Chapter Twenty Six: Precious

Secret Report: Zexion IV

Everything has a weakness. A point of failure. A tactical hindrance. And for many people, that point is the heart. Whether it be loved ones or ideals, many mighty warriors begin to crumble should their hearts be put under duress.

When we first started existence as nobodies, we thought ourselves beyond that. But now I wonder if by losing it we simply make that pain worse. Not knowing what gnaws away at us, begging to be completed.

What else could explain why Roxas and Naminé cling to their companionship. Or why I cannot find it in myself to stop them.

Maybe I miss it too.

"I hope Pinocchio and Gepetto made it out okay," Sora muttered as he folded his hands behind his head. He'd had his fill of that place on his first visit, what with the smell and confusing turns of intestine. Of course, this time around had its upsides in that he was a lot more capable than before.

And at least he didn't have to see Riku treat Pinocchio horribly again.

Goofy was following behind him as he suggested, "Well, they kinda already did. So it all should be good." Sora couldn't help a chuckle at that. He wasn't much for complicated thinking, but he could wrap his head around the idea that this was just a repeat of what was already done. His real friends were safe and sound. Still, he wasn't going to leave them behind even if they were just illusions.

Growling, Donald ran ahead before turning to face Sora and shouting, "But that's just it! We've already gone through all these worlds!" The protest brought the three of them to a halt as Donald pointed at his own head. "And we still remember the first time we went there!"

Slowly, Sora began to nod as he recalled the words of the first man in the black cloak he saw. Way back at the beginning of the castle.

'For here, to lose is to find, and to find is to lose. As you ascend through these floors of memories, you may lose what is dear to you in mind and spirit.'

"From what that man in black said, we should be forgetting things as we go." Shaking his head, Sora crossed his arms."But all of us remember how we got here and the rest of our lives, right?"

"Right, I'm Goofy, captain of King Mickey's guard," Goofy continued his recollection blithely by pointing over to his companion, "and this here's Donald, the court—."

"We know ya big palooka!" Only for Donald's frustrated squawk to put an end to it as Goofy simply shrugged in response with a smile. Donald grumbled as he began to walk back the way they came, "Why are we even following those guys in black? They've got creepy written all over!"

Sora stopped him by putting a hand to his shoulder and asking, "Where could we even go? The world outside was just a huge field until we got here."

Donald raised a finger as he suggested, "We could take the gummi ship and…" Only to realize the critical missing component of his idea.

Namely, them having their ship.

"Aw, phooey."

Sora nodded with a sigh at the conclusion. "It's sketchy, but this is all we have to go on right now." Turning back to continue further into the castle, he took a breath and affirmed, "And if there's a chance that Riku and the King are here, I'd say it's worth it."

As his friends followed after him, Goofy began to rub his chin. "Maybe your other friend is here too? It might be why you're remembering her."

"Now that you mention it," the voice of Jiminy Cricket came from Sora's hood as he hopped onto his shoulder and pointed out, "the only memory changing is you remembering that girl."

Sora crossed his arms as the idea stewed in his head. "I know it's suspicious. But the more I think about her, the more I'm sure she was there on the island." He had spent so much time with her, Kairi, and Riku that those memories seemed like they could never fade. Even if her name escaped her, Sora just had a feeling they were friends for a while.

But when did it all start?

A beach was the first thing that came to mind, a meteor shower in the night's sky. It was almost like the time he first met Kairi.

Wait…was it exactly…?

"Wha?! Sora, look!"

Donald's squawk got Sora's attention, and it was definitely a reason to be concerned. "The guys in black from the Coliseum!" Sora summoned his keyblade as he saw Roxas flanked by his two companions. Axel had a confident smirk while Zexion flipped through his book with one eye trained on Sora's group. Yet it was Roxas' narrowing glare that set Sora on edge. It was the look of someone ready for a fight. Donald and Goofy armed up next to Sora as he called out, "You're back for a rematch?"

"Bingo!" Axel raised a finger as he took a step forward, a burning chakram materializing on his hand as he spun the spiked disk around. "Three of you, three of us? Sounds fair right?"

Unease started to settle in as Sora watched Axel's blithe request for another bout. He tightened his grip on his keyblade and asked, "Why do you even want to fight us?"

Snapping his book shut, Zexion began to smile. "To see if you measure up to our expectations."

Again, that coy smile that Larxene shared. As if mocking him for not knowing all their little secrets. Sora scowled as he began to run forward. "Oh yeah? Well—!"

"Wait."

Only for one word from Roxas to cause Sora to skid to a stop. His companions in black seemed equally surprised at the outburst as they looked at Roxas in confusion. He slowly made his way towards Sora as he explained, "It can be three on three, or one on one."

