So after a good amount of consideration, I decided to change the genre to Adventure/Fantasy keeping it in line with Dual Destinies. There are two reasons for this: 1. There's not exactly enough romance to even warrant it being called romance. I'd say that there's a lot more ties to fantasy and I'd even add mystery, but not romance. Of course, there's implied shipping such as what you're going to get in this chapter and the obvious Disney romance that were in the movies but I'm going to be a tease and leave things to your imagination and just maybe I'll eventually confirm something. 2. I want to focus on story first and any type of romance second. Not that they can't be interconnected but this isn't Twilight. Anyway, without further ado have fun with the final chapter for this part of Radiant Garden.
Chapter 30
Artful Mastery
News of Astra's disappearance spread quickly among the restoration committee and it did not take too long to figure out the cause for her breakout. The camp was divided. Luna, who had been campaigning for Astra's release since she had found out, was relatively surprised to hear that Sora had been responsible for busting her out, but chose to stand by him regardless. Kairi, Namine and most of the restoration committee soon followed with Sora receiving praise and teasing entitlements such as "Sora's entered his bad boy phase" from Yuffie and Rinoa.
And then there were those who weren't happy with the recent development. Riku shifted uncomfortably in his seat eyeing Sora who was across the table opposite him. Neither one wanted to talk first as usual for fear of what would come of it. But someone had to start somewhere and there was not really much Sora could do in this situation but justify his actions.
"So? I hardly need to remind you of what you did yesterday. Go on, I'm listening," Riku said.
"Well since you already know what I did, I'm not sure why I need to tell you," Sora replied feigning innocence.
"Don't play coy with me. You knew exactly what you were doing. Where do I even start?"
"Well you can start by preferably not starting at all thanks," Sora said in an uninterested tone.
"No, let's. Kairi and Luna told me that they went to Colette's house to find you, except that you weren't there. You hadn't even been to Colette's in a week apparently," Riku began.
"A lie I admit, that one seems pretty obvious. Trust me, it wasn't easy having to lie to them but they seemed to understand… unlike you."
"And then you also lied to Tron."
"Oh that was even harder to do. I would have deleted the camera footage and shut off the computer if I had any idea how."
"You took the key and let Astra escape."
"What am I, on trial or something?"
"What in the world are you talking about?" Riku asked who, like Sora, had lived on the islands all his life, but unlike Sora had no idea what a trial was and had never seen one played out. He shuddered at the memory of the brutally corrupt Queen of Hearts asserting her supreme authority and how it had basically come down to a game of luck in proving Alice's innocence. It felt somewhat strange to know something that Riku didn't.
"It's a kind of meeting where they decide if you should be punished or not," He recalled Donald's explanation.
Riku shook his head. "I don't care, just stop changing the subject. The question is why?"
"Why? Well how about we ask another question then. You knew about Namine being a seer didn't you? You knew what she predicted about me. And you didn't tell me."
Riku was left completely at a loss at the fact that Sora knew. Eventually he found his voice. "Sora, when did you-"
"Find out? Oh, you mean you weren't planning on telling me Riku? Now that's funny, I guess it works both ways," Sora retorted with a smug smile.
"It was all just to get back at me then…" Riku looked down at the table in guilt but Sora didn't care to back down now.
"Who can say? There were many things floating around my head when I did what I did."
"There's something you have to understand. Master Yen Sid was worried that you would be consumed by certain thoughts that would otherwise distract you and make you even more vulnerable. Put simply, you're better off following your heart when it's not clouded in uncertainty," Riku explained.
"All I'm hearing is ignorance is bliss," Sora concluded. "And of course Yen Sid was the one who suggested it. He's been doing that a lot recently."
"And I agree with him. You shouldn't have to care about some stupid vision that won't come true."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because I won't let it come true." Riku slammed his fist onto the table hard causing it to rock slightly.
Sora looked at where Riku had placed his hand and tutted. "Riku… what did the table ever do to you?"
"This isn't funny."
"Clearly we don't have the same mindset here because I find this incredibly funny," Sora said. "Look, Riku, you and Yen Sid locked Astra up without telling anyone else. If we had voted on it then no one would have agreed with it and you knew that."
"When I saw Namine go into that trance-like state and say the prophecy in a voice entirely different from her own, I panicked. And then you came back completely injured along with Luna and Astra and I knew I had to do something before things got out of hand. She was with Moira's Crescent, so it only made sense to keep her from leaving until I could get answers out of her, but now she is with Moira's Crescent and any valuable information that I could have extracted from her to help you is now gone," Riku said in a frustrated tone.
