I'm back! And right after the previous chapter?! Didn't see that one coming, did ya?
Not much to say here, so enjoy the chapter!
"Underline" is when a character is speaking Japanese, and a lack of one is when the character is speaking English.
I do not own Kingdom Hearts, My Hero Academia, OMORI, or any of its characters.
Chapter 5: Wave of Chaos
Don't be afraid… You hold the mightiest weapon of all…
(Play: KH 2.5 OST: Dive into the Heart - Destati)
Sora kept running, keeping himself at a jogging pace to not waste his energy. His senses were on high alert. He didn't know if there would be an ambush. It didn't help that the city was super quiet. It was almost like a ghost town.
Sora knew that the people had been evacuated to a safer location in case the Heartless tried to attack them, but the silence unnerved him. It felt like those moments at the End of the World in his first journey. The remains of those worlds had appeared before him and his friends before their first battle with Ansem, but there was nobody friends. No animals. Not even an echo.
Just Heartless.
Sora shook the thought and followed the dark trail. He slowly realized what it meant, and he found himself in a very familiar place.
The park.
Sora had never known the name of the park he had fallen into on his first night on Earth, nor did he bother to. Back then, he had only been focused on learning as much as he could about this world, so he never gave much thought into figuring out what the park's name was.
Honestly, he wished he did.
As Sora walked into the park's vicinity, he felt the air grow cold. It's here. Sora thought.
"So you have come…"
He heard the voice again. This time, it was not distorted, but it gave chills down Sora's spine. He summoned his Keyblade, looking around, but seeing nothing.
"So what if I have?" Sora called out, "Where are you supposed to be?"
"Why would I need to answer that?" the voice replied, "So that you can strike me down like you did the others?"
"Well… yeah." Sora was taken aback by the answer.
"Hmph." the voice replied, "You're amusing."
"Whaddya mean?"
The voice remained silent, which Sora did not like at all. Before he could ask another question, the voice spoke again, "A pure heart to the end, aren't you, Key Bearer?"
"So what? Got a problem with that?" Sora retorted.
"No. Quite the opposite, actually."
"Huh?"
"It makes you careless, Key Bearer, and more prone to making stupid decisions. Haven't you noticed?" the voice replied, "Or are you that dense that you can't even tell that your own actions brought you to this place?"
"I know what I did." Sora said, "I know that I was meant to fade due to breaking that taboo. But it's because of my friends that I'm still alive and kicking. Besides, who are you to judge me? Aren't you some sort of Heartless?"
"Still so blind." the voice said, "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
Sora had heard those lines before. But this voice couldn't possibly be him. Riku had struck him down for good at the Keyblade Graveyard. "I know you're not Ansem. Spill the beans. Who are you, really?"
There was silence, before the voice spoke a simple word.
"...Darkness…"
(Play: KH3 OST: Fragments of Sorrow)
At that, Sora saw multiple shadows appear from the ground. Surrounding him now were several Shadows of various sizes, and even a few Neoshadows added into the bunch. Sora hadn't seen these large Shadows since Wonderland. This could be trouble.
A Mega Shadow lunged towards Sora, but the Keyblade wielder reacted in time, dodging its outstretched claws and whacking it away with his Keyblade. It tumbled to the ground, crushing a few of its smaller kin in the process, but got back up, angrier than ever. Sora wasn't fazed, though, and jumped as it tried to attack him again, bashing it in the head with his blade. The other Shadows lunged at him in the air, but Sora was ready for them.
"Fire!" Sora released a torrent of flame around himself like a ring. Some of the Shadows reared back, but others weren't fast enough, and were burned or incinerated by the flames surrounding the Keyblade wielder, giving him some breathing room as he landed on the ground.
He brought his Keyblade up to block a Neoshadow's outstretched claw, and delivered a kick to yet another Mega Shadow to knock it back, before turning his attention to the Neoshadow and cleaved it in half, dissipating it.
Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his back. The Mega Shadow had come back for more, and had slashed its claws at him from behind before he could react in time. Snarling, Sora turned around and slashed the Mega Shadow, cutting it in two. Ignoring the pain currently burning on his back, he decided to test to see if he could cast another spell.
He raised his Keyblade up to the sky, yellow electricity at the tip of it. "Thunder!" he called out, summoning a series of small lightning bolts from the sky and electrocuting the enemies around him, stunning them. This allowed Sora to get some distance between the Heartless, before pointing his blade and firing bullets of light towards them, eliminating them in their stunned state.
Sora's back stung, but it wasn't as severe as it felt before. He tried to cast Cure on himself, but found his magic pool to be already used up.
Crap. I'm out of magic already?! Sora thought, I don't feel any less magic than I had before… so why do I attack and use magic like I've gotten weaker?
Pushing the thought aside, Sora grabbed a potion from his pocket, and drank it, feeling the burning sensation go away. Only two potions, a hi-potion, and an ether left. I've gotta conserve my stock or I'm toast!
(Play: KH3 Chaos Mix: Fragments of Sorrow - Darkside)
Sora looked around, expecting more Heartless to come along, but as he turned around, he noticed his shadow had grown to an extremely large size. He jumped back, realizing what was about to happen.
As he watched, his shadow emerged as a very large Heartless that Sora had encountered many times before. It, like the Neoshadows, took a humanoid shape. However, it lacked antennae, replaced with hair-like appendages that covered its face. It also had small wings on its back, but the most prominent feature was the large, heart-shaped void in its torso, which would make even the bravest of warriors shiver.
This was the Heartless type Jiminy had dubbed the "Darkside.". The monster that had haunted Sora's dreams before he was thrown into this adventure. The one who had led the attack which had destroyed his beloved Destiny Islands.
Except… there was something different about it.
This Darkside appeared to have a more purplish tint, which was more prominent on its large hands, which were blood red at the tips of its fingers. The aura it gave out was also more intimidating and pressuring than normal Darksides.
Sora took a step back, before gritting his teeth. For some reason, despite never facing it personally, he knew exactly what this was. A Dark Follower. A stronger variant of the Darkside. This had to be the Heartless's leader here in this world. He gripped his Keyblade hard and readied himself to face the oncoming darkness.
"Come on!" Sora shouted, and the Dark Follower roared back in challenge.
The Heartless clapped both fists together, rearing back and raising them up to the sky, ready to slam both onto the ground. Sora knew he had to dodge this by jumping, but even he was surprised when the Dark Follower's attack shook the land like a minor earthquake, and the shockwave was larger than he anticipated, though he barely made it over said wave before tumbling to the ground.
Wasting no time, Sora blitzed towards the Dark Follower's vulnerable hands, and struck them multiple times before the Dark Follower brought them back up, forcing Sora to retreat as it exposed its empty core.
Dark purple energy began forming at the center of its empty heart-shaped void as it began firing large blasts of dark energy, which all homed in on Sora. The Keyblade wielder timed his strikes and deflected each of them back towards the Dark Follower, which took the orbs without much issue.
Not good. It's much faster and tougher than a normal Darkside, Sora thought, It's recovering from my attacks much more quickly! This is gonna take longer than I thought. Sora's train of thought crashed as he barely dodged an attempt by the Dark Follower to grab him.
Let's see if this still works! Sora thought, and his pupils dilated as he focused on each of the Dark Follower's hands and then to his head. Now! Sora jumped up, pointing his Keyblade in front of him, as powerful energy charged at the tip of it. If one looked closely enough, his clothes also appeared to change color as well.
"Ragnarok!" Sora shouted, releasing the energy and firing 24 spinning energy bullets towards the Dark Follower. Eight bullets hit their respective targets and caused the Heartless to rear up and take a step back.
The Dark Follower recovered, and raised its right arm, which pulsed with dark energy, before slamming it down to the ground, creating a pool of darkness from its hand. Sora was quick to take advantage and attacked the hand vigorously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shadows appearing from the pool of darkness the Dark Follower had created, and then, he decided to do something crazy.
