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Chapter 24
Sora stopped breathing as her fingers pressed into what should be a pulse point, knowing there was nothing for her to feel, seeing her expression change to one of confusion and worry. "I died…in Halloween Town," he whispered. "We'd sealed the keyhole, thought it was safe…I was walking alone." He took a shaky breath, and she lifted her hand off his wrist to gently cup his cheek.
"Sora…" she sounded lost and confused, and he hated it.
"Have you…ever heard of vampires?" he asked shakily.
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Kairi lay curled on her side, unable to sleep, too many thoughts spinning around her head. Sora…was a vampire, had been since before she had woken in Hollow Bastion. He…he wasn't human anymore…Sora had even called himself a walking corpse. It hurt to hear himself say such things about himself.
Merlin's explanation had been kinder and far more detailed. She'd insisted on seeing the crystal recording of Sora's 'turning' and his screams would haunt her for a long time. Seeing him in such pain as the venom worked through his body, killing him slowly, changing him from human. Sora hadn't stayed to watch, had left with Leon and Cloud instead. Seeing Sora as a new vampire, how animalistic he'd been, unable to speak, acting on instinct… it had hurt to see him like that but even then, he hadn't really tried to hurt anyone.
Sora didn't eat, didn't have a heartbeat, only breathed to speak, he drank blood…did that change anything? She loved Sora, she did, had for years, she just didn't know how to deal with what she'd learnt. Then there was Riku, who didn't know yet what had happened to Sora. Would he blame himself? Donald and Goofy had shared stories of the short time they'd travelled with him, he sounded like the Riku she remembered from home, before he'd begun to change. He'd been so desperate to find Sora…she could see him blaming himself for opening the door and starting the whole thing.
Now that she knew about it, she could feel the Darkness in Sora, Darkness she'd blinded herself to before. Apparently the other Princesses hadn't. Sora was a Dark creature and yet he still wielded the Keyblade, still fought to protect the Worlds. Did what he had become change who he was at all?
She hugged her pillow tight but then stiffened as she felt her door silently open, reaching for her magic even as she sensed a presence…. "Sora?" she whispered, lifting her head, unable to see in the dark.
"Are…are you okay?" he whispered, hovering in the doorway. "Your…well your heart has been racing. I can stay somewhere else if….if you…"
"No!" she yelled. No, he couldn't leave her. She reached out for him, knowing he could see as well in the dark as in the day, better even. "Sora please," she whispered, not wanting to wake everyone.
She heard the door close, his shoe scuff on the floor, realising he was making noise so she could know where he was. A hesitant, hand touched hers and she clutched it. She could see both forms at once now, apparently that was how the spell had been made, but to touch, he was all vampire despite the illusion being in place. She tugged his hand and he stood still, too strong now for her to move if he didn't want to, but then he gave in and sat stiffly on the edge of her bed.
She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face into his shoulder, breathing in his scent, even that was different but she didn't care. She'd made her choice. "I love you," she whispered, feeling him tremble in her embrace. She shifted around, tugging him with her, until they were lying down, face to face. She stroked his cheek and then let her hand run down his face, neck, shoulder…finding the band, tugging at it experimentally, but it didn't move.
"Only Merlin and I can take it off," he admitted softly.
She nodded and kept running her hands over his body, feeling him shiver when she'd brush bare flesh. Now that the illusion was just an overlay to her, she could feel how cold he was and wondered how hot she had to feel to him in return. His changed form was less startling in the dark, letting her get comfortable with it through touch.
"I love you Sora," she whispered before slowly leaning in for a kiss. They bumped noses since she couldn't see in the dark and Sora seemed frozen again. She found his lips, gently kissing him, feeling his fangs press against her lips. "Going to kiss me?" she asked, and then blinked as the bedside lamp turned on.
Sora stared at her, lifting his hand to brush her hair back from her face. He touched her cheek and she leant into his hand, trusting him to not cut her with his claws. He studied her face and she stared back, refusing to flinch from his cold skin. "You really still want…" he trailed off, unable to finish.
