Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or anything Disney.
Chapter 14
Sora watched Riku go from the corner of his eye and tore into the next Nobody that came within striking distance savagely. Once his friends had disappeared the few Nobody wolves had backed off and stood in the grass in a loose circle around him. Their master was laughing.
"You really think you can do anything? Or that they will get away. My servants possess the same talent as I do – the power of scent. Not to the same degree, but they could follow your friends across whole worlds, and even if you somehow do manage to defeat me... There will always be more of them." The Nobody was more crouched now and Sora shivered just the slightest bit. It didn't show, but he still felt like a baby for shivering. It was just... the Nobody was creepy. He looked like a deer from far away but from this close Sora could see that his legs ended in claws instead of hooves and his teeth were sharp like a carnivore's. Never mind his antlers were sharper than the admittedly few deer he had seen.
'But he hasn't done much yet. Just talked.' Somehow, Sora didn't think this was meant to be reassuring. It was confirmed when Roxas added,'Saïx and Xemnas liked to talk to their prey before they killed them.'
Sora remembered Saïx as a man who had liked to play games with him mentally and had mocked him with his knowledge of Kairi and Riku. Roxas remembered him as the cold gazed man who had shown him within days of being in the Organization that he was not to be trifled with. Roxas had used his defeat then as fuel to drive him to get stronger. Neither of them remembered the mind games he had played with any fondness and felt a new hatred for this Nobody kindled.
"We'll get by," Sora spat, tensing as the Nobody tensed and sprang off of the rock. The pale purple creature landed lightly and glided toward him.
"I'm afraid there will be no 'we'. I will take you now, Sora. It would be better if you came willingly – I still offer the chance for you to get your world back. You're coming for us eventually anyway, aren't you?" It was tempting. It was very tempting – but he knew better than to try it alone. He had lost his friends once; he wouldn't do it willingly again. He lowered his head.
"On my own terms, not on yours," He retorted angrily and launched himself toward the Nobody, not knowing why he used his antlers. It was instinctive – but apparently it was the same for the Nobody, who lowered his to meet the charge. At the last second Sora saw how focused this left the other – and swung the Keyblade down and under. His haunches skidded to a stop and he threw his weight to a different direction and the Keyblade slammed into the Nobody's throat.
His enemy stumbled away, choking, and jumped backward as he tried to follow up on the attack. "Good show, Sora. Before we begin, I offer you a name. Alcexan. Mine, of course. Remember it – you'll be hearing enough of it when I bring you in. They'll be singing my – " Whatever he was about to say was cut off when Sora threw the Keyblade at him. He hadn't expected it to actually hit, but it even sliced open the Nobody's muzzle.
The attitude of his opponent changed, and the orange eyes narrowed. "Fine then," Alcexan hissed. "They won't mind a few injuries."
It was the only warning Sora had before the Nobody was on him. Not just Alcexan, but all of the wolf Nobodies that had been nearby sprang for him. He kicked his back hooves in a natural reaction and swung his Keyblade to meet as many as he could – but the larger, and somehow faster Nobody was behind him, claws tearing at his back legs.
He pointed the Keyblade up and used the first spell that came to mind. "Earthquake!"
'Thank you, Riku,' Roxas muttered fervently as Sora sprang away from where the Earth spell was bringing spires of rock out of the ground to beat at the Nobodies. Sora grinned. "Never thought I'd be thanking him more for a book than a skateboard."
'The skateboard is still better,' Roxas quickly added, but Sora didn't believe him. The Earth spell was still weak compared to his others, but considering they were in a forest he thought it would be the best one to use. It hadn't stopped them for long and Sora crouched low in the tall grass, his focus on Alcexan. For his first attack to have worked, he had either really surprised the Nobody, or the Nobody had been faking. Either way, the deer look alike was ready for him now, and was fast on his feet. Sora was small, and perhaps more agile – but Sora wasn't going to depend on it.
He had to think about it this time, and desperately wondered how Riku would have gone about it. He usually just threw himself into things and came out on top – but this was a Nobody and its servants all coming for him, and he was all alone. The wounds bleeding on his back and legs were testament enough that his usual running in and smashing at things wasn't going to do it. Roxas snorted. 'Stop doubting yourself. You fought plenty of battles without your friends. Thousands of Heartless, Nobodies, and the Organization. You're over thinking this.'
Sora flushed inwardly – a deer's skin didn't blush well – but knew Roxas was right. He threw himself back into the battle.
'You shouldn't fight us.' One of the wolves whispered to him – except it wasn't normal. He was feeling the words more than hearing them. He shuddered away from it, and felt Roxas jerk in surprise. It had happened again.
"I'll fight whoever I want," He yelled and kicked at the wolves while slashing the Keyblade at Alcexan, who nimbly jumped back and looked at him in evident surprise. One hoof hit the wolf Nobody directly in the middle of it's pale chest, where its' Nobody symbol lay – and the wolf's head snapped down onto his leg.
