yeah, yeah, I'm coming. I'm late I know, sue me. Or shoot me. Whatever. But on the bright side, school's almost out! Sweet! XD less than a week left! Hell, less than half a week left. Which means one of two things when summer comes. One, I'll start posting like mad...or two, I'll suddenly get very lazy and the updates will slow. Only time will tell. XD! Summer is here!
Sora heard the crackling energy, felt it too. It was spreading throughout his body, charging him, giving him more power than he ever had alone. It was too much. The power had stopped rising now, but he couldn't take what was already there. With a shout, he lost control and dropped to his knees, the energy slipping from him.
Soon Goofy was back in physical form, and was kneeling beside him to check if he was alright. Leon and Donald had rushed over too. "Are you alright Sora? I'm impressed. Even that was a big step."
Sora felt numb, dull. Not spiritually, but in his actual body. He could detect some pressure, but overall he couldn't feel anything. He tried to speak, but his tongue and lips weren't moving properly. Instead, he simply nodded or shook his head to answer questions.
"How do you feel?" Leon demanded. "If it was too much strain, don't try it again." Sora finally commanded the power of speech.
"I just feel…tired." Sora said. "But I'm okay." Sora told him, but felt the need to explain more. "…It was, just so much energy…you know? I couldn't handle it." Sora said, slightly angry at himself.
"Don't feel bad Sora," Merlin said. "I did not expect you to master this from your first try."
"Yeah!" Yuffie said grinning. "We're still just happy it didn't kill you!" Sora looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Kill me?"
"Oh yeah! Didn't they tell you that?" Yuffie told him, waving her hand in a off-handish kind of manner.
"Must of slipped their minds." Sora said, frowning at Leon.
"Hey kid, don't blame me. You were all for it. You didn't even stop to hear the risks." Leon said shrugging. "You still could have told me!" Sora shot back. Leon shrugged again.
"With friends like you…"Sora muttered under his breath.
"So! Ready to try again?" Yuffie asked energetically. Sora looked at her as if she were crazy. But, luckily, Merlin stepped in for him.
"In no way is Sora ready for another attempt. He needs rest, perhaps another potion…." But Sora immediately protested forcefully. "I can get to sleep on my own Merlin," Sora said, stumbling to his feet, steadied by Goofy. "I sure need some."
Sora slowly made his way to his room, keeping enough strength not to need the wall for leverage. He crawled into the bed when he entered his room, his mind whirling with questions about the Drive, and what had drained him so…his mind finally rested on Yuffie's comment. 'ready to try again…?' Sora stared at the ceiling. "…who needs enemies?"
It was the next day, (or next night, whatever your preference) the others had decided not to let him try again within a 24-hour period. But now he was standing in the middle of the training room again, Goofy beside him. "This time Sora," Merlin was saying, "try channeling the energy into the Keyblade. It may take the stress off of you."
"Right" Sora said, giving a sharp nod. Merlin gave him the signal to proceed and Sora closed his eyes. He reformed the connecting bond that was key for the spell, and after a moment of concentration, summoned Goofy to himself again.
Within moments, Sora felt the power filling him again. This time, he focused on directing it into the Keyblade, which in turn, began to shine brighter and brighter as the process continued.
But it was also becoming harder to hold. It was vibrating fiercely, but that wasn't all of it. The Keyblade wasn't built for this type of thing it, like its Master, had a limit to how much it could contain.
Eventually, the entire spell broke. Goofy returned to his natural state and let the Keyblade hit the ground,and Sora wastired, but not exhausted, like he had been before. Merlin's theory had worked, just not as completely as he had hoped.
"How do you feel Sora?" Leon was asking again.
"Better," Sora replied. "But I don't think the Keyblade is enhanced enough to anchor this thing." Sora noticed a quick gleam around Leon's neck and was struck by a sudden idea. "Hey Leon! Could I borrow your old Keychain again?"
"Sure kid, butyou never had to give it back in the first place." Leon drew the chain from his pocket and gave it to Sora, who quickly swapped it with the current chain. Forgetting that the Kingdom keychain was still in his fist, Sora turned to Goofy. "Got enough energy for one more try?" Goofy gave a salute.
"Alright, here we go." This time, everything happened much quicker, Sora assumed he was already getting used to it. "Goofy!" Sora called, and felt Goofy vanish from his side.
