.
" Why, you got a problem with that?"
" I OWN a store. Take a guess!"
Yuffie grinned. Leon, frowning and focused as he was on the telegram sighed and shook his head as Cloud and Aerith entered the scene.
" Problem here?"
Cid grumbled. " She's making my life pure misery and I'm turning on the radio."
He stormed inside. Aerith raised an eyebrow at Lorien, who didn't seem phased at all by Cid's anger.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy strode out of Third District, heading to the main door that would lead them to the hangar. They stopped upon seeing all the speakers in place.
" Cid's been wanting some music for a while now!" Yuffie yelled to them. " Kinda looks odd but yeah…"
" Hey, Sora, good luck on your journey," Leon said, raising a hand.
" Thanks, Leon!" Sora shouted back.
" Thanks guys!" Donald added. He then elbowed Goofy.
" Ow! Well, huyuk, see you guys later!"
" Make sure you two bring Sora back in one piece!" Yuffie said sternly, in a very un-Yuffie-like manner.
" Don't get into too much trouble, you hear?" Aerith called out.
Cloud needn't say anything. He simply nodded.
" Be careful, Sora!" Kobi shouted as he walked out of the Second District.
" Sora," Lorien nodded, her face still cold.
As the trio turned to the main doors, Sora turned back one more time.
There was Zexion, sitting in one of the chairs in the café next to Donald's nephews' shop. He didn't see him there before; how-
" Sora," Zexion said simply.
" Zexion," Sora nodded to him.
" There's always a light at the end of the road. Good luck, Sora. Be careful."
Sora nodded, his trademark grin returning on his face. " I will! Thanks for everything!"
Then Cid's voice boomed out of the loudspeakers. " Finally! Hang on…."
As Donald opened the double doors and waited for Goofy and Sora to follow him to the other side, where the hangar was, a song slowly drifted into the town square.
Sora smiled as he heard the song. Then he stepped out of Traverse Town, knowing that whether or not he returned to Traverse Town didn't matter. The road to Destiny Islands is what will take him through the darkness to the light. The Universe will unfold as it should…and he will be there…with Kairi.
I wanna be with you now
Itsu no hi ka distance mo
Dakishimerareru you ni nareru yo
We can start sooner
Yappari I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you now
Someday even this distance
We'll be able to embrace
We can start sooner
After all I wanna be with you
Author's Endnote: Starting with the endnote first, don't ask why. Teen Titans R0X0RS and my goldfish of six years died September 24, 2005. This chapter is dedicated to him.
Chapter 71…
" Are you going to break your promise now?"
" I'm not hiding anything."
" Kairi?"
…My Promise