If we were Together: A year has passed since their separation, and Riku and Sora have grown both in size and in mentality. Sora slept in her chamber regaining her memories while Riku watched over her clouded in the gray spaces between light and darkness.
Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Reality likes to rear its ugly head and drag me away from my writing but since it's Christmas I figured it was time to give my readers a gift. Happy Holidays!
Chapter 9: Patty and the Pirates
Mickey tapped his foot impatiently as he hid in the alleyway of The World that Never Was. Riku was supposed to have met up with him hours ago, and now he worried that his position had been compromised.
Heartless drew near and Mickey's blade came out glittering. He raised it overhead ready to strike it down, but a dark blade cut through them before he could even make a move. Mickey's eyes looked up and relief swimmed in his eyes. "Riku?"
The cloaked figure held a finger to his lips to silence him. He then pulled something out from his cloak showing the glittering star. Mickey recognized it as the trinket Sora had given him before the doors to darkness closed. It was proof that he was Riku with giving words, which was wise.
"Did you find Axel?"
Riku shook his head and leaned back on the wall crossing his arms and staring at the star. Mickey could barely make out the sad gold eyes that hid beneath the cloak. Riku's body had gone through dramatic changes in his inner battles with the darkness. He was still Riku on the inside, but because he allowed his dark powers to take shape and make him stronger his form had shifted into that of Ansem.
"I see… well I happen to have some good news for a change. Sora's safe and I think we're in a good position to let her do her thing. I can't keep tailing her as I have been or I won't be able to track down what I'm really looking for."
Riku gave a solemn nod and slipped the trinket back into the cloak. His eyes glanced up at the thundering clouds above, rain starting to pour. "She feels Roxas…" He finally spoke, and with somber tone. "You're not the only one who's been watching. I've seen her, briefly here and there for only a minute or two.. but enough to catch her confusion and need of answers."
"You need to stop worrying about Sora, and start worrying about our true mission. I know you miss her Riku, but none of us can go back to our lives and loved ones until we're sure the world is safe for them again." Mickey placed a hand on his heart remembering Minnie and the friends he'd left behind in the castle. "Hollow Bastion is the place for answers I just know it. I'm going back and having a thorough look around and see if I can't drop a hint to Leon and the others to do the same."
"Right, I'll keep a look out on the Organizations actions, and I also think it best we don't meet for awhile. I'll be too tempted to stray I think."
"Fair enough, just take care of yourself Riku."
"I will… oh and Mickey… I want you to promise me something."
"Sure pal, what is it?"
"Don't tell Sora about me. No matter how much she asks or pushes I don't want her to find me…" he gave a deep sigh and removed his hood showing off the face of Ansem. "Not like this."
Mickey frowned knowing that it took a lot of courage for Riku to ask such a thing. "I understand. I know you'll seek her out when you're good and ready. In the meantime I promise she won't hear anything from me."
~Port Royal~
"This place is…"
"...Kinda different." goofy finished off Sora's thoughts as they examined the town. The words they had visited were all different in their own unique stories and settings but this world seemed to have their own unique style. Dark and ominous skies brewing stormy clouds but no rain or heavy winds just a sort of foreboding atmosphere.
There were sounds of screaming coming from the town that drew their attention and quickly Sora's blade came out. She had expected to see heartless and nobodies, but what she found instead… were pirates.
Patty, never thought Sora would see that loser dog again after her humiliating intro at Yen Sid's Castle, stood at the front of a horde of pirates. She spoke in hushed tones to them that were blocked by the screams from the distance that they were at.
"Looks like we've found out the beginning of our to do list, guys." She ran forward her keyblade in hand and a frown lining her face. "Hey!"
"Ha, I knew it!" Patty said in her gruff tone standing shoulder to shoulder with what looked to be the pirate captain. "Those are the punks I was telling you about."
"Who you calling a punk? The names are Sora, Donald and Goofy!" She smirked firmly gripping her blade and twisting it to the side in preparation for attach. "Don't you forget it!"
"That we won't," the pirate chuckled. "We'll engrave it on your tombstone to be sure."
"Whoa, i like your style!" Patty grinned and stepped back and away leaving the fighting to the professionals.
"Men, half of you stay here and indulge these cullies. The rest of you, bring me that medallion!" The Captain shouted his men obeying with a quick "aye" before splitting up. Three pirates stepped up to face them and with a laugh Sora shook her head.
"Aww we only get to fight half of you?" she winks and launched into action. She aimed straight for the gut on the middle pirate, and met with an unfortunate surprise. As if in slow motion she watched her blade go right through him as if he was made of smoke. "What?"
She tried again, thinking maybe it was just a trick of the light… the area was awfully dark without even the moon to give her better sight. She slammed her blade across the neck.. the shoulder… and got nothing… she could hear their laughter in her ears and felt the sting of their bullets, her magical clothing protecting her but it didn't take away from the heavy sting of their hits.
"It's no use… we can't beat them."
"What did you expect," the pirate goon chuckled… his form becoming lit by the moon behind him causing her to gasp and her belly to twist at their skeletal bony exteriors. So this was their true form.
