If You Give it Form

by snowflakeofdestruction

AU. Sora wakes up not to a friendly dog but an empty alley. Donald and Goofy already found Traverse Town empty and took their desperate search for the Keybarer to another world. By the time they return, Sora has moved on, taking Riku's hand like he wanted to on the islands and following him to his new mentors. Sora's power is the friends he makes in any universe.

3. If It Works

Bookshelves as tall as the sky arranged in a maze. Giggles popping like bubbles in the air as a child ran around the corner, no fear in diving into the labyrinth.

A white apron with purple flowers. Just an image but one that came with the knowledge that it would be stiff when you buried your face in it. Starched and not worn long enough to lose the feeling of it.

An angry boy with pewter hair falling in his face. Blue sticky stains on a white coat with sleeves that covered his hands.

"You're his blood, but you're not his family."

Sand. Everything is sand and particles seep everywhere, under clothes and tasted on the tongue of a mouth that screams without remembering why.

"This isn't my home."

Sora woke up, heart pounding and dreams fading before he could grasp more than the image of sand and home. He found himself in a large, unfamiliar bed with red posts at the corners and thick purple-gray curtains. The mattress was soft enough it filled him with unease. It was like waking up in quicksand. The rest of the room (wood floor with a large burgundy area rug, gray walls, a red frame with intricate gold patterns around the doors) was equally foreign. He was alone, which he wasn't sure whether to see as a blessing or a disappointment. More disconcerting than his surroundings was the fact that he was barefoot and dressed in a soft white shirt sizes too big for him and gray pants that were a closer fit but hugged oddly, with his own clothes and shoes nowhere in sight.

He searched first for the exits so he could run if needed (three exits, which he knew had to be significant, but he couldn't think of a conclusion to draw) and then for some orienting detail to tell him where he was or who had brought him there. His eyes were drawn to a picture propped up on the dresser in the corner, and he rose from the bed-sore but not much more than he was any time he and Riku went a few rounds sparring-to see it more closely. Three girls in flower crowns sat in the middle of a field of light purple, white, and yellow blossoms and posed for the camera. The snapshot fell somewhere between staged and candid. The girl in the far right corner had her head thrown back and most of what could be seen of it was a wide open mouth that had to be screaming or laughing. She held her flower crown to her head with a hand only half successfully and petals were falling on her shoulders. A light brown braid was swept around her shoulder so it fell across her chest. The girl in the middle was fully posed: hands folded in her lap, slight tilt to her head to show the best angle, smile brighter than her eyes. The only thing that interfered with the carefully composition of her area of the photo was the way an unseen wind blew long, dark hair in front of part of her face. The girl on the left had hair the same color, a few shades lighter than black, and a similarly shaped face, but there was enough difference in their features that Sora didn't think they were related. The third girl was caught in the process of saying something, possibly whatever it was that made the girl with the brown braid laugh so hard. She was petting through the disheveled brown hair of a teenaged boy who was lying with his head pillowed in her lap. The boy had his eyes closed, but the hard set of his jaw and fisted hands said he was resolutely pretending at being asleep, not truly at rest. His bottom lip was split and freshly so, barely crusted if the flecks of red-brown on his shirt were anything to go by. The head and one shoulder and arm of another boy sitting behind the girl on the left with his chin rested on her shoulder could be seen. He held the slightly startled look of someone who had been ordered to smile at the very last moment. His teeth could be seen, but he did not necessarily look happy and blue-green eyes settled below blonde hair appeared to look beyond the camera to whoever was taking the picture. Sora would have placed them about a year or two older than he was. Not one face looked familiar, but there was an odd lurch in his chest at the captured moment between friends.

"Oh, good. You're awake."