Without a second's hesitation, ignoring the Shadows, Sora leapt onto the Dark Follower's arm, and began running up the arm towards the face. Sora used his Flowmotion to speed up to dodge the other hand that had tried to grab him mid-flight, and charging up a massive amount of power, Sora let out a battle cry as he slammed the Keyblade, whose blade now glowed a bright yellow, into the Dark Follower's face.
To say the least, an extremely powerful explosion of light was released upon impact, capable of blinding almost anybody had they been present. Sora leaped out of the smoke and landed on the ground, ready to continue the fight. The legs of the Dark Follower staggered back again from the impact, but not enough to send it to the ground. The Keyblade Wielder couldn't figure out how much damage that last attack had done, even after the smoke had cleared around the Darkside.
But one thing was certain. It was infuriated by that last attack. It roared its fury to the heavens, so much that a dark aura began oozing out of the Heartless. Sora looked determined to take this thing down, and gripped his Keyblade to prepare for the upcoming storm.
(Play: KH 3 OST - Dive into the Heart -Destati- (Third Inception) Timestamp - 5:45)
But to his surprise, the Dark Follower relaxed, staring at the Keyblade Wielder before a pool of darkness surrounded it. Sora lowered his guard, confused, before he saw the giant Heartless descending down into it.
No… it's retreating?! Sora thought. "Get back here!" Sora shouted, rushing towards the Dark Follower as it slowly disappeared into the murky pool of darkness. Sora lunged toward the Heartless, aiming for the head in an attempt to end it…
But his blade hit nothing but the ground.
"No…" he cursed himself for being too slow.
The Dark Follower had escaped.
(Silence)
10 minutes earlier…
(Play: MHA OST - Threat Incoming)
"Okay. That's everyone!" Kamui Woods said as the civilians were directed to a safer location. The Heroes were now searching every nook and cranny
"How is she?" Aubrey asked Hero as he examined a sleeping Mari.
"She's stable… that's a relief." Hero sighed in relief, "She wasn't injured that badly."
"Are you okay, Sunny?" Basil asked his friend, who had woken up and looked around frantically. The boy sighed in relief, but was still shaking. "No…" he whispered, "Not really…"
"What happened back there?" Kel asked.
"I don't know!" Sunny said frantically, "One moment we heard screams. Next thing I know, these… black creatures appeared and attacked us! I got so scared… it was like I'd seen them before… but… I couldn't do anything, and then Mari got attacked… and…!"
"Sunny, calm down. Deep breaths, okay?" Hero reassured him, placing a comforting hand on him, "It's okay… they're not here now." Sunny did what Hero said, and relaxed slightly. "You're gonna be alright. Take it easy..." Hero hugged him, and Sunny hugged back tightly. Aubrey, Basil, and Kel joined the hug as well.
Momo watched them with worry. She had just finished calling her mother to assure her that she was okay. It was true that the Heartless were terrifying creatures, from what Sora had claimed, and they even scared her a bit, but she had to keep calm… or the situation might take a turn for the worst.
She had talked with Aubrey, Basil, Kel, and Hero while Sora took off to Faraway Library, and they knew about his Quirk, which could summon objects out of thin air, but were still worried about him regardless. Even now, as Sora departed yet again to face an evil that they had never seen before, they still remained worried. They seemed to have a decent friendship already despite having met the islander 4 days ago.
Funny. He seemed to have a knack of making friends easily…
"Yaoyorozu-shoujo," she heard a voice behind her, snapping her out of her train of thought, and she turned to see All Might looking from her to the group of friends hugging, "Are they alright?"
"Yes. Everyone but Hidaka-san," Momo replied, "He showed symptoms of trauma, like he's seen something like the Heartless before, but it seems those feelings are gone now."
"That's a relief." All Might sighed, before seeing that a certain spiky haired boy wasn't among them, "Wait… where's Sora-shounen?"
"He's…" Momo paused at this. She didn't want to lie to the Symbol of Peace, but Sora had wanted to face this thing alone, claiming it to be his problem. It was clearly evident on his face back then that this was a more personal matter for him, as she recalled the question she had asked Sora before they had gone to engage the Heartless swarm.
Thankfully, other civilians had crowded around All Might, asking for autographs and saving her the pressure of answering truthfully. Still, the raven-haired girl deadpanned at the way they were acting in a situation like this, but she was honestly glad for the distraction. She then looked to where the circle of friends had stopped hugging, and were now talking to an awakened Mari.
"H-Hero?" Mari asked, looking at her friend.
"You're alright, Mari. Sunny, too." Hero said, looking to Mari's little brother. Sunny looked at her for a second before hugging her, crying openly.
"I'm sorry!" he wept, "I'm sorry I couldn't help! I'm so, so sorry!"
"Shhh… shhh… it's okay, Sunny," Mari reassured her brother, kissing him on the forehead, "You were scared. Anybody could've been from those monsters. I was, too. And so was everyone else."
Momo noticed that all the friends present in that group had a dark or unusual look on their faces. It was fear, but also… something else.
"Please don't be so hard on yourself, Sunny. I don't blame you for anything." Mari smiled reassuringly, "And if you still don't believe that, just know that I forgive you… alright?"
Sunny sniffled, "O-okay…"
"Yeah. I probably would've froze if I was in your place, too, Sunny," Basil reassured him, "Actually, I would freeze."
"Any of us would've…" Hero said rather quietly, a brooding look on his face. Kel nodded as well, his cheerful self surprisingly not present like normal. Something Aubrey and Momo took notice of, but did not mention.
"So what now? Where's Sora?" Mari asked.
The others looked down, as Momo explained, "He… went looking for the Heartless's leader by himself."
"Alone?" Mari asked shocked, "And you let him do that?"
"We couldn't convince him otherwise, Mari," Hero sighed, "And besides, from what I saw, Sora had something personal against the Heartless themselves."
Everyone except Mari and Sunny understood, recalling that the Heartless were the reason Sora had his Quirk in the first place, and the thought of how he had gotten it from those zombie-like monsters was too much to think about for any of them, and he likely lost some loved ones to those things before his Quirk manifested. It would only be natural for Sora to have something personal against them, enough to the point where he actively participated in helping others bring the scientist who made them down.
"Still… he shouldn't go and face that threat alone…" Sunny whispered quietly, "And we seriously can't do anything?"
"I understand how you feel, Sunny. But these monsters are resilient," Hero recalled, "Sora said that they're drawn to people's negative emotions and desires, which I think is what he meant by 'Darkness in people's hearts,'. They'll keep coming back, no matter what we do. Sora's Keyblade is the only thing he says that can beat them permanently,"
"But we can't just do nothing!" Sunny burst out angrily, "I want to help in some way. Isn't that what being a Hero is? That's what we're trying to be, guys. This shouldn't be how a Hero acts."
The others pondered on those words a bit, conflicted. Sunny did have a point, but the only thing barring them from acting like such was the Quirk Laws placed by Japan.
However, their thought process was cut short when they felt the ground shake.
"What was that?!" a civilian asked in shock.
"I see something! A giant monster that's half my size!" Mt. Lady called out to the Heroes in her giant form, "What the heck?! There's a kid fighting that thing!"
"Sora-shounen!" All Might realized, cursing silently, "Dammit, kid… Leave it to me! I'm on my way!"
In a burst of speed, he was gone. The group of friends and Momo looked at one another.
"Looks like Sora's found the leader," Kel remarked, "So what now?"
"All Might's heading over there, so Sora should be okay," Basil replied.
"Still… can he make it in time?"
"Come on! It's All Might! He'll always make it!" Basil said frantically.
"Calm down. We know Sora's tough in his own right. There's more to him behind that goofy smile of his," Kel grinned, "But still… it would be nice to help out a bit more."
"Then let's do that, and make sure that no other Heartless attacks the civilians." Momo proposed.
Most of them look at one another and nod, Sunny doing so reluctantly.