"Watch out, they can see yah. Stay away from their magic!"
"What for?"
"Weren't you listening to me before?" Patty smacked a hand to her face with a long groan.
"Thanks for the tip patty," Sora grinned and eyed her opponents with a new fever. Magic, huh? Sora thought for a moment and glanced over to Donald. "I think it's time we tried that new power out."
"You mean the Wisdom Drive?" Donald whispered waving his wand around. "Well I'm up for it if you are!"
"Let's give it a go,"
Nodding Sora took a deep breath and summoned the power… igniting like flame it erupted… the power pulling from every inch of her causing her body to spread out from fingers to toes. She felt hers and Donalds magic coursing through her clothes like a power source… the skirt around her knees spinning and igniting with a blue flame til it became a striking symbol all across the hem. Her feet never touched the ground, instead she floated up and ran across the ground as if skating on smooth ice.
The magic flowed from her gloves and out of her keyblade sending darts of magic out and sparking against the bony forms causing them to jolt back in confusion. Even in the shadows when they tried to hide their forms again the magic pierced through injuring them. She went hog wild spiraling and circling them just letting the sparks fly.
The flying stop and she skidded to a stop nearly stumbling forward as the Drive form ended. The pirates were defeated but the energy was depleted. "Whoa… what a rush."
"I think we should save that for emergencies only. The best way for us to defeat those pirates is in the moonlight." Goofy suggested.
"You're probably right about that. That form was cool but it took a lot of energy, even more than Valor did." Sora rolled her shoulders. "I also think I need to practice that some, gliding across the ground like that was fun but really hard to control."
She took a quick glance around. Patty had long turned tail and run off. "If she's here that means we have work to do."
"Yeah and that pirate captain looked pretty mean too."
Just thought of seeing that Captain… what had the pirates called him? Barbossa? The thought of seeing Barbossa becoming a heartless sent a little chill down her spine and she quickly rubbed her arms to warm them up. "Change of subject… hey let's go take their ship for a spin!"
"Sora!" Donald scolded putting his hands on his hips and beat his foot impatiently. "That's not what we're here for."
"I know that, but it wouldn't hurt would it? More screams emitted and Sora's head quickly whirled around. "We'll talk about this later. The town is in trouble!"
With Donald and Goofy at her heels Sora took the bridge into the town where people were running for their homes locking the doors and fighting off the barrage of pirate invaders.
Further down the road they spotted the pirates carting off a young woman. A young man pursuited them only to be stopped in his tracks by a gaggle of heartless. "What are they?" The man whispered slowly backing away.
"It's the heartless, watch out!" Donald shouted worried the man might be attacked he jumped in front launching a ball of fire. Sora ran up beside him.
"Leave this to us! Go save your friend!" Heartless, she didn't need a drive form to take these guys on. Though she encountered some new types, some sort of canons who could light up the ground underneath her feet and explode, the battle ended fairly quickly and left a very heavy impression on the young man.
He complimented her skills much as the others in the worlds before had. It was a testament to her training that she was continuing to improve more and more despite the dramatic increase of difficulty in battles.
During introductions the man introduced himself as William, call me Will, Turner.
"Were you able to save your friend."
"No, but I must save her. Will you help me, Sora?"
"Of course!"
"The pirates were headed to the docks, we must hurry!" Will lead the way, the town was a maze of wood and explosions perfect for traps that heartless and pirates could use to sneak attack. It delayed their arrival and unfortunately by the time they arrived on the platform the Barbossa and the other pirates were already out into open ocean.
"Oh No, we're too late! They kidnapped Miss Swan and took her to their ship. Now they've sailed, and I'll never be able to find her!"
"Then she's long gone mate," a new voice sounded from above, a wiggling spry man strolling to the edge of the Interceptor's deck to peer down at the crew below. "The Black Pearl is nigh uncatchable. Best find yourself another girl, mate." He gave wry smile and walked about the grand vessel checking it for sailing capabilities. "
"You," Will turned around and walked to the gangplank of the ship. "What are you doing aboard The Interceptor? She's off limits to civilians."
"Ah, fortunate that I'm going to commandeer her then. She'll make a fine pirate ship."
Sora halted her inner child coming out causing those baby blues to sparkle with excitement. "A pirate!"
"Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please." Jack introduced himself turning to the crew and tipping his head forward a little in introduction. Sora had to hold in a little girlish squeel, her feet itching to run up the board and join the Captain aboard.
It seemed she wasn't the only one with that idea, because Will rubbed his chin and offered a deal. "Take me with you, help me hunt down the Pearl and find miss Swan."
"If you're after winning fair lady's heart, you'll have to do it on your own. I see no profit in it for me mate." Jack countered in a huff.
"oh, C'mon captain!" Sora pleaded her bottom lip pouting cutely causing Jack to twitch a little uncomfortably. He wasn't all that good with kids, let alone girls. In his profession women were only good for one thing.
"Are you sure you can sail her, all on your?" Will compromised.
