LOST WORLDS
Chapter 15: Antiform
Written by: Lynx and Rebmakash and hosted through the generosity of Organization VI
Rating: G (K)
Summary: After the battle against the thousand Heartless at Hollow Bastion, a whole new ring of worlds appears for Sora, Donald and Goofy to explore.
Disclaimer: We do not own Kingdom Hearts II or any of the Disney movies shown here; they are copyright to Disney and Square Enix. Please see the first chapter for the full disclaimer.
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It was easy for the trees to catch wind of what happened. Sora felt as if he could hear them whisper as he raced through the forest. It seemed that the feeling of grass underhoof could not come fast enough as a replacement to roots. He, Donald, and Goofy clattered into camp, running right into the flap of the boys' tent.
The sound of shrill metal met Sora's ears, and the glint of a blade met his sight. "Whoa! It's me, it's me!"
Peter, still in his hammock, lowered his drawn sword. Edmund just looked irritated.
"Sorry...something bad's happened. Really bad."
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As the sun's light began to color the sky, the camp was already stirring. Aslan's tent was still dull in the darkness as Peter emerged, his eyes downcast.
"You're right..." he said as he approached the others." He put his knuckles on the table with the battle plans. "He's gone."
Edmund looked slowly to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, who shook their heads sadly.
"Then you'll have to lead us." Edmund said. Peter and the Key-bearer gave Edmund a look, though the other two nodded. "Peter, there's an army out there...and it's waiting to follow you.
"I can't...!" It seemed the young man simply couldn't believe the weight on his shoulders.
"Aslan believed you could!"
Peter looked away, doubtful of Edmund.
"...And so do I."
Sora and his comrades nodded as Peter looked back, knowing what he had to do. "We all do, Peter. You have an entire army who believes in you!"
Peter pursed his lips, glancing briefly at the map.
"Time's running out..." Donald said with atypical softness.
"What're your orders gonna be?" Goofy saluted in a typically awkward manner that made Peter smile a little before looking back at the map.
And as the map could unfold, so would the day of the battle.
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The fields of Narnia stretched out before Sora like an ocean of fresh grass, and Sora suddenly felt that this world was vaster than any other world he'd been to. For how calm it appeared, the land was anything but peaceful. Sora could feel it in his heart, and in the nervous shuffles of the fauns, centaurs and satyrs that surrounded him. He trotted through their ranks, his saddlebags full of potions and other recovery items jostling at his sides. He spotted Peter at the forefront of the army, seated on a white unicorn. To Sora, the armor looked clunky and unnatural on Peter...and yet, underneath that shell sat a boy who was willing to do whatever it took to defend his family and friends.
Sora approached him, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Peter looked up to meet Sora's smile. "You're ready for this. I know it!" Sora said.
Peter attempted to smile back. "I keep trying to tell myself that."
"Well, don't worry," Sora encouraged, summoning the Keyblade and slinging it over his shoulder. "We'll handle all of the Heartless. You just keep an eye out for the Witch."
Sora's cocky grin finally pulled Peter's smile to the surface. "Thank you, Sora. I don't know how I would've gotten through this without you, or As—"
The conversation died on the name. Sora looked towards the ground suddenly, and felt the brush of the lion's-mane keychain against his shoulder. If this feels so much like a broken promise...why am I so okay with it?
Sora felt a sudden tremor in the ground rattle up through his hooves. He followed the feel of the shuddering earth to the horizon, where its source became apparent.
His first thought was that it was not unlike his battle in the Great Maw not that long ago. A long line of enemies, stretched from one end of the valley to the other, slowly marched into view. Many of them were wolves, minotaurs, harpies and other monsters. However, many of them were also Armored Knights, Assault Riders, Living Bones and Lance Soldiers. He even spotted a Behemoth towards the back, and a few Wyverns circling above.
At the front of the line, two restless Living Bones pulled a huge silver chariot. Even from the distance, Sora knew it was the Witch...her presence stood out like an icicle in a field of blooming cherry trees. Just the thought of her brought back his memory of the Stone Table, and he gripped at the Keyblade so hard its tread imprinted onto his palm.
Peter can handle the White Witch...if I don't get to her first!
Sora saw Peter shrink back only slightly at the sight...he suddenly got the sense that this was not the first war Peter had seen; perhaps something even more brutal and terrible than this. Sora stood up a little straighter, throwing his shoulders back with a determined stance. "We're with you all the way!"
Peter just nodded in reply. For an agonizingly long time, the two armies simply stood and faced each other, both pawing the ground with anticipation. It was as if they were waiting for a signal; some invisible green light that would let the bloodbath begin. The built-up tension crackled like electricity through the air, setting all of the hairs on Sora's skin upright.