Sora startled, not having heard the door open, and stepped away from the dresser and the photo. An older version of the laughing girl with the braid from the photo was standing by the entrance to the room closest to the bed, regarding him with a softly concerned look. "How are you feeling?" She left him his space, staying where she was. "Did my cure spell do its job? I have to apologize for Leon. He'll do so for himself later," her tone had a hint of hardness as if there would be consequences if this Leon did not apologize and he knew it, "but I want to get it out of the way first. He's not very good with people. He never has been." She gave a suddenly wistful sigh.

Sora breathed slowly through his nose, processing most but not all of her words. He understood that the tone was primarily gentle and the speech pattern slow as if aimed at a skittish animal, but he still felt far from reassured. He clenched, unclenched, and reclenched his right hand into a fist and the keyblade formed, a reassuring weight in his hand.

The woman breathed a small, "Ooh," of surprise, looking more delighted than apprehensive. "You really are the one we have been waiting for. I had that hidden in the next room. To lessen the risk of Heartless coming for you while you slept." She tacked on the last hurriedly and then went on to answer more concerns he hadn't voiced yet. "Leon dressed you. You can change back into your clothes as soon as you want. They're on the balcony. I used aero to dry them most of the way before laying them out. Your shoes, however, may need a bit longer."

He nodded jerkily, not quite able to force himself to drop his guard no matter how nice her voice or kind her eyes.

"I know you must be scared…"

"I'm not," Sora cut her off, insistent.

She smiled softly. "Of course you're not. What was I thinking? The hero of the worlds isn't daunted by a few heartless, right?" She airly waved a hand weighed down by several thin bangles and her smile grew a bit wider, a bit conspiratorial.

"Don't patronize me!" Sora bellowed, surprising himself by the volume and bitterness of his voice as he snapped. He adjusted his clammy handed grip on the keyblade and blinked rapidly.

The doorknob of the door at the woman's back turned but she made a mad grab behind her and pulled it shut as it started to open. "I told you to give us a moment! We're fine!" She whipped her head back around, both hands still on the door to keep it shut as it shook a bit, and nodded at Sora, prompting, "We're fine, right?"

Sora nodded, fast blinks still making it hard to see a clear picture of the room, and then realized speaking aloud was better. "We're fine!" he yelled for the benefit of whoever was trying to force the door open. "Please. Don't talk down to me." He kept the keyblade drawn.

"I won't." The resistance from the other side of the door must have went away because the woman with the braid released it and stood straight, turning to fully face him again but still not advancing. She didn't apologize for or defend her previous mocking tone, the latter of which Sora appreciated. She indicated the bed with an arm. "May I sit? I'm sure you have a lot of questions. It might be better if we get comfortable."

Sora pursed his lips, a hundred questions flooding his mind at once just like the woman had predicted. He considered ignoring her as he started in, or insisting she stay where she was, but he gave a minute nod. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here?"

The woman crossed to the bed, but instead of sitting like she'd said she wanted to, she started to remake the bed from where he'd rumpled the sheets and untucked the corners from tossing in his sleep. Perhaps it was done to show she trusted him enough to turn her back. Maybe it just made her less nervous to busy her hands. "My name is Aerith. I could tell you more, but it wouldn't mean anything right now. You should know already I mean you no harm and neither do my friends. Leon carried you here after you passed out."

"Leon's the one who attacked me?" Sora had to suppress the instinct to help her or say he'd make his own bed.

"He is," Aerith hesitated a moment. "He was trying to get the keyblade away from you. It attracts those monsters you saw outside, the Heartless. He was trying to keep you safe."

If she thought that would get Sora to drop his guard and dismiss the keyblade, she was wrong. None of that made sense. He had discovered the Heartless already on the street, attacking someone else. There had been a swarm on the island before he first summoned the strange sword. Even if Leon believed the sword attracted monsters, why wouldn't he explain that and ask Sora to dismiss it instead of trying to beat Sora to death? "Weird way to keep me safe, throwing fireballs at me."

"Isn't it?" It didn't make any better of an impression that Aerith took it all so lightly even now, amusement in her voice as she agreed with Sora dismissively. "I said he was bad with people."

