Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom Hearts
Part 80
Summary: Two warriors of Light, the Chosen King and Keyblade Master, face an unseen Darkness.
*Station of Awakening*
"I promise…I won't let anything else happen to you or Sora…".
Words that stirred her unwanted slumber, the oath that is sworn to her by her shadow, and the courage in her voice that had grown because of those she wished to save. Kairi's eyes weakly fluttered open to see the circle of light that loomed over, the cool smooth tiled floor she laid upon sends shivers down her spine and a strange weariness ruled her body.
How long had she been out? Why did she feel so weak and weary? And most important of all why was she back in the station?
Head-turning to the left to see Naminé kneeling beside her, her face showing sweat and red from whatever activity she must have performed, yet her eyes held something within them. Relief and…acceptance?
"N-Naminé…", whispers Kairi, hoarse and dry like she hadn't drunk anything for weeks on end. The blonde gently brushes a stray hair from the girl's face, smiling still. "Don't worry…you'll be safe soon", she promises, "Whatever Ardyn has done is gone now". Kairi wracks her mind for answers, what did she mean by that? Did Ardyn do something to her? Naminé looks forward to the shadows that surround the station, taking a soft breath and resting both hands on her knees.
"I…wanted to say thank you, for everything", she says finally. Kairi stares at her through half-lidded eyes, the lull of sleep pulling her despite her wishes to stay awake for her friend. "I'll never forget those days in the forest, even if I couldn't be with all of you physically, you still made me feel like I was a part of the group", Naminé explains, "And you even forgave me for what I nearly did to Sora". She glanced at Kairi and nodded.
"I'll never be able to repay you or Sora for all of it…but at least here, I can ensure you both can see what lies beyond this war".
"What…do you…mean?", Kairi grunts out, her body refusing to move or sit up, questions running through her head. Naminé stands up and walks away from her as a sudden coldness wrapped around them, Kairi shivering slightly while the blonde remained unfazed nor remotely bothered by the sudden chill. Slowly from above, she sees a dark claw reaching down for them, a claw akin to a shadow's with red and violet lines on the digits.
Naminé then bathes in beautiful light, akin to Kairi's, and the claw goes for her instead of the princess. When it reached her, with one digit and thumb, it plucked out Naminé's heart, and the moment it held within its knife-sharp fingers, it retracts from the station and back into the shadows. Naminé sighed as from her feet her body turns into a clear luminous crystal, slowly spreading upward to her body.
"Naminé…!", coughed the princess, eyes shot open in horror as her friend slowly holds in place. Forcing herself despite the pleas of her body, Kairi managed to roll onto her side and hold herself up with her elbow and with her other hand pressed to the ground so she could push herself up. Never taking her eyes away from Naminé as the crystal reached her shoulder as the girl watches Kairi. Serene and calm despite the current situation, the blond sheds a single tear of acceptance as Kairi tries to get on her feet, cursing and crying her friend's name with each attempt to stand to fail.
"Hang on! I'll…I'll…!", Kairi rants, shaking her head as she just managed to stay on one knee. "Kairi…", Naminé whispers as her tear turns into a crystal. Kairi faces her as she breathes her final words. "Take care of them…", breathes the girl before she becomes a full crystal. Slowly cracks began to take form over her new fragile body, cracking and breaking off small shards of Naminé's statue before they all broke apart into shards.
"NAMINÉ!", cries Kairi, hand outstretched to vainly save her as the shards disappear before her eyes. On a knee, in despair, as she feels the lull of that damnable slumber wash over her, Kairi falls to the ground, seeing the tiny remnants of the shards flutter away into the darkness, weeping Naminé's name over and over again as the darkness took her.
*Present*
"After I woke up here…I…I tried to sense her within my heart…b-but nothing", Kairi whimpered, arms around herself as Sora held her close while she retold the story.
Not a single soul had interrupted nor tried to ask questions during her tale, out of respect and worst of all out of mourning for Naminé. Much of the guardians refused to hold their tears back, some took this loss as silent as they could despite Lunafreya's demise still fresh on their hearts. Kairi had sobbed into Sora for a long time before they could calm her down long enough for her to tell them what happened. The girl had to constantly stop to stay coherent or hold her tears back from becoming waterfalls.
Occasionally Sora would glance at Roxas and Xion, the two, like so many of the guardians had broken down in tears, held by Axel tightly. The pyro hadn't shed a single tear since the news was delivered, but only because he couldn't for their sake. It didn't take Sora much to see within his eyes Axel was feeling the same agony the others had been cut with, despite not having a close bond with the blonde as the others.