Sora glanced over to Donald and Goofy, who seemed to be mulling the offer over just as Sora was. He knew how Roxas fought, and already had plenty of experience. Donald crossed his arms as he hit on one issue with Roxas' suggestion. "Why should we trust you to play fair?"

Zexion chuckled as he gestured to Donald and Goofy. "If you agree, consider yourselves insurance that we keep to the terms of the duel, and vice versa."

Sora looked between Axel and Zexion as they stood to the side. As shady as they were, it made enough sense to him. But fair play wasn't what bothered Sora the most. Meeting Roxas' gaze, he stood his ground as he asked, "Why do you want a one on one fight?"

In a flash, Roxas called his Kingdom Key to his hand. "I want to finish what we started in the Colosseum. No interruptions this time." But even as he settled into a ready stance, Roxas held back. His mouth was a thin line as he waited for Sora's answer.

He wouldn't need to wait too long, as Sora gave a firm nod. "I accept. It's the least I could do for someone with some real guts." Sora couldn't help but admire that spirit. Even after he was pushed to the limit, Roxas wanted to finish the fight properly. Sora wasn't going to say no to a wish like that. Not after his own dogged determination to try and keep up with Riku for most of his life despite the many losses. Watching as Donald and Goofy took a step back, Sora called on his keyblade as he turned back to Roxas. "You ready?"

The corner of Roxas' mouth perked up in a small smile before he nodded and shouted, "Let's go!" And in a blur he began to move, shooting a barrage of ice following in his trail.

Sora furrowed his brow as he dodged one bolt before shooting down the rest in a blast of fire. A bit showy, but it was a chance for him to build up something he had gotten the hang of during the climb. As the mist from the melted ice settled, Sora called the power of flame to his keyblade. But instead of a spell he flung his sword at Roxas, flame and all.

Yet Roxas was a bit quicker, calling ice to his keyblade in a flash of magic. With a flick of his wrist, his sword was thrown to catch Sora's in the air. The two spinning weapons hissed as ice met fire and began to spew mist through the room.

As his keyblade returned to him, Sora felt the Firestorm within ignite. "Pretty good. Let's see if you can keep up!" He lept into the obscuring mist, parting from the heat radiating around him. His eyes caught sight of blond hair and a cloak and he swung.

Only for his sword to clash against a keyblade shimmering with Diamond Dust. "You're not the only one who's learned some tricks," Roxas growled as he began to push the offensive and swing through the fog. Each blow was parried by Sora's burning blade, letting out a hiss of vapor around them.

Soon the only sign Sora had that Donald and Goofy were still there were their voices. Goofy hollered out over the clash of weapons, "Can you see him?!"

"Let me get rid of this mist!" Embers gathered around Donald's wand as he prepared some magic.

"No interference." Only for Zexion's curt voice to cut the effort short. And once again, Sora's view was reduced to the swirling mist, the marble halls of Castle Oblivion, and the blonde boy in black he was clashing with. The two chased each other through the room, each trying to find an edge before their power ran out.

Though perhaps going full force was the mistake here. Sora put a little extra push into his parry to knock Roxas further back. With room around him, he let the last of the fire energy he commanded loose to evaporate the mist. As the room cleared, Sora spotted Roxas getting to his feet as the ice magic dissipated.

Sora took a breath as he called on Ragnarok again, an orange glow surrounding his keyblade. But now he had gotten to the point where he hardly needed to swing his keyblade to build up strength. He just needed to focus and aim at the target, locking in every shot. Pointing his keyblade at roxas a sphere of projectiles began to grow. But just as the power reached its limit, Roxas took aim with his own keyblade.

As the magical barrage of ragnarok was released Roxas once again called ice to his keyblade. But this time the arctic aura seemed to surround him as well. In an instant, Roxas dashed across the room, crashing through the magic to break through it before colliding with Sora. Wincing, Sora stood his ground as he felt the absolute zero temperature seeping from Roxas.

And as his hold faltered, Sora realized this wasn't a blow he should have blocked.

He felt the chilling collision break through his defense and knock him off his feet. The freezing magic caused Sora to skid for a moment against the marble floor. Struggling to his feet, Sora saw Roxas approaching, a strange aura growing around him as his breath grew ragged. An aura that Sora knew was trouble as soon as he reflexively muttered, "Darkness?"

Yet at that mention, Roxas stopped wide-eyed and looked down to his hand as wisps of shadow drifted off of it. "N—no!" Taking a step back, the darkness around Roxas began to dissipate as he strained, "I'm not giving in! I won't forget her!"

Sora couldn't help but grimace seeing Roxas struggle against darkness. It wasn't like Riku who dived head first, or Cloud who had already fallen. Roxas was still struggling for the sake of someone precious to him. "Her? Who's her?"