Meanwhile, a figure sits atop a building close to the gathered civilians, watching them with a silent gaze, before walking away from view.
(Silence)
Meanwhile, Sora looked down to notice that the pool of darkness the Dark Follower had disappeared in was still present. He watched as multiple Shadows appeared from the pool, a legion that was much larger than the one before.
Not good… Sora thought, I'm surrounded, and out of magic… Not to mention that the last attack I did was taxing in my regular form… Have I not stockpiled enough energy?
Sora had no time to think as the Shadows slowly converged on him. Great… I wish I had somebody who could back me up right now…
"Young Sora!"
A familiar voice startled Sora out of his thoughts as a blue blur lands on the ground next to him. As the dust settles, Sora notices that the voice belonged to All Might.
"What were you thinking?!" All Might scolded, "I told you to take a rest!"
"I know." Sora said.
"So why did you not listen? Look at yourself!"
Sora couldn't see it, but his clothing was ruffled up during those little scuffles with the Heartless. A claw mark had torn through the back of his jacket where the Mega Shadow had struck him, but where there should've been blood, lay only clear skin, as Sora had used a potion to heal his wounds.
"Look… I hate to say it so bluntly, but you don't know these things like I do." Sora replied sternly, "They will not stop until they've consumed every heart in the world. I couldn't just sit still and watch, All Might. You should know what that feels like."
That made the Symbol of Peace silent for a few seconds, not because of Sora's rebuttal, but by the fact that when Sora told him he should know what the feeling of being unable to simply watch is like. The way the young boy had said it, almost sounded like he had been in that place many times before, and it had cost him greatly.
And his eyes.
Though they possessed a childlike spark, the Pro Hero noticed that deep within those youthful eyes lay a desire to protect others. A desire and determination that has been kindled and nurtured, into a strong conviction that words alone would not destroy so easily. He wondered just what kind of tedious trials the young boy had gone through with his history with these monsters.
(Play: KH BBS OST - Hunter in the Dark)
He had no more time to think as the Heartless surrounding them suddenly started to run to a spot in front of them. The two were initially confused, until they saw the Shadows start climbing atop one another, and Sora quickly realized what they were doing as they merged together, becoming a much stronger Heartless known as the Demon Tower.
Sora had only briefly faced it in the Realm of Darkness when he had gone to rescue Riku and King Mickey in the Realm of Darkness, but he knew that if it grew into its stronger form, things would only escalate and get out of hand for the Pros to handle.
"All Might, we need to take this thing out now!" Sora shouted, "If it calls for more help, we'll be in an even worse situation than before!"
"My thoughts exactly, Young Sora!" All Might grinned, before lunging towards the tower, crossing his hands together. "CAROLINA…" All Might shouted, before chopping both hands downwards, "SMAAASH!", making impact with the Demon Tower and causing a gust of wind which caused many Shadows that made up the Tower to be sent flying away.
The Heartless clearly wasn't expecting that powerful of a blow, but it made up for it as the Shadows that weren't destroyed by the attack regrouped with the main body of the Tower. Startled, All Might jumped back as the Shadows' eyes grew red as it began swinging its body around, trying to knock the Symbol of Peace into the air.
Sora then went on the offensive, leaping over the Tower as it swung at him, and began striking the bottom of the Tower as fast as he could before jumping away to avoid a counterattack. He felt his magic abilities recharged after their use, and was quick to cast Thunder on the Tower to wear it down.
"Go!" Sora shouted as All Might leapt into the air while the Demon Tower was stunned. All Might then does a frontal somersault while Sora trained the Keyblade's tip at the Heartless, feeling enough power stockpiled to cast a stronger spell.
"CALIFORNIA…" All Might started as he somersaulted.
"Here we go…" Sora declared as flames erupted from the tip of his Keyblade.
"SMAAASH!"
"Blaze!"
All Might reared his fist back and whacked the Demon Tower from the top to obliterate or send away the Shadows with the punch and the gust of wind that followed, while Sora launched a larger fireball from his weapon, sending it towards the downed legion of Shadows and incinerating a large number of them.
Sora suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, and he clutched it as he tasted something disgusting flow into his mouth. He coughed in pain, covering his mouth with his right hand as he dismissed his Keyblade. As he moved his hand away from his mouth, he noticed that his gauntlet was stained in wet red paint.
No. Not paint. Blood.
His blood.
(Silence)
What? Sora thought, stunned, How did that happen? Did I overexert myself using Firaza? But I thought that this would be enough power to cast it….!
"Young Sora, look out!"
Sora barely had time to react as the Demon Tower took advantage and bum rushed him. He rolled away despite the pain in his chest, the Tower slamming on nothing but the ground.
Well. He thought dryly, Looks like I know a bit of where my limit is in terms of Magic.
He felt light headed, but All Might managed to catch him before he fell. "Young Sora, are you alright?" the Pro Hero asked concerned.
"Yes…" Sora coughed, "But also no…"
(Play: KH BBS OST: Extreme Encounters)
The Demon Tower looked extra furious by the duo of powerful attacks, and it spun around wildly before plunging itself into the ground. Initially, All Might was confused, but when he saw Sora's face morph from pain to horror, he knew something had gone terribly wrong.
And go wrong it did. From the place the Tower had plunged into, a sphere of Shadows emerged, followed by a trail of its fellows as it rotated around and around. Sora's fear had come to pass, as the Demon Tower had evolved and had become the Demon Tide, a monster of abnormal power much stronger than its previous form.
The Demon Tide wasted no time and launched itself at All Might, who barely managed to dodge the attack with Sora in his arm, a Shadow within the Tide grazing his Hero Costume. Dammit… It's faster than before! All Might thought, This could be trouble.
"All Might…" he heard Sora say weakly, "We've got to get the people out of here…"
"What just happened?" All Might asked him urgently.
"That Heartless… just got stronger…" Sora continued, "We have to stop it… before it gathers and absorbs more Heartless into itself…"
"Fear not, Young Sora. I will handle this. But we need to get you to a safe place."
"No need…" Sora grabbed another potion and drank it, feeling the pain lessen a bit. "I can still fight…!"
Though he said that, Sora still felt woozy. He really wished he still remembered how the Cure spell worked. It was a different form of magic compared to Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder. But he had to deal with the hand he had on him.
I'm really missing Donald right now… he thought.
He was cut off when he saw the Demon Tide rush in on both of them, and All Might once again leapt out of harm's way with Sora still in his arm. The Tide crashed into a nearby building, but it appeared out the other end, ignoring All Might and Sora and heading into the direction Sora had come from.
To the civilians.
To his friends.
"NO!" Sora shouted, and jumped out of All Might's hands. Using his Flowmotion, he tore after the Heartless, hopping from building to building.
"Young Sora, wait!" All Might shouted, but then suddenly coughed severely as he went down on one knee. Crap… am I at my limit?! Now, of all times?
He stood there as he began to steam out. He wanted to help out and protect the citizens, but if he did, he'd risk reducing his time even further. "Pros are always risking their lives! That is the true test of a Hero!". Those words he had said during a certain incident months ago rang in his head now as he watched Sora leap off into the distance.
In a crazy way, Sora was exemplifying this statement, just like a young boy he had met during that incident so long ago, but unlike that boy, Sora was injured, possibly broken, and despite that, he was still fighting on to ensure that the innocent were safe.
Had fate decided it, he could have also been worthy of possessing the power… but he had made his choice already with another boy. Nothing could change that.
Ah, screw it… throwing caution to the wind, All Might leapt off after the Keyblade Wielder, both of them hoping to reach the citizens before the Demon Tide did.
Sora leapt from building to building, as he saw the Tide slowly gaining distance between them. Not willing to let it happen, Sora decided to do something crazy. Without any thought for his safety, he jumped onto the tail end of the Demon Tide, before hopping his way towards the core at the front.