"Tell me something. What else have you been hiding for my safety? Would you even tell me? And what happens after all this? Do you just go back to keeping secrets that I deserve to know? This isn't what friends do to each other!" Sora yelled. He spotted Yuffie and Cid glancing at them from the hallway. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly to calm himself.
"But friends also protect and keep each other safe. Maybe what I did was rash in hindsight but I'd do it a million times over if it means keeping you, Kairi… any of you, safe. The world can hate me all it wants but if I save even one life then I'll bear it," Riku said.
"You keep telling yourself that. Thanks for the straight answer by the way." Sora stood up from his chair and left immediately without even so much as looking Riku's way.
Colette smiled at her reflection before looking to Stephanie. "How do I look?" she asked.
"You look the same as you always do," Stephanie replied with a yawn.
Colette rolled her eyes. "Well, you could at least act excited. I'm finally getting out of the house and going somewhere other than work. I think I've needed this ever since your father… well, you know. I never would've though David Xanatos of all people would ask me out to dinner. A man like that must be incredibly busy, plus he's kind of my boss and-"
"Mom, you're doing it again."
"Oh, sorry dear. But my hair's alright at least? Give me something to work with here Steph."
But Stephanie rested her cheek on her hand and remained silent and irritated so Colette bent down and placed her hands on Stephanie's shoulders, shaking her playfully. "Come on, I'm not going to abandon you Stephanie, you know that!"
"But you'll abandon dad?" Stephanie asked.
Colette shook her head. "Of course not, I loved… love your father, and I'm not going to replace him. It's just that sometimes, even an adult needs to have some fun. Well, not too much fun, we do still have responsibilities like looking after annoying little pests."
"Hey!" Stephanie said pretending to be offended. The two laughed for a while. "You promise, right mom?"
Colette moved one hand to ruffle Stephanie's hair. "It's just you and me kiddo. I'd never leave you for the world."
Several knocks, both gentle and polite in nature, were heard from the front door downstairs as they smiled at each other.
"Well, that would be Kairi. She'll take care of you while I'm gone. Wish me luck!" With a kiss on the cheek, Colette made her way downstairs and quickly opened the door to let Kairi in.
"Wow, I like it! Simple, but elegant. I'm sure that's the kind of think Xanatos likes," Kairi complimented immediately upon seeing Colette.
"Well I'm glad to hear someone thinks so!" Colette deliberately yelled so that Stephanie could hear it.
"I take it Stephanie's not too happy with it then?" Kairi mused.
"I think she understands, but you know how kids are. I'm not really trying to get back into the dating scene or anything like that but David invited me to dinner and we've both lost people we loved so I think if there's anyone who understand my pain, it would be him," Colette explained.
"You don't have to explain that to me. Just go out and have fun. I'll be right here when you get back waiting for all the juicy details," Kairi teased.
"It's not that kind of dinner date," Colette shot back before leaving.
David Xanatos' apartment suite from the outside seemed so simple it was almost impossible to believe that it belonged to the wealthiest man in Radiant Garden. It was only after being let into the apartment that she saw how unique and out there it was from any other residence she had ever been to, including her own home.
The most impressive thing was what Colette noticed quite instantly. Without being too eccentric, the suite seemed to strike the right balance of geometry and shapes from the curves to the finishing on certain things. Everything seemed stylish and elegant from the royal red drapes to the matching red carpets. The luxurious furniture gave the room a nice cosy and warm feeling as if Colette had known the place all her life. Not even some, but all of the furniture seemed completely new.
"David Xanatos. The room reflects the man. I completely stunned." Colette could barely get the words out of her mouth let alone breath. Xanatos guided her to the sofa and sat down with her.
"Well I have good helpers. Be honest with me, a bit too much isn't it?" he asked.
"No no, not at all. It's just… different, really different. But different is good, I like it," Colette said feeling as if she had just made a fool out of herself.
"You're anxious. Is there anything I can do to keep your mind at peace?"
"Oh don't worry about it. It just feels like I'm a teen again. I'm not sure that's something you can remedy."
Xanatos scratched his chin and smiled. "Actually, at the moment we're currently developing Maturity Lotion. Just a few dabs of that and you'll be back to your old self."