He felt an instant of panic as he was dragged down and they were on him. He struggled up with Keyblade and antlers – and fell down again when Alcexan rammed into him. The heavier body of the male held him down and fangs closed around his throat. He froze, his eyes spotting the creature. It had no fur, unlike a real wolf, just smooth gray skin – or clothing, he couldn't decide. It wasn't something he should be contemplating as he was held at bay, either.
The purple Nobody grinned, moving his head so their eyes met. "So, we should have a nice little chat. There are so many things I should ask you. Like why you can hear them speak – perhaps that Nobody of yours left you with some of his abilities. Interesting, but really, there would have to be some darkness in you on your own to hear it. I wonder."
The Nobody's gaze drifted off and Sora stared incredulously, Keyblade held tight in his mouth. Carefully he looked at the positions of the Nobodies around him. Alcexan had already said he didn't want him dead – and that meant he had some time, Then the larger Nobody snapped his gaze back to Sora. "But we should discuss this back at the place I and my comrades have made into our home, don't you think?"
The dark portal began to open beneath them – and Sora stopped thinking and reacted. From the sky, thunder cracked and lightning came down around them, Thundaga making some of the wolves scream and vanish. Alcexan screeched in rage. "My servants!"
Sora sprang to his feet. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Youbrat!" Alcexan hissed and his sharp antlers met with Sora's Keyblade, the two clashing together. Sora pushed the Nobody back – and swung Ultima right after. He couldn't let the Nobody dodge again. Ultima hit every time, the Nobody only able to deflect the blows part way – and for one last strike in the set, he reared up and came down hard. Ultima bit in deeper than he expected. When he backed off, Alcexan was staring at him out of one orange eye – and the other was gone. All that was left was a gash, bleeding out with trickling down his neck.
"My eye," Alcexan muttered, his voice out of focus. Then like something snapped in the Nobody and with a roar the creature jumped forward. "I'll kill you!"
Sora tensed and stood ready, a Firaga spell readying in his mind. But a new voice interrupted. "I think not. Return, Alcexan!"
The Nobody snarled in resistance – and the voice ordered from behind, "Later, Alcexan. There is a time and a place. Do you want to reclaim your true name and wear it properly?"
That seemed to have an effect, the pale purple Nobody backing away slightly, but Sora didn't dare turn away. He wanted to know who this new voice was that had power over his enemy – their boss? But Alcexan was still glaring at him. A dark portal opened behind the creature and the Nobody gave one last snarl before bounding through.
Immediately Sora pivoted around and sprang toward where the voice had been. But he only saw a disappearing dark portal with a humanoid figure in it. There was a glimpse of green eyes and dark hair and he caught the impression of what could almost have been a friendly smile – and then there was nothing.
'Interesting. Alcexan didn't want to obey – but he did anyway. I wonder. This is different – we needed a Keyblade Master to release hearts. Me or you – it didn't really matter. But them... they don't care about the hearts. Riku would be just as useful there,' Roxas mused. Sora shrugged, not really knowing what to think about it – and he wanted to find his friends anyway. His hooves scraped at the ground as he bounded silently back into the forest after his friends.
'Don't you think you should heal?' Roxas suggested. Sora shook his head. "They might be hurt. And our potion supply is... Well... um..."
'Pretty low and nearing non-existent. I know. And hard to carry in this form as well.' Sora grimaced, but had to admit it was true.It was harder to heal minor injuries than it had been in the beginning of his journey when he woke up – he wondered if the reason Curaga worked best was because people could and did develop tolerances to Potions and Hi-Potions. It made sense, but also meant he needed a greater supply of Hi-Potions, which were more expensive – and Elixirs... Well, those were hard to buy anywhere. He usually had to find them or make them himself – once in awhile he would find someone who had a couple, but usually some Heartless or Nobody he killed had them. He guessed that came from people they killed or from when they were humans.
It only mattered because it meant he had to heal less – the other two needed them more than he did. He could take a few injuries. Roxas chuckled. 'Riku would say the same about you and Kairi – your clothes just normally would hide your injuries better then his or hers do.'
He hadn't thought of that – but he would definitely use that in the future to push healing items on them. And his clothes almost fixed themselves. He technically had to hold the sewing needle but the thread had been provided by the fairies one visit, as had the needle, and... Well, he wasn't doing much except moving his hands where the needle guided. He could sew – which he did his best to hide – but not so well that the rips looked as if they never happened. So he could hide past injuries as well, and use Curaga when he wouldn't need magic for a while.
He stopped a moment and lifted his head. Deer didn't have the best noses, but he was pretty sure Riku and Kairi's scent would be the same even as deer and... He had been close enough to both of them that he knew it well. Then he put his nose to the ground. Nothing, as far as he could tell – but he wasn't Riku, either. He didn't have the sense of smell he did.
