Copyrights: All characters belong to Square-Enix and Disney save Aozora and the Advocate. These two characters are MINE. The plot is also mine and though it may be impossible to understand the plot, it's mine as well.
Secrets of Memories
Chapter 74: From the Far Past
The silver ship shot through several spinning rings of rock, ice, and dust as it soared through the space of the Universe, on course for Hollow Bastions. Though there were many, the Heartless ships were unusually lethargic and only served to hinder the ship's progress. The debris presented the bigger problem and it was taking longer than usual to cruise from Traverse Town to Hollow Bastion.
It looked as though some great intergalactic war had just taken place, with wreckage strewn throughout, in between returning worlds and worlds saved from the wrath of the evils.
And the silence, it was just deafening.
That bothered Sora a lot. Donald and Goofy were definitely not talking and the brunet had a sinking feeling he was at fault for this disquieting silence.
" Um…guys?" Sora turned in his seat and found Donald and Goofy just staring at him. They were leaning against opposite walls, arms crossed, weapons set on their feet, just glaring at him.
Oh shit, what did I do now?It was one thing to have Donald glare at him; he was used to it. It was another thing for Goofy to be sharing the same expression as Donald.
" What's going on here?" Sora demanded slowly, and with suspicion.
" Sora, we need to talk," Donald said flatly, in a no-nonsense voice.
" Yeah," Goofy agreed, sounding very un-Goofy-like.
" About what?"
" You."
" Me? Do we have to talk now?" Sora questioned, truly bewildered. He then gestured at the controls. " I have to pilot, you know."
" Sora, if there's one thing you need to know about Chip and Dale, it's that their gummi ships are so highly advanced that voice commands alone will put the ships on Autopilot for the assigned destination and blast any ship or asteroid that gets in the way!" Donald barked.
" Um…how-"
Goofy strode over and pressed a small rectangular red button on Sora's right. " Autopilot, set course for Hollow Bastion."
" Voice register: Gary Remue. Destination: Hollow Bastion. Confirm?"
" Confirm," Goofy affirmed with a stern and uncharacteristically clear voice.
" Confirmed. Course set for Hollow Bastion."
Goofy let go of the button and backed off. Sora swiveled in the seat and stared at him. " What did that thing just call you?"
" You don't need to know," Donald retorted. " We're not here to chat about names. We need to talk to you about you."
" Yeah," Goofy nodded. " You and your attitude."
" My attitude?" Sora repeated. " Excuse me?"
" That's part of the problem," Donald noted. " Ever since Disney, you've been acting unlike yourself, being extremely rude, disrespectful, and in general very pissed off. Care to explain?"
" Explain?" How the hell do I explain this? My two best friends let me go, with one hanging out at the clock tower at Twilight Town with some new buddies, and one who…I've been getting my ass kicked for a good year and a half to get back to her and she goes to someone else? Someone named 'Aozora'? I can't explain this!
" You have nothing to say?" Goofy asked, softening a bit.
" Um…" Sora looked away, bit his lip. But these guys…they deserve to know at least part of the truth! They've stuck to me through the good times and bad and all…I have to tell them, don't I?
What will you tell them? A voice spoke in the back of his mind. What can you say? Can you really speak your heart's sorrows?
Shut up.
Sora sighed, scratched his head. He rubbed at his chest, right above his heart. That area was feeling rather irritated, like too many things crowded in a tight space all at one time. Weird…
" As long as you guys could get off my case, I guess I'll tell you," Sora sighed. " Thing is…I've been having weird thoughts lately."
" What kind of thoughts?"
" Ones that give you a bipolar disorder!"
Sora blinked. " Well, it's just…I've been wondering…is this all for reals, or not?"
Donald and Goofy blinked at him, clearly lost. Sora shifted uncomfortably in his seat, wondered if it all came out wrong. What could he explain? All he knew was…things like this could've happened…or could've never happened. It was so hard to explain…and that's part of what's been tearing him to pieces. Well, maybe not tearing him but-
" As in " Is all of this really happening?" Am I right?" Goofy asked, obviously able to understand him more than Donald could.
" Yeah, I guess," Sora said, looking down on the floor. " Is this all for reals? Or is everything a dream? And if it's a dream…what happens if I wake up?"
He could feel Donald staring at him and looked up. Within a few seconds, the wizard's hand went flying.
" Ow!" Sora tumbled off the chair and fell on the floor hard. He quickly sat up, his left hand touching his left cheek and the other rubbing his back. " Donald, what the hell!"
" You tell me if that's just part of a dream or not!" Donald fumed. " I did not get my ass kicked around for over a year and a half just to have you walk around wondering if any of this actually even happened! Does that feel like a dream? Does it? No? Well, I didn't think so, either! Wake up, you palooka, what's wrong with you?"
" Donald!" Goofy exclaimed. " Sora's still a kid. He doesn't understand everything! He's too young…to experience all of this…you know…like the way he did…der…yeah…"
He drifted off, scratching his head in confusion. Sora stared at the knight. He always thought Goofy had a smart side but now he knew just how smart that side was…until the last few words right there.
Not only that, that really is true. I don't know how to handle all of this…" You hafta support him, Donald," Goofy managed to recollect his thoughts and continue. " It's never easy being a Keyblade Master, especially someone like him. Mickey was…der…older, right? And...er…more mature…when he got his key."
" True…" Donald mused, starting to regret his action.
" He's still a kid, not like us. We, der, gotta help him through all this. If we find the Door, you know, it's all over, we've won. Until then, we gotta help him. Remember, we're buddies forever. We've got ter support each other, you know. Right now, Sora's going through hard times. That's why we gotta help him out more…"
Both Sora and Donald stared at him while Goofy continued struggling with his words. But the message was pretty clear.
" You're right," Donald sighed. He then looked at Sora from under his blue cap. " Sorry about that, but I hope it was a load off your chest. Zexion warned us of the world on your shoulders. We just wanted to help you carry it."
" He was trying to help me, too," Sora smiled as he got back to his feet, recalling the gloomy man. " He told me there was always a light at the end of the world. Donald, Goofy, thanks. I kinda needed that. The slap and the talk were really helpful."
" Always here to help ya!" Goofy said goofily, standing stiffly and giving him an even goofier salute.
" That's right," Donald nodded, jerking at the zippers on his collar. " We're friends for life, whether you like it or not, Sora!"
The teenager grinned, feeling the old energy return. Yes…friends for life, friends forever…
" Remember our little saying?"
Goofy nodded happily. " All for one…"
"…and one for all!" Donald finished triumphantly, while making himself as prim as possible. He then spotted a slowly-spinning world through the glass. " Look!"
The three of them rushed to the front, as the great silver ship roared towards a smoking, ominous sphere hanging in the swirling colors of space.
" That's…" Goofy stared, whispered.
" Hollow Bastion," Sora finished under his breath.
""
Hollow Bastion. Old Citadel.
Silently and smoothly his hands moved on their own accord, bringing to engines of the small silver ship to life and maneuvering it out of Traverse Town's hangar into the dark skies of the Universe. His eyes seemed to be watching, sentinels on the lookout for threats, as he steered the ship in the direction of Hollow Bastion.
But one only needed to look into his wolf-like bronze eyes and see that he really wasn't seeing at all. His eyes were blank, lacking all emotion, lost in thought and space, and his hands were really moving on their own.
He's my brother. Sora's my brother! I always thought there was something strange about him…but is it really possible? Was he the brother I heard of? I-I still don't get it, still can't understand it…
That wasn't the only problem, though.
I've gone too far, I've done too much. How many lives must I ruin and how many lives must ruin me? How could I have fallen in love with her?
He sighed, lowered his head. He felt so utterly confused, lost, and totally alone. There was no one he could share his pain with, no one to share his sorrows.