Even Aqua was having a lot of trouble keeping her composure, unable to face the others without crying herself. Sora could see her clenching her fists tightly, shoulders locking tensely and jaw as tight as a lock, the anger from this woman mixing with the pain of another loss of a friend. Comforted by Terra and Ventus while Gladiolus had his downcast with arms crossing, jaw tight and eyes boring into the ground in rage.
"This…can't be real…", Prompto gasps, "It…it wasn't supposed to go like this…".
"It sure as hell is going like it…", Noctis retorts with a growl. But how could any of them not predict the dangers of all this, he thought to himself, in war anything could happen. Losses on both sides were a given, and as much as he prayed their training would be enough he knew deep in his heart not everyone was going to come home. But Naminé and Lunafreya…weren't even supposed to be here, they should have been kept safe from all this fighting.
The king clenches his fists in unholy rage, thinking back to Ardyn and what he's done to Kairi and Naminé, one final screw you to the guardians for mucking up his plans. "I hope you burn, Ardyn…even hell is too good for you", thinks darkly of the king.
As the world around them begins to darken with the remnants of the maze beginning to break away into nothingness, the shadows enshrouding them and the longer they lingered in despair the world will perish. Yet even with having most of the gang reunited save for two more masters, the will to fight on slowly flickers away into nothing but a dying ember that may never reignite. Some carried the anger to spur on but alone wouldn't suffice, and no more would anyone be left behind.
Sora watched everyone trying to cope with this, the pain of two lives of those dear them to be taken away yet again. Even if he felt utterly heartbroken, stroking Kairi's back as she tries to stop her tears from flowing, the boy looks down at the ground and thinks quietly to himself while comforting Kairi.
"…we can't stop here".
All eyes turned to Aqua, now facing everyone without a single tear in her eye. "Losing Luna and Naminé…none of us were prepared for it, even against someone like Xehanort and his vessels. I honestly believed, as well as all of you likely, we would all be able to come home together", she starts, addressing the guardians. Pain adorns their eyes, some more so while others held their pain in silence, and some were slumped in despair. The master's gaze softens into one of mourning and sympathy.
"But if we don't pull ourselves together and stop Xehanort…then their deaths were for nothing", she says, "And I'm sorry if I am trying to brush it aside like this isn't anything, but I'm being as honest as I can with you all. They sacrificed themselves so that even when things have truly taken a turn for the absolute worst, they still believed…believe in us that we can save the realm of light".
Glances were shared and exchanged, some halting their silent and voiced tears and others clenching their fists. Aqua looks at her keyblade and holds it up for everyone to see, her eyes showing light and resolution. "We're the last line of defense for the realm of light, and we may be the only ones who can stop Xehanort, and yes…some of us may lose our lives to stop him…but I cannot in good conscience stand idly by and allow myself to wallow in my misery and let their deaths be for nothing".
"…Aqua's right", Noctis says with a grunt, unfolding his arms and gaining everyone's attention. "I swore as king I'd help stop that old bastard, and that's an oath I intend to keep". Holding Lunafreya's necklace in his hand, he gently squeezes it and says: "I don't know what's coming next, but she gave us a second chance to save the worlds. She would have died to save Eos, so there's no way I'm letting her sacrifice be for nothing".
Sora stands along with Kairi, tears dried and eyes glowing with renewed hope. "We owe it to Naminé and Luna, to stop Xehanort", Sora affirms. "And I'm here because of Naminé…and I won't waste her help like this", Kairi says bravely. Many more of the guardians pushes their sorrows aside and grasps the rekindled hope that had nearly been snuffed out. Some proclaiming hopeful cries, others swearing to uphold their promises, and many others keeping their oath to their friends.
"So, what are we waiting for? Let's find that old man, beat his face in and save the worlds already!", Axel boastfully questions, patting his friends on their shoulders. "He can't take all of us, right?", Prompto asks. "One way to find out…", Terra answers with a frown, "I'm unsure if he's stronger than ever compared to twelve years ago".
"But first before we go after him, we need to find Riku and Mickey", Aqua reminds with a frown, "And the keyhole to this world too. You know what will happen should we delay sealing it any longer".
"Right…right…but, where do we find it?", Noctis asks. Aqua opens her mouth, then pauses and frowns while crossing her arms. "…Sora?", she asks, looking at the boy. There is amusement in everyone's eyes directed to Aqua, who blushed and stammers: "W-What? I've never had to seal a keyhole before!". "Some master…", Terra teases while Ventus snickers.
"And how many keyholes did *you two* seal?", asks the master, "Plus, which one of us became a master?". Both brothers immediately blush and wisely keep their mouths shut. Smirking at them in victory, the blue-haired beauty turns back to Sora. "Well…sometimes we just find them, that's it", Sora says simply, "Other times we find gates to traverse other worlds…but it's never really clear where they are".
