Disclaimer: not mine
Chapter 14
"Tarzan?" Jane looked up as he entered the tent, he looked worried. "What is it?"
"Jane come, Sora," he answered, and her eyes widened but she quickly got up and followed him, scrambling up a vine.
Tarzan was obviously moving slower to allow her to keep up but eventually he stopped and pulled her onto his back before launching off a branch, swinging from vine to vine. She was learning to move through the trees and getting better at it, but obviously speed was necessary. They hadn't seen Sora since the mess with Clayton, surely if he had returned he would have come to see them?
Tarzan stopped and gently set her down, pointing ahead. "Careful," he warned, and she nodded, pushing the heaving foliage back.
A snarl ripped through the air and she froze, eyes scanning the area. Was that…
"Sora?" she called softly. Crouched at the other side was a human figure in a form concealing black coat, but…not? Humans did not have wings! "Sora, it's Jane and Tarzan." She trusted Tarzan's identification even if she wasn't sure how that was possible. She moved closer and he growled, wings flexing, so she carefully moved to her knees, not wanting him to feel threatened.
He shifted and light fell across his face, making her bite back a gasp as she caught red/blue eyes. He looked…older than she remembered, but it was definitely Sora, just very changed.
"Sora, it's Jane, do you remember me? We won't hurt you, please let me closer. Are you injured?" she asked but he didn't respond, the low growling continuing.
"Jane, blood," Tarzan pointed, and she grimaced at seeing the amount.
That much blood and he should be unconscious, at least. "We need to look at him for injuries Tarzan."
He nodded and carefully moved closer, moving like an ape. It made sense, if Sora was running on some kind of instinct then an animal may appear less threatening. Tarzan had learnt a lot since the last time they'd seen Sora and had been hoping he'd visit soon so he could show him. Tarzan began speaking softly in gorilla to him and very slowly the growling trailed off into a confused noise. He tilted his head to the side, watching Tarzan intently and sniffing the air, enhanced senses maybe? He whimpered softly, wings drooping, and Tarzan moved even closer, slowly extending his hand to Sora who leant over it, sniffing more. She bit back a cry of alarm as Sora crumpled; Tarzan catching him.
"We need to get him back to camp," she scrambled up as Tarzan lifted Sora, being careful of his wings. She had medical supplies in camp but she wasn't a doctor, what if she couldn't treat his injuries? What if whatever had changed him meant normal help would actually hurt him?
Getting back down herself wasn't so easy but she managed and without falling too far behind, it helped when a nervous Terk showed up and helped her, though the ape kept a wary distance from the unconscious teen slung over Tarzan's shoulders.
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He hurt, his whole body screaming in pain, feeling so weak… he could smell…humans and…animals? No Nobodies or Heartless though. He struggled to open his eyes, groaning as a hand brushed over his forehead.
"Sora? Can you hear me?" a female voice asked, it was familiar… "Please open your eyes."
He struggled and finally managed to force his eyes open, blinking up at the dim light…a tent? He groaned again, trying to focus, and a face leant over him… "Ja…" he coughed, throat parched, but he saw her smile in relief.
"Welcome back," she said and then pressed a cup to his lips.
He tasted it and grimaced, weakly turning his head aside. "Ne'd…" okay, so he was in very bad shape! He needed to feed or else he was in serious trouble, but he couldn't reach for his 'pockets' to retrieve any of the blood packs. There'd be plenty of animals around….but he couldn't drink their blood.
"Sora needs what?" Tarzan moved into view. "Not water?"
Sora licked his lips and Jane looked down at his mouth nervously. Had…had the illusion fallen? What had happened?
"Do you need meat?" She asked. "You…you have fangs Sora."
Okay, it'd fallen…he swallowed convulsively, they smelt really good and he was so hungry… his gaze drifting to Tarzan's throat. He didn't notice Jane watching, brow furrowed as she considered everything.
"Sora…do you need," she swallowed nervously, "blood?"
He looked back at her in shame.
"Oh, right. This is scientifically impossible…then again so are the Heartless and the whole thing you did behind the Waterfalls… Okay then," she took a deep breath. "Human or is animal alright?"