"Wait, you're serious?"
"No."
The two exchanged laughter before making their way over to the dining table to eat. Colette fiddled with her knife and fork as Xanatos filled both their glasses with red wine.
"I hope you don't mind that I went for the most expensive brand that I could find but I'm not exactly running low on munny," he said.
"My my, David, are you trying to impress me?" Colette swirled her glass around before setting down. She moved onto cutting the stake on her plate.
"Just a fitting selection for a wonderful mother. You must tell me how you're able to do it all day and keep smiling," Xanatos said.
"With Stephanie? To be honest I sometimes wonder that myself. How do I find the strength to keep getting up every day? I'd say it's Stephanie that gives me strength. What about you David? You lost both your wife and son. Now what compels you to keep getting up every morning?"
Xanatos picked up the handkerchief and cleaned the few crumpets that had fallen around his mouth. "Why does anyone want to get up when they've lost someone they've loved? Because they have to move on. Before she died, my wife and I were working to make our world a better place. Fear gripped our world by the throat and saw to tear apart the very foundation upon which it was built on. Things like equality, hope and freedom, they didn't exist anymore. We wanted to change that. Then they died and I'd lost all hope myself. The thing I had been trying to fight against was threatening to drown me in my sorrows…" he paused here as if struggling to remember some painful memory.
"I'm sorry. What happened next?"
"The exciting part I suppose. I was wandering about in the park next to where I live. It was around midnight. I looked up just in time to see something falling out of the sky and landed a few ways off. I soon later found out it was a Gummi block. After having several tests done on it, the idea of there being more out there seemed a realistic possibility. The hope that seemed long dead now fuelled my goals. I focused most of the money on interstellar travel. You can only imagine how hard it was convincing shareholders that this was the right direction for the company."
"But you're here right now. You must have been very convincing," Colette said after she finished swallowing.
"I'd like to tell you that's exactly how it went down but it'd be a lie. It was a bunch of technical business mumbo jumbo that I'm sure you wouldn't understand but smooth sailing it was not. The point is that when I found this world, in a way I felt as if my family were telling me not to give up. If I could make even one world better off and make them proud, it was worth getting up every day," Xanatos finished. He looked down at his plate pensively before reaching for a sip of wine.
"Well I can tell you. You're definitely making them proud. The town's even better than it was a decade ago and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. It's strange to think how secretive Radiant Garden was and now we know all about other worlds, Heartless and Keyblades and… well, it's quite a lot to take in but I think everyone's assimilating to this new chapter in our lives fairly well," Colette said.
"Well as a psychologist I know all about assimilation and it's not usually something you can stop. Speaking of Keyblades, how's Sora and Luna lately. They've had it pretty tough recently, especially Sora," Xanatos asked.
"He was pretty down in the dumps the last time I saw him. He told me he was tired of being weak and seeing everyone suffer around him. He felt as if it was his entire fault but I told him that he was kicking himself too hard. I told him what worked for me: If you have time to complain, then you have time to get up and do something about it and he seems to be taking those words quite well at the moment. Those two along with Riku and Kairi come to visit Stephanie when they can. I think she's popular," Colette leaned in and whispered before giggling uncontrollably.
"Don't tell me you're already-"
"Drunk? Please, one sip of red wine is hardly going to faze me. It actually takes a good few before I become inebriated," Colette replied proudly.
"Would you care to test that then?" Xanatos asked slowly moving his hand to the wine bottle.
"Maybe some other time, I kind of have the role of being a responsible mother to keep and if Stephanie saw me… yeah, it wouldn't be pretty." There was a guffaw of laughter among the two which carried on throughout the night as they moved onto to different topics without pause. Xanatos filled their glasses a second time after they had both finished their first and raised his wine glass to Colette.
"To the future," he said.
"The future." Colette raised her glass back at him before taking a sip.
Jump. Spin and kick. Duck and parry.
Sora repeated the words in his head again and again as he worked to fend of Neuge's attacks. Something was changing inside him, not that he was sure he could even explain what it was. All he knew was that he felt stronger than he had ever been before. Moves that were once obvious telegraphs became even harder to predict. He had finally found a strategy that worked for him.
His battle style involved the keychains that he had collected on his journeys. When both he and Neuge realized that some of Neuge's teachings were not getting through to his head, she advised him to think outside the box. For three days he lamented during his meditation sessions on a way to keep his offensive while being unpredictable and spontaneous and the answer he found lied in the keychains. He would use two keychains alongside his default Kingdom Keychain: Oblivion's and Oathkeeper's.