"Sometimes they could be hidden under a rock too", Goofy says, remembering the coliseum. "Or in most of our cases, by accident or convenience", Donald adds with a grumble. The blue head sighed, of course, it wouldn't be that easy. However, Kairi pips up. "Well if the heartless are looking for it, then maybe it's in a place where a lot of heartless are gathered up? Or heck, maybe Riku and Mickey are already there?", she suggests.
"Perhaps they decided to prioritize stabilizing this world first and hoped we'd gather everyone else up", Ignis theorized, pushing up his glasses. "To be fair, finding people is Sora's specialty". Aqua smirks in agreement, nodding. "Fair point, but still we've no clue where they or the keyhole could be", she says with a sigh, "With all the darkness here it's going to be hard to narrow down where the darkest spot will be".
"Not necessarily so", retorts Ignis, "If I can concentrate I should be able to pinpoint where the worst darkness gathers". "Or…we could go through that big door", Xion chirps. They turned to the girl who still retains the innocent questioning look on her face. "…what big door?", Noctis asks. She points behind her and says: "There's this weird door down there when Prompto and I were being carried away by that tide, I saw it. It just looks like a door to somewhere important…you know?". Curious and seeing as they had no other methods bar Ignis, the party agreed to follow the raven.
The journey through the canyon was strangely safe and went without a hitch, much to the relief of the party. All the fighting and constantly pushing themselves to their limits and beyond, along with many of them are still wounded and weary from the events of the day, it was a blessing in disguise for them to have some relief. This said everyone kept their weapons out while others readied their magic for heartless, none risking an ambush and be caught off guard.
Along their march, Prompto asked the question regarding Kairi and her armor going berserk. Kairi, ashamedly, admitted when she first awoke in this world wracked with despair and guilt for Naminé's passing, all that changed into a rage when she thought of Xehanort. "It…it was like every fiber of anger I ever had just boiled to a breaking point. All I could think about was hurting him in the worst ways I could imagine, and suddenly everything went red", she explains.
Placing a hand on her heart with shame, she continues. "Heartless started to swarm me, but when I activated my armor, I…lost it", she confesses. Here Terra hummed and says: "Your anger took over you, and your armor unintentionally acted as a shell to keep you from losing yourself to it". He gets a few looks, surprised he knew it. Bar Gladiolus of course, who sighed. "That what happened to you?", he asks blade on his shoulder.
"Kinda…my will and soul inhabited my armor. But with Kairi, it seemed like it was trying to keep your heart safe but couldn't control your anger", Terra explains and theorizes, "And thanks to Sora you managed to wake up".
"Wished you showed up earlier…", Prompto says rolling his shoulders, "Who knew angry Kairi was as dangerous as normal Sora".
Kairi looked away, shame coating her face while gaining a sympathetic look from the others as Prompto gulped and stammers an apology. The girl is unable to face Sora while Prompto guiltily closes his mouth and rubbed his neck, the bleak atmosphere back with more weight on their hearts. Occasionally glancing back at Kairi while trying to focus on the task at hand, Sora lets a small silent sigh escape him.
Other than telling everyone what's happened to her and Naminé, she had barely spoken a word and would often just listen as opposed to joining in the conversations everyone was trying to stir up to push back the silence. He turns his gaze to the king of light, Noctis with hands in his pockets while keeping his eyes open for any more unwanted surprises, heavy guilt weighs down on Sora's heart every time he looked at the king.
Lunafreya's face showing in his mind every time he does, the demise of a princess of light because of him.
"So…is this anything like the realm of darkness?", Gladiolus asks.
"Somewhat…", Aqua muses, "Here though it isn't as malicious or heavy on the heart. I suppose because there are still glimmers of light here that's probably why".
"But the heartless grow stronger, yes?", Ignis asked, looking around. "It's possible, with so much darkness and little light they could grow more powerful over time", replied Aqua, but she shakes her head. "However, we shouldn't have to worry too much about them, considering we're much more powerful now than we were before coming here". A small worry tugged on her heart however when she subtly glances at Roxas and Xion, remembering those two were probably the less experienced amongst all of them.
During their healing, what little they could spare, Axel did inform her of their "training" within the organization of the past, and immediately upon seeing them again she knew his worries were justified. They were not anywhere near the level of strength compared to the others, dare she say Donald and Goofy are probably stronger than the two. Plus, from what Prompto told her, their fighting styles self-taught and made, but without any form of discipline.
The sooner they restore the world and give themselves some breathing space the better.