He stared at her in shock. "Hum'n," he croaked out. If he didn't get some soon then he would end up doing something he would regret for eternity, unless he fell into a coma first?
"How do we do this?" she asked and he blinked, forcing himself to focus, to realise what she was offering, and he shook his head weakly.
He'd never bitten someone! He didn't know how to feed from the source.
"Sora what happens if you don't do this now? From the way your attention keeps going to our throats, I doubt it would be anything good. I'm the smart option, if anything happens, Tarzan has a better chance of pulling you off."
She was right and he hated it. Okay…there were veins in other places, not just the throat. Somewhere first aid could stop the flow…he weakly tried to lift his hand, reaching for hers. "Wr…t"
She blinked and then her eyes widened. "Oh! My wrist?" she asked, and he managed a nod. "Alright then. Tarzan?" she looked at him, and he nodded, moving around to a better position to try and force them apart if needed. Jane then extended her arm, placing her wrist over Sora's mouth.
He stared at the skin, able to hear and smell the blood pumping just below the skin, could see the veins…he moved without conscious thought, gripping her arm tight, pulling it to his mouth even as he opened it, striking quickly with sharp fangs. He distantly heard her gasp but paid no attention as warm liquid flowed from the wound. His lower, smaller, fangs helped hold the area steady even as he drank, something he'd never noticed with the packs. The taste…it was so much better! Was this why Merlin gave them to him? To keep him from finding out how good it was to feed from a human?
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Tarzan watched as Sora drank Jane's blood, it wasn't disgusting, it was the food he needed, like any predator. He wasn't being vicious or cruel like Sabor. Even as he watched, Sora's wounds were beginning to heal, some colour returning to his skin.
"Oh," Jane whispered, and Tarzan looked at her in concern.
"Jane?"
"I can spare a little more," she answered, and he watched her carefully, seeing how pale she was.
"Sora stop," he called, but the boy didn't seem to hear him. "Sora!" he yelled, and Sora tightened his grip.
Tarzan knew if he pulled her arm away, it could rip the skin. He reached for Sora instead, he'd learnt how to make a biting predator let go. He jabbed his fingers into where upper and lower jaw met, hoping to cause enough discomfort or pain to make Sora release the bite. It worked, Sora hissed and released the bite, baring bloody teeth at him even as he shifted into a crouch too fast to follow, but Tarzan met the angry gaze, knowing better then to appear weak, like prey.
Sora snarled, clawed fingers flexing, but then he blinked slowly and shook his head. He licked his lips, cleaning the blood off them, and then he looked at Jane who was clutching her wrist tightly. He moved swiftly again, lifting her arm to his mouth again and Tarzan moved but then stopped as Sora didn't bite down, instead he licked at the wounds, leaving them both to watch as they began to heal over as if days old.
"Sora?" she whispered, and he let go, looking up at her.
He swallowed, licking his lips again. "Jane," Sora spoke, sounding much better now than he had before.
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Sora gripped the bedding, forcing himself to breath steadily and ignore their scents. He could still taste her blood and was fighting the urge to bite again, to drain every last drop. He knew Tarzan couldn't really stop him if he wanted to finish the job. Yes, his jaw was aching a little but that was already fading, all of his wounds healing, his energy returning. He wasn't fully healed and he quickly pulled out one of the emergency packs, downing it to finish the job and to keep him from attacking them.
He couldn't look at them, didn't want to see fear or disgust at what he'd done…what he'd become. He blinked as he realised he was naked, wrapped in bandages, so he curled his arms around his knees, not wanting to flash poor Jane any more than he already had. He froze as Tarzan pulled the bedding back up around him, being careful of his wings…which meant the illusion had failed, he'd lost himself to the vampire.
"Sora is alright?" Tarzan asked and…he didn't sound disgusted or scared, no, he sounded concerned.
Sora hesitantly looked up at him, meeting worried eyes a darker shade then Riku's but still a similar colour.
"Sora?" Jane called, and he glanced at her, she looked pale, her wrist now wrapped in a clean bandage. "Do your bandages need changing?"
