Happy December! Only two weeks til my B-Day! Shoutouts to...
TWI1IGHTMA3TER: Kairi's going to be ok! I promise! And you will see Sora fight for his heart.
XionTheBlackRose: That gives me relief! Thanks! Getting Kairi's personality was the thing I was worried about.
TerraKH: Glad you did like it!
1mNobody: Glad to see that you liked last chappie!
Without further ado...
Chapter 10!
A groan escaped his lips as he woke up with that familiar ache in his chest. Trying to force it down, he stood up, and walked out of bed.
Sora-Xehanort's ribs pained him when he moved. But he didn't care, he had gotten used to the fighting going on in his heart right now. He knew that if he wanted to be of some use to fight off Xehanort, he had to start training.
One was downstairs before him, wearing a red hoodie and long blue pants. She looked over at him, a mug in her hand and her silvery eyes full of humor.
Sora-Xehanort shrugged his shoulders, indicating he had no idea why she was in good humor in the morning.
She told him, "This is the first morning I haven't been a victim of you attempting to skewer me with a keyblade."
He rolled his eyes, "When are you going to let it go?"
"Just as soon as I can be on the other side of the keyblade."
"You are like an elephant with temperament issues."
One sighed, muttering something under her breath about how pigheaded he was. He laughed, and said,
"This was your idea; don't call me pigheaded when you're related to one."
One then snickered, a grin present on her face. Then she motioned with her hand to the small table, silently asking to sit. He complied, grabbing some of the food off the table.
She asked him, "Would you like some peppermint hot chocolate?"
"I have no idea what that is."
One put a mug down, with a red and white stick in it.
"Try it! That is the best thing to have in the morning!"
Sora-Xehanort took a sip, then was surprised at how delicious it tasted. The cool, chill of peppermint that mixes with the warmth and sweetness of the cocoa. In a word, he loved it.
Once they finished, One stood up, and dragged Sora-Xehanort behind her. She wasted no time escorting him to a room he hadn't seen before.
"What's this place?"
"The training facility, where I'm going to start training you."
He looked around in wonder, how such a colossal room could fit inside Watcher's Tower was beyond him. The roof was about fifty feet from the ground. Ropes swung downward like vines on a tree, dangling from the ceiling. Swords were strung up against the left far side of the gym, along with numerous other weapons. Armor was hung up next to them, with many different scratches and dents on them. There were also many different shapes and sizes of training dummies. They all looked like Heartless and Nobodies.
Sora-Xehanort wandered over to the weapon racks, and picked up a simple steel sword. The hilt and guard were a gold color, with a red jewel on it. The steel was a cool, merciless gray.
"Be careful with those! Those weapons are the ones we send to the newbie keyblade wielders."
He looked in surprise. "You give these to keyblade wielders?"
"All the Keywielders that were chosen from the Keyblade War onward were approved by the Watchers, as we couldn't allow just anyone to have a keyblade. We sent the chosen person into a dream where they first learn of their destiny. We do not appear, but we guide them on their first steps to be a master. The sword, staff, and shield were placed on three pedestals and the person chose which one best reflects themselves. Then they had to give one up. The type of Keyblade Master they would be would depend on what they chose."
"Who did it to me?" Sora-Xehanort asked in wonder.
"I did. But now, no more questions! Time to train!"
One then summoned her blue and black keyblade. Then she made him put the sword back and summon his own keyblade.
It had changed since his first day.
The keyblade had become a mixture that reflected his own conflicting light and darkness. One side of the blade had a light golden tint, with orange, spiky tips that stuck out like a small sun, whereas the other side had a deep, blackish-purple color, where dark tendrils were pulsing with darkness. In the middle, it seemed to be a mash-up of the two, with a yellow-golden mixing with the blackish-purple. The edges to the dark side were jagged and sharp, while the other side had a smooth edge. The light side had ribbons of deep, dusty gold crisscrossing it.
The hilt was different. On the dark side, it had what looked like half a dragon's head with purple horns and glowing red eyes. The other side completed the dragon's jaw line, with it being a solid gold that bent upward. It looked like the dragon was about to bite his hand off.
The keychain was a heart, one side black, the other white.
Sora-Xehanort felt strangely satisfied of what the outcome of his situation had affected his keyblade.
