Hoo boy! This was, I think, my longest chapter, or close to it. It took me awhile because I had to tie up my three cliffhangers. Woo! Okay, so this chapter is, well, okay, I dunno. It just is. So, you know, read it.
Oh, and I am now the proud owner of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days! Joy to the world!
*Disclaimer
Xemnas: Hello, I am Xemnas.
Saix:......
Xemnas: Saix, you may introduce yourself.
Saix: Yes Superior! I am Saix.
Me:......Okay, how the hell did you two get in here?!
Saix: Don't speak to the Superior that way!
Xemnas: Down boy.
Saix: Yes Superior.
Me: Wow Saix, I bet you would jump off a cliff if he told you to.
Saix:.....
Xemnas:.....would you?
Saix: Do you want me too?
Me: Can you just do the flippin disclaimer!
Saix: Master?
Xemnas: Go ahead.
Saix: Natcat5 does not own Kingdom Hearts, though she does own her OCs and the plot. Did I do it good? Did I?
Xemnas: Yes Saix puppy. Have a cookie.
Saix: Yay! Thank you Superior! (wags tail)
Me:.........Seriously, how the hell did you guys get in here?
Resolution....sort of
The Keybearer took a deep breath, and began walking towards the dark triplets.
There was an eerie silence throughout the marketplace as Sora began his approach, his large shoes making a clopping sound on the pavement. The brunette wouldn't, couldn't meet the astonished gazes of the islanders. He kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, his hand clutching Oathkeeper so hard it hurt. Sora knew, without a doubt, that he was walking towards his doom, and away from his friends and family, probably forever, and Kairi, Namine, Riku and Roxas weren't even here. The Keybearer had never felt more alone. Sora felt such a crushing loneliness, especially with the lack of Roxas. He wished that he at least had the blonde, sarcastic psycho with him, but maybe it was better that the Nobody wasn't there. Why should Namine have to lose Roxas just because Kairi lost Sora? Assuming, of course, that Kairi even liked him the way Namine liked Roxas...
"SORA!!!!"
The spiky haired teenager stopped mid-stride as the loud, unignorable voice of his father reverberated through the area.
Yamato Mey ran towards his son, pushing aside people ruthlessly as he raced into the cleared area where Sora and the three newcomers stood, placing himself between the teenager and the triplets.
"Hey! Get out of the way old man! The Keybearer's coming with us!" snarled Froxe, taking a threatening step forward. Yamato Mey snarled right back.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about! This is my son and he's going nowhere with you! So help me god, if you come any closer I'll kill you!" he shouted.
Froxe just laughed at that, baring his fangs in amusement. "Old Man, I could beat you with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back. Step aside. The Unlocker comes with us!" he said, narrowing his eyes.
"Dad, please, just move," implored Sora in a tired voice. Yamato turned his head to face his son, surprise, shock, disbelief, and confusion all displayed on his hardened face.
"Dad," continued Sora softly, "I don't want you to get hurt. You should just move. I'll be fine."
Yamato's face screwed up in anger. "Look. Don't give me that crap! I don't know what the hell is going on, but you're not going anywhere with them. Got it?" he snarled.
"Oooohhhh, that's so cute!" purred Nexa. "The Unlocker needs his Daddy to protect him!" The blue haired girl grinned, brandishing her claws menacingly. "But Daddy dearest," she said quietly, "is going to get torn to little bitty pieces if he doesn't move now." Behind her, Froxe snickered, bearing his fangs once more.
Yamato looked at the menacing girl in disbelief. "Why you little-,"
"Dad! Watch out!" At Sora's panicked shout, Yamato's head whipped to the side in time to see three soldiers (at Froxe's command) leaping at him, brandishing jagged hooks and daggers. Yamato looked at the approaching men in shock, surprised at their sudden appearance and completely at their mercy. The man could see the weapons twinkling in the early morning sun, the ugly faces of the men grinning wickedly at the chance to please their masters. They were almost upon him....
"THUNDAGA!!!!!"
