Disclaimer: not mine
Chapter 27
Kairi was relieved to see Daichi appeared much more relaxed after their trip to Atlantica, it had done him a lot of good. Sora too actually, he'd needed the break from training and searching. In some ways, he was very different to Riku, and she guessed that was because the memories he had were altered plus the whole knowing about that and that he had been 'made'. All of that had to have affected him deeply.
She glanced over at where Sora, Axel, and Merlin were talking quietly, looking very serious.
"They're talking about someone called Zexion, I think he was at Castle Oblivion," Daichi told her, and she looked at him in surprise. He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "I was made to be better than the original."
"So your senses are better?"
He nodded. "And I'm physically stronger and tougher. Not sure about anything else."
"Well, you don't bleed, there was no blood when they brought you in. Want to go find out why they're talking about a dead person?"
"Because he's back," Sora answered, and she jumped, not having heard him approach. He laughed and caught her around the waist, kissing her neck.
"Wait…what?" she asked in confusion.
"Apparently if both Heartless and Nobody are killed, the person comes back as the human they were. So Zexion and Lexaeus are back so far, some of the others might be too. Zexion's name is actually Ienzo, and he was a scientist at the Castle here."
"But he's definitely human now?" Daichi asked warily, and Sora nodded.
"Merlin and Axel believe he is. He came here while we were gone and is going to work with Merlin to make Ventus a body."
"Who's Ventus?"
So they began explaining how Sora had a second heart inside his own.
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Sora lay down on the bed, Ienzo leaning over him. The Committee was working to clear the way to a back entrance Ienzo remembered to Ansem's study and from there the labs which had proper equipment but for now he had managed to scrounge some things to take some beginning readings.
Of course he then promptly froze as the monitor attached showed a flat line, looking from Sora back to the monitor. "It appears we have an equipment error," he admitted, and Sora hesitated, he didn't want anyone else knowing, especially before he could finally tell Riku, but…
"There's no error."
"Sora, this should be showing your physical heartbeat."
"Yeah, I haven't had one since my one and only trip to Halloween Town. I uh…ever heard of vampires?"
The look on the scientists face was kind of amusing.
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Maleficent opened the door to find Riku was still asleep or unconscious and that was concerning. She moved to the bed and pressed a hand to his forehead, she could find no spell upon him and no injuries to explain why he had not woken. It was concerning and should it last much longer… she would either have to seek out aid or risk his death.
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Xemnas stared at the empty room, how was it possible? Ansem should not have been able to leave without his detecting it. Had someone taken him? But who would do that, even should Sora or any of his companions make it so far they would have no reason to take Ansem, unless they thought they could de-possess Riku? A pity, but so long as he didn't kill Sora, then he was useful enough to them out there causing chaos.
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Naminé stared out the window towards the town of Hollow Bastion, wondering if Sora and Kairi were there. She was worried; Riku was still unconscious and now they were in the hands of Maleficent. What would she do to them? She knew that Riku had been with the Dark Faerie before he'd been possessed but…she'd also caught a glimpse or two of Sora with her lately and they hadn't been fighting. It was all so confusing.
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Dai called his Soul Eater to hand and stood opposite Sora who grinned at him.
"Ready?" the older boy asked, and Daichi nodded.
He'd finally agreed to spar with Sora, if he wanted to travel then he had to be fighting fit, to be sure of his abilities. That meant practicing against different opponents. Sora was the only one with a Keyblade and while Soul Eater wasn't one, it was closer to it than the others weapons.
Sora lunged at him and Dai dodged, bringing his blade up, Sora blocking easily. They began trading testing blows, Sora slowly speeding up as they did. It was….fun. Sora would not purposely harm him which made it unlike any fight he'd been in since his creation although…looking back, he didn't think Sora had been seriously trying to hurt him back then either, he'd been fighting to disarm and restrain him, not kill.
It felt like they fought for forever and eventually Sora had him on his back, Keyblade at his throat. "Yield," he forced himself to say, unable to help tensing, but then Sora grinned and the Keyblade vanished. Sora leant over and offered him a hand, Daichi accepting it and the help up.
"That was really good," Sora praised.
"Thanks," he found himself grinning back.
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He slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at…a ceiling? He could barely think, struggling to remember anything. Who…who was he? Where? Something….something was familiar?
"Riku, can you hear me?" a voice called and he sluggishly managed to turn his head.
There was…a woman, tall, holding a staff…he knew her, he did. "Ma…"
She moved closer and he tried to move but something felt wrong. A hand rested on his forehead and he let his eyes close at the soft touch. "Rest child, you are safe now."
Safe? There was something….everything faded away before he could try and work it out.
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Maleficent watch him succumb to sleep before leaving the room. He had recognised her, despite his obvious disorientation, that was good. He needed time to heal and recover himself but she did not know if they had that time. The Organisation had done this to him and they would pay for it.