He would find them eventually – he just had to keep looking.
In the end, he lay down in a small grove, his legs hurting. Instinctively, he let his tongue bathe the wounds. Roxas snorted.'You might as well use Curaga at this point.'
"I suppose," He said reluctantly, and cast the spell. It healed most of the injuries, or at least enough that they weren't bleeding or in danger of coming open again with regular movements. Most were healed completely, but he had been hit – or bit, as the case was – good in some spots. Curled up he listened to the sound of a living forest around him. It was midday, and he didn't like the fact he didn't know where his friends were, or that he had just used magic they might need.
Roxas sighed, but could do nothing about it. Sora wouldn't sleep well until he knew where the others were – but he did have to rest and sleep.'Your magic will come back. Slowly, because there aren't enemies about to steal energy from after they die, but it will come back – there's no guarantee they even need that much healing. Sleep, Sora.'
It was more of a demand than a request, but Sora curled his head down to his knees and closed his eyes. He could at least try. Roxas was satisfied and mentally let himself drift – he needed sleep too.
They awoke to a nose nudging them and a tired but relieved voice saying, "Move over, Sora. Me and Kairi have to sleep too. Knew we'd find you just lazing about."
Still half asleep, it didn't register who it was until he had already shifted to allow Riku to settle more comfortably behind him and Kairi was already burrowing her nose in his shoulder. He was stuck between them, and he could see Bambi blinking at them in surprise – while his mate nudged him and gave the three of them a gentle smile. The two fawns followed in after them, and suddenly deer bodies surrounded Sora. "Wha...?"
"Pure luck," Kairi explained before Riku could get out a word. Sora was glad – Riku probably would have teased him for being asleep. "We came back and found your trail – wasn't hard, this time. You were bleeding."
He blinked, and glanced at the wounds that were still left partially healed. He hadn't realized he had been leaving a trail. He should have healed earlier, it would have been too easy for a predator to find him. "That was it?"
"Well, that and the fact that there was one of those wolf Nobodies on your trail – then we definitely knew it was your blood. Riku killed it, and we found you." She nuzzled his neck, and then she curled her head down. Her voice was muffled as she said, "Now go back to sleep. We all need some."
He obeyed – or at least pretended to. He could feel both of them breathing beside him and he delighted in it. 'You can feel their hearts,' Roxas mused. Sora just tried to be as happy as he could, to share it with the Nobody, who sighed in resignation and left his thoughts for later.
He twitched slightly as he felt a new weight over his shoulder and opened his eyes. Riku stared back from an inch away. "Go tosleep, Sora. We all need rest and I'm not sleeping until you do."
"Fine, fine," He muttered crossly and closed his eyes again. Riku chuckled and something – presumably Riku's mouth, pulled his ear. He pulled his ear away and retaliated by nipping at his neck. Then he lay his head back down and relaxed, evening his breathing out and closing his eyes. He would at least try, so that Riku slept.
"So he got away?" Riku groaned at the end of Sora's story. "Good job."
Sora pouted in annoyance as he fiddled absently with controls on the gummi ship. After Bambi had thanked both Kairi and Riku a dozen times for rescuing his mate and fawn, and then Sora for keeping their forest safe, all three had finally stumbled upon a transport circle and manage to get back to the gummi ship. The Forest still was below them, and Sora liked gazing down onto it. It was a pretty place, and he wished they could stay places longer – he got barely any time with his friends. But having all of them on a world put that world in danger even more than it already was – though he did wonder about Bambi's gift. It looked like a Keychain, but hadn't worked on either Sora or Riku's keyblade.
All of them were relatively well and Sora had handed them each a hi-potion without telling them that it was among their last. He was still trying to figure out how to bring up that subject – and he wasn't going to use anything they had left on the injuries that still lingered under his clothes. Once the gummi ship started moving he would use Curaga and see if that finished the healing process. Not that he had even told them he had been injured at all – he had glossed over the exact details of the attacks on both sides – except Alcexan's eye. That he had told them about.
"Hey, it's not my fault. The guy came out of nowhere and opened a portal. I tried to go after them, but the portal was already closing," he protested, too late realizing that they might take that a bit wrong. Riku's head jerked up and Kairi bit her lip.
"You would have gone without us?" She asked and he shook his head adamantly.
"No! I would have pulled him out!" His offended glare seemed to unsettle them both and Kairi murmured an apology while Riku stared out the windows.
"Then what?" The older boy finally asked. Sora stared at him, wondering what he meant. There were a lot of answers to that question, depending on what exactly Riku had been asking. Except Riku never did ask just one question – or he did, but there were three other questions hidden in them that Sora didn't see. Riku was complicated – but it was okay. Sora understood most of the time, and usually answering the simplest version of the question seemed to satisfy the boy – but this was something else.