"That's not an excuse!" Sora realized he'd lost his volume regulation again, swallowed, and repeated himself more softly, teeth grinding and fingers itching on the keyblade again as he spread his feet into a wider, more secure stance. "It's not an excuse. "

"You're absolutely right," this time Aerith sounded solemn in her agreement. She wore the right face, angry at her comrade on Sora's behalf, or just for her own sake since she was now apparently the one stuck with making things right, and regretful of the situation. The bed was made. She sat on the edge of the foot of it, putting herself close to Sora and the keyblade, looking up to lock her eyes to his and baring a bit of her throat as she did. "There's no excuse and you have a right to stay angry, but I am telling you the truth."

"How do you two know about the keyblade?" Sora asked, changing topics. His brain, a moment late, supplied that asking what they knew about the keyblade would have been a better question to ask even if it made her suspect he didn't know much himself.

"Legends and stories,"she gave a suspiciously sparse answer before volleying back a question of her own. "What is your name? I gave you mine. Wouldn't it be easier if we could refer to each other by name?"

"No," Sora shot back immediately, though part of him agreed. Learning names was the first step in making friends. He wasn't sure he wanted to be friends with Aerith though. "Where are we?"

"A hotel in the Second District of Traverse Town," Aerith followed his lead to keep it short and business-like. "Isn't your arm getting tired? Don't you want to sit?"

"No," Sora bit off the word and demanded. "Tell me about Traverse Town and then tell me about Heartless and the keyblade."

"Traverse Town is...It's hard to explain, but I'll try. The heart of Traverse Town calls out to the hearts of those that have lost their worlds to darkness and if they are strong enough to answer the call they end up here. You can hear the cry and the answer if you listen hard enough."

Sora stripped Aerith's words down and separated them into smaller concepts to process. "So we're on another world?"

"You got it." Aerith's cheerful tone sounded like being condescended to again.

"And my world is..." Sora's throat closed before he could finish the question as images of his mother's face and then Riku and Kairi fading away flashed in his mind's eye.

Aerith looked down at her lap, the I'm-proud-of-you smile vanishing. "I can't say for sure, but it's very possible. I'm so sorry. I lost my homeworld when I was about your age."

"So my friends and family might be here in Traverse Town?" Sora reached for hope.

"They could be." Aerith took long enough to answer that it painted a clear picture of her opinion of the odds. "You were the only new arrival found tonight. Yuffie asked around the Districts while you were out."

"Yuffie?" Sora forced the name out, suddenly listless and letting his keyblade drop finally to his side.

"Another friend. She helped Leon bring you back here. Do you feel ready to meet Yuffie and meet Leon properly, or do you need another moment?" Aerith waited for Sora to reply but his eyes were staring past her, unseeing, and no response came, so, though that was its own response, she continued. "I don't want to rush you, especially right now. There's a lot for you to process. I understand. And you and Leon didn't get off to the best start. I know the two of them are very nervous waiting in the adjoining room though, so if you would give a signal they can come in and see you haven't decapitated me with the keyblade yet, we would all appreciate it."

Sora snapped back to the present. "Could I really decapitate someone with this thing?" He raised the keyblade a bit, staring at the teeth on the blade. It didn't even look sharp but he'd seen it slash through monsters and make them dissolve into oily smoke.

"I'm not sure. The keyblade is said to reflect the heart of its master. Do you want to decapitate people deep in your heart?"

"My heart?" Sora put his free hand to his chest for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I...definitely not."

"Well that's a relief." Aerith's cheery demeanor bounced back immediately every time she tried to suppress it for a moment. Sora thought in other circumstances he would have really liked her. "You really are our last best hope. It's good to know you aren't psychotic."

"Last hope?" Sora found his voice choking off again like there was a hand around his throat. "I'm not anyone's last hope, and I don't want to see Leon. I just want to get my clothes and go look for Riku and Kairi."