One looked at it, and then gazed up at him, eyes serious.
"What's its name?"
"Tell me your blade's name first." He suddenly wanted to know what it was called.
"Oath Binder."
Sora-Xehanort felt satisfied with that name for it. But he had to call his something, as this keyblade was new to the worlds.
He thought of one perfectly suited to it.
"Falling Grace."
One nodded, as the name fit.
"Now then, let's begin!"
Without another word, One flung herself towards him, keyblade out and ready to strike. Surprised, he barely got his keyblade up in time to stop her from slicing him.
"What did you do that for?" He shouted over to her after he flung her off.
"If you want to learn how to endure Xehanort, you have to at least be my equal in sword fighting."
With that, the fight began again.
Sora-Xehanort couldn't even lay the tip of his blade on One; she was too skilled at it. When he tried to feign to the right to go left, she just swung at his side and hit him. When he tried to attack her from behind, she twirled around and struck his ribs with a powerful swing.
Once he was struck down and unable to get up again, then One stopped.
He was frustrated, so he spat out, "You didn't have to hit me."
"If you want to learn to defend your heart, you must learn how to fight back with a cheating madman. If I was Xehanort, I would have summoned a heartless and finished you off."
"Thanks then, for not doing that."
"Anyway, that's enough for the day. I want to show you something."
Curiosity filled Sora-Xehanort's body, which the question arose,
"Where?"
She smiled,
"You'll see."
After flying on One's keyblade glider, they arrived at a place of beautiful sunsets.
"Welcome to TwilightTown."
The entire place was decorated with Christmas lights hanging all above their heads. One waved him over to stalls filled with all kinds of different Christmas goodies, drinks and presents. Many people were laughing and dancing and just having the greatest time. Sora-Xehanort, for the first time in about a month, had smiled truly and genially.
Sora-Xehanort had caught up in the festivities, when he saw One, dancing with a boy who looked oddly familiar.
"Sora!" Hayner yelled above the Christmas music.
Sora-Xehanort pretended to know him, as he didn't want to ruin the fun the townsman had been having.
"Hey! How're things going in TwilightTown?"
Hayner grinned, and then he was joined by Pence and Olette. He told him that a boy named Seifer had lost against him in a Struggle tournament, and about the festivities.
"Already won the Holiday Games. But sorry to be rude Sora, but now, I gotta dance with my girl." Then he walked off with Olette.
One asked him to join her in dancing.
"You should see this place at midnight." One told him, "It's truly magical."
"Does TwilightTown always have big festivities near Christmas?"
"Yes, the nights are the best though. Just wait and see. But for now, do you want to dance? Cousin to Cousin?"
Sora danced the evening away.
Then night fell.
The town was transformed into a stunning aurora of lights, where they reflected off the water from the beach. They each shed a sweet light of joy. To him, it was one of the most beautiful things he had seen.
The lights were glowing, making sure the festival continued. One then quieted the people down, and a show commenced.
The lights made different pictures, of Santa flying off with his reindeer, of a snowman and woman looking off into the cold winter snow, of a giant Christmas tree with presents underneath. The crowd went wild with excitement, especially the children. Sora-Xehanort was also as excited as the kids.
To him, it was the most amazing array of light he had seen.
Then all of a sudden, it stopped.
A big booming voice announced, "The festivities will continue tomorrow, of the 25 Days of Christmas Festival! Goodnight and have a safe journey home!"
And so the littlest kids and their parents left.
But after the light show, the older kids and adults stayed in the tents and started drinking apple cider and eating the leftover goodies.
Suddenly, a voice cried out, "It's One! The storyteller!"
One tried to hide her face, but to get revenge on her from earlier that day, Sora-Xehanort shoved her up front. The mob went wild while she sent him a death glare. He shrugged his shoulders in humor, and then someone shouted.
"One! Tell us a story!"
The crowd roared in agreement with Sora-Xehanort being the loudest.
One, being modest, grudgingly agreed.
"I have the perfect tale." She said.
The crowd gathered in anticipation.
"It's a story about Jack Frost."
Hoped you guys liked this one! This chapter was inspired by an arboretum I went to on Saturday, so I hope I did a good job on this chapter!
Next question is... do you want to hear the Jack Frost story?
Until next time...
Dragon Out!