I'll shatter his illusions of the past and then I'll destroy his dreams of the future. Is that all I'll ever do? Will I continue devastate the lives of everyone close or connected to me? After all I did to Lorien and Kobi…
Disaster was looming. It was grinning, mocking him. It knew what he feared could happen, what would happen if he didn't make it in time…
His hand reached out and sought a small rectangular red button.
" Autopilot, set course for Hollow Bastion."
" Destination: Hollow Bastion. Confirm?"
" Confirm."
" Confirmed."
He gently let go of the controls and sat back, watching impassively as the ship took control and soared for Hollow Bastion. That left him time to think, to think and to ponder.
What is the Society going to do? How will opening the gates help them? What's their real purpose? Is Sora just a means to that purpose? Am I?
Knowing Sora for the few weeks he was with him, he knew Sora was not an easy victim, not easy to bring down. Sora had been fighting far too long to fall prey to anyone. And if Sora hadn't changed any part of him in the gap between then and now, then he knew Sora was way too stubborn to die.
And the Keyblade Master's fought them before. He could fight them again.
Memories, it's all about the memories, isn't it? After all, the Society changed the whole focus of his adventure, his quest to find two friends and go back home…
Home…
He made his way slowly to the white chair, felt intimidated by the purity of the mysterious room. The long white table glared at him, told him of his pathetic position of power in the face of the fair witch who sat at the other end.
She sat serenely, her pale face studying something in front of her. Absentmindedly she ran her fingers through her locks of blonde hair as her blue eyes skimmed something. Then she flipped the page and continued to study it. That was until Aozora cleared his throat.
It was one thing to stand before someone in a position of power. It was another to be practically ignored by such a person who was also his age.
She looked up, slightly startled. Then she smiled broadly and gestured to the chair. " Please sit."
Aozora shuffled his feet to the chair and carefully sat down. He was uncomfortable in the deafening silence of the room but hid the discomfort.
" You know who I am. He sent you here, after all."
Aozora studied her as she flipped the pages again. Her face suddenly looked stiff, as she stared at the page she had turned to. Her mouth in a slight downward curve, she pried her eyes off of the page and looked up at him. He shifted in his seat, clearly bothered by her gaze.
" Who are you?" he dared to ask.
She smiled at his question. " My name is Naminé, the keeper of memories. I am the one who can make memories…or break them."
" How-"
" I was born with the magic. When I was young I was sent to a master of mind magic to hone my talents. When I was young my powers were uncontrollable; they could wipe out all memory. With help and guidance, I can change the chain of memories, melting off the links and replacing them with other links, forging new memories. But I can also retain the old links, the old memories. And I can guard them."
" Guard?"
" Yes. Isn't that what he told you? I guard memories, in particular the 'sky-child.' His memories I must protect at all costs, because the enemy wants his memories. I suppose you wonder why. Why his memories? Hasn't he told you about the 'sky-child'?"
" He said I have to find the 'sky-child'. He said this person held the key to destroying the Darkness. And I'm supposed to help him."
The witch leaned back in her seat, deep in thought. Then she spoke. " Then you need to know more."
" Me?"
" There are few who know as much as he does, and I'm one of the select few. After all, I'm the one who could look into his mind and his memories. He is here right now."
Aozora stared. " So my search is over?"
" No, absolutely not. You are not allowed to meet him."
His jaw dropped. " What!"
" You are not allowed to meet him," she repeated calmly. " Not now, not here, not yet. Besides, I won't let you. It'll disturb his sleep."
Aozora sat blinking at her blankly.
" You know about this castle, Aozora. Don't act so dumb. You know what they did to him."
He nodded, with some reluctance. " Can't I see what he looks like, at least? If I'm to find him later, I need to at least know what he looks like."
She smiled mysteriously. " You don't need to see him. There's reasons why he's called the sky-child but you'll see for yourself in a good year-"
" A good year! I've come this far and I've got to wait one more year?"
The woman kept smiling, something which irritated him immensely. " You have the patience. You know what this castle was used for, you knew all their plans, and you know what I had to do. And what I must do now. So will you know what you must do."
Aozora bit his lip. " That helps me none."
" Not yet. You don't know who Crimson is, do you?"
Aozora blinked, stared at her. " I'm sorry?"
The fair teenager rose to her feet. He followed, hesitantly, as she closed the notebook before her and held it close to her. She looked him straight in the eye and he felt himself flush. " Follow me."
He did, staring all around him as she led him through great white halls and up stairs to more halls. He noted scorch marks, scratches, and deep cracks in the walls and pillars. Battles had raged in the halls, just as they had planned…
They came to a stop before a set of double doors. Here she hesitated, then turned and looked at him. " Here my brief journey with you ends. Beyond you will learn more of who you are. We will meet again, I know. Until then, good bye."
" Wait," Aozora said quickly. " What's your name? I never got it."
She smiled as she began to fade, her smile growing wider at his shocked face. " My name is Naminé."
He stared at where she once was, then turned back to the doors, puzzled. " So close…yet so far…"
He slowly pushed the doors opening, wondering what lay beyond. What would he discover?
But faintly she could hear Naminé's voice. She was still speaking to him.
" I have done terrible things, for the mind is one's last sanctuary. I have played with the memories of the sky-child and even though he understood my predicament, he chose to have his old memories restored and erase me forever from his life. I can't blame him, though. I'm only a shadow of the light within his heart and can easily be brushed aside. He wants his light back, for the light is what holds his sanity. That light…is Kairi."
The world suddenly lurched and Aozora found himself on his knees, staring at the floor of the ship. His breath was shallow and quick, as abrupt as the wild beating in his chest. He closed his eyes tightly, tried to understand what had happened to him.
That light…is Kairi.
He couldn't understand what effect Kairi had on him, only knew that the first time he heard that name he treated it with indifference. But now the mere mention of her name sent him reeling, and he struggled to find his own sanity. Kairi was the one who kept Sora sane; Kairi was the one who drove him crazy.
" Why?" he whispered, feeling his heart race, pumping with a violence he never felt before. " What are you doing to me?"
He sighed, held his breath, tried to get his bearing. Then he staggered to his feet, tried to get back to the cockpilot seat but only found himself nearly falling on his face as he made his way to a cot in the back of the ship. He sat down shakily at the edge, stared at his feet, tried to make sense of his reaction. Instead, his mind drifted to what he found beyond the doors…
He found himself in a blue-white room, the floor marked with curved white blocks. In the center of the room was a great egg-shaped contraption, a very formidable one. And as far as he could tell, it was empty.
" What is that?" Aozora wondered, staring at it.
" It returns memories to those who sleep in it…"
A man appeared. Aozora stared, realized that he had seen this person before but never so close, never in person. The man seemed to have been wrapped in a red bandage around and around and around, then clothed in red and brown. Belts crossed all over his face; the only parts exposed were his lips and his glowing yellow eye.
" Memories…but only the original ones. But how far will those memories go?" the man stood there, talking lightly, though Aozora realized who he was.
" Crimson…"
The man smiled, stood before him with confidence. " I am searching for a Champion of the Light, to defeat the Darkness. I believe it is you."
Aozora stared at him, his jaw agape. " Excuse me? You're Crimson; what the hell are you talking about?"
" A very good question but one I don't care to answer to. Or do you not understand what I'm implying?"
Aozora thought for a second. " You're going to destroy me? Fat chance."
" Do you think so? I am the one who ordered this castle designed; I know how the castle works. Here I could end your pitiful existence at my own whim. I am the true master of Castle Oblivion and right now the benefactor of a certain child's well-being."
Aozora shook. " The sky-child."