She lifted her hands to hold his face and then leant in to kiss him firmly. "You're still the same person I've known almost all my life and I love you," she told him sternly. "So how do you kiss with fangs?" she asked, startling a laugh out of him.
"Don't know," he admitted. "It's not just two," he warned, guiding her hand carefully to his mouth.
She slipped her finger under his lip, finding another fang on the bottom jaw, assuming that meant they were a pair. "So we'll have to be careful," she told him, able to see the amazement in his eyes. She thought the red was the most startling part of his change, but she focused on the blue flecks. "You won't hurt me."
She leant in for another kiss, happy when Sora kissed back. She wrapped her arms around him, Sora copying her, running clawed hands over her shoulders since he couldn't reach anything else, he was on top of the covers but she was under them. She went to kick them off but he stopped her, rolling so he was leaning over her as they kissed.
"I love you," he whispered so softly she barely heard him, but she did.
She ran her fingers through his hair and then down his back, careful of his wings. She watched as they shifted and then stretched. "Can I?" she asked when they parted for her to breath, and he nodded.
She stroked the base and he shivered, pupils expanding, and she froze, but he whined softly. Very carefully, she moved her fingers across cold skin and then up to touch the wing, the skin on it was more like leather. Sora's hands flexed on her shoulders even as his back arched, pressing into her touch, giving her more confidence to touch more firmly.
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Naminé ducked down behind the wall, a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound of her breathing. The castle was full of Nobodies, making her search very, very slow. She was deep inside now, if she had to run, she'd have to use a Corridor and that would alert them to her presence, let them track her since she didn't have a coat. She was assuming they would be holding Riku in whatever passed as a dungeon.
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Maleficent went the entry, sensing an intrusion, surprised and yet pleased to see the familiar figure standing there. "You came," she said, staring down at him as Sora looked up at her.
He surprised her by bowing slightly, but it pleased her that he would show manners to her in her own home, no matter how dilapidated the castle was. "You offered training Ma'am."
Well, that was a surprise but she smiled. "Indeed. Come, there is much I can teach you." She motioned for him to walk with her and he easily leapt up to join her. "I assume you cannot remain here for training."
He shook his head. "Most of the group would not approve but Merlin knows I'm here, he said that you are not only very powerful but that you have skills he doesn't. Some of the magic he wanted to teach me, I can't learn."
"And some of what I would teach will likely be the same." The Darkest of Magics would likely be beyond him but that was not important. "You were human the first time I saw you in Traverse Town."
"Yeah, and now I'm not," he sighed, running a hand through his hair even as his wings flexed. "Have you ever been to Halloween Town?"
"No, although Oogie Boogie was a member of our group."
"I got grabbed there after sealing the Keyhole. I'm told her name is Imelda, not that I was awake to meet her. She did this to me, she turned me."
She listened as he gave her the basics. A vampire, she had not seen that coming at all. It definitely explained why someone so light had Darkness so deeply imbedded within him. Somehow it worked for him, a balance between the two and while she was curious about what would happen should that balance tip…she would not cause it. She had the feeling that should he fall to the Darkness, very few would be able to stop him and even fewer control him.
Maleficent took him to the chamber where she had conducted Riku's training. "Show me what you can do with the Darkness and then we shall see what you can learn."
"I can open and use Dark Corridors, that's it. I learnt from watching some Nobodies. I'm also not very good with fire magic, thanks to Merlin I'm no more vulnerable to it than a human would be but using it myself really drains my magic reserves," he explained.
"Light fire perhaps, you may have more success with Dark fire. Let us begin."
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It was a good thing he couldn't sleep or else he'd be exhausted from travelling to Maleficent's castle every night possible for training. He was just glad they were still at Merlin's, it doubled his training with both of them but it meant time with Kairi.
Every night they spent time in her room until she fell asleep. They talked and kissed but never let it get as heated as the first night. They had come very close, too close, to going further then they were actually ready to. She kept her hands away from his wings now, they were way too sensitive. Once she was asleep, he'd head for the castle to train. Kairi didn't expect him to spend the entire night just lying at her side and while he was happy to do that on some nights, he knew he would get bored if he did it every night, she did too. He was far too active to spend so long lying down. She was seventeen, it surprised him none of the others said anything about them being alone in her room at night.