"I don't really know what I would have done then," he answered, searching Riku's face. "I would have found you guys and we all could have come up with a plan. I guess after that it would depend on what he said, right? Last time to get the worlds back I had to close and seal Kingdom Hearts. Maybe it's the same this time."
He hoped it was the same – or at least similar. Otherwise they would have no clue. Except, even after the door had been sealed, worlds were being destroyed. Peter Pan's summoning charm in his pockets and the Organization's movements almost seemed to prove it. Before he had destroyed them, they had been trying to corrupt worlds. If the door was still sealed, things took a different turn. Would he have to open Kingdom Hearts and then close it and seal it again? Would they get their world back then?
"You could have gone there and done it. It's likely they're after Kingdom Hearts and... pathways tend to open for those who want it so bad," Kairi murmured.
Sora frowned and stared at them both, letting the silence stretch until he had their attention. He took a step forward and grabbed their hands in his own. Earnestly he said, "If I have the choice, I won't go anywhere without you two." That sunk in and then he grinned mischievously. "You two tend to get yourself in all sorts of trouble without me."
"We do?" Riku raised an incredulous eyebrow. "You end up stumbling halfway around the universe before getting it right, and we're the ones getting in trouble?"
"I can't be blamed for my trouble," Kairi said mildly, grinning at them both. "I was kidnapped. And unconscious the first time!"
Sora just looked at Riku, who looked back. Deciding that teasing him wasn't worth the risk that Riku would have a mood swing and go angst again, Sora shrugged. "I got where I wanted in the end. Besides, I don't do that anymore. Now I'm stumbling all across the universe."
He laughed and ducked under the swing Riku aimed toward him. His boyfriend chased him across the cockpit. Briefly he felt a flare of pain in his legs but it wasn't bad – but it did make him stumble slightly, which was all the opening Riku needed. "Hah!" When they both went crashing into the controls they froze and looked up wide-eyed. Kairi giggled from her spot far away from the transport circle.
"I'm not going to fall for that again. Now stop playing and drive the ship," Kairi ordered. Grumbling, Riku sat in the pilot's chair. Sora looked at him with the expression of an offended cat and was ignored. He stalked off, his lip jutting out slightly. He had wanted to pilot. He was still the better pilot. And he knew where they needed to go – which was backwards.
He stopped at the thought, but Riku had already started. "Hey, we didn't open a new path – what do we do now?"
Sora sighed in relief. "We go backwards. We can see if there was another path from the Coliseum, or go back and try from one of the other worlds." He hesitated but had to add, "Atlantica wasn't explored much. We could try there again."
"Hey, um... Can we stop in Radiant Garden for a little while?" Kairi was looking a little downcast, and biting her lip. Sora was puzzled as to why – there was no reason not to stop at Radiant Garden. Then she continued, "I know we're supposed to be trying to find new worlds and new pathways fast, but... Radiant Garden can take care of itself. A small rest wouldn't hurt."
Riku flashed a grin over his shoulder, surprising Sora by saying, "Sure. Perfect place for you to spend your seventeenth birthday, huh?"
Sora could have hit himself. He had nearly forgotten. By the time they made it back there, it would be close to her birthday, and since Radiant Garden was safe, and had once been where she lived... It would be perfect. And if they stayed there awhile he could talk to some of the others about something he wanted Kairi to have too. And there was the castle... It was now being worked on. Before, none of them had gone into it. But Sora wanted to now. Roxas and Naminé had been created there – even if they appeared somewhere else, the events that caused them happened in that castle. It would look better now, and the memories would be less sore, but it would be good to show Roxas the castle – and to remember some of the lessons he had learned there.
He gave Kairi a warm smile and then his eyes narrowed challengingly at Riku. "So, do you know the way, Captain?"
Riku smirked and started pressing buttons – instinctively both Sora and Kairi moved far away from both him and the transport circle. When he turned around he glared at them both from their new position wedged in the corner. "I was putting in the coordinates. It's not hard to put it on autopilot."
He pushed one more button and the gummi ship jerked to a start. Sora winced, one of Cid's lectures on how to properly start a gummi ship running through his head. After that fiasco where they crashed into the jungle, every time they had stopped in Traverse Town Cid had taken him aside and talked – and yelled, and screamed, and growled – about how to treat his ship. Instead of taking some of that and telling it to Riku, what came out was an annoyed, "Why don't you just blow up one of the engines next time? That would get us going too."
Aqua eyes narrowed at him and he decided to make his way back to their room. He sighed wistfully as he pulled out the skateboard her had been given for his birthday. Another thing he loved about Radiant Garden – was the space. And the high walls that he could use the board on and jump straight onto the roofs. He missed Radiant Garden. Roxas teased, 'Sometimes I think you're more attached to that place than to the Islands.'