The Demon Tide took notice of this, and twisted left and right to try and throw Sora off of it, but Sora, despite feeling a bit woozy, managed to hold on, bashing away at Shadows trying to attack him. Slowly, Sora marched towards the Tide's core while trying to keep his balance, but the Tide's twisting and turning was keeping Sora from reaching the core, and before he knew it, halfway through, he found himself losing balance, and with a final swing, the Demon Tide knocked Sora off itself into the city below, where he crashed into a nearby building.
He wouldn't lie. That impact hurt. That was saying something.
He heard screams as he slowly got to his feet, and his heart dropped.
(Play: MHA OST: Surpassing You)
It was like reliving an old nightmare. The Demon Tide was already wreaking havoc, attacking and consuming as many people as it could into its legion of Shadows, while the people themselves were helplessly fleeing from its rampage.
"Sora!" he heard Mari's voice call out to him, and he turned to his left, seeing the owner of the voice look to him as she helped others move out of the way of the Demon Tide's assault. He could make out other familiar faces in the crowd. Sunny, Basil, and Hero were helping Mari evacuate the civilians, while Aubrey and Kel carried a couple of people away from the danger. There was no sign of Momo. Perhaps she was also helping, but Sora couldn't see her right now.
He saw the Demon Tide racing towards them and leapt into action, ignoring the screaming in his head that his body was tearing itself apart. He stood between the two and hit the core with as much strength as he could.
It reeled back, hissing. Well, the legion of Shadows all hissed at the strike, which didn't make it better. Sora panted, exhaustion finally catching up to him, as he collapsed on one knee using his Keyblade supporting him. Despite using his Potions, the reality that all day had been nothing but battle had exhausted him to no end. The fact he was rusty wasn't helping his case either. His vision was blurring.
Though it wasn't lost, it seems that his powers and abilities had been greatly restricted by his own weakened body.
A cry for help snapped Sora out of his stupor. He turned to see somebody stuck in the rubble. He couldn't make out their face, but he saw the Demon Tide's eyes glow red in response. Without hesitation, it ignored Sora and decided to feast upon the helpless innocent.
Sora didn't know how it happened, what came over him, or where he got the strength to even move, but his body suddenly operated on its own to prevent the Heartless from getting to the bystander. He finds himself between the individual and the Heartless, as he rears his blade back and stabs the Tide in front of them, Keyblade glowing in light.
It was working. The Tide was being repelled by Sora's light, but it left him in a terrible situation. He couldn't move from his spot to help the innocent out, or he'd risk getting both of them consumed by the darkness. It was a stalemate, and the one who gave out first would be the one to fall.
And with his predicament and his condition, it seemed like Sora would be the lucky guy to take that title. Well… lucky would be pushing it way too hard. But he wasn't planning on giving up.
"Oh my god!" he heard the figure shout out. The voice was feminine, but she must've seen something that spooked her out. Sora looked back to see who he was trying to save.
A middle-aged woman in her thirties. She had a dark blue shirt on, but she was trapped under rubble, so Sora couldn't see how badly she was hurt. But what caught his attention was her hair, which was brown and tied in a ponytail.
And her eyes…
Sora felt a wave of pain in his body. He realized that the Demon Tide had decided to put more force into its attack, and Sora was taking the full force of it.
"Don't worry, ma'am!" he shouted, "It's gonna be okay!". He put more power into his defense, but even that was failing as he felt himself being pushed back once more.
"I can't… I won't… I won't fail everybody a second time! I refuse to let you consume my friends and this world!" Sora shouted, trying his very best to ignore the pain he was feeling, trying his best to keep his light shining bright to protect the ones he cared about.
"SORA!" he heard people screaming his name in horror as he felt the pain escalate further. He couldn't see it, but the darkness was starting to eat at him, ripping through him and tearing him apart, just like it had with Riku and Roxas during their final stand when the Guardians fell.
And it was scaring his friends by the second, seeing their newest, and probably kindest, friend being consumed by the darkness he was protecting them from.
Sora was starting to feel the pain now. It was unbearable, but he grit his teeth and kept pushing, despite the impossible odds. But he felt it. His body was being torn apart. Was this what Riku and Roxas felt in their final moments back then in that cursed timeline? He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable doom…
But suddenly, he felt two hands placed onto his back and weapon arm, supporting him. Startled, Sora turned back to see a scared but determined Sunny, supporting him.
"Sunny?!" he shouted.
"No more…" the boy grunted in pain, "I'm…I'm not gonna run away. Not again!"
Suddenly, Sora felt slightly stronger, and found more drive to push back. Was this Sunny's Quirk affecting him? Was his imagination giving both of them a power boost? Though he felt that Sunny might die with him, Sora decided to keep pushing, reinvigorated by Sunny's resolve and filled with hope to save him from an end like this.
To his surprise, Aubrey, Hero, Kel, Basil, and Mari also ran up to help support their friends, each of them supporting Sora in some way.
"Guys!" Sora said in surprise, as they all looked at him with determination.
"We're not leaving you to fight this thing by yourself." Kel declared, "I don't care what beef you've got with these things, at least let us help!"
"We're training to be heroes for a reason! This is why!" Aubrey added.
"You saved us before. So let us save you!" Mari replied bravely.
Sora recalled that day when they confirmed they were planning to study for the Hero Course, and he found himself laughing a bit, before grinning. "Yeah… You're right!" Sora focused his attention on the Tide trying to overpower him, and pushed.
"Hold on!" he cried out as he took a step forward, trying to push back the Tide while every single muscle in his body screamed in pain. The others wore pained but determined expressions as well, and Sora could see the darkness eating away at them as well.
"Come on… come on!" Sora grunted, pushing with every bit of strength he could muster. The Tide remained persistent, pushing Sora and his friends back a bit. "No…!" Sora remained determined, and let out a long but defiant yell to try and push back against it with all his power…
Then everything went white.
(Silence)
When Sora opened his eyes, he found himself in a white void. Frantically, he looked around, wondering where his friends were.
"Mari! Sunny! Anyone?!" he called out.
Nothing. No response. Not even an echo.
"Oh no… did I…?" Sora thought aloud in horror, "No… it can't be…"
Had he failed? Were he and his friends now dead? Had the Heartless actually overpowered him?
"No…" Sora thought sadly, "I… I messed up…"
Of course he did. He was by himself. There was no way he would have defeated that Demon Tide without help. He couldn't find the strength to yell out in grief. He just let the tears fall. It was over.
He'd lost.
He'd failed them. Not just his new friends… but the ones he'd left behind.
"Everyone… I'm… I'm so sorry…"
(Play: KH3 Re:Mind Soundtrack - Link to All - Second - Connect the Keyholes)
"Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!"
A familiar voice made Sora jump. He looked around, but couldn't see where the voice came from. It seemed to come from everywhere. He heard yet another voice.
"You'd betray your king?"
"Not on your life!" Sora looked around again, but still found nothing, as Goofy's voice continued to speak and echo throughout the void, "But I'm not gonna betray Sora either! He's become one of my best buds after all we've been through together. It would be wrong to leave him just because of the King's orders!"
Sora knew this memory. It was when Riku had taken the Keyblade from Sora at Hollow Bastion, and when he was about to kill him when Sora had chosen to delve deeper into that world, Goofy had protected Sora, deciding to go against King Mickey's orders to follow the one who held the Keyblade.
"See ya later, Donald! Could you tell the King I'm really sorry?"
"Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together!" a raspy but discernible voice answered back through the void. Donald… Sora thought. Why were these memories coming to him now?
"Well… You know… all for one and one for all." Donald's voice said.
"I guess you're stuck with us, Sora." Goofy's voice concluded.
Then he heard his own voice, younger and higher, "Thanks a lot, Donald… Goofy,"
Sora couldn't help but chuckle at the memory as he wiped away his tears. Donald and Goofy had chosen their friendship over Sora over their loyalty to Mickey, and this only further solidified their bond. They had been his traveling companions, from start to finish, whether Sora saw it or not. He missed them dearly, and he wouldn't deny it.