It was a good thing he couldn't blush without the illusion! Had she been the one to bandage him? She'd seen him naked! Okay, he was an Island kid, he didn't have the same hang-ups as some Worlds did when it came to being seen naked (they'd skinny dipped up until they were nine in a mixed group, and in a boy only group for a few years after that), still, Jane's society seemed to be very much against nakedness. She'd admitted that her current dress of a simple wrap skirt and sleeveless top would be utterly scandalous.
He quickly shook his head. "My clothes?"
"I washed them to get the blood out but for some reason my sewing needle wouldn't work to fix the rips," she answered.
"They're special but thanks for trying."
"Sora…what happened to you? More creatures like those when Clayton attacked the gorillas? Are Donald and Goofy out there somewhere? The gorillas have looked but they haven't found them."
"I'm alone," it hurt to admit it even after almost ten months.
He took his ripped up clothing and Jane turned her back to let him dress, Tarzan hovering in case he fell when he stood up to pull his pants on. The Fairy Godmother was not going to be happy with him, none of the group was if they saw the mess the clothing was in because they knew what it took to do that much damage to the magical cloth. What worried him was the fact he couldn't remember coming to Deep Jungle let alone getting in such a lethal fight or who his opponent/s may have been.
He remembered talking about the sorta Nobody who had been made form data collected from him and Riku but had now absorbed some of Riku's actual memories. He'd spent a few days at the mansion to rest….left via Corridor, headed for…he couldn't remember. That wasn't good! He was a vampire, he didn't get memory problems! Which meant it had been a very brutal fight and he'd been driven to instinctive fighting immediately. The vampire instincts taking total control would be the only reason for a blank spot in his memory.
"Are they…" she trailed off but he shook his head.
"They're alive," he promised. He hesitated, remembering the lectures on World Order but to him it didn't make a lot of sense; they'd seen him fighting Heartless, using magic, even sealing the World Keyhole…they had to realise there was something off about all that. The Princesses of Heart all knew about other Worlds and while Jane wasn't one of them, he didn't think she was too far off. So he gave them a very simple explanation of how they and his friend Riku had their memories messed with and were sleeping to have it fixed. He was shocked when Jane hugged him.
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Sora looked at the mess where Tarzan had found him, seeing the dried blood, able to smell that it was his own. What had happened? He remembered walking through the Darkness which meant he'd been attacked there…the Organisation? Why suddenly attack him? Unless he'd come across something they didn't want him to know about? He moved further in, crouching down, and then began breathing deeply, mouth open to get as much scent information as possible.
Huh, no scents of any Nobodies, though if they'd kept their hoods up it would conceal their scent. The scents he did pick up made him grimace, behemoths…way more than one. It seemed they had come through a Corridor with him into the Jungle but he couldn't smell them leaving the area so he must have gotten them all. He could also smell some Shadows and Soldiers, and some of them had gotten away. He'd need to do a few patrols before leaving to try and get them all.
At least he remembered what he'd been doing, following a report that Mickey had sent to go check on Atlantica. He'd peen part way there when he must have come across the Heartless, he must have taken bad hits immediately and instinctively opened a Corridor to try and get away. Once he checked out the Jungle, he'd need to head for the underwater Kingdom to look into whatever Mickey had heard about.
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Jane and Tarzan watched as some kind of portal opened up and Sora waved before stepping through. They were both worried about him travelling alone but it wasn't like they could go with him. The black coat he wore over his clothing to keep him safe gave her the creeps too. They couldn't keep him there though, he'd dealt with any Heartless he could find and amazingly, all of his wounds had healed.
"Sora will be alright," Tarzan told her and she smiled at him.
"I hope you're right."
He had told them a little about the others…but had remained quiet on what had happened to him, what he now was. Still, he was their friend, no matter what. She was very aware he could have killed her, she'd felt the strength in his grip and knew Tarzan could not have stopped him. But he had stopped, because whatever he now was, it wasn't a monster.
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DiZ looked at the readings and then contacted the ship Sora used, hoping he was near it. He had tracked down the Nobody they needed to complete the process. Who knew how long she would remain there?