Aerith opened and shut her mouth without saying anything. Her lips pressed together tightly for a moment and Sora watched her eyes dart from him to the door and back. "Well, I'm not going to force you to stay here," she assured him, though some repressed frustration seeped in underneath her understanding. "At least let me put a regen spell on you and tell you some of what I know about the Heartless in case you meet them again before your family."

"Friends," Sora corrected her but didn't agree to anything else yet. He just needed a moment to think, and he didn't think he could get it in this room in these strange clothes with a strange woman trying so hard to seem winning and a guy that had tried to fry him waiting in the next room over.

"Friends can be family."

"What's regen?" Sora ignored her rejoinder though once again Aerith had given the right answer that would have had Sora eating out of her hand on another day.

"It's part of the cure family. Healing magic."

"You can do magic?" He shouldn't have been surprised after Leon's fire and the glowing, the monster and the trip across worlds.

"I can. I could even teach you if you gave me some time."

"Are you bribing me to come back?" With the keyblade still drawn, Spra was able to pack more intimidation that his small frame would typically allow him into the affronted statement.

Aerith didn't flinch. "If it works."

Sora sucked in a breath and held it for a moment. "Then I'll come back once I find Riku and Kairi." And that thief that stole his necklace. His heart might say she was the exception that deserved decapitation with a keyblade. "Will you still be here? Or is this my hotel room?"

Aerith shook her head though it wasn't clear which sentiment she was refuting until words followed the gesture. "I should be here. This room is mine and Yuffie's and the green room is Leon and Cid's. For now at least. We're in between places. You can stay with Leon and Cid tonight if you need a place and you feel comfortable staying with us." There was another momentary pause, not long enough that it would typically count as awkward, but one Sora felt down to his toes before Aerith pressed on, unconvincing to his ears, "Riku and Kairi too when you find them. We'll find space."

"Thank you," Sora said because it was polite and for no other reason. He'd show her. Riku and Kairi had to be around somewhere. Nobody had stronger hearts than them. "I'll have to see what they want to do. Riku probably already found a place. They're probably waiting there now and Kairi's bossing him on the best way to cook breakfast...or dinner. I'm not sure what time it is " Sora swallowed the rock in his throat.

"We're here if you need it," was all Aerith said. A green glow surrounded her like a halo and Sora heard bells and smelled lilies as she sent it toward him. "Regen." She hadn't told the keybearer what she'd wanted to about the Heartless, but every word felt more and more like goodbye, so she figured she'd might as well make sure he was protected if he left suddenly.

"Because I'm your last hope? You want me to become some kind of hero." It was only a question and not a complete dismissal in the most technical of senses. Loneliness that Sora had been trying to keep contained as a ball in his stomach settled as an ache in Sora's bones. The soothing coolness of the healing magic didn't touch it.

"Not just that." It wasn't a denial. "I wish it didn't have to be up to you."

"What has to be up to me?" Sora asked, though just as quickly he waved his own question away, keyblade finally dematerializing a second before he did, anticipating he wanted to be dramatic with his hands and knowing he wasn't in danger. "Tell me when I'm back with Kairi and Riku. I want to search before their trail gets colder. Heartless are attracted to the keyblade but I can also kill them with it. That's all I need to know for now."

"...For now," Aerith agreed reluctantly. "I'll go to the other room and let you change. You can knock when you're done. As I said, Yuffie already asked around about new arrivals, so if your friends do show up they'll probably be sent here, so there's no harm in staying a few more minutes if you want some food or more information."

"I want to search for myself."

Aerith accepted that and left the room to give Sora privacy. He didn't knock on the door between the rooms after changing like she asked. He went right up to it and pressed his ear to listen and see if Aerith, Leon, and Yuffie-and maybe this Cid whose name Aerith threw in-were talking about him, but the wood was too thick. He left his borrowed clothes folded messily on the bed, put his feet in squelching shoes and left through the door to the hall.