Sora jerked his head around, but of course he couldn't glare at Roxas except mentally. "Don't say that! I love my islands!"
Surprised, Roxas retorted angrily, 'I don't see why! It never had enough fighting and no one except Kairi and Riku understood you anymore – Hell, it's a tiny world with little magic – you're about the only mage there! You may have grown up there, but Riku was right to want to get off – it's damn boring there, Sora!'
He wanted to snarl a reply, but he choked it down. Roxas was right, compared to the other worlds, it was boring – but it was good to have a vacation once in awhile. He was content there. 'Content enough that you dragged your friends off to see other worlds. That was your vacation, remember? Not Destiny Islands. You live there.'
"Iknow that! I grew up there! Just because you had no childhood doesn't mean I can't hold onto mine," Sora snapped. There was a cold empty silence in his mind, and then Roxas's presence was gone. Sora groaned, knowing he had just said something very stupid to his own Nobody and he reached into his mind. It was awkward, trying to go through his mind and heart and find Roxas.
"Come on, I didn't mean it," he said softly, guilt eating away at him. "I was just angry at you."
There wasn't an answer and Sora sighed and let it go. He would give Roxas time to pout and sulk – though hitting things was probably more therapeutic, there was nothing to hit in the gummi ship. Well, Riku, but Sora didn't trust Riku and Roxas not to knock each other silly.
He had meant to study the spell book Riku had given him, but he wasn't in the mood anymore. He itched to be able to do something – and after a wary look at the door he searched under their beds for ripped clothing. At least sewing would keep his hands busy – besides, he had been told quite seriously that it was a good skill to develop for a warrior – he wouldn't always – or ever, really – have time to get his clothes fixed. So despite how unmanly he had been told it was before, he had learned to patch clothes up – and Riku and Kairi had both managed to rip some of their clothes up. He did Kairi's first, pulling a box of thread and needles from under his bed.
And besides, at least that meant he could do something – Kairi could cook, Riku had mostly built the bridge to the paopu island – and Sora? Sora had hit things and collected things well, but before the night of the storm, he had wondered what he would do on the raft. He guessed he could have fished, he wasn't half bad at it – but now, after it was obvious that raft was never going anywhere, he actually did have a skill that was useful on the raft – besides the fact he could fight off any monster that came near, and probably could have made the raft go faster if he'd had any Water magic – or maybe learned to make Gravity go backwards or something. Somehow, he had managed to forget all of his magic skills in the pod.
He frowned, but didn't like to think on that anymore. Roxas knew more – but they kept their memories separate still, and Sora wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Roxas had already told him they had never met before they were joined, so Roxas wouldn't have been there anyway.
"Ouch!" He glared at his finger and the red dot there. He definitely needed to pay more attention – he could sew, but not well enough that he could ignore what his hands were doing. He would never be better than "good enough" at this, but it needed to be done.
"Hey, who sewed my jacket?" Riku was asking Kairi as Sora went to get off the gummi ship. Hearing that he grinned and jumped out. He hadn't really though about the fact they would notice – but hopefully he could distract them from prying with other things.
The first thing he did was put the skateboard on the ground. Except this time, he searched his heart. He could feel Roxas, lurking just out of reach most of the time – but he wasn't allowing it this time. He took the part of him that was Roxas and pushed him forward before he could squirm out of Sora's mental grip.
Roxas blinked, and stared around. Grudgingly, he asked, 'So where's the castle?'
He felt a gentle nudge forward, but no answer. He knew what Sora wanted – for him to explore. The boy was practically humming in the back of his mind. He was about to protest, and stand stubbornly until Sora gave him an answer – but then Riku was calling for Sora and slyly Roxas decided Sora's plan wasn't so bad – it would annoy Riku anyway.
"Sora! Where... Roxas, come back here!" Riku's yell just made it that much sweeter as Roxas zoomed away on the skateboard. He had to admit, Riku hadn't begrudged Sora a good skateboard – it was perfect. The wind rushing through his hair, his feet spread apart, and the way he could just shift his balance to make the board turn – he had missed it all.
Sora's voice was a gentle caress across his mind as his heart soared with joy. 'Look for water.' He smirked and flipped up onto a wall, letting his heard lead him forward. Sora knew where it was – and he did too, even if not consciously. He grinded along the edges of walls and slid down rooftops and then slopes as the town gave way to blue rock. And then he could see it, looming in front of him. He had to skid to a stop as the rock just... ended.
'That's where I first entered this world,' Sora whispered and Roxas looked down at the small platform – and then he jump. He ignored Sora's protests as he landed and slid forward a few feet, jumping again, this time up – he had to catch it with one hand and pull the skateboard up swiftly with his feet, but he still managed to land the board and jump to the next of the floating platforms. 'If you lose that skateboard in the water...'