"You've a point there." Jack admitted defeat, and let the crew aboard.
"Thanks, Sparrow."
"Captain Sparrow!" Jack corrected.
~The Interceptor~
The ship was just amazing! She'd played pirates with Riku and Kairi before on the island with buried treasure and their little dingy boats and wooden swords but nothing beat the real thing. She ran from stem to stern checking out the canons, the sails, tools, weapons, wheels, until finally she approached the helm where Jack stood tall holding out a compass with his heading. She admired him from head to toe. He was everything she imagined a pirate would be. Witty, scarred, scruffy, but with the charm of an adventurer. He carried all the coolest pirate accessories; sword and scabbard, a pistol with a single shot, beads and charms, sturdy boots and even a couple rings across his thick dirty digits.
"Stop staring, kid, you're making me mighty uncomfortable."
"Huh?" Sora's head lifted up. "Oh, Sorry!" She stepped away and pointed outward. "On our way then!" She quickly averted her gaze and put her eyes back to the horizon. The skies were grey, and the night seemed everlasting. For a moment she thought she caught the wind rippled black sails of the Pearl… but it shrouded quickly into the fog.
They were ambushed on deck by heartless and a couple undead pirates. The attack seemed to come out of no where and left them to defend the ship as Will kept them on course. Jack was pretty good in a fight, he was a pirate after all. His sword skills kept many distracted and wounded leaving her and the other two to finish them off with their "otherworldly" magicks.
The battle was finished just as soon as it came. It seemed a pointless effort to delay them, and because Sora expected more she kept her eyes open for any signs of trouble.
"Why are you so fixated on that compass?" she heard Will ask Jack.
"It is the item that will lead us to Isla de Muerta, where Barbossa is heading, savvy?"
"How do you know this?" Suspicious of Jacks intel Will pressed on coming closer to their new pirate alli.
"Ah lad, because once Barbossa and I were both after the same treasure, Aztec Gold, hidden upon the Isla de Muerta." His voice became angry, and Sora couldn't help but peek over her shoulder at the two older men. "He turned traitor and stole my ship."
"So," she finally piped in. "He's after the treasure?"
"Treasure is already his, lass, and so's the curse upon it." He pinched his skin and Sora was reminded of the gruesome fleshless bodies of the pirates they encountered and her stomach did a queasy roll.
"So the reason why he's going to the island, and probably for kidnapping Elizabeth is to break the curse?"
"Aye, you are a smart lass. As well a brave one" He recalled her jumping head first into the battle of goons they'd encountered a moment ago. His compliment had her grinning ear to ear.
"We must hurry then." Will demanded. "We must save, Miss Swan!"
"Aye, aye, all ahead full then!"
~Isla De Muerta~
The island didn't seem all that deadly. A large rock in the middle of no where with no real skull or scary shapes carved into them. So when it was decided that her Donald and Goofy would stay on the ship she couldn't help but pout.
"Aww, why can't I go too?"
"I need someone young and brave to watch our vessel. This task is given only to the bravest of pirates, you should feel honored I'm trusting you with this important feat."
She crossed her arms not believing him a bit… but it seemed Jack had a plan so it was probably best to do as he said. Besides he IS the Captain. "Alright."
"There's a good girl." He gave her head a pat and trotted off with Will beside him leaving her to sigh and slump back onto the ship. She sat on the side kicking her legs back and forth staring at the water below.
"You do know he conned you right?" Donald grumbled.
"Yeah, but he IS the captain Donald. If he had a plan I didn't want to screw it up. This is their world… no meddling, remember?"
"Yeah, but it's not just the pirates in there." Goofy pointed out. "We have to consider the heartless. Will and Jack won't know how to handle them.
Sora's legs stopped and her eyes slowly widened. "Oh, you're right. We better go help!" Convinced what they were doing was the right thing Sora jumped back on deck and ran down the gangplank with her friends.
They made their way across the long rocky surface, and sure enough right at the opening they were attacked by Heartless. Sora felt infinitely better about her decision at their arrival and let her keyblade fly, the tip digging in and breaking apart the dark matter.
One tried to jump her from behind but she quickly sent out a ring of fire protecting herself and sending it aflame. She heard footsteps coming up the walk, and expecting pirates she made her way forward ready to take them head on… but found Will and Elizabeth running towards her.
"Hey! You guys are alright!"
"Yes, but we must hurry, they're after us!"
"Go then," Sora pointed back at the ship. "Get the ship ready to sail, we'll buy you some time. Just let us know when we're good to go!"
"Right, we'll light a signal fire!" He took Elizabeth's hand, the woman meeting Sora's determined eyes before running with Will. She turned her head to Will her brow raising.
"Was that a girl? What could she possibly do against a bunch of murderous pirates?"
"Trust me, Elizabeth. Sora and her friends can handle themselves. I've seen them in action, they know what they're doing."
Another Chapter down, more chapters to go. I'm binge writing so I'll be releasing several chapters in a row to make up for my lack of attention. Hopefully they won't seemed too rushed.
Chapter 10: The worst pirate I've ever seen