Whatever the invisible signal was, Jadis saw it first. She raised her staff high in the air, then thrusted it at Peter's small army. At the command, the ranks of monsters and Heartless barreled forwards. Their pounding footfalls crushed the new grass into fibers and shook the earth all the way down to the coasts. Their charge was so incessant, some of the shorter wolves and tigers were trampled by the Heartless around them.
The closer they drew, the more antsy Sora became to get moving himself. "You sure this is a good idea?" Sora said with a glance back at Peter.
Peter smiled, as if thinking of a joke that wasn't supposed to be funny. "I've seen it work before."
With that, he raised his sword to the heavens. A battalion of griffins took to the skies, led by a very battle-hungry Donald. The griffins all carried huge boulders in their claws. By the time Jadis's army took notice, they had already begun their descent.
"Bombs awaaaaay!" Donald cried, pointing his staff at the enemies below. A shower of boulders rained down, crushing monsters and Heartless alike. Donald himself threw out a few spells of his own, drawing enemies together with magnet before finishing them off with a round of thunderbolts.
Sora pumped his fist in the air as Jadis's army scattered in panic. "All right, it did work!"
But the air raid met a resistance quickly. Half a dozen Wyverns honed in on the griffins from all sides. One griffin's heart was stolen with a bite to the neck, and another went spiraling to earth after being repeatedly kicked by another Wyvern. Donald managed to keep any airborne fighters away from him with a fire spell, and a few Wyverns tumbled downward with singed and broken wings.
And yet, for all the damage done, Jadis's army still pounded forward. For every felled Heartless, two more sprang up to take its place. The griffins, being seriously outnumbered, began to circle back to Peter's army.
Sora brought the Keyblade into a battle position, and smirked at Peter. "You ready?"
They Key-bearer knew that he wasn't. "Let's go!"
Ranks of red-and-gold-armored soldiers loosed a volley of battle cries, weapons raised and shaking, and began to descend into the valley. Sora charged ahead first, even beating Peter down the hill, adrenaline shaking his fingers and making his heart shudder. He knew Goofy was somewhere behind him and Donald somewhere ahead, but his focus remained entirely on the jagged line of snarling faces rushing to meet him.
For a second, the space between them seemed to expand, pulling time apart like a rubber band. In that moment, Sora felt the hot wind in his hair, the thunder of his hooves and the yells from his throat like a whisper in the distance.
Then the band snapped, slamming the two armies together with stone-crushing force. Sora swung the Keyblade through two Armored Knights, then a Lance Soldier, then landed a hit on a minotaur before he even realized he was fighting. He'd gained so much momentum from the downhill race that he felt like he couldn't stop. He became a whirlwind of fighting, swinging the Keyblade in graceful arcs that sent huge minotaurs sprawling and sliced Heartless into splinters of darkness. His hooves pounded a battle rhythm into the earth, and trampled anything that happened to get caught in the way.
The blind charge continued until the two armies became less distinct, and began to battle each other one-on-one. Sora slowed to a canter to get a sense of his bearings, and to figure out where everyone else had ended up. A flash of white told him Peter was a fair run behind him, and he figured Edmund was still at the back of the army.
Goofy suddenly appeared out of the melee, bashing into a very confused Lance Soldier with his shield. He slumped forward, his breath wheezy. "There's an awful lotta Heartless here!"
Sora just reached into one of his pouches and tossed the knight a potion. "We've still gotta keep going! Come on, stick by me!"
Goofy took his back, slamming into Heartless that came too close, and sending his shield spinning at those farther away. As a gang of Armored Knights approached, Sora's first instinct was to use their attacks against them and take out several at once. He quickly realized he wasn't able to in his centaur form. Instead he kept using his horse body to his advantage, trampling enemies before him and slamming into others from the side.
Donald finally swooped down to join them, and landed momentarily to give himself an elixir. However, he quickly realized he only had three left. "Where's the Witch?" he yelled.
Sora scanned the battlefield, but saw no sign of the silver chariot. "I don't know, but..." he paused, feeling the adrenaline run dry and exhaustion sweep over him. Sweat rolled down Sora's body and over his straining legs, matting his fur. His hooves had pounded the ground so hard it felt as if he were about to falter.
"They're still coming!" he gasped, nearly chocking on his own saliva.
"How many are there anyway?!" Donald quacked angrily and reared up on lion hindpaws. "That White Witch is gonna get it!"
"Sora, how 'boutcha you try drivin' with me this time? Donald could back us up with magic, and we could all use some Curin' right 'bout now."