He and Axel were leaving in the morning for Castle Oblivion and he didn't want to, he wanted to stay with her until they left to find Riku. He knew he couldn't, he had to keep the Organisation from needing to use Riku to get his attention, who knew what they thought would be a good method….what if they turned him into a Heartless, then they'd have control of his Nobody because Riku was definitely strong enough to have a human one. Even as a Nobody, without emotion, Riku wouldn't want to fight him, would he? He'd remember the emotions and how much Sora and Kairi meant to him.
And not all the trouble was due to the Organisation. Maleficent was up to something via Pete…although he thought she was backing off of that to look for Riku herself. He didn't ask about her plans and she didn't ask about his. She had asked him about Riku and he had told her about Castle Oblivion, about how his memory had been changed and then erased, only for Naminé to then piece it back together while Riku slept for a year.
He was not looking forward to returning to the Castle where things had gone so wrong. They didn't know if the Organisation might still be visiting it, Axel had said that the leader wanted a room there found. He was kind of looking forward to working with Axel though.
He ran his fingers through Kairi's hair, kissing the top of her head, before slipping off the bed. He grabbed his boots and left her room, closing the door behind him. He went down to the main room, putting his boots on, watching Merlin putter around some potions.
"Anything interesting?" he asked, and Merlin looked over at him.
"Healing potions," Merlin answered. "How is the training going?" he asked as Sora stood.
"Slow but steady. I'll be back in the morning." He left the house and teleported to the training room in the Castle.
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"Ready for this?" Axel asked as Sora joined him out in the Bailey. Merlin had forbidden Dark Corridors in or too close to the house due to his protections on the place.
"As I'll ever be," the teen shrugged. "Think the Organisation will be there?"
"Maybe, though not in significant numbers. The lot of us did a number on their numbers at the Castle and no replacements have been found yet. Doesn't mean there won't be a ton of lesser Nobodies," he warned.
"Right, so be ready to fight."
Axel nodded and pulled up his hood, Sora copying him. He opened a corridor and headed through, Sora on his heels. They moved quickly, silently, through the Darkness until they emerged in the Castle. He moved for the stairs but then realised Sora wasn't following him. "What is it?"
"Do you smell that?" he asked, looking around, before kneeling, and Axel moved back to his side. He picked up a piece of fabric and actually sniffed it.
"Uh, Sora?" Axel eyed him as Sora stood.
"This way," he took off running and Axel followed.
He didn't know what the kid was chasing or how cause he didn't see anything except the scrap of off-white fabric. They made it up a few levels and then entered a corridor where they slowed and Axel spotted a figure slumped against the wall up ahead.
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Sora knew the fabric, knew the scent, and rushed through the Castle to find him. There had been no sight of him since he'd left them after Marluxia was killed. He'd wanted to look for him but hadn't known where to start and had gotten caught up with keeping the Organisation focused on him as well as training. When he saw the figure slumped against the wall he rushed over and knelt beside him. "Riku? Can you hear me?" he called softly, not knowing what else to call him. He wasn't going to call him Replica or something.
There was no blood but did Replica's bleed? He carefully reached out and lifted his head, seeing his eyelids flicker.
"Is this really your friend?" Axel asked, watching their backs.
"Doesn't look too young to you?" Sora asked even as he gently tapped a pale cheek. "Not to mention the Dark clothing."
"The Replica?" Axel sounded shocked, and Sora nodded.
"He left after we beat Marluxia, I've seen no sign of him since. Know anything about how his body works? There's no blood but he's definitely hurt." Sora felt his pulse, it was slow but not dangerously, for a normal human. He could hear a physical heart beating slowly but he couldn't smell blood.
Cyan eyes slowly fluttered open, struggling to focus as Sora moved his hand back to cup his cheek. "So…" he slurred, head heavy against Sora's hand.
"It's me," he assured him.
"We should move out of the open," Axel suggested, and Sora nodded.