It was like Neuge said. He hadn't noticed it until now, but it was like the Keyblade took on a completely different personality when it changed form. Oathkeeper was agile allowing him to pull off quick attacks while Oblivion was stronger and allowed for heavy attacks that caught the opponent off guard. The Kingdom Key would then be for his defensive moves such as counters and parrying.
The technique he had created involved having to switch keychains constantly mid-fight, something that he wasn't used to. For the past week he had been trying to perfect the technique by challenging himself to see how quickly he could switch, but there was always noticeable room for improvement and he knew even the slightest delay could mean the end for him. It was risky and involved a lot of awareness but if he pulled it off successfully then his attacks would be almost impossible to predict.
His movement and speed had also improved considerably especially thanks to working with Palom and Porom on his magic. The spell Warp was the key here. After training for so long to conserve his mana, he was able to teleport short distances for an indefinite amount of time.
Blue wisps akin to the ember sparks of fire appeared as he warped right through an incoming attack from Neuge and appeared on the other side. He quickly swapped from Oathkeeper to Oblivion and swung upwards only for Neuge to quickly jump out of the way. She lunged forward to strike but Sora kicked off the nearby wall to gain higher ground and twisted his body as he sailed over her. He landed perfectly on her unguarded side, swapped Oblivion back to Oathkeeper quickly and held the blade under her chin.
"Finally!" Sora gasped slightly out of breath. To him the act of finally catching Neuge off-guard was the true victory here.
"You finally found your footing. If only your mind was as sharp and on point as your body," Neuge said.
"You just can't compliment me, can you? I guess it's hard to accept the fact that you've finally lost," the winded Sora gloated.
"So this was a competition to you this whole time then? I'm sure you know this by now but when you get too close to the sun you burn."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That hubris is not something you want to try with me," Neuge said. She quickly grabbed Oathkeeper by its blade before Sora could react and twisted. Sora, who held onto the Keyblade, was flipped in the air and landed on his stomach. "Nor Moira's Crescent for that matter."
"I think you taught me well enough for me to know that pride and fear go hand in hand. I was just joking of course," Sora managed to groan out. Neuge offered a hand to help Sora back up but fearing some sort of follow up trick, Sora decided to help himself up.
"Of course you were," Neuge said before looking up at the stained-glass windows that shone a spectrum of colors into the room. "I think it's time. We're done."
"Then when I'm back here tomorrow I'll show you it wasn't a one trick miracle," Sora said confidently.
"There won't be a tomorrow. This is the last session, at least for now," Neuge said. "I set out to teach you how to survive, and I've taught you everything that you need to know. I have nothing left to give."
"What? But… that can't be everything. I still feel as if there's so much to learn and-"
"If there is something, then it's not something that I can simply teach you. It also wouldn't be something in a book. Your final lesson is called experience. You've done a Mark of Mastery before haven't you? Luna's never done one, but both of you have never done my Mark of Mastery. It's not something I can bestow on you or Luna since I'm not a Master myself but if you two think you're up to the challenge then I have something for you two to do."
Sora frowned at this. "Do I really have a choice?" he asked.
"No, you don't, because when the time comes you'll have to be prepared for it no matter what. It may come when you're awake, or sleeping. It may come when you're near a source of protection, or far away from it, but the moment will come," Neuge said.
"And when that time comes, I'll be ready for it," Sora assured her. It wasn't as if he had any choice but to be ready, even if he didn't think he was. "What do you need us to do?"
"Not so much what I request of you as it is what Yen Sid wants you to do. There's a figure that hides in the darkness and stirs up chaos in each world. We think he might have some idea as Alice's disappearance as well as the fog that's been filling up each world. Kefka is his name."
"Kefka?" The madman's name that Sora, Riku and Kairi had been chasing for three months reared its ugly head once again and Sora became immediately interested.
"Terra and Aqua brought us interesting information. During their travels the word 'Kronos' came up," Neuge informed him.
"Kronos…" Sora repeated.
Neuge nodded before continuing. "Those that pride themselves on walking in darkness do so because they fear what the light may reveal. More importantly they know those who live in the light will fear losing their way in the dark. But you two aren't like other people. Find Kefka, draw him out of the darkness, and bring him into the light. Even then you'll be fighting a shadow, but that's far better than fighting what you can't see."