Sora began to brace himself for the wave of Shadows. "YEEEAH! If we drive Donald won't need to worry, we'll feel better." Finding a brief gap in the fray, Sora grabbed hold of Goofy's hand, swung the faun onto his back, and concentrated. Feeling the strength of his friend's heart mingle with his, he curled in on himself before the power literally burst from his body, sending enemies back.
"Hold tight," the red-clad Sora called back to the spent Goofy. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride!" Sora reared, brandishing his blades.
Power seared through his muscles as he fought, and Sora barely registered the lightning from Donald's staff. With each cry he could feel the might of another's heart, and how wonderful it felt, that power...strangely wonderful...
A Neoshadow's slash to his side elicited tears, and as he turned to face his opponent, he licked a stray tear away. Something tasted odd, somehow. It tasted...like the power felt. But he realized it wasn't the tear, but an odd aftertaste from something distantly familiar.
Sora raised a massive hoof, and the Neoshadow looked up, knowing its next destination.
Hooves and dual-Keyblades made quick word of the swarm, but it was only the beginning. As the strength ebbed from his muscles and Goofy revived, Sora and Donald saw a more menacing group.
While most of the Armored Knights and Lance Soldiers were gone, Living Bones still roared alongside Morning Stars. A few dark blue Wyverns still swarmed the skies. Though hard to tell, the Behemoth loomed beyond somewhere.
The Key-bearer looked to his side. Both Donald and Goofy looked as tired as he was, in part from driving so much. In the lull of action Sora held out his arm, watching it shake from overexertion and adrenaline. After every drive he felt worse, and after each one, the next drive felt even better.
He longed for the power of their hearts to mingle with his. And the situation demanded it.
From his saddlebag he pulled out some recovery orbs.
"Sora, are you plannin' on driving again already?!" Goofy sputtered. "Save those an' get a second wind!"
"Our hearts are stronger together! How else do you plan on taking these guys down?!" he panted as his glove absorbed the orbs.
"Maybe we're going about this all wrong," Donald wheezed. "Let's see how we—"
"Are you with me? I need both of you this time!" Sora gasped.
An awkward silence served as a reluctant agreement.
Sora pulled the faun and tiny griffin onto his back, as before, and focused.
He could feel his heart beat stronger as he could sense their hearts. The power of their hearts was warm, inviting, tempting...
The power of their hearts...
Hearts...
Tempting...
So easy...something so natural...
As he curled inward, he could taste that power again...and something else, something familiar and foul.
His centaur body slipped away entirely, the magician's spell melting...
Donald and Goofy cried out as the previously benign burst of energy sent them flying away from Sora.
"What happened?!" Donald cried, putting a talon on his head.
"Sora!" Goofy hollered.
In the heat of battle blood ran cold. Though hard to tell in the swell of Heartless, something terrifying was tearing apart their foes. In successive, unpredictable flashes darkness coiled around the Heartless and slew them with ruthless ease.
"We gotta help Sora before that thing or the Behemoth gets him!" Goofy yelled. Indeed, the once-distant Behemoth was closing in.
"Wait!" Donald, in an effort to stop his friend, grabbed hold of his leg and brought them both down. "I think it IS Sora! That darkness form's gotten ahold of him again!"
Goofy struggled to get back on his feet. "What do we do?!"
"I don't know! Last time it just wore off, but..."
The Behemoth joined the front, but to little avail. Tendrils of darkness raced like whips to the creature's head, besieging the beast. Dark tentacles wrapped around its neck like a giant noose.
A moment of silence from the black-covered Sora ensued as the Behemoth's head submerged into the throng of other Heartless. Hisses and slashes echoed from the struggle as the violence diminished in the crowd.
"Sora...!"
A sudden explosion of black energy enveloped Donald and Goofy in a quickly-dissipating cloud of darkness. Turning back, they looked to the rocky outcropping Sora was last seen.
The swarm had disappeared.
"C'mon, we'd better have a look-see." Goofy said.
"But what about--?"
"Aww, shucks, how're we gonna help 'im if we're not even there?"
Donald reluctantly nodded and followed. Just inside the outcropping they two could already get a better look than they'd care to.
Once again, it was as if Sora's shadow had risen and swallowed him. His centaur body was gone completely, and darkness crept over his skin and wafted off of him like vile smoke. Yellow eyes stared right through Donald and Goofy as the form approached them on three limbs.
"S-S-Sora?"
Sora just hissed at Donald, creeping closer. He kept its left hand off the ground, holding it as if ready to slash with powerful claws.
"Sora, it's us, your old pals!" Goofy tried.
The shadow reared and stared right into his eyes, holding its arms wide as it twitched.
"Knock it off, you big palooka!" Donald blurted. Leaping up into flight, the little griffin knocked the form on the head several times with its staff.