"I'm going to pick you up," he warned Riku, moving to slip one arm under his knees, the other around his back. He lifted him carefully, not wanting to hurt him more. "We should get him to Merlin."
"Yeah," Axel agreed, opening a Corridor, keeping watch as Sora carried Riku through and then following.
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Kairi looked up as the door opened and then Sora rushed in, a body in his arms… "Riku!" she cried in alarm, going to move closer only to have Axel hold her back.
"It's not him," her training partner told her. "It's a Replica."
She watched Sora gently lay him…it?...on the bed in the corner and Merlin moved over.
"What happened?" the wizard asked as he began looking Riku over.
"We found him like this in Castle Oblivion," Sora answered. "He regained consciousness briefly and recognised me." He kept a hand on the boy's shoulder…comforting him?
He'd told her about the Replica the Organisation had made of Riku, how they'd played with its memories too. Did it remember her or Naminé? His presence could be helpful though, Sora had told her about the heart that was within his, maybe this younger Riku could help them find out a way to make Ventus a body. Sora had explained what this Riku had been like, how he'd been like Riku was before the Islands fell and after. But he'd also been willing to fight and defend Naminé, had spoken nicely with Sora, so maybe he could grow beyond what he had been made as?
She moved closer, looking down at the still body, wearing a very odd outfit. He looked how she remembered Riku and not how he had looked when she saw him on the Play Island. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked.
Sora took her hand, leaving the other on his shoulder. "I don't know. There's no blood…"
"Don't think they bleed. Vexen kept the Replica process pretty secret but they aren't human. Got it memorised?"
"He has feelings of his own, he's human enough."
She squeezed his hand, understanding why he was sensitive to that kind of thing. A lot would call Sora a monster now because he drank blank and didn't have a pulse. Not that Axel knew that, he was the only one there who didn't know Sora was a vampire. It showed how Sora had changed, before he would have told anyone he believed to be on his side. Axel was helping them but was he really on their side?
They watched as Merlin worked, and then Riku shuddered, gasping, before his eyes opened and he tried to scramble away.
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"Easy, it's okay, you're safe," Sora quickly told him, leaning into view. "Just breath Riku," he soothed, meeting wild cyan eyes as they locked on him.
"S…Sor…a?"
"Yeah, it's me. Does anything hurt?" he asked, and Riku's gaze wandering from him to Merlin and then Kairi, showing no recognition of her, proving he still had the fake memories of Naminé instead. It made sense, he'd left without letting her restore the real memories that he had originally been given.
"Hurt?" he mumbled, trying to sit up again.
"Easy young man, you've had quite the trying time," Merlin told him, and Riku focused on him, looking confused.
"It's okay Riku, this is Merlin, he wants to help you," Sora explained gently.
"Why…not real," he was becoming more alert which had to be a good sign.
"Hey, remember what I told you before you left? It doesn't matter if someone made you," he grinned at Riku who just stared at him. "Oh, Riku, this is Kairi. Naminé is her Nobody and I'm not sure where she is at the moment. She spent a year fixing the other Riku's memory and then Axel, the redhead over there," he pointed, and Riku briefly looked towards him before looking back at Sora, "he got her out safely but she went off on her own."
"Not him, not Riku," he muttered, eyelids drooping.
"Well then, you'll need to pick something for us to call you, we can help if you want. You just get some rest and get better," Sora smiled at him as Riku drifted off. He looked at Merlin. "Will he be okay?"
"I believe the damage has been fixed, although I must admit his body is unlike anything I have dealt with before. He is one of the Replica's you mentioned?" Merlin looked to Axel as well and they both nodded. "I shall run some tests then while he sleeps, see if I cannot recreate such a feat magically for young Ventus. The longer he is within you…well."
Sora nodded, understanding what he wasn't saying. His vampirism hadn't affected Kairi but she hadn't been with him all that long after he was turned. The sooner Ventus' heart could be removed the more likely he was going to still be human. Although thanks to magic he was several years old now which meant it was likely Ventus had picked up at least some of the traits, his heart shifting in reaction to Sora's. Unless he as somehow totally separate even while resting within.
TBC…
Please suggest what this Riku would like to be called.