"I understand… Master, I've been wondering. Did you know about Namine's prophecy?" He couldn't help but ask. He wasn't sure it would change anything at all though.
"I did, but I felt it wasn't my place to say. We don't live in the past or the future, we live here and now. Anything that happens will happen on its own accord. Whether I told you about it or not wouldn't have changed the fact that you'd come here every day and train with me, and it wouldn't change me pushing you to your limits and even beyond," Neuge answered. "When I was learning to meditate, my sensei, I had about two masters in my lifetime. The latter master told me this: we have no reason to be, we simply are."
"What does that mean?"
"It's something you'll have to find the answer to yourself, like I did," Neuge answered.
Sora chuckled. "That sounds familiar. I'm no good at riddles but I'll give it a try."
"One other thing. I heard about your clothes," Neuge added.
"Yeah, the fairies said the clothes were so damaged that the magic on it had worn off. They can't fix it." Sora relaxed the back on his head on his hands. "It sucks actually. I was fond of that outfit but… stuff happens."
"Indeed it does, but I think we can do better," Neuge replied before asking him to follow her.
The final few days neared when not only Sora and Luna would leave Radiant Garden for their mission to find Kefka, but Riku and Kairi too but for a different reason. Luna had spent most of her last few days in the library with Kairi looking to find anything they could about the lost city of Atlantis at the behest of Lea who had returned the same day Sora and Luna had had their last lesson with Neuge.
He had brought good and bad news with him in the form of a whole stack of research papers from Claude Frollo's house. Even and Ienzo did not take long to collate these long detailed pages into a short summary. The bad news was that the papers did not give them any clues on whether Atlantis really existed or not. They seemed the ravings of a lunatic, that's what Even had said at least. They offered little other than hopes and even those were delusional at best offering no evidence. Frollo had been under the assumption there was some secret to the cathedral, a key of some sort that would reveal the road to Atlantis. Other than that there was nothing else worth of note other than the typical descriptions of Atlantis that he had come across in his reading and his criticisms of several of these descriptions and those who wrote them.
But Kairi was not so ready to give up and absorbed herself in book after book in hopes of finding something.
"Not that I'm doubting or anything, I want it to be true more than anything but… why are you sure we'll find something, Kairi? Let's argue hypotheticals for the moment. Suppose it did exist, it's been how long since Atlantis sank? Don't you think any trace, excuse the pun I'm about to make here, would be washed away over time?" Luna asked. She set another book aside and moved on to the next one she had taken called Materia Medica: An essential guide for beginners.
"I guess it's because of the fairy tales my grandma always used to tell me. They were really lovely to listen to and they inspired me. If I don't find anything then that's fine but I don't really think there's any harm in trying either. That and I don't think it's a coincidence that the story has been heard across so many different worlds. It had to have been something that was around when all these worlds were still connected," Kairi replied.
"Of course, I understand completely. My mom always used to tell me bedtimes stories. I remember in one that the moon disappeared and the girl in the story left her home to try and find it. She was lost and couldn't find her way and that's when the moon revealed itself to her. She was able to find her home again," Luna said. "Though I'd honestly dread to think what would happen if the moon really disappeared. I guess the moral of that story is never to take what you have for granted."
"Your mom sounds really cool," Kairi adulated.
"She was, but I don't deserve her or dad." Luna masked her saddened face from Kairi's sight by holding the book up in front her.
Kairi quickly decided to change topic. "Riku and I are planning on going to Quasimodo's world while you guys are off finding Kefka. Even gave us a vial he thinks might help cure the Chimera. If it works with Quasi then they'll start mass production… the remedy, it uses your blood as a sample."
Luna looked away from her book at this. "Oh."
"Oh? Just oh?"
"Well it's as you say. I don't think there's any harm in trying what we can, right?" Luna said. "And if it doesn't work that just eliminates one possibility. Makes things simpler actually."
Kairi smiled and was about to return to looking at her own book before remembering something she wanted to bring up. "When you're out there with Sora, if it's not too much trouble could I ask you to do something? Try and patch things up between him and Riku."
"I guess it's not always been like this then?" Luna asked jokingly.
"They've always been competitive with one another but that's just how they are. Not that I'm blaming you Luna but it's almost as if we've been going our separate ways ever since you disappeared into the Realm of Darkness. There's a strain on our friendship and I want to resolve this before it gets any worse," Kairi said.