For a moment, the entire area seemed to darken, then, there was a blinding flash of light, and a thick crackling sound filled the air. Yamato's eyes closed instinctively at the bright burst of light before him, only to fly open again at the anguish screams of the three men.
His jaw dropped.
The three men that had tried to attack him were now sprawled out on the ground, twitching horribly and with smoke rising from their burned bodies. Their hands had been welded to their now red-hot weapons, and the life was draining from their eyes, which stared upwards, sightless.
Yamato took a step back, bile rising in his throat as the scent of rapidly burning flesh reached him.
What had happened?
Froxe stared at the agonizing men with raised eyebrows, a sadistic grin making its way across his face.
"Hehe, interesting. I'm tempted to fight his guy just to see if he could land a blow like that on us," he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. Nexa snorted, flipping her light blue hair over her shoulder, "I doubt it. Those guys were just flunkies. I don't know why you sent them out in the first place," she scoffed.
Froxe shook his red locks out of his eyes and smirked. "Maybe. But they tested the Keybearer's power well enough. Look at them! Burnt to a crisp. Come on Nexa, let's send the troops back and fight him ourselves. It'll be fun! When was the last time we fought anyone who could face us for more than a few seconds? I'm bored out of my mind and fricasseeing his ass may just get me out of my rut. Who knows? Maybe we'll even get to sick Paxle on him," said Froxe, looking at the purple-haired boy, who hadn't moved an inch since his arrival.
Yamato took a step back, his eyes stuck on the ruined men, he could faintly hear the panicked cries of the townspeople as they began to flee, the striking down of the men having been the last straw that sent them into a terror. The policemen tried to come them down, but they were flustered and completely at a loss as to what to do in the situation? Were they under attack? What were they were supposed to do? This was Destiny Islands! Things like this didn't happen....
Suddenly, Yamato's thoughts returned to the reason he was standing there in the first place.
"Sora!" he cried, whirling around to where his son stood behind him.
His eyes widened.
The teenager was holding Oathkeeper, both hands shaking as they maintained a death grip on the weapon. His blue eyes were wide and glassy, face paler then Yamato had ever seen it. His legs were shaking as well, and he seemed barely able to stand on his feet.
Oh god....thought the Keybearer in horror. I killed them....I killed those men. They were real, living and breathing men....not heartless, not Nobodies...not some freakish dark psychopath...those were people...people who were just following orders...and I....I...I.
You saved your Dad!
Sora jumped and almost dropped Oathkeeper, his eyes losing their glaze and hope filling them as the familiar voice of a certain Nobody filled his head.
Roxas! Oh god, I'm so glad you're back! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you earlier, and I was afraid I'd never see...or hear you again, because those three kids showed up and threatened everyone and I had to bring out the Keyblade and I had to go and the guys attacked my dad and they were going to.....and I had to....
I know! I know! Calm down, okay? You is me, and me is you. As soon as I came back I got all of your memories.
Oh...okay.
Just...just calm down. We'll get out of this. We just have to think rationally and not panic.
But Roxas....I killed them!
Yeah...yeah maybe. But...but you're a warrior Sora. A young one, but a warrior. It's...it's what we do. It's horrible, and it sucks, but those guys were gonna hack up your dad, so you didn't have a choice. You didn't have a choice. We can't dwell on that! Not now! There's too much drama going on right now. We've got three freakish vampire-things, a bunch of mutant cats, some slimy looking army, and a panicked crowd. We've got to not freak out...we need to remain calm...and not freak out...
You're right. Thanks Roxas...I....I understand.
Just not freak out....can't freak out...remain calm....
Uh....Roxas?
Don't panic....just....don't panic.....
......Roxas.
God damn it Sora! I said to not freak out! Stop freaking out already! Everything's going to be fine! It'll be fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! So stop freaking out!
.....
......
.....Riiiiiiiight.
Oh, shut up. I'm feeling a little ancy.
Why?
Well, I'm getting these really weird vibes from Nami.....I...they're sort of weak but.....Sora, I've got a bad feeling. I think the girls are in trouble.
You're right....I feel...this really bad feeling.....like a part of me is in pain...Damn it! Like we didn't have enough to worry about!