He only wished he could see them one last time.
So it only further surprised Sora when he heard a very dorky, but very familiar voice speak up.
"Gawsh, Sora... what's up with that face?"
Sora looked up to see the source of the voice. It was too good to be true. Standing in front of him were a very bizarre duo. An anthropomorphic duck and dog wearing outfits to match Sora's were smiling at him, but their eyes showed concern.
"Donald…" Sora said in shock, looking from one to the other, "Goofy…" He admitted that tears were threatening to fall from his eyes yet again. His own traveling companions were standing right in front of him. "How…?"
The two simply smiled at him, and Sora could only guess why.
"Sora," Donald began, "Seriously, what's with that frown? It's not like you to feel down in the dumps."
"I…" Sora said, but the words stuck in his throat. Too many emotions were threatening to release from his heart. "I don't know… I can't do this on my own… I'm not ready to go yet… What am I supposed to do?"
"Sora. You can't give up here. We're all looking and waiting for you to come back home." Donald persisted, and added reluctantly, "We can't just leave you to fade like that. What kind of friends would we be?"
"Whaddya mean?" Sora asked weakly, "I…"
"Come on, Sora." Goofy chuckled, "You should know that you're never alone, even when we're apart. Our hearts are always connected to one another, dontcha remember? You're not kicking the bucket just like that. That's not the Sora we all know and love."
"And we made a promise," Donald continued, "We promised that we would protect each other, no matter what."
"Right… we did," Sora said, remembering that little promise they had made at the end of their first adventure, "We'd always fight together, even when we're apart."
"Exactly." Goofy replied, "So turn that frown upside down, Sora. You can do this, because not just your friends there are with you, we're right there with you too!" Goofy pointed to his chest, "Now get back up and show that Heartless you're better!"
"But… how?"
Donald smirked, "Ever heard the phrase, 'on your left?'"
As the duck said this, they became brilliant spheres of blue and green light, spiraling towards Sora, to his surprise, before his vision went white once more.
(Play: KH DDD OST: Link to All)
Sora found himself back in reality, with him and his friends still trying to hold back the Demon Tide. With new resolve, he forced himself to push against it, but the Demon Tide still proved much stronger. Sora was about to be pushed back, but he felt a pair of hands on his right and left shoulders. Startled, he turned to see a very surprising, but welcoming sight.
Donald and Goofy were there behind him, supporting him along with the others as he clashed with the Tide. Mari and the others seemed surprised too. They were actually there! But that wasn't the only surprise. They were… glowing?
"C'mon, Sora! Give it all you've got!" Goofy called out, snapping Sora out of his stupor.
"Show him who's boss!" Donald shouted.
Sora was stunned, more so by the fact that they were actually here, talking to him and helping him. "Guys…" Sora said, before cracking a grin, "Yeah! Here we go!"
He turned his head back to the Demon Tide. Ignoring the pain in his arms, he swung his Keyblade at the Tide, repelling it and catching the Heartless off guard, sending it careening backwards.
Without hesitation, Sora aimed the blade with two hands towards the staggered Heartless, and with Donald, Goofy, and the rest of his new friends supporting him, he fired a beam of light consisting of red, blue, and green beams spiraling around a central yellow beam towards the Demon Tide, pushing it back and dealing significant damage to it. From that damage, the Tide was forced to back off, crashing into a nearby building.
Sora panted heavily as he slumped to the ground on his rear. That last attack had taken a lot out of him.
"Curaga!" he heard Donald say, and he suddenly felt rejuvenated again. A green aura surrounded Sora as he felt his wounds being healed by Donald's healing spell. He looked to the duck in surprise, who simply smirked at him. "Don't expect to see me do that for you too often."
"Donald… Goofy… you're here! You're actually here!" Sora said with joy as he jumped to his feet. He couldn't believe it. They'd found him! "But… Why are you guys all glowing and sparkly? Didja get some new clothes or something?"
"We'll talk about it later, Sora." Goofy told him, "Cuz I don't think that Heartless is down for the count just yet."
Sora hated to admit it, but the Captain of Mickey's Royal Knights was right. The Demon Tide was quickly recovering, but still remained stationary near the building it had crashed in. And boy, did it look pissed off.
(Silence)
"Great." Sora sighed, "All that for what?"
"Don't worry, Sora. We're gonna take it down together!" Goofy said, summoning his Knight's Shield, "No way we're gonna be beaten by some Heartless threatening the worlds, not now or ever!"
"Let's get it!" Donald declared, summoning his Mage's Staff.
Sora had a cheeky grin on his face, happy that his friends were here to support him again. He didn't care if there were people watching. It was time to teach this Heartless a lesson. He gripped his Keyblade and got into his fighting stance.
(Play: KH 0.2 BBS OST: Wave of Darkness I)
"Bring it on!" Sora challenged, and the Demon Tide began to violently swing about in response, spinning around and around the area that they were in. He heard yelps of surprise behind him as Sora turned to see Mari, Sunny, Aubrey, Hero, Kel, and Basil sent flying back from the force of the swirling tide. Sora realized it had created a dark barrier to prevent others from coming in, appearing as a translucent black dome.
"Oh no! Young Sora!" he heard All Might yell. He turned back to the Symbol of Peace, who looked seriously concerned about Sora's condition. He had managed to save the woman Sora had protected, and she was on his back. Sora noticed he was steaming, but he wasn't concerned about that. Mari and the others also had that same look, but were at a safer distance from the building and the barrier. The Hero of Light only gave out a smile.
"Don't worry, All Might!" he grinned confidently, "We've got this!"
"Here goes nothing!" Goofy shouted.
The Demon Tide had stopped spinning around and had turned its attention to the trinity that was Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The three of them got ready to face off, and without warning, the Heartless charged towards them.
"Get clear!" Sora shouted, and the three of them jumped away from the Tide's assault. Goofy reacted fast afterwards and threw his shield at the Tide, missing its core, but managing to eliminate several Shadows which made up the monstrous Heartless before the shield returned to the captain. The Demon Tide reared back and began to make another round, the eyes of the Shadows glowing red. It tried to ram Sora again, but the Hero of Light easily jumped into the air to avoid it, before landing on the ground.
"Blizzaga!" Donald fired a large shard of ice towards the Tide, making impact with the core and causing it to stop for a brief second, before the Tide shook off the frost and the crystal before retreating to the sky, now hovering above the spiky haired swordsman and his friends.
Sora was currently running as the Demon Tide continued its assault. It was still focusing on him. Good. It was underestimating what Donald and Goofy could do. They themselves were running in different directions to flank the Heartless should it try anything. Sora watched as the Heartless spun around and around as it sent out Shadows towards the Keyblade wielder, who used Flowmotion to dodge and weave around each and every one of them as they scampered towards him, attempting to slash and swipe at him to no avail. He was surprised. He felt lighter than he did when he first came here, but decided to focus on that later, as he narrowly dodged another swipe from an incoming Shadow. They didn't stop coming, but Sora wasn't worried.
"Donald!" he called out. "Okay!" was the duck's reply, and he raised his staff high in the air, summoning large bolts of lighting to rain down on the Shadows from above, eliminating them in an instant. The Demon Tide wasn't done, as it burrowed itself into the ground through a portal of darkness.
Sora knew instantly that it was still targeting him, and he didn't have to look down to expect an attack from below. He rolled out of the way as the Tide appeared out of the ground where he once was mere seconds ago, before burrowing itself into the ground again.
"Sora!" he heard Goofy cry out, "Bombardier!", and Sora nodded back, understanding the implication. As Mari and the others watched, Sora leapt on top of Goofy's shield, before Goofy launched himself and his friend into the air. Their eyes were focused on the portal of darkness appearing in front of them. The Demon Tide was now aiming for Donald, and the mage knew that. Nodding to the two, Donald rolled away as the Tide began to resurface.