" Call him what you will but in this castle his life is in my hand. You see, I could end his life easily, simply by yanking free all chains of his memories, rendering him an empty machine like all the others in the Society. Their greatest weakness is his greatest strength, proven dangerous by those who have studied the heart. But I won't kill him now. Oh no, we have grander plans for his demise-"
" I won't let you touch him!" Aozora shouted at him, taking a step forward. " I won't let anyone touch him!"
" A pity you don't even know what he looks like. He will die."
" Never! Not while I live!" Rage blinded him, surged him forward. A Keyblade flashed into his hands and he rushed at Crimson, swinging the blade in the process.
He sliced right through him, felt himself fly through the laughing red man. He stopped a few feet from the still-whole body, breathing hard. He froze, breathing hard with anger and shock.
" Wha-"
" Look at your weapon, Keyblade Wielder. Tell me what you see."
" How-" Aozora involuntarily looked at the handle, saw it was not the Starlight he was used to. The black handle and the gold handles gleamed at him. " How!"
" I am a mere hologram, Keyblade Wielder. You cannot hurt me. Nor would you have, had you know who I was."
The voice slowly morphed as Crimson spoke, until it became a voice he knew well.
" Mentor!" he exclaimed, turning around.
Briefly he saw the tall, hooded man, before the world around his blackened.
" A test, to test your resolve. You have passed. You may continue. Good luck."
And he found himself sitting up in bed, saw Ashita and Orion snoring away in their respective mattresses. He was back at the clock tower and the twilit sky was starting to brighten. Morning.
But what did it all mean?" Aozora asked himself. " Why did I find myself to Castle Oblivion in the first place? What were Naminé and Eldest talking about? Could it be…that they were warning me?"
The Advocate, the Society, and Ansem will kill Sora. Long ago the Prophet made a gate to seal Light and Darkness. The first King of Light, the very first Keyblade Master, then cut himself with his Keyblade and let the blood spill on the gate, locking it. No key will open the gate and break the seal. Only blood."
" Our blood…" Aozora whispered, stared at his own hands. " They want our blood…but to what end? What can they gain from releasing Shadowrenis? If they release him, they will release Halocanis as well…and then where will we all be?"
When the greatest Darkness and the truest Light are freed from their unearthly chains, the earth will roil in death and the veins of the Mother will run with the blood of her Children. The Angels, the last guardians, will perish in the last War, and a New Age will begin, either in hope or death. The gift of immortality will fall away from the immortals and all legends will die.
" What legends?" he wondered, looking up at the ceiling. " The legends that dictate the story of the Keyblades? The legends that the Darkness want to believe? Or-"
When two people share a paupu fruit, their hearts are bonded for all eternity. But it is only a legend.
Slowly he reached into his pocket and pulled out the star-shaped charm that he had never returned to Sora. He studied its simple beauty, wondered at the innocent hands that made it, and then it hit him.
" It's just like the keychain on my Starlight Keyblade…"
And suddenly he saw in his mind a young redhead girl threading the five shells together while sitting on the beach. Smiling, she showed the unfinished charm to the wild-haired brunet boy who was carrying logs, a string of fish, and a bundle of mushrooms to a makeshift raft pulled high up on the sand. And then a name came to mind.
Oathkeeper.
He summoned the Starlight but nearly dropped the forming blade in shock as the charm vanished. When the light finally died away and he beheld the weapon in his hand, his jaw went slack.
This was not the Starlight. The colors were full of warmth and mythical beauty, the form slender and strong. The handles were formed of flared white wings and its head was forged into the likeness of a star far more beautiful than the head of the Starlight. And dangling from a chain was the charm, the lucky charm.
Oathkeeper…And suddenly he knew how this came into being. The Oathkeeper…the holder of promises…
The promises that would hold them all together in a circle of light.
Enlightenment came only a few moments later, understanding, as Hollow Bastion, a distant speck in a myriad of colors, grew in presence.
All our promises to the ones we know, the ones we love, bind us all in a circle of light. Our promises, our hearts, connect us all, and no matter what happens to one of us, the others will continue to pulse with the promise that so many others see in us. We are the promise.
He looked up at the ceiling, saw Kairi's sad smile and felt his heart beat with strength and courage. He knew what he must do, even if it would break his heart – bring Sora back to her, to save them both. And he can only watch from the side, with the love that he would take with him to the grave.
" But so be it," Aozora whispered, rising and walking to the controls as the silver ship melted into the foggy clouds that obscured most of the world it protected.
""
" They come," Marucia murmured, looking out into the cloudy skies of Hollow Bastion.
" That…seemed pretty obvious from the start," Axel snapped back while polishing his Fire and Wind Wheels.
" Both of them are coming," the darker-haired man repeated, ignoring the look Axel gave him. He took to pacing the room where he had his last talk with the Advocate. " They come. Our time has come. We will meet them both head-on but only one will shed his blood."
" And when that happens…perhaps our search will be over," Domitan remarked, striding into the room. Following him was Roxanne. Axel stopped wiping his Wheels for a moment to regard the blonde woman, then continued to scrub his beloved weapons.
" Where are Vexen and Lexeus?" Marucia asked, refusing to meet any of their eyes.
" They're with Xaldon," Roxanne said smoothly. " Analyzing as usual. You know how Vexen is. They don't plan to meet Sora. Vexen, at least, doesn't plan to. It's our job to carry things out now."
" Wimp, is he?" Axel chuckled. " He who knows the most bows out the first."
" That's only because Sora isn't the only one coming," Domitan observed. " Axel, that's your cue."
" Is it, now? Well, this castle as been as boring as fucking hell. Pa-arty! I'd say 'Pin the Tail on the Duck', what do you think?"
" We're not talking about the wizard and the knight, you asshole. Dammit, what do you think?"
" Hey, relax," Axel said calmly, holding his weapon an arm's length away and scrutinizing it. " I've got it all planned out. While you guys get on with things, I'll play around with-"
" There is no time for games. You will kill him if you can," a dark voice hissed as, in a cloud of darkness, another person appeared. Unlike the others, he obviously preferred to keep his hood up. " I'll be watching. Start with intimidation, the psychological factor. It'll shake his foundation. Then while Axel heads off Aozora, Marucia will deal with Sora. Yes, you. Don't screw up. If you do…"
" I don't screw up," Marucia said coldly, glaring at the Advocate. " Back at Castle Oblivion, I didn't screw up. It was all planned out."
" Except you weren't supposed to lose," Axel grinned darkly. " That time, you were supposed to whack him into the dirt, then leave him alone for your hologram to wipe his ass out of existence. Instead he's the one who whips your ass. Hey, and guess what? Sora's even stronger now! Isn't that a whole lot of fun?"
" Shut up." Marucia glared at the red-haired man, then looked at the Advocate. " I don't plan to die by his hand, thanks."
" Good for you," Axel nodded, rising to his feet. " Well, I'm done. See you later; I'm going for a walk."
" I don't think so," the Advocate said coldly. Axel whirled around on him but to everyone's surprise, his hackles didn't rise in indignation.
" Whatever you say. It's not like I care…"
The others stared at him as he sat himself down and began to polish his Fire and Wind Wheels again. That was so not like Axel.
There was something very funny about this…
""
" Why is it so quiet?" Sora wondered, looking around.
They had ridden up the platform from Rising Falls, found the whole place eerily silent.
" Why is it so quiet?" Goofy repeated without realizing it.
" Something's wrong," Donald decided, pulling out his staff and holding it out in front of him. " Whatever Lorien and Kobi said was off. I don't see anything here. What army? I don't see any army."
Sora walked forward a few feet, then stopped and crossed his arms. " This is just so…off."
He started walking again. The two had to agree as they followed him down the walkway towards the high doors of Hollow Bastion. They had never remembered the distance being so…long.