"Sora!"
The teenager was snapped out of his internal conversation when the loud voice of his father penetrated his thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, Dad. Hi. Are you okay?" he said half-heartedly, his mind far away, trying to think of solutions to the various problems presented to him.
Yamato Mey stared at his son in disbelief. He wasn't stupid. In fact, he was rather smart. He quickly and easily determined that it was Sora, through the use of his unusual weapon, who had completely decimated those three men. And yet, here the boy was, standing there, talking to his father as if nothing had happened.
As if he hadn't just taken three lives.
Yamato swallowed, his stomach churning with a thousand pent-up emotions.
Who was this boy? And what had he done with his sweet, innocent, Sora?
"Hey! Keybearer! Yoohoo!"
Both Mey boys turned their heads towards the three odd teenagers. Froxe was grinning, while Nexa looked exasperated and bored, examining her long nails. Paxle, per usual, was impassive.
Sora narrowed his eyes. What now? Did they still want him to go with them? The crowd had all but dispersed, there weren't that many civilians left to hold for ransom. Why had they let them all go like that? What was their plan?
"Here's our proposition," said Froxe silkily, bearing his fangs in a smile. "You notice how we let all those pathetic scraps of townspeople escape? Well, we did it to clear the area. We won't be threatening those little shits anymore, or at least, we won't if you do one thing."
Sora blinked and tightened his grip on Oathkeeper. "Oh yeah? What might that be?" he snarled, his eyes hard and steely, looking like chips of blue ice.
Nexa sighed and put her hand down, staring at the teenager with emotionless black eyes. "Froxe wants to fight you. Well, he wants us to fight you. If you're good enough, maybe even Paxle will fight you. Though I doubt that will ever happen. Froxe wants to find out if you're as good as they say. You've saved the universe twice, defeated countless scores of enemies; three kids like us shouldn't be a problem, right? You fight us, and we won't have to hurt anybody-," here she sighed, as if mourning the loss of something, "-and if you win, well, I guess you don't have to come with us. 'Cause the only way you're winning is if we're dead," said Nexa, her lips curling into a snarl. "But if we win, obviously we get the right to haul you're sorry ass back to Del Perso with us. So there you go. Fight us, and we don't have to harm any of you precious Islanders. Got it?"
There was silence.
Yamato turned back to look at his son, half-expecting Sora to shout out a bunch of meaningless insults and refuse their deadly offer, like he would have done in the past. But now, Mr. Mey had no idea what the boy was going to do.
Currently, Sora seemed to be deep in thought. So deep, it was almost like he was having an internal conversation, his face contorting with expressions.
What are you thinking about Sora? Thought the man, a deep sadness descending upon him.
Once, I might have known, but now...
Sora was frowning, his eyebrow twitching as he argued internally.
Yamato barely contained a sigh.
What is he thinking?
Sora's mind
Yes!
No!
We have to!
No we don't!
Do you want everyone to die?
I don't want you to die!
I won't die!
No, you'll be kidnapped! God knows what they want you for! What if they want you for...for...for some sort of twisted harem?! What if they make you a sex slave! God, Sora, so many horrible things....Who knows what they could do! And what will Riku do if he finds out someone stole is uke!
.....What the hell is wrong with you?!
I don't know! Whatever's wrong with me is wrong with you! I'm your Nobody! So if there's something wrong with me, it was wrong with you first!
That makes no sense!
It makes perfect sense!
Does not!
Does to!
Does not!
Does to!
Does not!
Does not!
Does to!
Ha, you agree with me!
What?! Argh....damn you Roxas.....
End Sora's Mind
"Look," said Nexa curtly. "We're not pulling anything. Fight us, and you're pathetic little island goes free. You want an act of good faith or something? Geez, it's not that difficult! Choose already!" she snarled.
Froxe grinned and turned around, winking at the army assembled behind him. He made some motions and the mass of men and mutations retreated back into the still present dark portal, which then disappeared.
Sora frowned, ending his conversation with Roxas as he returned to the real world. Were they so confident that they'd send back their entire army? Or were they just crazy?