"Now!" Goofy shouted. Sora grabbed hold of his hand, spinning him around. "Go get em!" Sora shouted as he flung Goofy towards the emerging Heartless, with his shield in front of him and braced for impact. To the surprise of everyone present except the ones fighting, Goofy made impact and actually pushed the Tide's core down due to the force of which he was thrown, slamming said core into the ground and creating a massive shockwave.
It was all but dead, as the Demon Tide angrily pushed Goofy off of it, taking to the skies yet again.
Meanwhile, All Might, with the help of Death Arms and Kamui Woods, tried to break through the barrier that had formed around Sora and the Demon Tide, to little effect. Mt. Lady couldn't do anything due to her enormous size, risking damage to the buildings around them further.
Damn it! Why isn't this working?! All Might thought, as he felt his body slowly reaching its limit, It's not helping that I'm running out of time!
He noticed another building nearby about to collapse on several people. He had to help them. Reluctantly, he rushed towards the people to save them from being crushed to death. Young Sora. I hope you know what you're doing!
Back with the Demon Tide, Sora knew it wasn't gonna go down easily, having dealt with the Demon Tide twice before. The best option was to hit it with an extremely powerful attack, stronger than the beam of light Sora, Donald, and Goofy had launched at the Tide moments before.
"Donald!" he called out to his friend, "What's the strongest spell you can cast?"
"Zettaflare!" Donald shouted back, "But it's a very risky move! I can't use it here!"
"Then take it down a couple of levels! Use something slightly weaker so you don't push yourself too hard. Charge up the attack and fire when I tell you!" Sora shouted. He knew what Zettaflare could do, having seen Donald use it before against Terra-Xehanort to great effect. But that was before Sora changed history's course, so Donald had no memory of using it, because technically, that never happened. Sora didn't mind, though, as the attack itself was a double-edged sword, leaving Donald unconscious and easy prey for the Heartless. Sora turned to Goofy, "Goofy! Help me distract it!"
"Aye, aye!" Goofy replied, and the two rushed towards the Heartless, and it, in turn, charged towards them. Sora and Goofy swung their weapons to knock the Heartless back. "I have an idea!" Sora called out, "Let's do Cosmo Boost, but this time, throw me!"
Goofy nodded, as Sora straightened himself like a soldier at attention. The Captain of the Royal Knights then grabbed Sora and held him like a machine gun, aiming towards the Core of the Demon Tide. "Ready? Aim…" Goofy called out, as Sora pointed his Keyblade upwards. "FIRE!" Goofy threw Sora with all he had, and Sora rocketed towards the Heartless at breakneck speed. Quick to react, Sora stabbed the Keyblade into the Demon Tide's core, managing to right himself and send the Heartless into a frenzy.
Sora grabbed a foothold on the core, and struggled as he tried to steer it towards the direction of Donald. The mage was charging up a spell, with a special glyph around him. Sora and the Tide swung this way and that, Sora trying to control it while the Tide tried to shake it off.
Eventually, Sora won the struggle and gained control, and managed to steer it towards Donald's line of fire.
"Alright, Donald! Let em have it!" Sora shouted, getting his body behind the Tide's core.
"TERAFLARE!" Donald roared as he let his spell fly. A literal blast of flame came out of his staff and hit the Demon Tide's core with great effect. It shrieked as the powerful spell made contact with it. Sora felt the heat around him, but with the Tide's core acting as a shield, he was hardly affected by this spell. It was nothing compared to Zettaflare, but the attack was still very effective.
Remind me never to make Donald this mad when we talk… he thought to himself.
He's literally shaken out of his thoughts when the Demon Tide suddenly started to shake and angrily threw Sora off of itself, but the Keyblade Wielder landed on his feet. He goes over to Donald, who looks exhausted.
"Ether for your thoughts?" Sora asked, offering said item to Donald, who smirked and took it. "Maybe," Donald said as he popped it into his mouth.
"Did that do it?" Sora wondered out loud as he saw only the Tide's core and not the trail behind it. Suddenly, it began to furiously spin around.
(Play: KH 0.2 OST - Wave of Darkness II)
"Uh oh! Something's wrong!" Goofy looked shocked and worried.
"Look out!" Donald yelped.
Indeed, something was definitely wrong. The Demon Tide then suddenly plunged itself down into the road below, leaving a pool of darkness in its wake. Sora realized what it was about to do, and from their faces, so did Donald and Goofy.
The Demon Tide's core resurfaced once again, but this time, it was surrounded by a tornado of Shadows. It was now more deadlier than before, and Sora could feel it. It let out a threatening roar, nearly blowing them back. Immediately, the Demon Tide suddenly rush towards them.
"Run for it!" he shouted to Donald and Goofy, and the three of them sprinted off and barely escaped from the tornado as it missed and hit the side of the barrier, sending benches and streetlights flying as a result, before turning around and gave chase to the three heroes.
"Sora! Donald!" Goofy called out, "Trinity Guard!"
"Got it!" Sora and Donald called out. The three of them spun around to face the oncoming foe, Goofy with shield out in front, and Sora and Donald behind as support. The Tide tried to rush them, but instead of absorbing them into the storm, it found itself repelled by a powerful barrier conjured by the three's combined willpower.
The Tide reared back and tried a different approach, launching Shadows from itself to try and overwhelm the trio, but the barrier held, and the Shadows bounced off it.
"Chaaaaarrrrge!" Goofy shouted as the three made a sprint to ram through the legion of Shadows launched at them, dispelling them all with one charge.
"How'd ya like that?" Sora taunted the Tide. It responded by trying to attack the trio yet again. It rushed towards them with the intent to kill.
"Firaga!" Donald shouted, launching a blast of flame towards the Heartless, destroying the Shadows and exposing an opening which Sora and Goofy jumped into, Donald following close behind.
"Time for some magic!" Donald shouted, and Sora knew what to do. "Let's do this, Donald!" He declared as the two stood back to back within the swarm.
"Flare Force!" the duo shouted, spinning about and launching rockets which homed onto the core and exploded all around it. Sora then felt enough power stockpiled as he finished working with Donald to launch those fireworks.
"Here we go!" Sora shouted as white energy coursed through him and exploded around him, forcing the Demon Tide to rear back in pain. When the light subsided, Sora's outfit had changed, becoming darker, with tints of blue and yellow and red unlike his previous outfit. This was Sora's Second Form.
Feeling lighter than ever, Sora began to blitz the Demon Tide, slashing at it with relative ease and practically moving faster than he did in his normal state. The Tide could barely keep up, and when it tried launching Shadows at the Guardian of Light, Sora simply repelled them with a spiral of magic.
The Demon Tide had had enough. Sora saw the core recede into the earth and the Shadows surrounding it fan out and spin wildly. He looked to Donald and Goofy, nodding, and the three of them began to run away as the Tide began shooting out large spheres of Shadows which flew high into the air. Sora followed their movements with his eyes as they began to descend down on them as they ran. They missed, but they suddenly rose up again and again, making it harder to dodge them.
"OWWWAAAHHH!" Goofy yelped as a sphere of shadows hit him and sent him flying.
"Goofy!" Sora shouted and leaped to grab him, carrying him under his arm. "You alright?"
"Look out!" Goofy said, as more of the spheres began to surface. Sora managed to escape most of them, dodging and swerving all around to avoid them, which appeared to be easier in Second Form.
"Huh?" Sora said aloud as he saw darkness beginning to surface around him, Donald and Goofy, before he suddenly felt himself getting knocked into the air!
"WHOOOAAA!" The three of them yelped as they were sent high into the sky, before Donald kept them afloat with Wind Magic.
"You guys okay?" Sora asked, "We're pretty high up!"
"100%, Sora!" Goofy yelled back.
"WAK! We've got helicopters surrounding us!" Donald noticed, and he was right. Three helicopters had surrounded the dark barrier, and some appeared to have people with cameras pointed at them.