"Yeah, my own friendship with Astra hasn't been too great lately either." Luna could easily understand where Kairi was coming from. The girl she had hung out with everyday who she had depended on for her own happiness was now a million miles away and she had no idea when she would see her again. Her worst fear was losing that bond with Astra, a bond she would have thought unbreakable before the current events.
"So I'm going to try and convince Riku to lighten up. If you could do the same with Sora-"
"Of course, Kairi, I don't want to see two best friends become ex-friends. I know Riku was suspicious of me at first what with the black coat and all, but I think he's really come to accept me as part of the group since then. I didn't think it was possible, but he can actually be pretty shy when you know how to tease him," Luna said snickering.
"Hehe, he can be pretty cute when you break past his cool exterior," Kairi agreed. "Luna, do you… have a crush on anyone?"
Luna coughed blinked rapidly. "Where did that come from? I thought we were supposed to be looking for information on Atlantis."
"We are… but we can do both anyway, so don't hold back. Come on, I promise I won't tell," Kairi whispered as if to prove her point.
"I don't know. Well, do you have one?" Luna asked not wanting to go first.
"I think so. I'm not really sure how he feels about me though," Kairi answered.
"You're beautiful, Kairi. I'm sure he'd be willing to go out with you if you asked," Luna comforted her. She certainly had a clear idea in her mind of who this crush was and whatever her own hopes were had just been dashed. She was fooling herself if she thought she could compete with someone like Kairi. She was also already in danger of losing Astra, she wouldn't risk losing another over something as petty as romance.
"Thanks, Luna," Kairi said. "Now back to who you have a crush on."
The days passed by quickly and before they knew it, it was already time to leave. The morning of his departure, Sora set the puzzle box he had received back from Lea down on the dressing table after playing with it and took off his shirt. He walked over to the mirror and stared at his body. There were scars, wounds that were healed but still visible all over his body and he had Desiree to thank for them. He traced one of the patterns on his right shoulder downwards and paused after reaching the end of the line before withdrawing his finger.
"Just give me a reason and I'll show you how strong I can be. I won't lose again. I won't…" Sora watched his fist close into a tight ball through the mirror before letting go and looking at the new outfit that Neuge had given him. "Out with the old…"
After dressing into the new clothes, Sora stood in front of the mirror again and admired his new look. He was wearing a red and silver buttoned up vest with an attached hood on the back over a white wing tip shirt. He also wore short red cargo pants with silver and black thorns tangling their way around that red. In general the clothes were not nearly as baggy as his previous outfit and he also found it a lot lighter.
"…and in with the new. Not looking too bad there, Sora, though it does look a bit old-timey. Suave but old-timey. I think it might just work." Sora put on his fingerless gloves and a pair of trainers, pocketed the puzzle box, gave himself a confident smile and left for the Gummi Hangar.
"You're looking quite snazzy today, Sora," Kairi complimented as he joined up with her, Riku, Donald, Goofy and Max. "Me and Riku have our own new outfits waiting on our Gummi Ship. There's no way I'll be fighting in these clothes."
"And guess what? Max'll be travelling along with 'em!" Goofy placed his hands firmly on Max's shoulders and shook him clearly exuberant about the fact.
"Well, we said we'd help him and that's what we'll do. Have to make sure the next generation is as good as the last… or even better!" Riku chimed in with a cheeky grin.
"Aw gawrsh, you're makin' me feel pretty old now, Riku," Goofy said before turning to Sora. "And I guess that means we're comin' along with you guys!"
And here Sora thought he and Luna would have undertaken their mission by themselves. In truth, he was really happy that he had Donald and Goofy along with him once again for the ride. "But aren't you taking care of the queen right now? What about the repairs to Disney Castle?"
"I wouldn't underestimate the power of magic if I were you. The castle's coming along just fine, and more importantly the queen told us that we should do what we felt was right and that just happened to be standing beside our friend," Donald said a little too contemptuously.
"All for one, and one for all, right?" Goofy added in. Sora smiled at this but before he could say anything else, received a tap on the shoulder.
He turned around and looked at Luna, who was in her own new attire that consisted of a red polka dot rockabilly top and a matching mini skirt under a black bolero jacket. In addition, black stockings covered her legs up to her skirt and flat ankle boots with fur at the top. Standing beside her was Neuge looking rather pleased with her choice of selection of the two's outfits.