" This…is just wrong," Sora was saying, slowing down a bit. A prickly feeling was running up his spine, unnerving him. " There is definitely something wrong with Hollow Bastion. Can you feel it?"
" Of course!" Donald snapped.
" No, not that," Sora shook his head, then felt a need to look up. His eyes widened as he eyed one of Hollow Bastion's balconies. " That!"
He pointed at a tall, hooded figure. It stood motionless, watching them, its arms folded across its chest. The hood was looking directly at them but they couldn't see who was underneath it.
Sora shook as he stared at the unidentifiable being. The person seemed familiar…or at least the aura around that being. He was sure he had seem similar people before…
The person raised his hand and Sora jumped back involuntarily. Then Goofy yelled, " Heartless!"
" What!" Sora whirled around, saw NeoShadows rising, pulling themselves out of the ground grotesquely. He looked back, saw no one there, and found himself quite at a loss.
Aozora would understand this – what am I saying? I can handle this on my own!He grit his teeth, then summoned the Keyblade into his hand. He felt Donald and Goofy back up into him, providing support as the NeoShadows twitched, looked at each other, and at them. They were encircled and he could see more Heartless appearing with each second.
" Brilliant," he found himself say. " Bloody brilliant."
Then Goofy initiated the battle. " Come on!"
He rushed headfirst into the horde of Heartless, his shield out in front of him. He plowed into the field but slowed substantially as the bodies gradually inhibited his initial speed.
" Freeze!" Donald squalled, pointing his staff at the NeoShadows. A huge ice ball smashed into a huddle, rendering them into black muck and a cloud of red hearts.
Sora, with a fierce war cry, charged after Goofy, hacking and slashing with the Kingdom Key. Two NeoShadows died instantly, but were quickly replaced by – it seemed to him – four more. He sidestepped one, then whirled his Keyblade around, and jabbed the NeoShadow behind him through the chest. He then somersaulted over another, landed lightly on his feet and, with a sweeping motion, beheaded four Heartless. He then ran forward and jumped right in front of a bedeviled NeoShadow. He somehow landed on the side of the castle with his feet and pushed off, turning his body around vertically. As he soared through the air he unleashed his Ragnorak, instantly annihilating the Heartless that sought to follow him. He landed on his feet and threw his Keyblade. Spinning as it flew in a large half-circle, it found victims from as far as ten feet away, then made its way back into his hand. He quickly switched hands, knocked two NeoShadows over the ledge with the Key's handle, then made a horizontal slice, taking down two.
" Strike Raid!"
Ten NeoShadows were down by the time the Key returned to his left hand. He then bolted, his strides low and long as he blended into the midst of the NeoShadows. Try as they might they could not corner him; he was always moving, slashing and occasionally Dodge Rolling their claws. He quickly joined Goofy, still using the Keyblade with his left hand.
" Sora, you're ambididextrous?" Goofy stammered in amazement before spinning away into a tornado.
" It's ambidextrous, you palooka!" Donald yelled. " Force!"
Sora looked down and his jaw dropped. " I don't know!"
Donald raised an eyebrow at the surprised response, then yelled, " Freeze!"
Sora spun around, swiftly switching hands to take out Heartless right and left, but there was one problem: the NeoShadows kept coming at 'em. And he knew they couldn't last long physically.
We need magic! But what?He looked to Donald, who had just wiped out a good swarm of NeoShadows with a Firaga. The Keyblade Master felt a devious grin grow on his face.
" Fusion Force!"
""
In the room high above, they could see the blue-clad figure dancing, fire and ice and thunder and wind swirling all around it. Dark gravity and pure Holy continued to blast out the NeoShadows as the force shrunk.
It didn't matter. They could always spare a few hundred, as long as the purpose was served on a silver platter.
The others had left. It was the two of them, keeping an uneasy silence as hatred crackled between them. Both stood at the windows, three windows apart.
" Hm…he's gotten more powerful than I thought," Axel smirked, watching the emotionless Marucia study the Keyblade Master's every move.
Y'know, after that little pep talk with Pete, he does look like Sora. I mean…it's just there. Well, besides the hair. Same color but his looks more controllable…and duh, the eyes…man, and I thought Ronsend was much too reserved to go run around with women…heh, wait 'till I tell him everything…
" Yes he did," Marucia muttered, watching as the teenager finally wiped out the last of the NeoShadows with an exceptionally impressive Holy.
" Hey, Marucia…"
The older man cast him a look. Oh shit, there's that look on his face…
" What now?"
" Don't you ever wonder…" Axel eyed Sora, who was busy apologizing to an outraged Donald while Goofy was busy rummaging for Potions, then looked back to Marucia, " why you two look so similar?"
Marucia stared at him. " Excuse me? What did you say?"
" I mean, come on Marucia, don't you see the resemblance? You guys just look so alike, right?"
" Axel, are you losing your mind right now? I'm not blond! I'm not Aozora! I'm Marucia!"
" Yeah, yeah, asshole, arse-rag, son of Ronsend, yes, I know it all…"
Now the brunet looked shaken as Axel turned away, acting as though everything he said lacked importance. " What else do you know?"
" Stuff people forgot," Axel grinned madly. " Stuff people never knew. For starters, I looked up the Advocate's stats. Now, I found some funny stuff, including the woman Ronsend bedded and the woman Ronsend married. I'm pretty sure you know the name of the woman Ronsend spent a night with and we all unfortunately know the bitch he married and had kids with. Alara. Yeah, that's right Marucia, the one and only."
Ronsend had kids with Alara? Why does this sound not so good?" Now, these two registered kids are pretty interesting. Well, to me they are because they've got the most fucked up names in the whole damn Universe. Who in their right mind would name their twins Shirozora and Kurozora – wait, who'd name their kid Vexen? I take that back. But listen to this: Shirozora's a registered brunet with blue eyes and Kurozora's registered blond with his father's freakish eyes. Funny that you don't got those eyes, too. Hm…anyways, does that ring any bells?"
" Should it?"
Axel rolled his eyes. " Fine, fine, if you want me to get to the point, Marucia. Ronsend's got three lovely sons, all of them kicking and screaming. You are the unfortunate one, being the oldest and illegitimate and therefore lacking power your half-brothers would definitely have. Now the other two-" he jerked his head towards the windows "-are quite alive and breathing and we doesn't even know that. He has no idea who he's up against."
" What are you-" Marucia caught the a lone white and black-clad teenager staggering his way to the great doors of Hollow Bastion. The teenager seemed quite bruised but none the worse for wear. Beyond the chasm he could see smoke rising into the sky.
But that wasn't the point. His face drained of all blood as he realized who the teenager was.
Axel grinned madly, as only the Cheshire Cat would.
" Congratulations, Marucia! You are the most unlucky man alive! You, the leader of this stupid Elite, are half-brothers to our sworn enemies, the Keyblade Wielders and Masters! How does it feel, knowing that your enemy shares the same daddy as you?"
" He doesn't know?" Marucia whispered as he shook madly. " He doesn't?"
" Nope," Axel grinned. " Why, you plan to tell him or something?"
Marucia was at a loss for words. " I…I can't believe this…"
" I suggest we don't tell him anything," Axel said, suddenly stern and commanding and totally breaking the chain of command. " One, that would ruin our whole plan, and two, he'll find out anyways. It's only a matter of how."
" You are going to tell him?"
Axel grumbled with frustration. Blockhead! " No, you idiot. Remember the Secret of the Prophet? Or did your ass really screw your head?"
" What the hell are you talking about?"