"Hey, Sora? Didn't you go through a world like this before?", Noctis asks out of the blue. Sora looked to the king, frowning while trying to recall. He nodded and says: "Yeah…back when most worlds were gone…except for the place, we went to was like, all the broken worlds were squeezed and tangled into one pure dark world". "Yeah", Donald affirms, "Every part of that place was made from pieces of other worlds, just full of darkness and mangled to bad we couldn't tell what half of them were".
"Was it anything like this?", the king asks. "Kinda…but here it's just one world breaking apart and darkness took over most of it", Sora explains, "The one we saw was not so…dismal?". Terra makes a small chuckle and says: "Least it's colorful…". There are several grunts and hums of agreement amongst the party, many of them noticing the surprising number of colors here as opposed to the usual purple, black, and red choices from the darkness.
What felt like hours of trekking through the breaking world, the gang of heroes arrives at the door Xion spoke of. Resting between two walls of blackened stone as tall as a building is a bleak violet framed door with the heartless emblem stamped on the entrance. The outer lines were glowing red with miasma leaking from them, crisscrossing over it with darkness practically oozing from it. Behind it, the keyblade wielders could feel a great force of darkness along with two powerful lights.
"That's…a big door", Prompto says dumbly.
"And a LOT of darkness…", concurs Ventus with a frown, "But…how do we open it?". Goofy loudly hums to himself before he turns to Donald and Sora. "Hey fellas, didn't we encounter a door like this before?", he asked. The two turned to him with confusion in their eyes, but the duck snapped his fingers. "Yeah, he's right!", exclaims the duck, turning to Sora. "Remember? Before we fought Ansem, there was a door exactly like this!".
Recognition shines in Sora's eyes and with a grin, says: "Oh yeah!". He turned to Aqua and the group and explained the process. From their past, the trio of heroes had to survive a wave of heartless to open the door piece by piece before it'd break apart. "Okay…so we just gotta fight some heartless and poof, the door opens?", asks Noctis, "That sounds way too easy". "You say that now…but wait till the heartless start piling up", Gladiolus grunts out.
"Speaking of heartless…shouldn't they be attacking us if we've made it this far?", Ignis remarks, noticing a severe lack of dark beings. Strange indeed, none of the guardians could sense even a shadow prowling nearby, no creature of the dark sniffing around to wait and ambush them. Sora even assured the others the moment they first came to the door they had to fight a behemoth, and more heartless after that.
Aqua turns to the door and aims her keyblade, a thought occurring to her. She fires a single beam of blue light to the centerpiece of the emblem and upon striking it, three beams of darkness fly off the door. They struck three walls behind the group, closing their original path and loudly opening three pathways leading into the maze. The door births three dark hearts that flutter away down each path, leaving the guardians.
Aqua shakes her head and huffed. "There's your heartless issue…the door must have a specific heartless protecting it", she says. Stepping forward as everyone gathers up, she says: "And likely Xehanort planned for this…in the worst case should we have survived, to split us up again". "And let me guess, we'll have to play it his way?", Noctis growls. "Or we could have everyone going after the heartless one at a time and potentially waste enough time for the world to finally vanish", Ignis reminds sternly.
This silences the smart talk from the king, crossing his arms and returning to silence while Aqua turns to one pathway, checking it. She sensed darkness littered in each path, full of shadows and heartless waiting for the light to feed them, and further in a strong heartless wait for them to try and defy their destinies. The two lights behind the door were without a doubt Riku and Mickey, meaning the very second that door opens they will need help from the others.
They could have been fighting heartless from the moment they had woke up in this place and being the sole beings that stood against the heartless from consuming the heart of the world, they could be half dead by now. "We have no choice but to form groups and take down the heartless separately", she states, turning to everyone, "We're on a short time limit here, and even if we managed to take them down quickly, I don't think Riku or Mickey can afford us risking a short cut".
"Aqua's right…", Ignis hums, "We have the numbers and the strength to combat the heartless". He steps forward and points to one pathway and says: "If it is all the same for you, I'll take this one". When his brothers argued, he raises a hand to gesture silence and says: "My senses will help me get to the heartless without being delayed, and I've more than enough tricks to handle whatever may come my way". It is true that among them all Ignis had the least trouble when it comes to navigating through the dark world, considering his radar senses gave him a perfect view of the world and its minions.
And with his enhanced strength and mastery of darkness, he could sense danger faster and temptations would have no sway over his heart.