"She's," Roxas started to answer, before steeling himself and shaking his head. "You don't need to know." Sora sighed, but was still grateful that the darkness stopped flowing from Roxas. Yet as he stepped forward, he stopped to pick something up off the ground. "What's this?"

And as soon as Sora saw what it was, his heart stopped.

A charm of five seashells tied together with string, his face drawn on one.

Scrambling to his feet, Sora pleaded, "Give that back!"

Roxas held it back as he pointed his keyblade towards Sora and demanded, "Tell me what it is."

How could Sora even begin to explain what it meant to him? That charm was one of the few comforts he had in this trek. A symbol of a promise that he had made with Kairi to come home with Riku. A sign of the bond they shared. Yet despite the many thoughts that ran through his mind, the most that Sora could get out was, "It's a gift."

Glancing at the charm, Roxas let it dangle from his fingers for a moment as he asked, "From Kairi?"

Once again, Sora felt his fear take hold. "You know about Kairi?" Right now, he had hoped that these people were just interested in him. But if they knew about Kairi? If they had some way to get to her?

That was a line of thinking he dreaded pursuing.

However, the idea only seemed to make Axel grin from the side of the room. "Of course we do. She's here, along with someone else that's special."

Sora could only take a step back in horror. Kairi was here. Why was Kairi here? Was she in danger? Were these people holding her hostage? Not to mention, "Someone else?" Who else would be here? The King? Riku?

"You know who, Sora," Zexion replied as he pointed at Sora. "Say her name. Let those lost memories come together at last."

Her. It was a her. A memory of a blonde girl in white rose to the surface of his mind.

"N…Na…"

And with it, her name.

"Naminé?"

Sora staggered back at the revelation. Not just remembering her name, but realizing that she was here. All of his friends were in danger and he hardly knew where to start.

"How important is Naminé to you?"

Roxas' question broke through the confusion, and Sora hardly needed to think of his answer. "What does that matter? She's my friend!"

Though as Sora shouted his answer Roxas slowly began to nod. For a moment, Sora was baffled by what seemed to be agreement. He pulled the charm into his hand as he asked, "Is Kairi your friend too?"

The answer should have been easy. Obvious. After so many years and what they had been through, obviously Kairi was his friend. But as he realized her life hung in the balance once again, Sora had to reckon with a mounting realization. He hung his head and murmured, "She's more than that to me." The room was quiet after that admission. Inwardly, Sora was prepared for mockery. Larxene certainly hadn't held back in their fight at how much he was in the dark.

"Then you should take good care of this."

What he wasn't quite prepared for was Roxas tossing the charm back at him. Fortunately, his reflexes were good enough to catch Kairi's gift as it sailed towards him. He hastily stuffed it into his pocket as he aimed his keyblade at Roxas. Granted, it was a bit harder to carry on with this fight to the death, and Roxas seemed just as conflicted.

Why did they even have to fight anyway?

But before either of them could move, a dark portal appeared near Axel and Zexion. "Looks like our time is up. But until then, here's a party favor for being such a good sport." With a flourish, Axel produced more cards and tossed them to Sora. No doubt some of the other worlds left on their journey.

Zexion gestured to the portal as Roxas glanced between it and Sora. "Let us be off, Roxas."

Yet as he began to turn to the dark portal, Roxas' gaze lingered as he answered firmly, "We'll meet again, Sora. I know it."

As the three in black cloaks left the room and the portal vanished, Donald and Goofy ran to his side. The latter held him steady as he asked, "Sora, are ya alright?"

"I'm fine, but that's not important." Sora tried to shake Goofy's hand loose and take a step forward. Kairi was in trouble and so was Naminé. Right now they couldn't waste another second.

But Donald's firm hand to his chest kept him back. "We'll find everyone, Sora. But right now we need to get some rest."

Wincing, Sora wanted to protest. Yet the fight with Roxas had been more draining then he had hoped. And after journeying through Monstro's gut again, it had left him ready to set up camp in the nearest safe room. "Alright," he sighed as he dismissed his keyblade. Satisfied, his friends led the way forward to the nearby safe room.

But as they made their way up the steps, Sora couldn't help but wonder. Who was the person that Roxas was fighting for? He mentioned having to return to someone in the Coliseum, and he wanted to fight the darkness for 'her' sake. Given how Roxas seemed to agree more with Sora than not, it certainly wasn't Larxene. And Kairi was probably out as well given he seemed fine enough with her giving Sora a gift. Unless there was another girl in black he didn't know about, the only person that was left…

"Sora, do you want dinner or not?"

Shaking his head at Goofy's call, Sora tried to chuckle and joke, "Hey, no way you got to it that fast!" But even so, he wondered if Roxas might be willing to help Naminé. Though he wasn't sure if she was as precious to Roxas as Kairi was to him.

It seemed as the days went by, the fact that Sora loved her was becoming impossible to deny.