" Oh right, that was Domitan. Okay, we'll tell you why we're out to kill Sora; you'll be only the third person to know, besides Domitan, and myself. So, we jumped this one airship and attacked. Killed everyone except for this one really pretty girl. No idea what her name was or who the hell she was but she's pretty good. Got me in the face with her foot before Domitan tackled her. We found – or Domitan found – a message she was carrying. I decided to read it on a whim while he dragged her off and had his own little party."
" Oh gods…" Marucia winced, vile images coming to mind. " What did you guys do!"
" He raped her, I didn't." Axel put on a mask of innocence. " So, I was reading the message. Directed to our ol' Squall Lionheart a.k.a. Leon. Apparently this girl found something funny about Hollow Bastion, something about a gateway that the Prophet created long ago, at the end of the Mythic Age. It's sealed by the blood shared by Dragon and Phoenix but it was Dragon that closed it. These two – surprise, surprise – were the original Keyblade Masters. Spill their blood in a certain place and that seal would be broken. Guess who's outta there?"
Marucia looked ghostly. " I don't believe it…Shadowrenis and Halocanis! The Children of the Mother! How-"
" Bingo! So, we kill either one of the brats and we get the baddest guy on our side. I have a preference for Sora; he is the one who's supposed to open the Door of Light."
" Does-does he know of this?"
Axel glared at him. " You think I'd tell Crimson about this? He'd lose his position if he finds out! Hell no! I'd rather he finds out in a more surprising fashion…"
" You're breaking the chain of command, Axel. You have to tell him."
Axel stared at him. " Look, I'm not going to do that crap, okay? It's a waste of time and I gotta go. Supposed to meet up with Aozora, remember?"
Marucia, numb all over, shook his head and waved him off. " Go. Don't screw up, Axel."
" Hey," Axel retorted, pointing his weapon at the other man, " you don't screw up. You fucked it up back at Castle Oblivion; you'd better not do it this time around."
" Point taken. Don't need instructions repeated three times a day. Now get out of here, Axel."
Grinning again, the fire-haired man vanished. Marucia sighed, then strode over to an antique bookshelf to the left and picked up his pink scythe.
" Shit, what's this world coming to?" he muttered, wiping a smudge from the shining blade.
Axel has to be joking, right?""
" I don't see anyone…" Sora peered into the dim hallway as Donald looked into various rooms and Goofy inspected each huge put that sat in the castle. " This is strange. No Heartless, no Ansem, no Society members. What's going on here?"
" They're hiding from us?" Goofy suggested as he poked at a suit of armor and cringed at the high-pitched grind of rust on rust.
" But where?"
" And why?"
Sora walked down the hall, followed closely by a shifty and nervous Donald, and a rather oblivious Goofy. The ever-curious knight poked and peeked around as they walked deeper into the belly of Hollow Bastion and uncertain danger.
" Hey, nice room!" Goofy exclaimed, shattering the ominous silence with a loud bang and walking into one.
" Goofy!" Sora yelled, recovering nicely from a ten-foot jump, a 180-degree turn, and a battle stance with the Kingdom Key at hand.
" Well, someone had a fit," the captain noted, his voice slightly muffled.
The others poked their heads in, then Donald pushed in, saying, " Let me see."
Sora saw the shards of glass scattered all over the carpet. They came from a broken mirror.
" Wow, someone did," the wizard agreed, then looked around. " This is a nice room."
" Someone must've been here recently," Sora observed, kneeling down and poking at a glass shard while Donald studied the dusty bookshelves and Goofy sat on the bed. " There's no dust on these. What about the bed?"
" Half and half," the knight remarked, looking around until his gaze fixed on a bedpost.
" Dusty." Donald blew at a shelf and hacked at the cloud of dust that rose from the intrusion. " And nasty!"
" Um…Sora?" Goofy pointed to the bedpost. " I think you might want to take a look at this."
Sora walked over, unsure of what Goofy was talking about. " What? I don't see-"
He stared. It stared back at him boldly, the dusty white wood gleaming through the dark varnish. The name multiplied in his mind as he stared at the word.
Riku.
" How…?" Sora began helplessly.
" He lived here?" Goofy suggested. " Maybe when he was little, he lived here-"
" Shit, that's bullshit," Sora snapped. " He grew up on Destiny Islands like me; we were the Island boys. Kairi's the only one of my friends who wasn't born-"
" I found something," Donald said quietly, as he flipped through what looked like a large picture book. " Sora, take a look at this."
He held out the book to Sora, who took it with puzzlement. He looked at the title.
" Bonny's Big Day by James Herriot," he read aloud, slightly pleased at his reading skills. " Okay, so what?"
He opened the book cover, didn't see anything usual and was about the flip the first green page again when his blue eyes alighted on a huddle of neat cursive. He studied it for a few minutes, then his face paled considerably.
" Sora?" Goofy asked tentatively, seeing shock bloom on the teenager's face.
" I-I don't believe it…"
The book slipped out of his hand, fell to the floor. Sora stared at it, as though he thought it would come to life and strike him dead.
" No…" Sora whispered, turned, and ran.
" Sora, wait!" Donald yelled, running after him. Goofy looked down at the book, decided to take it along, and tucked it in the pocket inside his vest. Might as well read it later on the way back to Traverse Town, right?
He bolted after both Sora and Donald, wondering what Sora read that made him run off. He didn't notice the NeoShadows rising up behind them, their yellow eyes blinking and staring after them. Looking at each other, they melted back into the shadows, and glided silently after them.
' To Riku with love, from your parents. Happy 4th birthday!'
''
Gasping for breath, Sora stumbled what looked like the Chapel, though he didn't recognize it immediately. Well, actually, he didn't recognize it at all. It was a dark room, quite huge, round, and bare except for the door doors in the room. One of them he emerged from; the other was across from him, a set of stairs leading from it to what looked like sunlight.
" What is this place?" Donald wondered, slowing down as he entered the room as well.
Breathing hard, Sora turned on Donald as Goofy emerged as well, winded and staggering. " This was Riku's home, wasn't it?"
" I think so…" Donald nodded slowly. " Though…this isn't the home Riku knows. This is Hollow Bastion now, not Old Citadel."
" Wha?" Goofy demanded, suddenly realizing what they were saying.
" Then am I the only one from Destiny Islands?" Sora asked no one in particular. " I mean…Riku and Kairi both came from here, didn't they? But why didn't they remember each other? Why didn't any of them tell me?"
" You do not know the ravages of Time."
Axel stepped from the shadows, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. His arms folded across his chest, he cocked his head to one side and gave Sora a knowing look.
" Shit, you!" Sora backed up into Donald and Goofy, bringing out the Keyblade in the process.
" Yes, shit, me!" the Society member laughed darkly. " Surprised to see me? You shouldn't."
" Why shouldn't I? The last time I saw you, you were fighting Aozora. That was his business, not mine."
" Wrong. You are as much my business as it is his business. We've met before. You know this. You just don't remember when or where, do you?"
" What are you talking about?" Sora demanded, the tremble in his voice betraying his sudden uncertainty.
There are those who could give you the answer…if you are brave enough to find them.
Zexion's words came to mind.
" What do you know of my memories, my past?" His voice was low, dangerous, threatening, and angry.
" Oh-ho, you want a fight, eh?" Axel laughed, though his eyes were filled with bloodlust. " Well I can tell you a great deal about your memories. I, for one, had a hand in that-"
" What did you do?" Sora screamed, taking a step forward and giving his Key an expert spin. " What did you do to me?"
" Who, calm down!" Axel backed up, holding his hands up. " Hey, listen Sora, we're not so different from each other. Just calm down and let me explain how-"
" We met before…" Sora suddenly realized, his eyes flashing with recognition at the words. " We met before and we've fought."
" Very good, Sora." Axel applauded him. " Now, what else do you know?"
Thank Naminé.
" Something happened involving someone named Naminé," Sora said slowly, remembering the note Jiminy Cricket wrote down. " Who's she?"