Three hours later Sora returned, disheartened and sporting a large rip in his jumpsuit. Aerith's regen had caused the claw gash that once lay beneath the rip to knit itself together while Sora walked around, but his only outfit was now in danger of becoming a midriff if it ripped further. There hadn't been too many groups of heartless on the street, though he'd been forced into a corner by a bulbous giant at one point and barely gotten away. It had been then that the soldier who'd left the mark on him had been able to take him by surprise, using the other close call as a distraction. No door he knocked on or back alley he explored had any sign Riku or Kairi had made it to Traverse Town though. Sora tried not to take it too badly. He'd learned there were many worlds, just like the three of them had always believed. Riku and Kairi had just been taken somewhere else.

Nobody could remember seeing his necklace either, but when he described the thief he'd gotten a few long sighs and longer pauses before denials, that had him wondering if the residents of Traverse Town were completely honest. Then he'd gotten the reaction that had his blood boiling now as he knocked on the door to Aerith's hotel room. That sounds like Yuffie.

He tried not to jump to conclusions. Yuffie could be a common name in Traverse Town, but it seemed fitting considering Aerith's other friend had beaten him unconscious that the thief that stole his necklace was one of the people she wanted him to befriend and play hero for. The opening door a slit to reveal the same narrow chinned face framed by dark hair that had hovered over him during his first moments in Traverse Town and laughed at him as it ran off with his only keepsake from home only confirmed what Sora only pretended not to know for sure.

"You!" he growled darkly, already forcing his way across the threshold as the girl's eyes widened and she tried to shut the door on him, yelling, "Nobody's home! Come back later!"

Yuffie leapt back, trying to avoid Sora as he grabbed for her. She backed into Aerith, who didn't look alarmed, only disappointed at both Yuffie and Sora, like she already knew the whole story but had been hoping for a different resolution, something Sora would have to confront her about in a moment. "This is all a misunderstanding." Yuffie placated. "You want your necklace? You can have it. I was getting it cleaned. Part of that welcome wagon service!"

"You will give it back, but that doesn't make it right." Sora materialized the keyblade but didn't swing it. It was just show. He didn't actually want to hurt her-though that wasn't true either. He wasn't prone to striking first or causing pain usually but on this never ending day, he would feel good hurting the girl who thought she could take advantage of him when he couldn't fight back, but he'd feel bad about it later if it happened this way, and he wouldn't get away with it in the first place.

"Easy there," Yuffie's voice raised an octave at the keyblade, she backed up another step, forcing Aerith toward the balcony. "I can throw in a shiny gem is that makes us a little more even."

"And who did you steal that from?" Sora challenged.

"I resent that." Another step and Aerith would be able to open the balcony door and make a run for it if she needed to. Yuffie knew it was nobody's fault but hers if Spiky went a little crazy and started swinging. "I found it in the waterway." She'd given it to Leon, but she was sure she could recoup it for a good cause like saving her neck.

"I think I can offer a gesture of good intent you might believe." The voice came from behind Sora and he turned to see Leon the Lion Man standing behind him, half in the hall, not crowding Sora but trapping him in and entirely too close for the younger man's comfort level. Leon must have heard the yell and come from the next room through the front and hall not the adjoining door to get the drop on the situation. "If you'd allow it?"

"No sudden moves," Sora continued to growl. The line sounded like cheap bravado, and Sora could hear Riku laughing in his head. He worried he'd overshot to sounding silly not intimidating trying to keep the feeling of upper hand.

Leon laid his sword down on the ground and held up both hands, palms out, to show he wasn't carrying anything else, peaceful gestures easy to recognize even though the empty hands weren't a necessary show, He then reached behind his neck and unclasped the chain attached to his lion pendant. "This is Griever. I was left at the orphanage with him. He's the only thing I have from my parents or my homeworld. I'm going to give it to you to hang onto for as long as you feel you need to." He held the chain out to Sora. "You don't need to forgive Yuffie. I don't know if I would" Yuffie let out an offended huff and Leon gave her a pointed glare before continuing. "You don't need to forgive me either. You don't need to trust us, but you do need to put your keyblade away and I would appreciate it if you would at least listen to us." He seemed exhausted by the words.