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Sora stepped onto the ship and sighed when he saw the light flashing. He really didn't want to deal with DiZ, but at least it was an already recorded message. He still felt off balance from the fight he didn't remember and then feeding from Jane. He had been planning to go see Merlin but he had the feeling that was going to be put on hold…
He stared at the image of what seemed to be Kairi with black hair, dressed in an Organisation coat, and there was a name too, Xion, member number XIII. This was the attempt of making a replica of him that had gone wrong, at least from the Organisations plans. She was made from their memories, so what would she be like? Like Kairi? Or a girl version of them?
He groaned when he saw the location, hoping no one else was there or things could get very complicated. Sora didn't know what he was going to do or say, he couldn't just knock her out and kidnap her, could he? Who knew what DiZ would do to her in his hatred of Nobodies. He knew DiZ had implicated that she had to die but he couldn't do it, could he? Not even to bring Riku back? He couldn't have before but now…he thought maybe he could.
He arrived to see a figure in black collapse, enhanced hearing catching the cry of pain. Was this was what he had meant by her being unstable? He rushed towards the small island, freezing in shock as she suddenly became him as he had been before the Islands fell…then changed again to Riku. He…or she, cried out, body convulsing, and Sora made himself move, carefully pulling what looked like Riku into his arms, searching for a pulse. Her form shifted between the two of them and Kairi before finally settling back to the black haired verson. Sora stayed as he was, holding her, not sure what to do.
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Xion stood on the beach of an Island that felt so familiar. She could remember Riku with two other children on the beach, playing. She shook her head and then knelt to pick up a seashell, smiling as she put it to her ear.
Everything was changing and she was confused. Axel…she thought Axel was keeping secrets from her, weren't they best friends? She knew many in the Organisation didn't like her, especially Saïx. The things he called her…was it true? Was she really a puppet and not real, or as real as a Nobody was? Was that why she didn't remember anything? Why she kept seeing those three?
Surely they wouldn't do anything, they had lost too many members at Castle Oblivion to lose anyone else. Only Axel had returned alive but he would not speak of what happened there, to her at least. She didn't really remember much from before his mission there, although she knew she'd been new to the Organisation. Part of her thought that maybe…she shouldn't go back. But if she ran then she'd be running for her whole life, if caught she'd be destroyed or turned into a Dusk.
Xion looked around and saw a cloaked figure on the bridge to the smaller island. She gasped, unsure whether to run to or from whoever it was, instead watching as the figure walked to the small island and stopped. The figure was tall and skinny…
"Axel?" she called hesitantly, stepping onto the bridge, her own hood down.
They stood silent for a moment before the cloaked figure turned to face her. It took off its hood and Xion was taken aback. Something snapped in her mind and she saw silvery-blue hair that tugged at her memory, the figure far smaller than Axel.
The other Organisation member raised his hand. "Surely you must've known that this was going to happen," he stated, and she stood, stunned.
"Why would I know?" another voice spoke and she turned to see a boy about her age approaching…Riku? He walked across the bridge and she backed away from him, onto the small island, keeping her distance from the stranger as well.
"Because, in your memory, you've been to a number of worlds before you came to this one."
She stood frozen as they began to walk around her, their voices becoming one.
"And of course, in those worlds, the only beings you met were the dark kind."
The world started to flash and fade, Xion clutching her head.
"That's all that's left in your heart, the darkest of memories."
She fell to her knees in agony…what was happening?
"Your memories of home are gone…every one. That's a lie! I remember everyone from the islands!"
Xion continued to clutch her head in pain, trying not to sob from the intensity.
"They're my...my closest friends," they kept speaking as one, making things even more confusing.
She collapsed onto her side, gasping, struggling to remain conscious.
"And who threw away those friends? Maybe it's your own actions you've forgotten."
Her form wavered until it was Sora who lay in the sand, squirming in pain.
"It was you who destroyed your home!" the voice yelled.
Now it was Riku's eyes that were wide in agony, his head throbbing. It felt like being torn apart and finally the pain ended in darkness.
TBC…