"I won't," Roxas stated simply, his eyes focused on the next platform – this one had just reached the bottom and was about to go up again. He gave himself a boot and then jumped it – and barely managed to land on top, the edge of the skateboard landing off of the floating rocks. For a moment, he could hear Sora screaming at him – but he kicked it forward and spun in circles for a moment as it slowly went upward. "You worry too much."
'I'm going to kill you. You did that on purpose.' Sora was fuming – that skateboard didn't look cheap, and he liked it – and so did Roxas, apparently. He shouldn't be risking it.
"Heh. Maybe," Roxas answered and then he was off. He knew where to go – he didn't know how, but he did, and he let the skateboard roll toward the edge of what once must have been some kind of courtyard and then a round platform on some kind of weird line – magical? Electronic? Was in front of him. He flipped the skateboard up into his hands in a move that he knew Sora couldn't quite manage yet and stepped on.
'I could do it if I wanted to,' Sora muttered, sulking. Roxas smirked, but said nothing – they both knew Sora had tried and failed to do that.
Once it took him to the top the skateboard was down again and Roxas took out his Keyblades as the skateboard whizzed by. "You can't fight on this either."
'No reason to. Show off,' Sora grumbled as Roxas took both Ultima and Fenrir and slid around the Heartless, slicing through them – while on the skateboard. Behind them was left munny and a couple of items. 'H-hey, what if those are-'
"None of them are potions," Roxas cut off, and went through the door and into the castle proper. "Up to the Chapel, right?"
'Yeah, but how – ' Roxas didn't wait for him to finish as he went up the stairs – using the railings of course. He wasn't planning on touching one step while on the skateboard, not when he could grind up them all.
The rooms passed in a blur, Sora trying to point things out, and failing until they reached one spot where Roxas paused, feeling Sora stir. 'I fought Maleficent here – and in there was where we first encountered Ans- Xehanort's Heartless. In Riku's body. The portal's gone.'
Roxas was silent, as he stared at where the portal used to be – and then looked at the doorway. "Then..."
'Yes,' Sora answered, suddenly somber. Roxas stepped off the skateboard and left it behind a statue. Then he went through the doorway, entering the Chapel. It was obvious they hadn't even touched this room yet – he knew this place, where the princesses had slept. He walked forward, hands clenching into nervous fists as he looked around. Now he climbed the stairs, feeling an echo of Sora's steps as he did. Both of them shivered at the sensation and Roxas stopped on the first landing.
He put a hand over their heart. "You could have died. Permanently."
'Hey, you still would have been around, right? I'm sure things would have ended up fine,' Sora answered, trying to soothe his Nobody when both of them could feel their skin crawling.
"But then I never would have met you," he murmured in return and felt Sora's heartfelt affectionate joy at the words. He smiled faintly and climbed the last set of stairs. The giant heart was gone, but Roxas could see a flash of it in the memories he had seen once – and through Sora's eyes. There had been power here. Lots of power, and some of it still crackled in the air.
He stood in the middle and then climbed the rubble, knowing this was where Riku's body had stood before telling Sora where Kairi's heart was. Sora shuddered from it, but Roxas had to see. He looked out and let the memory play. He could hear the double voices from Riku, and Sora's defiant fighting. And then he had won, but Kairi was still out. Roxas walked to the spot where Kairi had lain and knelt down. There was a hum in his fingertips and he closed his eyes. This was where Sora had lost his heart, and created him.
There was nothing special looking about the place – only about the boy, whose grin he could still feel right before the Keyblade had slid into his heart. He had awoken the princesses who kept back the darkness – but without a Keyblade wielder they couldn't have held it back long. They had needed Sora – if Sora had stayed a Heartless, and he had been given all of his memories like was supposed to happen... Would he have stopped the darkness?
'It doesn't matter. I just wanted you to see.' Sora had needed to see it again too. He had learned about sacrifices here, and that the dark was never undefeatable if he had help.
"You'll always have help," Roxas said sharply and Sora was quick to reassure him.
'I know. I have Riku and Kairi, and I'll always have you.' Sora wished he could touch the other boy and calm him down – but except in their dreams, they couldn't touch each other.
Roxas made a distant sound in his throat, running his fingers across the ground, still remembering the feeling of Sora sliding that Keyblade into his heart. He hadn't even hesitated. A familiar voice said, "That was when I realized exactly how much of an asshole I had been. I thought I had lost him. When I saw him fighting Xehanort's Heartless later... I had never been so relieved."
He shifted to watch Riku approach. Sora was stunned in their mind and Roxas almost switched with him right there and then – but Sora stopped him. 'He's talking to you, not me. Listen.'
"I can't even believe he did it. He didn't even think about it," Roxas muttered.