"However, I wouldn't say no to forming a party of my own", he assures, turning to Donald and Goofy, "Will you accompany me?". The two nodded enthusiastically, while Sora smiles in respect for the man. Though he wished Ignis would take another keyblade wielder with him, he understood the man needed Donald for healing, and with Goofy around, he'd be able to handle whatever came his way without worrying about sneak attacks.
"Then I guess I'll take the middle road", Axel says with a hand raised and confident smirk, "I'll be able to handle the darkness and stay on the road". Aqua gave him a concerned look before Axel assures her the time within the organization and with the constant uses of the dark corridor has granted him immunity of the darkness to a varying degree, being tempted or corrupted or even having it weigh down his heart. "And you're sure about that? You haven't used it in a long time", reminds the master. With a cocky smirk, Axel shrugs. "Did I turn into a heartless yet? I'm pretty sure I'll be fine", he bragged.
"Besides, we'll be with him", Roxas says while Xion nodded. Axel's smirk immediately vanishes, and he turns on them. "Oh no, ya won't! You and Xion are-
"Going with you", Aqua sighed. He turned back to her with the look that screamed he was going to argue but the master stares him down. "First of all, we're not sending anyone out alone, and second off, the three of you fight better together than alone", she lists. "I…I mean yeah true but that's not the point!", Axel stammered but then grunts when he turns back to Roxas and Xion, the boy glaring at him while Xion just gives him an innocent but hurt look.
"Don't you want us to help, Axel?", she asked innocently, sounding hurt. Within a second, Axel waved his hands and denies it. "N-No, Xion! I…I just think maybe you and Roxas could…hang back?", he offered weakly, "I mean, we need a group to stay here and go to Riku when the door opens, ya know?". "Oh no worries about someone hanging back to rush to the others, Axel", Aqua assured. "Sora, Kairi and Noct will be the ones to".
"What? Why us?", Noctis says accusingly, "Shouldn't at least ONE of us go?". "Ordinarily yes but consider that Riku and Mickey likely have been fighting since they woke up, and all kinds of heartless are fighting them. You and Sora are more than enough for the heartless while Kairi can heal and guard them", argued the master sternly. Sora folds his arms with a frown, hating to admit the woman was right in her argument while Kairi just silently accepts the role she would be placed in. Noctis opened his mouth to argue but Gladiolus plants a hand on his shoulder and halts any argument.
"Blue's right, you three are better suited for a rescue", argued the shield, "Sides, you're still not a hundred percent either". Noctis groans at the statement, but reluctantly accepting his position. It wasn't a hundred percent true he hadn't fully recovered his strength, but certainly nowhere near his full might. And being dead weight to the others right now wasn't an option, nor needed. Aqua gave the shield a subtly nod of thanks while the king stands near the door and returns to Axel.
"I understand your worries for them, but do you honestly expect to fight off hordes of heartless and whatever's holding us back from progressing alone?", she asked. Axel opened his mouth to retort, but Prompto jumped in. "How about I go with you guys? That way there are four eyes on Roxas and Xion?", suggested Prompto. Axel stares at him, then to his two friends before surrendering with a heaving sigh.
"Okay…fine…", he grumbled, then turns to the two. "BUT! You two stick close to us, AND NO WANDERING OFF!", he lists, going off on the rules for their venture. Almost like a paranoid parent to the others. Xion just nods to every instruction while Roxas rolled his eyes at this over-protective nature that Axel suddenly developed while they were gone. After the pyro lists everything and has them repeat what he said, Axel gathers them up and readies for their march.
"Guess that leaves us then", Ventus says, looking at Terra, Gladiolus, and Aqua. "So, it does…", Gladiolus remarks, "Well, no sense in waiting any longer". Bidding everyone best of luck and hoping to see them all as soon as they can, the three parties rush down the corridors of shadows, leaving the two royalties and chosen wielder of the keyblade.
There in the silence of the dark world, Sora glanced to Kairi sitting down on a rock further away from the boys and just hunkers down in peace while Noctis paces around before making a frustrated sigh and then marched off from the two. Sora himself feels tired and drained from everything that's happened today. Leaning against the stone wall, finally allowing himself to just allow the tensions that took home within his heart and body to finally be alleviated for just a small while.
Aqua had done as much healing as she could spare for him, specifically the wounds inflicted by Kairi-Nort earlier. He could still feel the stiffness and dull ache within them even as his flesh was knitted, his true strength slowly returning to him but not as fast as usual. Occasionally he'd glance to Kairi and see the girl just sitting there in silence, hands clasped as she leaned against the wall by her seat, eyes devoid of the light within them.
Words were never exchanged between them, even when it was just them now which is a complete opposite of how things are for them. But somehow words just wouldn't come to the boy of the keyblade, like for some reason the language they spoke was foreign and unknown to him. Shaking his head, he looks to the direction Noctis walked off to and frowns when he sees the king sitting down on a ledge, overlooking the dark world.