"Well, Unlocker?" snapped Nexa, obviously impatient for an answer. "What will it be? Will you let all your precious townsfolk suffer, or will you fight?"
Sora's eyes narrowed and he raised Oathkeeper, while summoning Oblivion in his other hand.
Yamato's eyes widened at the appearance of the second sword, as did Neza and Froxe's.
"Yeah," said Sora with a cocky half-smirk, "I'll fi-,"
Sora was cut off abruptly by a bright flash of light that appeared suddenly between him and the three teenagers. Yamato also jumped back, his mind flashing back to the horrific lightning strike from before.
Sora's eyes widened as he saw the figure that had appeared via the light.
Holy crap on a stick!
"K-King Mickey!" stuttered the Keyblade Master. "Your Majesty!"
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxo
Maki shook with fear as he saw Myris raise his whip, smiling evilly at his younger siblings. "No!" cried the twelve-year-old, throwing another rock at the evil teen. This time, Myris angled Nila so that one of its blades deflected the rock, glaring at Maki with narrowed, violet eyes.
"Stupid kids," he snarled, "I'm going to slice you to bits!"
Picking up Kasumi, the traitor prince yanked the weapon out of Riku's shoulder, causing the teenager to let out a heart-stopping bellow of pain. The Keyblader fell back onto the now bloodied ground, his eyes closing as he fell quickly into unconsciousness.
"RIKU!!!!!" cried Maki, Yori and Kole.
Myris laughed maniacally and brandished the two whips, Kasumi's blades completely covered in blood.
"Aw, poor Riku-kun. It's a pity he couldn't stay conscious long enough to watch his siblings die!" snarled the dark prince, whipping Scura Kasumi around at the twins and sending Scura Nila flying at Maki. Yori and Kole squeaked and shut their eyes tightly, while Maki could only stare in frozen horror as the spiked whip came speeding towards him.
"BLIZZAGA!"
Maki continued to stare, his green eyes wide.
Nila was about an inch away from his face, encased in a block of ice that extended to the ground. Kasumi was in the same position, frozen mere centimetres away from the terrified twins. In between the two weapons, their master was also frozen, his lips curled in a snarl and his eyes glaring, as if realizing that he had been hit.
"Wha-," began Maki, reaching out with a finger to poke the ice-covered weapon.
"WAHHHH! DON'T TOUCH THAT!"
The silver haired boy let out a yelp and jumped back, turning around to see a large white duck, dressed in blue clothes and wielding a staff, running towards him, waving its arms (wings?) frantically.
"Get away! The spell's not very strong!" squawked the duck, grabbing Maki by the ear and dragging him away from the frozen prince. Yori and Kole, followed immediately, protesting the manhandling of their older brother.
"Riku, you'd think you'd know better than to mess with someone who's been Blizzaga'd, that spell's very unstable!" quacked Donald, ignoring the protests of the twins as he wagged a disapproving finger (feather?) at Maki. The twelve-year-old sweatdropped. "Uh....Mister Duck Sir? I'm not Riku," he said nervously.
Donald froze.
"WAGGHHHHHH?!!! WHATDDYA MEAN YOU'RE NOT RIKU??!!!" squawked the magician.
"We're his brothers and sister! How do you know our brother?" said Kole belligerently.
"Forget that! Please, help us! Riku's hurt!" cried Yori, running over to her injured sibling's side. It was then that Donald noticed the injured teenager, sprawled out on the ground. The Duck's eyes bugged out and he let out a loud squawk of horror!
"WAGGGHHHH! RIKU! WHAT IN MOUSE'S NAME HAPPENED TO HIM?!!!"
The duck immediately proceeded to run over to the prone warrior and cast a Curaga. The green light settled over the warrior, but his wounds only closed a little, still bleeding profusely.
"Graflabbidagadarnitgrabadarnit!" muttered Donald, realizing that Riku would need many, many strong Curagas before he was even remotely better. The duck looked back towards the frozen prince.
His eyes narrowed.
Already, the prince was beginning to break free, his eyes moving and glaring at the magician. Donald grimaced and then grinned as an idea occurred to him.