Sora directed the incoming power once again into his Keyblade. The Lionheart was handling it better than the unmodified key had, but Sora felt its limit drawing near. Sora made a quick decision to keep the rest within him.
The power was building, Sora could feel the crackling energy form around him again. But it was twisting inside him, filling him to the breaking point, somewhere in his mind, a doubtful voice told him that the spell would break again. But in response, a stronger voice refused to let that happen. "I will not fail again!" Sora didn't know if he had only screamed in his mind, or in reality, it was possibly both, but he felt a warm sensation pressing from within his free hand.
"Drive!" Sora shouted, and the force erupted from him and knocked the onlookers back by sheer power. Sora's eyes opened. His body was enveloped in a red glow, and red sparks of energy crackled here and there. "Its holding!" Sora shouted. "Its working!"
He finally had control over the spell. And then he noticed why that was. In his left hand, the Kingdom Key had materialized of its own accord. With two Keyblades to siphon off the energy, the spell had been successful.
Merlin's furniture sprang to life, beginning his first test. Sora swung with his weapon, the slashes reaching out far beyond the actual blade. Six feet away, and entire closet was reduced to twigs and splinters from just one swing. With the Lionheart, he shattered three teapots that had foolishly grouped together that were 5 feet from him.
Several other pieces of furniture floated above him, ready to use swooping hit and run tactics. Sora launched himself into the air, and was surprised to see that he stayed there.
He could fly again! Or at least hover. Grinning madly, Sora darted forward in mid-air using an aerial look-a-like of the Sonic Blade. During this move, the rush of energy surrounding Sora destroyed anything that came into contact with him.
Within seconds, all opposing obstacles were similarly destroyed, and Sora glided down to the floor. The Keyblades shone one final time, and the Drive ended, vanishing the extra blade, and leaving Sora breathless, but happy.
"That was awesome!" Sora exclaimed, once he had enough air. Goofy had reappeared and now agreed with a "hyuck!" "Let's do it again!"
"I am afraid, thatis impossible." Merlin told him. "This technique requires a set level of power to start. After it ends, due to my precautions, it takes a little extra magic above that to return the Faith to normal form. Your body's resources are actually more depleted than they seem. Before you can attempt another Drive, you must regain the lost energy."
Sora huffed. "And how do I do that? If I need to use it quickly, I'll be defenseless. Its not like I can take a nap in the middle of the battlefield."
Leon looked at him sternly. "You shouldn't become dependent on the Drive, Sora. Remember to rely on your own power. Sometimes your friends won't be there to help you."
"But there are some ways around this dilemma," Merlin said, making Sora shift his attention to him again. "Though a rest would be the safest way, fighting would prove much quicker."
"Fighting?" Sora asked, puzzled.
"Indeed. Various types of energy is built up when the body is in motion, but don't you find that with every Heartless you destroy, a little magic returns to you?" Sora thought about it, then gave a slow nod. "Heartless are filled with magic, when you defeat one, you automatically absorb some of its energy. Fighting Heartless long enough will give you the power you need after a time."
Sora stood there with his jaw hanging. "I'm absorbing Heartless? No way! I don't want anything to do with them!"
"Don't worry about it" Leon said, eyes closed and leaning against a wall. "You only take their leftover magic. Magic itself is neither good or evil, light or dark, though its roots can be found in both. Its what you use the magic for, how you shape it, that matters. But in the end Sora, you just need to get stronger. The deeper your reserves go, the more magic you can cast and the more powerful spells will become available. The same applies for the Drive. But, you already knew that didn't you?" Leon opened his eyes.
"You know an awful lot about magic for someone who hardly uses any." Sora commented.
Leon chuckled. "I've used a good share of magic in my day, trust me. My skills have tarnished as of late, but I'm still a better spell-caster than most of the specialists."
"I'll work on that tomorrow I suppose." Sora said, stretching lazily, but Yuffie interrupted him. "I don't think so, Sora. You've been sent a message."
Sora ran to the window at which the ninja was pointing. The moon, that had been so clear and radiant earlier was now obscured, though nothing seemed to be the cause; no clouds were visible. And beyond the moon, a feeble flickering light was fighting for its life. It lost. And the darkness consumed it.
The sight filled Sora with rage. "Vacation's over. Time to get back to work."
But urgh...with school's end comes finals...I hate high school! And then summer school...Dont ask me what I failed, it would shock and confuse you. So wish me luck instead. And...
Review!