Sora recoiled with a sharp squeal and hiss, paused, and then slowly backed away.
"Sora?"
Backing into a series of boulders, he turned to glance at them before curling up against the rocks.
A flash of light appeared, melting the darkness away.
"Sora! Sora, are you okay?!"
Sora lay there shivering, in human form, but Keyblade back in hand. Eyes flickering open, he weakly asked, "...Both—you... 'kay?"
"We're fine, what about you?!" It seemed Donald couldn't make up his mind between anger and concern.
"You went into that weird shadow form again!" Goofy said, twisting his fingers with nervousness. "We weren't sure you'd recognize us again!"
Always whenever I'm driving too much... Sora rubbed at his forehead. The darkness had felt so cold. "I'm sorry, I don't know why this is happening...I just...knew not to hurt you."
It had tasted so good.
Sora wiped his mouth off with the side of his sleeve, trying to get the taste off of his tongue. As good as it was, he wanted no more of it. Not if it puts my friends in danger.
After several long moments of sucking in gulps of fresh air, Sora started to get to his feet, only to realize he was back on two legs. His shocked eyes flew up to meet Donald's. "My centaur form's gone!"
"Yeah, gimmie a minute," Donald quacked. Goofy passed a hi-potion to Sora, who gulped it down gratefully, as Donald prepared the spell again. In a flash of lights and tingling, Sora found himself back on four legs.
He shook the tension out of his muscles, trying to push back down the hungry mantra and sharp flavor that still lingered. Time felt skewed now, and his memories of the last time he fell into the shadow form only emphasized the fact. He was barely aware of the last moment of battle. "Nobody saw me, did they?"
Goofy glanced around, his hand on his chin. "I dunno...but ya sure did take out most of the Heartless in that weird dark form."
Indeed, while Heartless still prowled the field, their ranks were thinned to near oblivion. For some reason, this thought frightened Sora more than pleased him.
Then the purpose of all these Heartless came rushing back to him.
"The Witch! Where is she?!"
A sound like two mountains crunching together answered his question. Something stone-heavy plummeted from the sky and smashed into pieces upon the hard slabs of earth. Sora's throat went dry at seeing the pieces of stone shaped like feathers and claws...the statue had once been a living griffin.
He followed the line of its descent back to the edge of the hill, where Peter's army had first descended. He saw Peter, having lost his unicorn mount, on the ground and swinging wildly...at none other than the White Witch.
"PETER!" Sora yelled, his voice faltering over a cracked and dry throat. He waved his arm at Donald and Goofy. "COME ON!"
Sora saw Peter turn, his voice an order he could not quite make out, but he could guess. The centaur saw a human form, urged on by an armored beaver, turn after a notable hesitation. The boy's legs were weighted with guilt and fear for his brother.
Such a simple distraction was weakness enough for Jadis to prey upon, and she handled her blade as if it were the claw of an icy set of talons, catching Peter's helm and removing it swiftly. He immediately reached to his face; lucky a gash across his cheek was the worst of the damage.
The three sprinted towards the fight, hooves and paws churning the earth to dust as the gap between them closed. Donald took to the air again, and pointed his staff at the witch. "THUND—"
In one swift movement, no more than a silver-cold blur of armor and fabric, the Witch flung her staff in Donald's direction and shot a bolt of magic at him. The bolt hit home, freezing Donald mid-flight.
"NO!"
The stone figure of Donald fell in a lazy arc to the rock-spotted fields, completely beyond the reach of Sora's arm, beyond saving, beyond the icy death-grip that froze Sora's heart...
"I got 'im, I got 'im!"
Goofy launched himself ahead of Sora, his arms outstretched, and intercepted Donald mid-fall. He landed harshly on his tail, and flipped and rolled over once with the statue bouncing in and out of his grasp...but when he finally landed, Donald was at least unshattered.
Little good that it did him.
"DONALD!" The name came out of Sora more like a sob. He skidded to a stop before Goofy, who still clenched onto the stone magician as if he were still in midair. "NO! There's gotta be a way to..."
Goofy didn't answer, but trembled on the ground. Sora searched blindly through his pouches for something, anything that could be an antidote. Seeing nothing, he held the Keyblade aloft and choked out a cure spell. The healing leaves appeared and settled over Donald's frozen form...but changed nothing.
Even the power you hold cannot change the laws of the worlds...
The Key-bearer thought perhaps now he was supposed to feel grief. But instead he just felt anger...even stronger than when Goofy had nearly been killed, he felt it alight his nerves and makes his limbs quiver. It brought back the bittersweet taste of darkness in an instant, but he didn't care.
She'll pay for this!