This was the perfect time to try out that new spell he'd been working on!
Grinning, the white duck marched purposefully towards the frozen warrior, whose eyes narrowed at the magician's approach. Donald raised his staff and pointed it towards the chunk of ice, twirling it as he did. The duck took a deep breath....
"TRANSPORTAGA!!"
There was a blinding flash of light, and the frozen figure of Myris disappeared, falling back into a swirling bright vortex. The light diminished, and the three Riku-clones, the duck, and the wounded warrior were alone on the battle-churned beach.
"Whoa! Where'd he go?" asked Kole, green eyes wide.
"Forget him! Help Onii-chan!" exclaimed Yori, clutching her injured brother's hand.
"Oh, right," said Donald sheepishly, moving over to once again begin healing the warrior.
This is gonna take forever, thought the Duck as a greenish light extended from his staff, I wonder how Goofy and the King are doing?
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxo
Floating.
It was like floating.
Kairi felt like she was floating as she watched the brown wolf approach her, wobbling on his burnt paws, claws reddened with her blood. He was grinning, scorched tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth, light coloured smoke trickling from his jaws as he walked forward, giggling like crazy.
It was like she was watching from far away, watching her death wobble closer and closer. Kairi could hear Namine screaming in her head, screaming in pain, but she could barely register....barely hear....
Through half-closed eyes, the Princess saw Koru spring.
THUD.
"Awoooooooooo!"
Kairi's eyes widened slightly as something blurred in front of her and a deep THUD was heard. Koru's howl got fainter as the wolf went flying off somewhere into the distance, a product of bouncing off a certain someone's shield.
"Gawrsh, Miss Kairi, are you alright?"
Kairi lifted her head slightly as she saw the blurry shape turn to her. The Princess's eyes closed as she slowly sank to the ground.
"Princess! Gawrsh, I better get you to Donald quick, Hyuck!"
xoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxo
Sora stared in astonishment at the small mouse king before him. Mickey turned his head, winking at the teenager.
"Hiya Sora! Long time no see!" said the King. Yamato's eyes widened and he took a step forward.
"Alright, now just who the hell are you?!" asked the man, thoroughly pissed off with all these...beings randomly appearing and claiming to know his son.
"Dad!" said Sora in horror, "This is a King!" he hissed. Yamato stared at his son in disbelief. "Oh really?" said the man, anger rising in his voice as he continued, "And just how would I know that? Huh? Tell me Sora, how am I to know that this...this mouse is a king, a king that you happen to know! How am I supposed to know that Sora? Because, lord knows, you've never told me a thing about him! Or about anything! Ever!"
Sora's eyes widened and he looked down sheepishly, finally recognizing a bit of the internal turmoil that his dad suffered. King Mickey frowned and looked back and forth between the two, immediately surmising their relationship with each other. The mouse grimaced as he realized that it was his order to Sora not to tell of his adventures that was creating the animosity between the two.
Well, I'll fix that! Thought the mouse king cheerfully, just as soon as I deal with these three!
'These three' were currently staring at Mickey with a mixture of confusion, anger and disgust. All of them except for Paxle (yeah.....he's not going to do anything for awhile. Get used to it.).
"And just who the hell are you?" spat Nexa, lifting her clawed hand menacingly. Mickey smiled and raised his Golden Keyblade. He winked at the three odd teens.
"I am King Mickey, Ruler of Disney Castle and a Keyblade Wielder. Now fellas, no need to introduce yourselves, I know who you are, and I also know where you're from. I'm gonna have to ask you to leave. Destiny Islands is no place for members of the Night Order," said the King, his voice stern and commanding. Nexa and Froxe started in surprise, as did Sora.
"How do you know about the Night Order?" hissed Froxe, taking a threatening step forward. Mickey smiled. "I'm a King. I need to know everything about places and people that might threaten my land. And fellas...." here the mouse chuckled, "Mundo Del Perso is definitely a threatening place."