"Gawrsh, are they recording us?" Goofy asked worriedly, "What do we do?"
"Well, if they're recording us…" Sora grinned widely, "Let's give them a show to remember!"
Without hesitation, Sora dived back down, Goofy following suit with his shield held in front of him, Donald hanging on to Goofy's midsection for dear life. The Demon Tide responded by launching more spheres of Shadows to intercept them. Sora twisted around left and right, whacking away any spheres in his way, while Goofy's shield dispelled them upon impact.
Sora then saw the core, and an opportunity to strike. "Take this!" Sora declared, striking at the core from above with a downward stabbing strike, followed up by Goofy, who rammed head-first with his shield onto the core.
The Tide was moving very slowly now, but it hadn't given up yet. In a last ditch effort, the Shadows surrounding the core managed to spin around rapidly, catching the trio off guard and sucking them into its tornado.
"Sora!" his friends screamed out in horror as the Tide consumed their friend.
Sora grunted as the Shadows tried to eat at him from all sides, but then he heard Donald and Goofy yell out to him.
"Sora!" They shouted, "Trinity Limit!"
Sora's eyes brighten, reinvigorated. "You're right! Let's go all out!"
"Trinity Rocketeer!" The three of them got together, sending out their weapons into the air and gathered the Shadows around them, before sending out large amounts of fireworks to scatter the Shadows and keep them away.
"Major Drive!" The three of them got together, with Donald in front, before launching yellow orbs of light towards the Shadows making the Tornado of the Demon Tide. The orbs eliminated them all one by one, until only the core remained.
"Trinity Assault!" The three of them began an aerial barrage of attacks, hitting the core relentlessly, Sora using Ars Arcanum to great effect, before the three of them thrusted their weapons together, stabbing at the core and damaging it further.
(Play: Project Destati, DARKNESS: Dearly Beloved II: Theme and Variations - Timestamp 8:44)
Sora twirled about and Donald and Goofy followed suit, standing together once more underneath the vulnerable and helpless core of the Demon Tide.
"C'mon, Sora!" Donald shouted.
"Don't give up!" Goofy encouraged him.
Sora smiled, recalling everything he and his two best friends had gone through. Flashes of those memories crossed through his mind: their first meeting, their falling out and making up at Deep Jungle, their funniest mishaps, their dedication at Hollow Bastion, their determination at the end of worlds, and many more tender and heartwarming moments together passed through his mind.
"Three half-pints together again…"
He admitted it. He would've never made it this far without them.
Donald… Goofy… Thanks for everything, Sora smiled fondly, before looking upwards and shouting, "Give me strength!"
"ULTIMA!" The trio shouted, and they joined their weapons together, creating an orb of bright energy that began to dispel the Demon Tide. The Shadows making up the core roared out in pain as it tried to resist, but Sora wasn't planning on making it come back. With a yell, he took the lead on the attack, forcing the light upwards and into the Demon Tide's core.
As the bystanders watched, the Demon Tide's core suddenly began to explode from the inside, rays of light appearing out of parts of it as Sora pushed the light orb further into the core. Explosions of light and darkness occurred around the Heartless as the Shadows within helplessly flailed about. Sora let out a final yell of triumph as everything and everyone present was blinded by a brilliant flash of light.
When all subsided, Sora was out of his Second Form, his clothes reverting to normal as he collapsed on his back, completely spent. The Demon Tide was gone, and the barrier slowly disappeared.
"Whew… can we… take a break?" Sora wheezed.
"Come on, Sora. Up and at em!" he heard Donald say as he didn't feel as tired as he did before. Donald had cast Curaga on him again.
"Geez… never knew you were the type to do that," Sora joked while still on the ground.
"You know I saved it for something useful. And I did," Donald retorted playfully.
"Har har."
"Gawrsh, look at that, fellas…" Goofy said in awe. Sora and Donald followed his gaze and looked just as awed as he did. They saw sparkles of light from their final attack drift down like snow, making an almost magical atmosphere. Not only that, Sora saw hearts floating down and landing on the ground, taking form as people. The hearts lost to the Heartless were returning after their leader had been defeated. At least, the leader of this particular group, as the Dark Follower from earlier had escaped, but Sora did not wish to dwell on that now.
"We did it…" Sora thought aloud as he saw people running to loved ones who they thought were lost, hugging them and letting their tears flow. "We saved everyone…"
"Talk about a light show, Sora," Donald smirked.
"A-hyuck! We sure did catch a lot of attention. Just look at them helicopters." Goofy pointed up to said flying machines, who were hovering closer to the ground.
"Hey!" a voice snapped them out of their stupor. The three of them turned to see Mari, Hero, Sunny, Basil, Kel, and Aubrey run up to them, slightly injured and beaten up but otherwise okay.
"Hey guys!" Sora called out, before being tackled to the ground by them, Kel being the first one to him.
"What the hell, dude! Don't scare us like that!" said boy replied.
"That was reckless… but very brave of you, Sora." Hero gently scolded, choosing not to follow his younger brother's example, but he too was just as astonished by Sora's display of power.
"Thanks, Hero," Sora smiled softly.
"We thought we were gonna lose you there…" Basil replied.
"Yeah… why did you guys help, anyway?" Sora asked.
"We're friends, Sora. It wouldn't be right to leave you like that. Our bodies just… moved," Sunny explained, "Friends shouldn't leave each other behind. They stick together, no matter what."
"Yeah," Aubrey nodded.
"We're just glad you're safe, Sora," Mari replied, "You did something good today."
"Wow… thanks guys." Sora smiled, "Have you seen Momo?"
"I'm here," Said girl was running up to them in another direction, but looked a bit ashamed. "I was helping others evacuate before that Heartless attacked. Are you alright?"
"Well… We're not dead," Sora grinned, "Will that suffice?"
"I guess it will." She chuckled, before bowing her head, "I'm sorry I couldn't do more."
"It's okay. You did what you could, and that's enough. Hey, like I said, we're all okay now," Sora smiled reassuringly, "We're all still standing."
"By the way…." Momo added, looking to Donald and Goofy, "Who are these two?"
"Oh... right…" Sora said laughing uneasily. How was he gonna explain this? He was about to clear his throat, ready to explain, before Goofy's voice stopped him.
(Play: KH 3 OST - Chains to Bonds)
"Gawrsh… It looks like we're about to run out of time."
Sora looked to where Donald and Goofy were sparkling even more, to his surprise. "Wait… what are you talking about? Are you guys… not really here?" he felt his own voice shake as he said those words.
The two shook their heads sadly. "We only came because your heart called out for help, and we heard it from our own. The moment your heart called, we answered right away, and used our connection with you to send a bit of our power to where you were. I'm sorry we couldn't explain earlier." Donald explained, "We may not be the real Donald and Goofy…"
"But that doesn't mean we still care for you like them." Goofy smiled, "And don't you worry, Sora. Even if we don't know where you are right now, you can rest easy knowing that we're still looking out for ya,"
Sora felt like a truck had hit his gut. Here he thought he was reunited with his best friends again. In a sense, he was, but in another, not. He felt something go down his face. Ignoring everything else, he embraced the two constructs of his friends, and they returned the hug quickly.
"Even if you aren't really them… I'm at least glad to have seen and fought with you guys again…" Sora sniffed, "I really miss you both… thank you... for coming to help."
"We know, Sora," Goofy gave him a pat on the head, "Donald and me… we'll always have your back. Don't ever forget that."
"I won't…" Sora softly said as he rested his head on his friends' shoulders, and they let him do so. He was shaking, but he held his tears in as best as he could. He was glad that Goofy and Donald were here, in some shape and form, even if it was for a limited time, and he focused on that to prevent himself from crying. His friends wanted to join in, but Mari and Hero stopped them as they knew this was a personal moment for Sora, the former wiping a tear away.