"Yeah well, Sora's not big on thinking. He wanted to save Kairi... and he did. Did a better job than me." Riku didn't sound bitter – it surprised Roxas. But Riku had grown up from Sora's earlier memories, and he shouldn't have been surprised.
Roxas offered a small smile, about all he could manage when he could feel Sora's memories, of the darkness that clawed up to engulf them. He blinked and resisted the urge to hold his head. It had engulfed him not them... There had been no them yet. Or it had just come about. It didn't matter. He tried to sound normal as his head buzzed with thoughts that were partly his and partly Sora's. "He doesn't really know when to quit."
"Neither of you do. Don't you think you should get out of here?" Riku was eyeing him sharply, something wary in his eyes. Roxas wanted to shift away – and shift toward him. But the last wasn't his urge and he stared at Riku for a moment before standing, trying to get his mind away from it.
"Oblivion was over there when we- he – came back," Roxas recalled, trying to understand Sora's sudden spike of fear and his own confusion.
"Huh. How about that." There was a note in Riku's voice that warned him, but he was too slow. The older boy was suddenly shoving him off the platform. He stumbled over the railing and felt himself falling and for a moment he panicked, remembering Sora's fall into darkness and wondering if it was happening to them again – but instincts made him land on his feet and roll away.
Riku landed in front of him and held up his hands as Roxas called his Keyblades. "Relax. I don't want to fight you right now. I just needed you away from there. Come on, this way."
Roxas glared as Riku walked right past him and toward the exit, a wave of his hand indicating that he should follow. Roxas gritted his teeth.'I'm going to beat him to a pulp.'
As he stomped after Riku he hesitated, aware suddenly that Sora was oddly silent. "Sora?"
He didn't realize that he had said it aloud until Riku froze and for an instant the boy twisted his head and Roxas could have sworn those aqua eyes were full of terror. But Roxas sighed in relief when Sora answered, 'Sorry. That was just... weird.'
In front of him, Riku relaxed and Roxas continued, puzzled and growing more annoyed by the second. "What's going on?"
"You and Sora are both idiots, that's what's going on," Riku said flatly as they exited the Chapel. Roxas blinked, shocked at the sudden change of tone – and he wasn't expecting to be suddenly shoved against the wall with Slender Thorn against his throat. "Change."
"Bite me," Roxas answered, and slammed Ultima into Riku's stomach. Slender Thorn bit into his shoulder and he muffled a cry of pain as Riku stumbled back. He wanted a fight – and Riku wouldn't fight him if he looked like he was in pain. They both knew in their clear moment it would transfer to Sora. 'I don't mind. We'll be here long enough for me to heal. I want to know what he thinks he's talking about.'
With that indirect permission Roxas was running towards Riku, Ultima held high and Fenrir blocking low as they met Slender Thorn. The first few moves were a blur of blocking and dodging as neither could get in another hit – and then Roxas slipped Ultima to the side at the last second and blocked with Fenrir. The white blade managed a hit on his opponent's ribs before they both jumped back. Roxas smirked as Riku stared at him. "You couldn't beat me before on your own strength. What makes you think you can beat me now?"
"I told you I don't want a fight," Riku growled. "Just change."
"Tell me why," Roxas replied – and dodged as Riku's blade suddenly flicked forward into the space he had just inhabited. He had forgotten how fast he could be.
"I want to make sure Sora's there," Riku snapped, and Fenrir threw him back. Roxas paused instead of following up on the advantage, puzzled.
"Of course he is. Where else would he be?" Roxas stayed still as Riku tried to rush him, meeting his gaze with cold blue eyes. He wasn't going to defend himself – and Riku wouldn't attack him otherwise.
"You think that with how close you are and the power still in there... Are you two really that thick? That was where you separated. One of you very easily could have blended into the other in there," Riku rasped, stopping his attack, Slender Thorn slowly dropping to his side. Roxas could see the honest fear in his eyes now.
'Sora, while I don't really mind having your arrogant asshole boyfriend freaking out...' Roxas reached in and shuddered at just how difficult it was for him and Sora to switch. Sora's emotions swept along him, gratitude, and a promise to always be there. Roxas clung to that, and swore he was never coming back to this place again – he refused to lose Sora, and he hoped it was the same for the other boy.
'Of course it is,' Sora exclaimed as they settled back into their proper positions with a strange sensation of relief. He open his eyes and was immediately being shaken.
"Don't ever do that again! Could you fucking think for once, Sora? Do you know how much magical power is still in there? That keyhole may have been closed, but it's still there. We can't see it, but... Damn it!" Riku stopped shaking him and stood up, swearing beneath his breath. Sora winced as he rubbed at his shoulder where Slender Thorn had hit Roxas.
Carefully he took a step toward Riku who glared at him. "Leave me alone!"