" Who is she?" Axel began to laugh. The unpleasant sound echoed around the room. " She's a memory changer. She can change people's memories at will. And protect them, as she has been trying to protect yours."
" What?"
" She guards your memories so that nobody else could do what she did and tamper with your mind. She is a shadow of the light you are losing."
" Shut up!" The last thing Sora wanted was for someone to remind him of his 'light'. " Just who are you?"
" Your contemporary," Axel smirked.
" You wield no Keyblade."
" I don't need a Keyblade. I have my own weapons. And my heart is not lost. Yes, Sora, I'm not lacking in that area. Unlike others, my heart still remains."
" How are you my contemporary?"
" Ah well…you'll find out sooner or later….most likely later."
" Just tell me what you did to my memories!"
" Oh I wasn't the only one," Axel said coolly, slouching slightly in his stance. " For instance, he suggested to Vexen that we start studying your heart."
" Vexen?"
" Well, we called him 'Vixen' just for kicks, then I wiped him out of the game."
" Wait a minute…"
An angry, ugly face flashed into his mind. " He's the one at Fabled Countryside!"
" Bingo."
" Who's the other guy?"
" Oh, you've met him before, if briefly. He's my friend and good enough to whip your ass."
" Nobody whips my ass," Sora growled.
" Well I mean it literally. His weapon is a whip."
Domitan.
" Zexion's brother."
Axel crossed his arms and smirked again. " So that's where Zexion went! I was wondering what became of him after an Australian mob saved him from Domitan."
" What?"
" Yeah, we found out Zexion was working for you pathetic lot so Domitan tried to kill him. But after Zexion rambled off some stupid shit about life, a mob stormed Domitan and Naminé saved Zexion's ass."
Then Sora had to ask. " What did Zexion do?"
" He programmed the whole thing. Castle Oblivion was – whoops, didn't mean to let that slip, did I?"
But it was too late. Sora's mind was working quickly, searching for loose links and forging a chain to clip into place between the closing of Kingdom Hearts and the arrival at Twilight Town so many ages ago. A chain of memories was coming into place…
" You-you guys tried to make me forget Kairi and my promise, tried to twist my image of and my friendship with Riku, and take control of me and the Keyblade," Sora accused, pointing his Key at Axel and stepping forward. " You used an innocent girl, Naminé, to make me a puppet of Marucia! But you helped me save her and destroy Marucia and Roxanne! And you killed Vexen when he spoke too much!"
" Well…you were getting it right," Axel remarked thoughtfully, tapping his chin with a finger. " But after that…you just don't understand, do you? Domitan proposed to Vexen that we do something about you, since you were a walking, talking, and kicking time bomb. Zexion created a virtual reality called Castle Oblivion and a friend of ours lured you in. Then we instructed Naminé to begin playing with your memories, erasing those of your dear Kairi and replacing them with those of herself. Your hold on Kairi was very strong, though; we had to work to loosen that hold and make you more susceptible to our will. Using a series of your memories, we created a reality for you, in which you visited each of the worlds and went through all the same battles. But somehow Naminé was warning you. Each character somehow hinted at you about the trickery of memory, of its faults. While that was going on, we got news of intruders. One was dear old Ansem. And the other was your dear friend Riku-"
" He was at Castle Oblivion?"
"If you had asked him, he would have told you everything. Zexion, Vexen, and Lexeus themselves worked to keep him away from you. We gave him a different reality to work through but damn Ansem and King Mickey interrupted every single glorious moment, every singe time we nearly got to him. Also, he wasn't as naïve and stupid as you were; he knew something was going on, unlike you, you stupid boneheaded klutz."
" Hey!"
" Ah right, Axel, don't insult those kind of people because they can't take a joke. Off-topic now, are we?" He paced a bit, while Sora watched his every step. " We had everything planned out, the coordination of all the Heartless and whatnot, even all our dialogue, until Vexen fucked things up by programming his character to let in on a bit about what lay in Twilight Town. So I programmed my character to kill his while our master beat the shit out of Vexen. And that was then I decided to start telling you what was really going on. Also, I hate Marucia. We planned out your path all the way to the 13th floor, where we personally faced you. The mechanized Marucia, just to let you know, was a hologram."
" And what was the whole point of this!"
" Test your heart, study your heart, I don't know, stupid shit maybe? But I learned something…"
He stepped forward and Sora tensed slightly, sensing Donald and Goofy moving closer to him.
" Everything you did to me," Sora whispered, feeling fire burn in his heart, angry at the intrusion into his very being. " Everything you did…you made me choose between remembering Castle Oblivion and forgetting everything, or remembering everything but forgetting Castle Oblivion!"
" You certainly made the right choice," Axel smirked. " Or else you would have made things much harder for the rest of us. Well our master made things hard as well; there was this whole gimmick going on about giving Riku and King Mickey passage into the Society-"
" Excuse me? Riku?"
" King Mickey entered the Society!" Donald squalled.
" I honestly don't know shit so don't ask me!" Axel snapped back, suddenly irritated.
" You…you and the whole lot…" Sora snarled. " You lot are going to pay!"
" Well, I'd love to fight you again but sorry. See, I have an appointment to keep – well, two, actually. So do you. So I suggest you take that door-" he nodded towards the door behind him "-and see what the others have waiting for you. There's one in particular you'd want to meet. Especially right now."
" Fine," Sora growled. " But the next time we meet, you won't have a chance to beg for mercy."
" Oh we'll see about that," Axel grinned, fading from view.
Silence. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other, suddenly wondering what had just taken place.
" Der…what do we do?" Goofy asked nervously, looking around.
Sora sighed. " We go out the door."
He pointed to the door across the room and ran. Donald and Goofy, more than unhappy with Axel's words and Sora's decision, sighed, shrugged, and ran after him, their weapons on the go.
They ran up the stairs, Sora taking three at a time, and then they burst into sunlight. Sora staggered for a moment, gave his eyes no more than three seconds to adjust from the gloom to the light, then stared straight ahead at the great balcony ahead of them.
A hooded person stood there. It turned to him and Sora swore it was laughing at him. Then it raised its arms up high and four more shady beings joined him. They stared down at him, unmoving, dark sentinels from thin air.
Sora shook, stared at them, wondered if he was going to have to fight all of them. His memories safely linked in a complete chain, he knew how hard it was fighting each one of them. Could he-could he fight? Could he fight them all?
One of the Unknowns raised its arm and Goofy yelled," Heartless!"
Sora whirled around, saw NeoShadows pulling themselves out of the ground, stretching themselves and eyeing Sora's weapon with displeasure. The trio backed into each other, Donald gulping as they inched towards them.
" What?" Sora gasped as he stared back at the balcony. Only one Unknown remained. And it had its back towards him.
His blood began to boil. It was an insult, as though the Society thought a legion of NeoShadows could easily do away with the Keyblade Master! How dare they!
" Can you guys hold them off?" Sora asked, hefting in the Silver Key in his hands. " I'm going after him!"
Goofy nodded, turned, and charged the NeoShadows, smashing them away as Sora and Donald ran towards the Unknown. Donald slowed at the halfway point, glared at the NeoShadows that escaped Goofy's wrath, and screamed, " Thunder!"
" Donald, not that spell!" Sora shouted a warning.
"A single thunderbolt rushed down from the heavens and fried a NeoShadow out of existence.
" Just go! I can handle them!" Donald shot back. " Fire!"
Sora glared at the seemingly oblivious Unknown as he took his friend's words to heart, and leaped up at it. His left hand was outstretched towards the Unknown and his right arm pulled back, the Keyblade poised and ready.
The Unknown turned around as he approached. Reaching up, it pulled down its hood, revealing a stern face with brown eyes, and brunet hair.