"Whatever, rodent. Get out of our way! We've got business with the Unlocker!" snarled the fanged red-head. Mickey narrowed his eyes and lowered into a battle position. "Sorry, can't let that happen. You see, Sora here's a good friend of mine, and he's saved the universe once or twice, so I couldn't, in good conscience, let you guys whisk him away to your war-torn land!" said the mouse with another wink at the spiky-haired brunette.
Yamato's head was whirling. He was Sora's good friend? And he was a King? What was that about Sora saving the universe? What was going on?
"So you're gonna fight us too? This should be interesting," purred Nexa, black eyes glittering. Froxe merely chuckled, cracking his knuckles sinisterly.
Sora moved beside the King and knelt into a battle position, holding Oathkeeper and Oblivion.
This is it...thought the Keyblade Master, glaring at the grinning faces of Nexa and Froxe through narrowed blue eyes.
Yeah. Let's hope we don't die. You haven't even confessed your undying love to Kairi yet!
Ugh....don't start. At least that bad feeling's gone away....
Yeah, whatever happened to the girls, I think they might be okay now.
Right. So let's focus on us!
The four warriors all tensed, preparing to make the first move of what was sure to be an epic battle....
"STOP!"
Mickey looked to the side, puzzled, while Nexa and Froxe turned around in anger. Sora completely froze, his mind already descending into tapioca as he heard a familiar voice.
Fawn....he thought, his mind filled with images of the raven-haired girl and her piercing golden eyes.
Oh great. It's the succubus. Try not to make out with her in the middle of the street, 'kay Sora?
......It's Fawn............
....*sigh. And so it begins....
Fawn leapt onto the scene, astride a large, but slim gray wolf.
"Stop it," she hissed, glaring at Nexa and Froxe. "Leave him alone, I won't have you dragging an innocent boy into our fight! Leave the troubles of our world, to our world!" she commanded, tawny eyes flashing.
Nexa and Froxe looked at her in shock, before turning to one another and bursting into eerie laughter.
"That's rich coming from you Miss Sa-Lua," sneered Nexa, "Wasn't it you who came up with the idea of using the Keyblader to find the heart?"
Fawn flinched and turned her head to gaze at Sora, who was once again immobilized by her very presence.
"Yes," she said softly, "I won't deny it. I wanted to use him to restore light to Del Perso, but I'd live in our half-darkness forever if it meant keeping Sora away from you!" she cried passionately.
Sora stared up at the girl in amazement, his heart all aflutter as he watched her defend him.
Wow....Roxas...I think...I think she really cares about me.
Or maybe she's just manipulating you.
I don't know Roxas...there's got to be a reason...why do I feel this way around her?
Two words. Hor. Mones. Or do I need to give you the whole 'birds and the bees' talk? I'd do it happily!
Oh why do I even bother....?
"So you're going to stand there and protect him?" said Froxe, baring his fangs. "You think you stand a chance against us? We're the Dark Triplets, and it's death to challenge us, little girl."
Fawn narrowed her eyes and pulled a small dagger from where it was hidden under her pant leg.
"I'm not a little girl," she said sternly. "I'm the Sa-Lua of Della Luna, and I stand for light!"
Nexa's face was shocked and Froxe looked like he was about to burst into laughter.
"Listen, Fawn. I don't know what you're trying to pull-,"
"Sora! You're Majesty!"
All the parties turned to see Donald running towards them, followed by Riku, leaning heavily on his five siblings as he hobbled weakly after.
"Riku..." said Sora, almost sleepily, still lethargic under Fawn's intoxicating presence.
Suddenly, a warm feeling filled the Keyblade Master, as if a bomb of light had exploded in his chest.
Nami!
Behind Riku, came Kairi, walking unsteadily with Goofy supporting her. The Princess was covered in blood, and she was pale as a ghost, her face sallow, and bags under her beautiful eyes.
"Kairi!" cried Sora, his mind clearing as he began running towards the red-head.
"Damn it!" hissed Froxe. "Wasn't that fool Myris supposed to be taking care of them?"
Nexa spat bad-temperedly. "This sucks. We've got three Keybearers to deal with now, that stupid Moon slut, and that Princess girl. Those two weirdoes....the duck thing seems to have some magic or something, and that dog thing's shield has some freakish mojo....dammit! Shit Froxe, you just had to be all macho and send our troops back! Now we've got to retreat!" she spat.