Sora stepped back, surprised – and then his eyes narrowed. He was glad to have quick run, because an instant later Riku had been slammed into a wall. He pinned the boy there and glared angrily. "Look, how was I supposed to know, Riku? I just wanted to show him where..."
"Where what? Where you sacrificed yourself? Where you almost died? Where I – Mphf!" Sora wasn't going to let him get into the cycle of guilt and blame, and he decided it had been too long since he had stopped Riku from brooding. So the kiss was a bit rough and he had pushed forward too much, their lips crashing together painfully and teeth clinking together but he backed off a bit after he felt Riku calm. He raised a hand to Riku's face, keeping the kiss gentle now. He wasn't good at talking, at explaining what he meant. But both of them spoke better through actions sometimes.
He grinned against Riku's mouth when his friend pulled on his wrists, obviously wanting to be let go. Sora licked at his lips before breaking it off and dropping Riku's wrists. To his surprise Riku didn't push him away to continue their conversation but pulled him closer again, leaning down as Sora had leaned up, one arm going about Sora's waist and tangling in his hair. Sora had absolutely no problem in returning the kiss, especially as desperate as it was.
He forgot all about where they were for a few minutes, his hands fisted in Riku's clothes and hair and there was something desperate about Riku still, and even when Riku's hands were pushing layers of clothes off and he was returning the favor he didn't think anything. His fingers scraped at Riku's bare chest and Riku arched against him as his mouth followed. "D-damn."
He grinned at Riku's hissed word. He loved that he could still get that reaction from him sometimes – and was only surprised for a moment when Riku tripped them both to the floor and switched their positions, his hand traveling down to loosen Sora's belts. Riku's lips were against his neck and he tangled his hands in Riku's hair, pulling back to press their lips and tongues against each other once more. It was then that Roxas chimed in. 'I usually would let you two do what you want... But you're in the middle of the castle and we don't know who'll come looking for you two.'
Sora groaned, only partly at Roxas's statement and mostly that Riku had slipped a hand in his pants. He jerked his head back, his head hitting stone. "R-riku. Wrong place."
It was about all he could get out, but it did cause Riku to pause and look at him, struggling to think. Sora licked his lips and watched Riku's eyes follow the motion. "We need to stop. We're in the middle of the castle."
He could almost see Riku's disappointment before the boy rolled off of him. Sora kept on hand tangled in his hair, unwilling to totally loose contact with his friend. Riku slid one hand onto his chest and they both lay there. Sora could hear both of them panting and his own heart was beating much to fast. His skin yearned for more touch and he desperately wished they weren't so far from the showers on the gummi ship.
"You know... It's unlikely anyone would come up here..." Riku trailed off suggestively. Sora reached out with his free hand and groped behind him. As Riku looked at him with a sly smile, he threw a black shirt at him. By the zippers, it was Riku's.
"Unlikely is not impossible," A deep voice commented and Sora's head jerked up, his eyes meeting serious gray ones. "Sora, get dressed and come here."
"Sure, Leon," he chirped before Riku could act. He gathered his shirts and grimaced, aware of how uncomfortable he was going to be during this talk – though at least being away from Riku would give him time to be less excited.
He watched Riku sliding on his shirt and vest and forced himself to look away. He definitely needed a few minutes away or likely they were just going to end up back on each other. He gave Riku a look he hoped was reassuring before he turned and followed Leon, putting on his shirts as he went. He paused and picked up the skateboard. "So, what's this about?"
Leon was silent for a moment, and then looked, though Sora would never have credited it, faintly embarrassed. "Do you two know what you're doing?"
Sora almost slid to a stop. He stared with round eyes at the taller man. "Um... We haven't yet... We've... He's won't be my first."
Leon looked, if anything, pained. Roxas snickered. 'I don't think he needed to know that, really.'
And yet, the man asked, "So you do know."
Sora hesitated slightly, wondering what Leon was getting at – and he did remember that night, over a year ago, and that certain things were a little fuzzy and hadn't been explained – but he could wing it. "Sure."
Leon scowled. "You don't." Apparently he hadn't liked that hesitation.
"You're not about to give me a sex talk, are you?" Sora asked, horrified.
Thankfully, Leon answered quickly, "No."
Sora relaxed. However, they were nearing the library now, and he was pushed in there. "Aerith will."
"What am I doing, Leon?" Aerith asked, peering up the stairs at them. Leon stared and then turned around, waving a hand casually.
"Sora will explain." The named boy stared at her and felt like dropping dead right that second.
'He did this on purpose,' Sora hissed.
'Probably,' Roxas agreed, right before beginning to laugh in earnest inside their head.
End Chapter Fourteen.
Decide to end this chapter on a lighter note since the rest was a bit on the serious side. But Leon didn't go up there just to gather Sora up for a talk, that just became an amusing side quest. Poor Sora. Feedback is always appreciated!