" Marucia!" Sora shouted as, in a flurry of pink petals, Marucia's scythe appeared and he swung at the incoming Keyblade Master.
""
" Where did they go?" Aozora wondered as he ran down the hall. He knew they were here; besides the scars out in front of Hollow Bastion's huge doors, he could see their footprints in the soft carpet. And something was pulling him, tugging his heart in one narrow path. Where were they going?
" Sora? Donald? Goofy? Hello? Anyone!" he yelled but there was no answer.
A pot fell over behind him and shattered into a billion porcelain pieces. Aozora jumped in mid-stride, nearly fell over, and whirled around as soon as he found his bearing.
A NeoShadow peeked back at him, then melted into the shadows. His heart raced as he realized what was following him.
" Shit!"
He bolted, looking back constantly as he followed what he determined was Sora's trail. They were not following him, were instead milling around the broken pottery.
" What's going on?" he wondered, baffled at their unwillingness to give chase.
There must be something ahead that they don't want to near. Yes, that was it!
He focused n the trail and kept following it, until a few seconds later he stumbled into a huge, bare room.
" Well, bare except for two things. There were two doorways and – okay, make that three – there was-
" Axel!" he exclaimed, screeching to a stop in horror.
" Surprise, surprise, Aozora," the man grinned as he straightened and turned to the shocked teenager. " Missed me?"
" Where's Sora!"
" Oh, he's having the time of his life…with Marucia."
" You're going to kill him, aren't you?"
" Not I," Axel smirked, stretching out his arms. " You can blame Marucia. His second chance to get it right."
" No, I won't let you touch him!" Aozora made for the doorway, the only exit and the only path he knew Sora would take.
" Stop right there! Instead of fighting someone else's enemy, why don't you just try and kiss my ass!"
A wall of flame roared from the ground, surrounding the two of them. Aozora whirled on Axel, the Golden Keyblade and the Oathkeeper erupting into his hands."
" Ooh, impressive," Axel remarked. " Looks like the Oathkeeper and King Mickey's Keyblade. What did you have to pay to get a go at both of them?"
"That's none of your concern!" Aozora snarled, spinning the weapons in his hands. The heat was bothering him immensely. " Let me out."
" No."
The Fire and Wind Wheels, finely polished, spun into existence. Axel gripped them and looked up demonically.
" You'll have to get through me first."
" You're going to pay!"
" Me?" Axel suddenly vanished. " Why me?"
Aozora whirled around, throwing up his Keyblades, and blocking Axel's attempt to spike his back.
" 'Cuz you're one of them!"
" Oh, unfortunately I'm not," Axel smirked, vanishing and reappearing at Aozora's right. " How? You'll see!"
Aozora blocked a Wheel and pushed him back. " What are you talking about? You're part of the Elite!"
" I have many allegiances," Axel remarked smoothly as he sidestepped the Golden Key and blocked the Oathkeeper. " As did you!"
Aozora said nothing in return, his whole attention focused now on bringing down Axel. But carefully he maneuvered on the restricted battlefield to stay near the wall of fire. Just one little slip and he'll jump over…somehow…
" Not talking?" Axel swung, the Wheel parallel to the ground. Aozora Dodge Rolled out of the way, then rushed him.
" Bastard!" the other snapped as he pulled away with a gash on his arm.
" Thought you were better," Aozora smirked. " Illumivisi!"
He vanished. Axel, now thoroughly pissed, ignored the dripping blood and shouted, " Hiding from me now, you wimp? Thought you weren't chicken! Looks like I'm wrong! Well, I'm not bringing this fire wall down so you can wave your brother goodbye-"
" How do you know?" Aozora demanded. Axel searched out the voice's source and struck. Blades countered his wheels.
" Oh I do my own searching…"
" No, where'd you first get the idea!"
" Hey, it's so obvious. You're obviously a lunkhead. Must run in the family. Anyways, you, Sora, Marucia all look alike. And Marucia's daddy is Ronsend. Of course I'd get ideas!"
" What does Marucia-no! What!"
Axel struck and a spray of blood responded.
" You bastard!"
Axel watched the blood drip with satisfaction. " Gotcha…"
Aozora's left leg wobbled; the wheel had torn through his upper leg. He grimaced but managed to counter Axel's flurry of attacks anyways.
" Marucia's your half-brother. That I figured out. And right now I'm quite sure he's dueling Sora…I wonder what's going through his mind while he gets ready to kill Sora-"
" Axel, where the fuck are you, man? Marucia's fucking it all up again!" Domitan's voice raged from behind the flames.
" Someone's been messing his mind," Roxanne's voice added annoyingly. " He's been acting funny and the only person who could do that to him is you!"
Aozora froze. Shit…
Axel scowled, stood up abruptly. " Where do you think I'd be, Domitan, if there's a wall of fire right in front of your fucking face? Well, do something, why don't you? I've got my hands full, idiot!"
" Well, we can't do anything," Roxanne replied. " The Advocate's watching. The wrong move and he's going to get personally involved in this. If Marucia fucks up, the Elite screws it, and he steps in."
" Oh fuck!" Axel swore, his guard coming down faster.
Aozora took the time to back off, letting the Keyblades disappear and reassessing his situation. Well, he could jump the fire but he could burn himself. If he Dodge Rolled the fire and somehow came out whole, he'd end up running into both Domitan and Roxanne, which in itself is very, very bad. He also knew the spell of invisibility was very temporary and could wear off within minutes. Or he could fight Axel, then fight the other two, and find either Sora in deadlock with Marucia or the Advocate, Marucia dead, the Advocate dead, or…
" No!"
" What?" Axel whirled around and realized too late where the trail of red dots was headed.
Aozora closed his eyes, breathed a prayer, and Dodge Rolled into the fire.
" What the-" Roxanne stumbled and fell over as something ran into her legs.
" Out of my way, bitch!"
Aozora suddenly materialized in her face. He stumbled to his feet and bolted, somersaulting over a stupefied Domitan, and rushing out the door and up the stairs. Domitan still stood there, dumbfounded as Roxanne slowly stood up and glared at Axel as the wall of fire died away.
" Hey, I didn't do anything. I just delayed him some," Axel grinned hastily, readying himself for the fire.
" You could've killed him, you asshole, not 'delay' him some!" Roxanne snapped.
" That would take out all the fun! Besides, I just wanna see the look on Ronsend's face when he finds all three of his children outside fighting him and each other."
Roxanne blinked. " What?"
Domitan crossed his arms and glared at his best friend. " There's something going on here we don't know. Care to explain?"
Axel grimaced. " Shit!"
""
The balcony was even bigger than Sora thought. The last time he was here, the platform was a short run; now it was so expansive he didn't even know where it ended.
But that wasn't the point. Marucia was even harder than the last time he faced him and it was taking way too long to bring him down.
There was one problem, however, and a very insulting one. Marucia wasn't even looking like he was focused on the battle; he was staring at Sora with some strange mixture of horror and anger as he continued to block Sora's attacks. He didn't even try to strike.
Sora was battling with all his might but this-this cheapskate was blocking his every move and making it look easy!
" Fight, why don't you?" Sora swore, thoroughly insulted, as he swung the Silver Keyblade furiously.
Marucia kept sidestepping and blocking as he stared at Sora's face. Yes, it was there, Axel was right. The resemblance, shocking and subtle as it was, was there…
You and I, he thought with absolute horror, share the same blood…the same connections…the same chance…
His eyes drifted to the flashing Key, realized that under different circumstances he might have been able to wield such a weapon.
Impossible!He could feel the eyes of the Advocate burning into his mind, willing him to start really fighting, to behead the Keyblade Master if he must. But how could he?