"…you should talk to him", Kairi murmurs.
Sora slightly turns to her, yet she keeps her eyes down to her hands. "I think he needs someone to talk with…and you're more close then I am to him", she clarifies. Sora's face only changes slightly into a frown, but he offers no argument nor tries to defend. He softly utters an "ok" to her and pushed himself off the wall and walks to Noctis after she assures him she'd be fine on her own for now. Maybe this was just a way to get rid of him and let her be, or maybe she honestly thinks Noctis could use a friend right now, Sora sadly couldn't answer it.
Baffling as it is, it hurt him more that for the first time he couldn't figure Kairi out. Now granted, he didn't know everything about her, and she always surprised him whenever she saw fit, but he thought the connection between them helped them understand each other to a new level. Like their hearts were so attuned to the other they could read each other through their hearts. But now it is like a wall had been erected between their connection, and it hurt.
Ruefully Sora pushes those worries aside, for now, dealing with it can come later. Now though, his friend needed him.
Standing behind the king, hunkered down and looking at the world ahead of him in grueling silence, Sora awkwardly shifts on his feet, trying to find the words that would break this silence between them. When did it suddenly get so hard for him to be a friend?
"I'm not gonna bite, ya know", Noctis pips up. Sora makes an awkward laugh and joins the king by his side, sitting next to him. The world ahead of him was such an oddity to him, the strange colors of this world covering the once old and dusty world with such tragedies tied to it, it almost made the world look beautiful in a strange way. If he were ignorant and didn't know behind the beauty of the world before the boy, he'd believe it was hiding a truly dark and evil secret, he'd honestly say this world was indeed beautiful.
"Things have…taken a bad turn, huh?", whispered Noctis, resting an arm on a propped knee. "Sure have…", confirms Sora with a heavy breath, letting his legs hang over the ledge. A massive understatement he thought, the faces of those who had fallen lingered in his mind and haunted him. The woman who was Noctis' light as Kairi is to him, gone and taken by the darkness they fought against, and it was because of Sora.
The boy didn't know how anyone could bear such heavy guilt with their hearts, just thinking of it made him feel like a monster.
"…it wasn't your fault".
Sora glanced at the king, never taking his eyes off the landscape. "Luna…what happened to her…I know it wasn't your fault", explains Noctis, but Sora could hear the hurt and anger in his voice no matter what. Sora frowns and looks down at his hands while Noctis runs a hand through his hair, a hiss of frustration escapes along with it. The king holds the necklace of the late Oracle in hand, staring into it with looks of anger, pain, and sorrow, while Sora tries to muster up the words to try and at least offer some condolences to his friend.
"…if I didn't get so angry at Xehanort…none of this would be happening", Sora confesses, but Noctis shakes his head. "Far as you were concerned, Kairi was dead. Taken away right in front of you while you couldn't do a damn thing to stop it", Noctis reminds, "Everything we've been through, the promises of living through this together, and then to have the one you love snatched away like that? I'd be no better".
"But you would've used your Armiger or Royal Arms or ANYTHING else…", Sora counters, "I had your sword and I still screwed it up". Noctis sighs, the damn boy was good at pointing out his shortcomings it was disturbing. Sora shakes his head and says: "Noct…I, I don't know what to say…other then, I'm so sorry". Noctis shakes his head and says: "You wanna make it up to me? Then help me get payback for Luna, for Ravus, and for everyone else that old bastard hurt". The king placed on his friend's shoulder.
"Sora", he says firmly, "We wouldn't even have made it this far without you, you know that better than anyone else". Sora looks away but Noctis squeezes his shoulder to keep him concentrating on him and sees the king giving him a strong look. "What happened to Luna, and Naminé, everyone is taking it hard and I sure as hell wasn't in a good state when I accepted Luna is gone, Gladio can vouch for that", he explained, "And yeah, I was angry at you for a while, but tell me what good is that gonna do?".
He turns to the landscape before them, looking down and says: "Did you know, Luna was going to die for me? To ensure I'd fulfill the prophecy of kings?". Sora nods, silent. Naminé and Kairi had told him about the supposed destiny that was laid for Noctis and Lunafreya before they had even arrived, how Noctis was supposed to sacrifice his life to bring the light back to his world, how Lunafreya would slowly wither away as she would communicate with the gods.
Both were doomed to die, to never have the peace they were hoping for. He can't imagine how he and Kairi would be able to bear such a burden, with the cloud of death constantly looming over them until they do their parts and then be taken away from each other. Noctis lets a chuckle out, breaking Sora's musings, shaking his head. "And then along came you guys…changing things and even giving us a chance at the "happily ever after" ending she wanted", he says.