She was hesitant to inform Sora, now that Riku had woken. Riku was her child, no matter what biology may say. The forced change to his body and exposure to even more Darkness was accelerating things, he would no longer be human much sooner than originally expected. She wanted to keep him safe until it was done and he would be far harder to harm. But should he recover mentally enough, he would insist on fighting, especially with Sora involved.
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Kairi kissed Sora, running her hands up and down his back, careful of his wings, happy they'd gotten the hang of kissing around his fangs. She really liked kissing and was hoping for the chance to kiss Riku too soon. Sora was leaning over her, the covers between them as they always were at night. She knew he didn't stay all night, that he went out to clear rubble, train, any number of things. Tonight, she wanted him to stay, she wanted more than just a few minutes of kissing. Sora was leaving in the morning for another World and she didn't know when he'd be back.
"Kairi?" he asked breathlessly as they parted enough for her to breath.
"Stay," she whispered. She kissed him again, hands moving up to the base of his wings and he groaned.
"K…airi," he whined as her hands moved over the sensitive membranes.
"Please Sora, stay."
"Sure?" he forced out more steadily even as he bit his lip to try and keep quiet. It was amazing how sensitive his wings could be, the affect touching them had on him, how did he take any hits to his back in a fight and not collapse?
She nodded before initiating another kiss, feeling him settle his weight more firmly over her. They kissed for what felt like forever before she began shoving the covers down and Sora pulled back, obviously not sure what she was doing. She tugged him back down, feeling him pressed against her own body without blankets in the way and it felt good, ignoring the coldness of his body. She pushed at his shirt and his eyes went wide.
"Kairi…it's…" he stammered and if he could still blush she knew he would be, her own face felt a little warm.
"I just want to see," she promised, and he hesitated, staring at her, but eventually he pulled his shirt off, the magic in the cloth keeping it from getting tangled around his wings. She lifted a hand to his now bare chest and he shuddered as she touched the pale skin. "Okay?" she asked, and he nodded, holding himself still to let her explore.
She'd seen plenty of guys without their shirts on, even touched the bare skin in passing during various games, they did live on a series of Islands after all, but this was different. His skin was smooth and firm over muscles developed from years running wild on the Play Island and then fighting Heartless. The more she touched, the warmer his skin felt, her own warmth raising his body temperature a bit. He stopped her when she reached for her own top to let him see and touch too, shaking his head.
"I…I don't know," he looked away, taking a deep, unneeded, breath. "I don't know if I could stop there," he admitted. "Not yet," he pleaded.
"Okay." She was disappointed but she wouldn't rush him.
She wasn't sure if he was worried about hurting her or going further then they were ready to yet. She shifted and he rolled off her, letting her roll to her side so they were lying together. She cuddled in close and kissed him again before pulling the covers over them both. Sora wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back, and she soon felt sleep calling her.
"I'll stay," he whispered. "Go to sleep."
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Sora watched Kairi sleep, enjoying the warmth of her body pressed to his own, hoping the covers would keep her warm enough. The idea of seeing her without anything on her top, of being allowed to touch, was exciting…too exciting. He'd had to stop her because the urge to touch with more than a hand had been growing and the last thing he wanted was to scare or hurt her by biting. He would not feed from her!
As embarrassing as it would be…he needed to get those books out again and maybe…even talk to Merlin. He was in love with two people and as shown earlier, sooner or later, they would want to go further then kissing and the amount of touching he and Kairi did. He knew it was possible for vampires and humans to…to have sex without the human being hurt but before they got anywhere near to trying that, he wanted to be sure he wouldn't hurt either of them.
As much as he wanted to focus on that, finding Riku and defeating the Organisation had to be the main focus. Axel could get them in, but they had to be ready to fight every surviving member of the Organisation. Ienzo and Aeleus had also given them information, although with both human again, they would not be going in too. Ienzo was a scientist and while Aeleus was a guard he no longer had the powers he'd had as a Nobody. They might be able to learn magic and stuff but there wasn't enough time.
He was worried enough about Kairi joining them, not this trip, but the next one. Merlin, Axel, and Yuffie agreed she'd be ready then. He wanted her with him but at the same time he wanted her somewhere she'd be safe. If he left her behind again thought she might just find a way to kill him.
Sora smiled when she shifted even closer in her sleep, face buried in his still bare chest. He kissed the top of her head, listening to the calming rhythm of her heartbeat and let himself drift.
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Jasmine was surprised to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy in Agrabah. She hadn't thought she'd see them again once everything had been fixed. Hearing about the Organisation that was making trouble was not good or that they had kidnapped Sora's friend…the same friend that had kidnapped her. She was no longer a Princess of heart, she had passed that on before ever leaving Hollow Bastion, she thought all the others had too, except perhaps Kairi. She could still sense the Darkness buried deep in Sora but it didn't feel as wrong to her as it had before. She just hoped they could find Aladdin and work out what was going on.
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Riku…he was Riku, not Ansem. A shaky hand was lifted, fingers moving…his hand? It didn't look, did it? What was happening to him? He slowly pushed himself up, looking around, he knew the room, it was…his room at the castle. Maleficent's castle. But…he'd been somewhere else, hadn't he? Why was is so hard to think, to remember? Why did he feel so weak?