"Wow, you look great!" Sora, who hadn't seen her outfit just as she had never seen his, was absolutely smitten by her appearance, even more so by her smile that could thaw any cold heart. Of course he wasn't about to get all sappy in front of his friends.
"Thanks. Oh, have you talked to Stephanie lately? She was asking me if she could come along and I told her it was too dangerous. She looked really disappointed after I kept telling her that and she just… ran off, in front of her mother as well. I'm worried," Luna said looking rather subdued.
"Well, we can look for her if you want?" Sora scratched his head. He was sure that Stephanie wouldn't run off and do anything dangerous, but at the same time the threat of the Heartless made things incredibly uncertain.
"Don't worry, we'll look for her. You guys go ahead," Riku told them.
"You sure? Maybe we should look together," Sora proposed. He noticed the forcefulness in his voice, perhaps from his rather dysfunctional friendship with the silver haired teen at the moment.
"It's no worries, really. There are only so many places an eight year old can go," Riku said.
"Depends on the eight year old, but we'll track her down," Kairi promised with a thumbs up.
"Okay, take care of yourselves, alright?" Sora asked before receiving a warm and affectionate hug from Kairi. Riku was about to follow up with something but hesitated, gave a simple nod to Sora and quickly walked off.
"Uh, is something happening between you and Riku, Sora?" Goofy asked after exchanging looks with Donald but Sora showed no sign of having heard him. His was staring at the spot where Riku had just been, almost as if his mind itself had been carried away by him when he left.
Neuge's slap on the back sent Sora jumping and put his head back into reality. She drew both him and Luna in closer. "Remember everything I've taught you and you'll be fine. Take a deep breath before heading straight in. Assess the situation and then figure out the best strategy from there. Use the environment to your advantage and whatever you do, make sure you have each other's back at all times. I know things have been hard for the two of you but you can't give in to basic instincts. We are shields, not swords. We don't start the fight, we fight back. Got it?"
"Yes, master!" Sora and Luna both said in synch.
"Good. Now go and do me proud," Neuge said letting go of them.
The group set foot inside to find Kupopo and Jiminy already waiting for them.
"Hey Kupopo, I haven't seen you in a while," Goofy addressed with a smile. "Are you coming along with?"
"Of course, because Sora and Luna needs their trusty assistant by their side, kupo," Kupopo answered cheerfully.
"And what are we, chopped liver?" Donald asked narrow eyed.
"Do you really want to know the answer to that, kupo?" Kupopo asked watching Sora take his place in the pilot seat once more.
"Huh, I guess Cid, Chip and Dale added some new things. They even have a manual which I am so not reading," Sora said.
"But wouldn't it help, Sora?" Jiminy asked.
"Who has time to read manuals these days? Though if you think it's necessary, why don't you help yourself to reading it?" Sora asked.
"Well, of course I wi- oh! I do it so you don't have to, of course…" Jiminy mumbled something else incoherently resulting in a laughing Sora.
The Gummi Ship soon took off and before they knew it they were already in the vast and seemingly endless sky of the sea between worlds. He made sure the Gummi Ship had locked onto whatever world they were headed to before shutting his eyes and resting his head on his cupped hands.
This would be his hardest journey yet. He knew it was something that was said every time he ventured to save the worlds, but this time it would be more personal. On one side was Moira's Crescent who wanted him out of the picture, and on the other side was Kefka and all the others associated him. If he turned his back on one for even a second to focus on the other, then he risked being stabbed in the back.
Just as he was thinking of taking a hot shower to think about things, a loud thud was heard from down the hall. Luna, who was standing behind his chair, looked behind her in confusion.
"What was that?" she asked. Donald and Goofy, in the co-pilot seats either side of Sora, shook their heads not knowing themselves.
"I'll go check," Sora told her. The last time something bad had happened, Stitch had been on the Gummi Ship messing with the engine, but he couldn't possibly have been here now, could he?
He got up from his seat and made his way down the hall, checking each of the bedrooms. It was the second room on the left that he found something, or rather someone, and it wasn't Stitch.
"Ow, my butt hurts!" Stephanie complained as she looked up at the bunk bed which she had just fallen from. It was only after a few more seconds of doing it that Sora realized he was screaming.
A long chapter, and I promise the next one won't be as long. As for where Sora and the gang will be heading to next, well we're heading to a world that I very much hope is in KH3. See you next time in Nottinghamshire!