Despite the good intentions of the king, his words only cut deeper into Sora's heart and make the guilt heavier. "But it didn't matter…she still perished because of me…", reminded Sora. "Not true…it does matter", Noctis rebukes. "Do you know how happy she was with us during the year of training? I can count one day wasn't smiling. She was amongst friends, family even for the first time since the empire took over her home". Noctis' smile turns softer and slowly the pain melts from his eyes. "Day after day she had a smile on her face, watching everyone grow, spending time with friends, outside and inside training, we gave her an entire year of being part of a family and experienced all the good stuff".
"And all that happened, because of you guys".
Looking to the skies, like he could see the glimmer of hope in the bleakest of darkness, Noctis says: "If you guys could prevent our doomed destinies, then whose to say…I can't bring her home". Placing a hand on his heart and remembering the feats Sora had done to rescue his friends even when it seemed like their fates were sealed, he smiled. "I dunno Sora…but I kinda think, you pulling off the impossible might rub off on to me", chuckles Noctis.
Sora stares at his friend, speechless. Looking towards the skies that were darkened by grey and black clouds, the words of the king stoked the fire of hope within the boy. Was it truly possible? He had saved his friends from horrible fates and some would even say he had indeed pulled off the impossible. Bringing back Lunafreya and Naminé from places like that? Was it possible for even him to do?
Placing a hand over his heart, feeling the connections and light of all his friends spread warmth into his palm, a certain ability he needed to learn to help mend the hurt echoes within his heart.
"…maybe…there is…", Sora says. Noctis looked at the boy, who turns to Noctis. "There's this power Riku and I were supposed to learn during our exam when everyone was missing, and the hurting never went away. It was to help us save Aqua and the others", he explains, "It was how we managed to save Ventus and bring him back into the realm of light, or how Riku saved me from the endless slumber during the exam".
"You sure? Can it help us save Luna and Naminé?", Noctis asked, hopeful. "I think so…no. I know it can", Sora replied firmly. "The Power of Waking". "And that's…?", asks Noctis. "It's supposed to help awaken a sleeping heart, but…maybe, it could also help restore hearts too", says Sora. Both frowned at the concerning doubt within the boy's tone, but Noctis nodded. "Let's worry about it, after we save the worlds first, yeah?", he suggests, "Don't think Luna will appreciate being brought back into the realm of light in this state, probably lecture me until I grow old".
"Heh, yeah…sounds like her", Sora says with a tease. They both chuckled together, and when their laughter ceases, Noctis offers a hand to the boy. No more pain or sorrow in his eyes instead of renewed hope and resolve to win this fight, to reach the end and be with his light again. Taking his king's hand, Sora beams and shows that smile that hadn't been shown for far too long now. They stand up together but Noctis remains where he stood as Sora took steps back.
"I'm just gonna hang here for a little while longer…just, need some time alone, you know?", he says. Understanding, Sora nods and walks back to the door. Walking in silence, the boy placed a hand on his weightless heart, a great burden lifted from it and now free to soar again. But there was still something he needed to resolve, one that could potentially be exploited by the seeker of darkness.
And as soon as he made his choice, he stops in place.
Before the boy is Kairi, standing right in front of him with a look in her eyes, searching. He opens his mouth to greet her but by the time his mind conjured the sentence for his lips to speak, Kairi is already close to him and with speed, she had honed to a rival the speed of light, his jacket was removed. He tries to stop her, but she placed a hand on his shoulder and pushes the tank-top strap to the side and reveals the scar on it.
All his words faded from his mind as the silence of the dark world looms between them, only the empty winds breeze by while Kairi stares at the horrible scar that ruined Sora's shoulder. It was silvery and bumpy looking that covered his shoulder entirely like it just barely avoided being chopped off altogether, and that was just one scar. Though he had a gut-wrenching feeling she wasn't going to look at that one if it were anything like the shoulder.
Neither had spoken since her action, he stays still and decides to allow her to see instead. Her eyes showed pain and immense sorrow, but no tears this time. He naively hoped it was because she had prepared herself for it or maybe the strength that had fled her body returned while he was speaking to Noctis. No, instead she lets one shed and faces Sora, her expression says it all.
She remembers what happened.
Shaking her head, she bitterly says: "Sorry isn't good enough…not this time". "Kairi", he starts but the girl gently squeezes his shoulder and says: "No Sora, no excuses…". She brushes her hand against the scar, feeling the bumps and jagged flesh, Sora shivering from the sensitivity of his new mark. "I remembered everything…how we fought, the words we exchanged…how cruel I was to you…", she lists, her voice laden with disgust.