Sora vanished the keyblade. He wasn't sure if Leon was sincere or making up a story to guilt him but he didn't want the necklace. "You keep Griever. I just want my own necklace." He'd probably have to sell it to try and get supplies at this point anyway. "Nothing's going to make me trust any of you at this point, but I can listen." He moved further into the room so Leon could take his cue to come inside and close the door.

"You could have had a gem," Yuffie lamented, because she didn't say sorry or thank you even in dire circumstances. She produced Sora's necklace from her shorts pockets. She had went and got it from the Dalmatians' house earlier after carrying Sora to the hotel. Leon had told her to. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him look so disappointed in her. She hadn't thought about Griever. Remembering Leon's attachment to the pendant he'd named probably wouldn't have stopped her from lifting Sora's, but she understood why Leon took it so hard. That and she'd pissed off the keybearer even more than Leon had, even though she hadn't know who he was at the time. She handed over the necklace, Sora grabbing it roughly and without hesitation. "Next time, hold out longer. I'm Yuffie Kissaragi, the white rose and the greatest ninja to ever live. I can teach you some of my moves. I hear you're going to be sticking around to take lessons from Aerith on the green glowy feel goods."

"I'm not staying," Sora piped up. He had no other plan, but he knew he didn't want to go along with Aerith's. He couldn't imagine relaxing enough to sleep around these people.

"Where will you go?" The brown haired healer barely let him finish his sentence before reminding him he was alone and without resources.

"I could stay in the gardens in District Five. I saw the tent city, talked to some people. I know that's someplace refugees who haven't found a place yet stay." He was reluctant revealing that much. He'd be more reluctant still to follow through with the words, but he'd slept outside before and the chance of someone messing with him had to be beater than surrounding himself with people already proven to be liars and thieves. And worse. Leon had tried to take his keyblade. Would they still have ended up here if he'd succeeded or would Leon have left him to die by the Heartless in the alley?

"You'll bring the Heartless. The gardens don't have the magical protection the interior of this hotel does. If you endanger the other displaced people in District Five, I will have to take action." Leon's steady voice promised another fight, but one he'd not take any joy in. Aerith had tried to say something soft and convincing at the same time, but she tapered off when Leon spoke over her.

"I won't summon the keyblade."

Leon set himself to argue, but this time Aerith cut him off. "Your friends and family aren't in Traverse Town, but you still feel they're alive, don't you?" Sora blinked at the abrupt subject change but nodded. "Our friend Cid could work you out a deal for a gummi ship to get off planet, but that's going to take him some time, and he'd want money for it or something in exchange unless you were a very close friend," she spoke more and more quickly so Sora couldn't interrupt. "So you're going to need a job. I'm sure you could find something on your own, but it would be so convenient if you could find something instantly with Cid at the accessory shop or Leon on new construction for the Sixth District, and it would take a lot less time to make the money to pay Cid if you had free meals as well as a place to stay. Again, you could do for yourself on your own, but there are a lot of people trying to get off planet and look for remnants of their homeworlds once they discover the possibility. How that the lanes between worlds are open it's open season. Cid probably has a list of people who want him to make a gummi ship for him. It's the only way between worlds for normal people and not many people know how to make them. Cid is the only one I know of. If he doesn't see you every day he might forget to put you at the top of his list for your important mission."

"Cut throat," Yuffie looked at Aerith like she'd hung the moon.

"You're trying to manipulate me again," Sora ground his teeth.

"If it works." Aerith smiles with teeth and tossed her braid behind her back. Sora was no longer sure whatever she was laughing at in the old photo on the dresser was all that funny after all.

"I'll stay for now." It was the practical choice, but as soon as he could be, he was out of here.