I don't even know the truth! Am I a robot to order about without reason, without explanation? How can I kill, fulfill my mission not knowing what's really going on?
Donald and Goofy, who had backed up into each other as the NeoShadows converged on them, glanced at the furious battle raging at the balcony.
" Sora!" Donald squalled as the Heartless swelled in number. " Hurry up and finish him off! We need help here!"
Sora heard but did not hear, did not reply. Now he had gotten a good look at Marucia's face and now his face was masked with a mixture of bewilderment and horror.
He's not attacking me at all, Sora realized firstly. Why? What the hell's going on here? Why isn't he attacking me? Why isn't he fighting? What's going on?
A trap? Impossible…
Then the horror took over the bewilderment as his mind sought to understand why he felt he had seen that face elsewhere-
His face! Sora's attacks began to slow. His face, I know that face! I've seen it before! It's almost like…Aozora's…face…no…
And if Aozora's practically his exact duplicate, what would that mean?
What's going on? The three of us are sharing the same face! What does that mean?
If the three of them share the same facial features, would that mean they're related? Impossible! They can't be related-
Marucia suddenly flashed to the side, sliding out of his field of vision. Sora snapped out of his thoughts, disturbed by the change of scenario.
" Hey you!" he shouted. " Get back here!"
He Sonic Bladed across the floor to the very center and the Keyblade pierced Marucia on the side before he could reorganize himself.
" And where do you think you're off to?" he growled as Marucia doubled over in pain, dropping the scythe. Blood seeped through his gloved fingers and crimson droplets splattered on the floor. The man bared his teeth in anger and humiliation. He knew the Advocate was watching, his father witnessing his inability to get things done right. He felt a rage come over his senses, a black wave blinding his senses, driving him to maul the Keyblade Master and wring his little neck with his own bare hands.
He stepped forward and a tiny beam of light shot up at his face, catching him off-guard and blinding him.
Sora stared at the tiny pillar of white light, and followed down to the older man's feet. As the blood continued to drip from Marucia's side, tiny beams of light shot up where the blood fell. Pure white pillars soared and disappeared into the heavens and as they gradually faded into a more translucent, glowing light Sora thought he saw color on the floor, edges of some intricate design.
And suddenly it dawned on him that it was blood that released that light, blood that was melting away the tiles that hid whatever lay underneath. Hollow Bastion had a past written in blood.
The Advocate's arm shook and he had to grip the Heart Unlocker tighter, to keep himself from dropping Riku's weapon and letting them both know of his presence. It was obvious things were not going the way they should, and that he would now have to step in.
Ronsend grimaced for a second. He had hoped Marucia would keep his hands free of more blood but this would not be the case.
As Sora and Marucia stared at the beams of light, their match quite forgotten, a strong voice exploded. " Begone you wretched fool! You absolute miserable thing, get going, get out! You are no longer needed!"
" Wha!" Sora whirled around and looked up at the source of the voice. Dread suddenly swelled in him, roaring in his ear.
There, on a much higher balcony and well out of reach, was another member of the Society. Taller, much more intimidating, and wielding the Heart Unlocker.
Marucia closed his eyes and bit his lip, knowing the verdict. The Elite had failed again, thanks to him! And now the Advocate had come to finish the job.
The Advocate, he thought bitterly, it's in your hands now.
He sent out a mental alarm to the others, waited for them to understand the order. Then he smiled grimly at the Keyblade Master. " The next time we meet, I won't be so friendly…Shirozora."
" What did you call me!" Sora shouted, shocked at the recurrence of the name. But Marucia simply dissolved into thin air, his lingering, mysterious smile lingering just a moment longer than the rest of him. Now Sora was confused. And pissed as hell.
" Coward!" he screamed, whirling around, searching and knowing he wasn't there. " Get back here, you-"
He heard something land on the balcony behind him. Sora whirled around, his senses screaming, and then his reflexes kicked into gear. The Silver Keyblade flew up and blocked a slender black blade, then he parried furiously as the mysterious man advanced on him with long strides.
Sora felt his muscles burn as he fought furiously to gain the upper hand but the man was too fast. He barely had the strength and the speed to block the blade as he led the man around in a circle on the balcony, trying to gain time to plan a backlash.
He managed to catch a glimpse of the man, when the attacker pulled back momentarily. He caught the glimpse of a face, brunet bangs swaying over glowing golden bronze eyes. There was a blue mark under each eye, turning the face half-wild. The eyes of the wolf glared at him. There was hate…and there was confusion.
Why did Marucia call him Shirozora? The Advocate wondered, still slightly stunned by the surprise. Why was he recalling the past, a past he doesn't know?
The voice of the Prophet came back to him.
" The past will never forget you, even if you've forgotten the past."
Impossible!
Sora heard a sudden, inhuman growl, then the Advocate launched himself at the Keyblade Master again. The teenager gasped as his muscles burned with fury; the man was impossible! Sora had never faced someone so fast, so strong, and so impossibly skillful; most, if not all, of his enemies had at least one weakness that he was able to exploit to his advantage. But this…this man was far more skillful than any he fought, swifter, and much stronger. Much stronger. Each clash of the other blade left his arms jarring, numb from the hard, abrupt blows.
The man kept swinging and Sora, though he continued to block the attacks, kept staggering back, weakening under each blow. His muscles burned; sweat dribbled down his face and his shirt stuck to his back.
Faintly he heard Donald and Goofy shouting for help as they continued to fight the NeoShadows. Help would not come from him; he was too busy, preoccupied with a threat that was becoming more than real.
What was that? Suddenly he heard beating, a regular rhythmic – no, two of them! Two separate rhythms, beating unevenly in his head. One was slow and steady; the other was racing, like his-
The Advocate struck and before he knew it, Sora and the Kingdom Key parted ways. Sora tumbled to the floor, falling on his bottom while the Kingdom Key slid away, spinning as it slowed to a stop. Sora stared at the blotches of color and light shining through the red tiles, then to his right, where the Keyblade sat, gleaming with hope for a counterattack. He started to get up.
A hard boot kicked his left let and he fell back down. He could feel it, the ominous presence as the Unknown walked into his field of vision. He looked up, into the face of the man who had unarmed him with such ridiculous ease.
" Sora, where are you? We need your help!" he could still hear Donald squalling.
" Sora!" Goofy shouted.
" Your friends…won't be receiving your help anytime soon."
Sora stared. That voice, he's heard it before! It was the voice in his dream, back at Australia, the voice that told him of the wanderlust and the sea in his blood. It was the same voice as the one belonging to the man who stood before him with the Heart Unlocker…
For we may all be different but we share the same sky, one sky…and one destiny.
Ronsend…
" Do I know you?" Sora whispered, his voice barely heard.
The man glared down at him, his glowing eyes filled with contempt and hatred.
" That doesn't matter now, does it? Because one way or another, you'll never reach the Door of Light!"
He pulled up the Heart Unlocker, its sharp head aimed for Sora's heart.
" Ascenti totellum!"
They both froze. Sora forgot to breath, couldn't think straight as his ears rang with those words and the shocked cries of his comrades. He had heard those words before, was present to see its destructive power wipe out masses of Heartless.
A blast of white light soared into the sky, then quickly vanished. Then someone leaped onto the balcony.
Aozora. Wielding the Golden Key and the Oathkeeper.
Author's Endnote: And this is why I love cliffhangers. Long reviews and questions are preferred but anything's fine, as long as you had the patience to both wait and read the chapter. Answers to questions and statements in general concerning ALL of my stories are best found at shirozoras-scriptorium. but if I wrote the link wrong…just check the links I posted to my blogs. Once again, no preview will be written. By NOW you should understand why, I hope. Thank you. Oh and one hint: the next chapter is possibly the shortest ever.