He couldn't blame her, that false version of her was a far cry from the wonderful girl before him. He tried hard not to remember the day Aqua remembered what she was like when Xehanort's darkness corrupted her, how she wept, and constantly apologized to him, Riku and Mickey all day. Luckily Kairi nor Axel or heavens forbid Ventus was there to witness it, not even he could manage to cheer everyone up should that ever happen.
Here though, his greatest source of strength and light was chastising herself and cursing her shortcomings. Shaking her head as another tear sneaks out of her eyes, she hiccups and whimpers in shame, memories flashing throughout her heart of the torment she performed on the one person who meant the worlds to her, the person who had already taken so much pain for her. How she took satisfaction in his sufferings, the expressions of dismay and despair, how every hit was like a slap to his heart.
These scars were a permanent reminder of that version of her, that cruel monster of a parody of herself that Xehanort conjured up to hurt them. She leans in and kisses the scar, and when she retracts herself from him, she wordlessly attempts to walk away. But no, Sora immediately wrapped his arms around her and yanked her into his chest, clinging to her and holding as close and tightly as he could. Kairi freezes when she feels his lips on her neck, the security of his arms that she unknowingly wanted for so long now.
"Don't go", he whispers, "Please…". Tears splashed on her neck, breaking down her resolve not to cry again as her shoulder shake and lips quiver. How could he still want her by his side, let alone forgive her for causing some a new level of pain no lover should do to their significant other. "Sora…I, I can't…I don't, I don't want to hurt you anymore", she whispers while another lone tear runs down her cheek as more plops of tears splash on her neck.
"Leaving me alone…hurts more than any scar", Sora whimpered, "Please Kairi…don't leave me". His arms tighten around her as the tears she had fought against won the war and ran down her cheeks without any signs of stopping as Sora hitched a breath. "I thought I lost you forever…I thought I'd never see you again, after everything we went through together. I…I almost gave up entirely…", he confesses, "But when I felt your heart again…your light…it was like a second chance".
"Sora…", Kairi whimpers. "We promised, no matter what happens we'd find each other, and we'd keep each other safe, remember?", he asks, "And we did…you found your way back to me…and I brought you back to us…".
Kairi lets a watery giggle out, in so many ways he was right. Even within her darkest rage, she still found his light guiding her back to where she belonged, and in turn, she returned to him as they swore they would. "I don't care how many scars I get…they're from someone else as far as I'm concerned…you've never hurt me…and I know…y-you never will", he says as his voice cracks with pain and love.
Unable to hold back, Kairi spins in his embrace and clutched him, sobbing into him as they collapse to their knees, holding each other. Kairi sobs and repeats two sentences: "I'm so sorry" and "I love you", over…and over again. Holding her close to him out of fear he may lose her again, the two guardians of light mend the pain and bridge between their hearts, strengthening their oaths to the other.
Watching them in silence, Noctis oversees the two mend the hurt that pushed them apart. Lifting Lunafreya's necklace, and gently clasps it.
"We'll bring you and Naminé home, Luna", swears Noctis.
A/N:
Okay, I promise we're done with the tragedy for a while!
…until we hit Remind…sorry.
The guardians are back to going on their own (AGAIN) and there will be a little fighty fights in them, BUT I promise there's gonna be more character bonding, some fluff and humour between the gang. There was a section where Noctis and Xion acted like siblings fighting with Mama-Aqua telling them off but I felt with the theme of the chapter it wouldn't work.
Anyways, next time we're back the three parties and see what happens, giving Sora a break. And I swear more Noctis and Sora bonding in future because for whatever reason I seem to forget about them.
QUESTIONS!
Q1: Thoughts on chapter?
Q2: Was Kairi's Lingering Will explained well?
Q3 Aqua taking charge again? How was that?
Q4: What do you wanna see later or next time?
Q5: Sora's bonding with Noctis and Kairi? Were they ok for how short they were?
Q6: Naminé's scene? How'd you like it?
Q7: Any questions of your own you want answered?
Writer's questions: What do you prefer to write in chapters or what do feel more confident in? Fight scenes, dialogue or having characters going on adventures? Me I usually prefer having them just hang around and banter.
Also wondering, would you guys like a collection of shorts based on this? I've been writing up prompts surrounding this story and thought of doing a collection of short stories, like what ifs, moments outside of the main story, original plans that didn't pan out and a few other things, let me know what you think!
Massive thanks to the favourites and new follows, you guys really make the work load worth it! As always, thanks for reading! Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!