"Alright, Sora. Enough moping about and start turning that frown upside down. This boat runs on happy faces," Donald replied smiling, but slightly annoyed, causing Sora to rub his eyes and let out a shaky laugh as he let go of his friends.
"There he is. Welcome back," he chuckled.
"Hey! What's that mean?"
"Lighten up, Donald." Goofy said, turning to Sora, "Just remember… we're not going away anytime soon, Sora. Just keep us in there until we find you." Goofy pointed to Sora's heart, and Sora nodded, before wiping a tear to shake off the feelings of sadness, letting a grin escape his mouth.
"Thanks a lot, you two." Sora said with emotion. Donald and Goofy began to glow brighter, almost obscuring their forms in light. It was time. The two looked at one another, nodding, and then placed their own hand into the center between the three, and eventually Sora joined in, knowing exactly what came next.
"All for one…!" Donald and Goofy said in unison.
"...And one for all." Sora finished, as he watched them disappear into particles of light, floating past him and away into the sky, "See ya later… Donald… Goofy…"
(Silence)
He sighed, looking to where the particles disappeared to, before realizing that there was something in the hand that had been placed there during their cheer. Sora flipped his hand around, and saw one final surprise.
It was a Heartbinder. It was pure white in color, except for the silver frame around the charm, but at the center were three hearts connected to one another through a yellow circle. One heart was red, another was blue, and the third was green. It took him a few seconds to realize what had happened, and he couldn't help but smile once again.
Seems like they had left him one final gift before departing. They truly were fellow half-pints and friends.
Donald… Goofy… Thank you. Sora thought, holding the charm close to his head, before placing his new Heartbinder into his pocket. They would find him, he thought. It would take some time, but he now knew that they will find him... wherever he was.
"Sora…" he heard Mari say, as he looked back to his friends here, "Who were they?"
"They were… my two closest friends," Sora smiled, "Donald and Goofy. I… owe a lot to them. They're part of the reason why I'm here today."
It was clear from the emotion in his voice that this was a topic he couldn't explain outright, and his friends chose not to pry any further, as it felt just as personal as the Heartless did, but in a good way.
"I wish I could explain it all right now, but…" Sora began, before Aubrey shushed him.
"It's okay. We know,"
"Thanks for that guys…" he smiled.
Suddenly, he heard sirens which caused him to look away, seeing a couple of police cars and officers running towards him with guns pointed at him.
(Play: KH X Back Cover OST: Dearly Beloved)
"Freeze! Drop your weapon!"
Sora looked at the authorities calmly. Inside, he was a little scared, but knew that he did what he thought was right. He didn't care about the law anymore. Not in the situation he was put in. He did his duty as a Keyblade wielder and a Guardian of Light. If he had done nothing, the Heartless would've consumed more and more hearts, and if the Keyhole wasn't sealed, another world. But even if he did eliminate the threat, he still had to follow the rules. He had no other choice. He had no official power here. What happened to him now would be up to the police to decide. Not even a world hopping warrior was above the law.
Aubrey, Kel, and Sunny moved to try and intercept the authorities, but Sora raised a hand to stop them. He shook his head. He didn't want them involved in his mess. This was something that he had to deal with himself.
"It's okay," Sora assured them, "I need to do this."
Deliberately, he let go of his Keyblade, letting it drop and clatter to the ground, where it vanished. He slowly put his hands up. There was no sign of All Might, though. Sora didn't mind though. He could tell the Symbol of Peace had reached some sort of limit when he was coughing before, but he wondered what it could be to make him disappear from view. Least he could do was hope he was okay.
"Don't worry." Sora replied to the officers, "I'll come quietly. I know what I did was wrong, and I'll accept whatever punishment you think is right for me. I promise I'll explain everything once we're in a more private location. Just keep my friends out of this."
The sincerity and honesty of his voice made many of the officers want to lower their weapons out of respect, but they still trained them on him as the boy began to move. Sora simply walked towards the closest one and presented his wrists to him.
"Please put the chains around my arm, sir. I won't try to hurt you." Sora said in the same sincere voice. Hesitating, the officer reached for the restraints, and put them on his wrists, restraining his arms from moving, and locking the restraints. Sora smiled softly, "There we go,"
He could've easily summoned the Keyblade to release the restraints, but he knew that it would only make things worse than they already were. His eyes showed no evil intent as he stared at the officers around him.
"I appreciate your cooperativeness, son, but you still broke the law, and acting like a hero doesn't change that. We'll take you to the station. You still have a lot to answer for." The officer replied, having gained some respect for the young boy in front of him. Despite what he did, he knew that using his Quirk in public was wrong, and was even willing to accept the punishments for it. Not many people in this day of age could do that.
"I know." was all Sora said, and he walked towards the officer's car, with said person leading him with a hand on his shoulder. He looked back one last time to Mari and her friends. Momo too, looked at him concerned. He gave them all a reassuring smile, before he entered the car and was driven off.
"Sora…" Sunny whispered sadly as the Hero of Light was driven away. He worried for the safety of his friend, as did the others. They did not know how severely Sora would be punished, but after what he did to save them all today, they all hoped his sentence would be a light one.
(Silence)
Wow... Chapter 5 is done. Sora's managed to defeat much of the Heartless threat here today... but at what cost? Now that he's arrested, who knows what could happen next. And he didn't defeat the Heartless threat alone, as not only his new friends helped him, but Donald and Goofy did too... from a certain point of view.
Not to mention they left behind something for Sora to use whenever he feels alone. Introducing Sora's newest summon: the Trinity Heartbinder! You can probably guess what it does already, given what we have seen in this chapter. However, since the Donald and Goofy that came to help him weren't the real ones, the ones that Sora will summon will be the same, crafted from the memories he has of them.
Another thing to note is that Sunny has apparently seen something like the Heartless before. You can't help but wonder what exactly he was talking about...?
One last thing... you thought I wasn't answering reviews this time around? Think again!
Xerayn: Thank you! You don't need words to describe how you like the chapter, so no worries on not commenting as much as before.
Wizardwolf 1020: Honestly, it isn't out of the question for this particular theory. Roxas did exchange memories with Sora in DDD, but that was mainly because he was Sora's Nobody. But there is the fact that Jiminy did keep his journal entries inside the Gummiphones, so there is a chance with the right help that the cast COULD glimpse into Sora's memories.
jikker jack: That's a tough question. The reason is because we haven't seen any glimpses of Prime All Might, who was 60 times stronger (if his words at U.S.J. are to be taken literally) than the one we've seen in the manga/anime. Given what we have in Death Battle, Prime All Might is WAY stronger than the biggest nuke we've seen. As for Sora, we don't really have a proper gauge of his full strength, although we do know his durability (Surviving Hades's flames, Hercules's godlike strength, the wrath of FOUR Titans, and attacks from the X-Blade empowered Xehanort without much issue) and endurance (Participating in nearly every Keyblade War battle TWO times over in a single day) are pretty insane when he's at his best. Overall, I wouldn't think too much about it. Both characters are great in their own ways.
blueassassin996: You'll find out very soon. The story's only just begun.
Shadow Tiger24: Good guess on what the boss Heartless could be.
Guest: Thank you! I think you're getting warm on when specifically in the MHA verse this is happening. We might actually bump into Izuku pretty soon, who knows. Keep guessing on the figures. You might be closer than you think. Stay safe!
Moss: Thank you! Poor kid is getting hungry. Hopefully a nice meal awaits him once this is all over. *Looks over to where Sora is currently being hauled to the slammer* Or... not.
What do you think of this chapter? I'm glad if you're enjoying this story so far, and if you're not, I'm sorry if this isn't meeting your expectations.
Because two chapters were sent out in two days straight, I'm planning on taking a little break from the story for a bit. Like I said in chapter 1, I'll be back to work on the next few chapters when I feel like it.
Thanks for reading my story, and until our paths cross again.
11/26/2022 Update: Changed Shounen to Shoujo for Momo. Thank you, Engineer4Ever!