Froxe stared at the blue-haired girl in shock, black eyes wide.
"Are you kidding me?! Are you forgetting who we are? We could take them with our arms tied behind our backs and our eyes taped shut!" he hissed.
Nexa flipped her hair haughtily and sniffed. "You're so stupid Froxe. Can't you feel it? This place, Destiny Islands, it's so damn good! We're weak here! And that freaking' sun, it's like a giant bug zapper. We're getting weaker every moment we stay here. Why do you think the Dark Lord told us not to dally? We can'tfight all of them, not here, and you sent our troops back!"
Froxe flinched. "What about Pax-,"
"Same thing. Sun, light, goodness, this whole f(oops!)ing place! He's in the same boat as us. Right now, we should try and avoid a fight. Damn. I hate this! I haven't retreated since I was one!" cursed Nexa.
"Kairi, Riku! Are you guys okay!" cried Sora, running towards his wounded friends.
I'm gonna see how Namine's doing. Said Roxas in Sora's mind.
Huh?
You know, telepathy thingy. Haven't we been over this before?
Right. You do that. I'm going to make sure Kairi's okay.
Sora rushed to the redhead's side, taking in her bloodstained clothes and wretched appearance with horror.
"What happened!" he said, grabbing Kairi and embracing her tightly.
Kairi let out a little gasp and melted in his arms. Being so close to him like this....it was like a ball of warmth was sitting in her chest, growing larger and warmer as he clutched her tighter and tighter. Kairi buried her face in Sora's chest, letting the tears trickle down her haggard face. The Princess could feel his strong arms around her, and the heat of his body, warming her to the very soul.
"I'm here," whispered Sora into Kairi's hair. "I'm always here."
Kairi's sobs increased.
Yes, you're always here Sora. She lamented internally. And I always need you. I always need you, or Riku or someone to come and save me...I'm useless!
"You see that you stand no chance, don't you?" said Fawn, smiling grimly. The assembled Keybearers and their allies all turned to look, Sora still holding onto Kairi tightly.
"We see no such thing!" spat Nexa. "We're making a...tactical decision to go back and make a better plan. So go to hell you lopsided bitch!"
With that, Nexa quickly opened a Corridor of Darkness and stalked through, Froxe running after her, with an impassive Paxle trailing behind. As the purple-haired boy disappeared, the portal wavered and disappeared.
Silence.
Fawn turned to face the assembled people.
"I'm so sorry I dragged you into all of this Sora," she said, her face agonized. "I just...I couldn't see any other way...I had heard that the Keybearer helped worlds in trouble and I thought that maybe...but I guess my home is beyond help."
With that, the Dark Princess opened her own Corridor of Darkness and rode through astride her wolf. The Vortex disappeared, and the Islanders and their bipedal animal friends were left alone.
Silence.
"Gawrsh, what was that all about your majesty?" inquired Goofy, scratching his head.
"That," said Yamato Mey, turning to face the bipedal dog in armour, the large duck in mage cloth, the black-robed mouse with the glorious key weapon, Riku, bloody and leaning on his siblings, Kairi, completely covered in blood and pressed against Sora, and, of course, the spiky haired teenager himself, looking sheepish and conflicted.
"Is a good question."
Ahaha! Okay, so that was like, a semi-cliffhanger, but at least I resolved the other three cliffies, right? Sorry for the lack of a climatic battle between Sora and the Dark Triplets, but I got the feeling I was focusing to much on my OCs and so I decided to kind of move back and focus more on the KH characters. I'm going to try and do that for the next few chapters....though I believe we're nearing the climax of the story.....
That's right! I think, one more chapter, maybe two, and then the climax! And, hoo boy, I gotta tell you, it's a doozy.....
So, what do you think? Did you guess what Fawn's up to? What do you think of...everything? And what do you think is going to happen next!
Reviews people! Pretty please! Even if you just write one word or half a question mark, it still does the heart good!
xoxo, natcat5 ;p