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"You! You've messed with me for the last time! I'm gonna get you yet!" Pete yelled before thankfully leaving.
Genie hugged Aladdin, yanking him off his feet. "Yeah! All right!" He put Aladdin down and gave him a thumbs up which Aladdin returned.
Carpet flew in with Abu on him, Iago following with the lamp. Aladdin took the lamp and the group made their way into the Palace and then down into the deepest dungeon. Inside, they placed the lamp in a stone coffin and closed it before going back to where Jasmine was waiting outside the Palace.
"I promise, you won't regret givin' me another chance. Honest!" Iago told them all.
"Uhhhh... Princess Jasmine, you sure that you want that pigeon in the coop?" Genie eyed the parrot warily.
Jasmine smiled, "Oh, I think Iago's shown that he means well."
"Aw, sure. You're probably right."
"And how much trouble can one noisy bird cause?" Sora grinned.
"You might just have a point there, kid," Genie laughed.
"What happens next, Sora?" She asked, and he sobered.
"Well, it was great seeing you all...but we still need to find Riku and stop the Organisation so I guess we'll be moving on."
"I hope you find him soon," Genie offered, and Sora nodded.
"Me, too."
"Hey, where's Aladdin?" Donald looked around, when had he even left?
"He ran off toward town, looking for Abu. But he should be back by now," Jasmine frowned in concern.
"Al can't miss Sora's big farewell party! I'll have him back in a jiffy!" Genie spun around and disappeared in a tornado of magic.
"Abu!" they heard Aladdin yelling and then Abu ran in with a large red jewel. "Catch him!"
Abu stopped suddenly when Sora, Donald, and Goofy all jumped for him. They crashed on top of the little monkey, who lost the jewel.
"He must've secretly stolen it from the Cave of Wonders," Aladdin shook his head, exasperated.
"Abu!" Donald snatched the jewel away and looked at it. "Wow!" He stared, transfixed, and Goofy chuckled.
"I guess some things are just hard to resist."
"Aw, who needs it!" He pretended to throw it and everyone looked, even as he hid it behind his back.
Abu looked at him and squawked, pointing at Donald's back, alerting everyone else.
"Oh... I guess it got stuck!" he offered sheepishly as the jewel began to glow. "What!?" he threw it for real and Sora called his Keyblade to open the new gate.
"Sora... What is it?" Aladdin asked as the light faded.
"I think it's time for us to go," he admitted.
"Will you be back?" Jasmine asked, surprising him, although she had been the warmest of the Princesses, probably because they'd met while he was human before the events of Hollow Bastion.
"We will, I promise!"
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Daichi dropped onto the log, breathing heavily, muscles burning but he could go again if necessary. Kairi was already sprawled on the ground nearby, exhausted. Axel smirked, looking as fresh as ever. Show off. Being a Nobody, he had a lot more stamina then a human. Dai was only worn out because he had faced Axel twice, Kairi taking a turn in between before facing Daichi as well.
He knew Sora and Kairi were going after the Organisation that had created him and he was…torn. The part of him that was Riku wanted to go to, to fight at Sora's side. Knowing the memories of Naminé had originally been of Kairi had him feeling a bit protective of her too, and the idea of her fighting them was scary. But…he didn't want to fight, not because he was scared or anything but it was something he felt. Training and sparing were different, fun, but actually fighting? It was something he'd come to realise he didn't like doing. But like didn't really come into it, did it? The Organisation needed to be stopped and Riku rescued.
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"Sora!"
He spun and caught her, lifting her off the ground to kiss her hello before setting her back down on her feet. "We're back," he grinned at Kairi before kissing again. "Hey," he smiled at her and she smiled back at him.
"I'm glad you're back. Where did you go?"
"Agrabah, had to stop Pete this time," he smirked, and she laughed, they'd told her all about Pete.
"So where are we going for my first mission?" she asked as they walked into the house, his arm around her waist.
"Well…the next gate opened but it's complicated," he admitted, and she looked at him, confused. "it's Halloween Town," he clarified, and she grimaced.
"Sora…you can't go back there!"
"I completely agree," Merlin said from where he was brewing. He wiped his hands and walked over. "Sora, you can't go back to Halloween Town, it's too dangerous. If your Sire were to realise you were there she would come for you. You are only a few years old, not old enough to resist her."
"So what do we do? The gate opened for a reason," Sora answered, flopping down on the couch, tugging her down with him.
"Well, as the team is much bigger now, others shall go and you will go elsewhere," Merlin told him, and Sora sighed but nodded.
He didn't like shirking on his job but what else could he do? If she got to him…
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He stumbled to his feet, everything was wrong. Too high up, things too small, his body not right. He had…he had to go…had to hide…couldn't let anyone see him like this. He pulled on the door but it stayed shut. Riku reached for the Darkness, opening a Corridor to fall through it, despite how shaky it was.
TBC…
