Disclaimer: Not mine, yay!
Chapter 33- Too Much to Let Go
Sora, Donald and Goofy had been ambushed as they entered Captain Hook's quarters. Sora stuck his Keyblade out in front of him, blocking the attack from Shadow Sora. He wished Peter hadn't of taken off with Wendy. The Heartless creature was almost as skilled as Sora was.
'You're in for a big surprise, Sora.' whispered Shadow Sora into his counterpart's mind.
'What are you on about?' asked Sora, leaping out of the way of another attack. Shadow Sora faltered as Donald hit him from behind with a fireball. Expertly, Sora delivered a final blow to the Heartless as he was in mid-air.
Shadow Sora shuddered as he disappeared down a dark hole. 'You'll see… She's gone from you again.'
Sora slumped down onto the ground from the battle and pulled a potion out from his pocket. He downed it in an instance and felt immediately refreshed.
"Here's the door that leads back onto the deck." said Donald.
"Ahyuk. I think I can hear someone outside." Goofy put an ear to the door.
"Let's go then," Sora frowned and burst through the door. Outside they came face-to-face with Riku. He held Kairi in his arms. Sora held his Keyblade up. "Put her down Riku, and tell me where Iji is."
Riku pretended to look surprised. "Oh, she's right here. Aren't you, Iji?" He quickly motioned behind him.
Sora nearly fell down when he saw her. She seemed to almost blend in with the darkness, melting out of it only when she stepped forward. Iji's eyes were bordering on being black pits of emptiness.
Iji smiled sadly. "I'm sorry, Sora, but I love him too much to let him go." She sidled up to Riku and hung onto one of his arms.
"We'll be waiting for you at Hollow Bastion, Sora." Riku said and a portal appeared below him, dragging him, Iji and Kairi inside.
Sora leapt forward, but too late as the portal closed. He slammed a fist on the wood beneath him. "Damn it, Riku. And just when you can't go any lower too."
"Quite a codfish that Riku, but he does seem to have his way with the ladies, don't you say?" laughed Hook as he emerged from one of the platforms above. He held a lantern up. Tinkerbell furiously pounded on the glass. "Now, hand over the Keyblade or prepare to walk the plank! Unless you want to see your little pixie friend hurt! Be glad I'm merciful, unlike the Heartless."
Donald and Goofy jumped at Captain Hook in attempt to make him drop Tinkerbell's cage. A horde of pirate Heartless popped out of the air and protected him, pushing Sora's fighting companions out of the way.
"Hand it over, boy." growled Hook. The pirate Heartless advanced on Sora.
Quickly, Sora unsummoned the Keyblade and backed up onto the plank. Below, a loud ticking noise drifted up from the ocean. Captain Hook shivered at the sound and looked overboard. He gave a frightened yell and ran into his cabin. Sora looked down too and saw a large green crocodile waiting beneath him with his jaws wide open. The Heartless advanced again and Sora stepped back, further and further down the plank until he was at the end. He turned to face the sea and the sky.
A voice that sounded much Peter Pan's whispered. 'Fly, Sora! Just believe and you can do it!'
Sora closed his eyes and jumped off. Falling, he thought about when Iji fought the Wind Titan and flew for the first time. Golden sparkles surrounded his body and lifted him up into the air, just inches from the crocodile's hungry jaws.
A hand flew down and snatched Tinkerbell's cage from Smee. Donald and Goofy pounced the pirate Heartless, defeating them in a surprise attack. Peter Pan grinned at Smee and in a blink of an eye pulled the portly pirate's hat down over his face and wrapped him in rope. He gave thumbs up to Sora and landed softly by the door. He knocked.
"Is that you, Smee?" asked a worried-voice Hook.
Peter held his nose and imitated Smee's voice. "Aye, Cap'n. They walked the plank, every last one of them!"
A sound of glee erupted from the cabin and Captain Hook rushed out. He blinked. Where was Smee? Suddenly he yelped as something sharp was poked into his backside. He whirled around and saw Peter Pan, Sora, Donald and Goofy laughing on the ground.
"Pe-Peter Pan! Arg! Blast you!" Hook took out his cutlass sword.
Peter twirled his dagger around and aimed it at Hook. "Are you ready to make a splash, you old codfish? Now it's your turn to walk the plank!"
*****
Hook screamed as he ran away from his impending doom with the crocodile. Peter Pan laughed as he watched.
Goofy rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Uh, Kairi couldn't wake up, so maybe she's really lost her…" Donald clamped a hand over his mouth and pointed at Sora, who sat on one of the wooden rails.
Peter floated over to him. "Sora?"
Sora looked up at the sky and smiled. "I still can't believe it. I really flew! Wait till I tell Kairi! I wonder if she'll believe me. Probably not."
Peter put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "You can bring her to Neverland sometime. Then she can try it herself."
"If you believe, you can do anything, right?" asked Sora. Peter nodded. "I'll find Kairi again. I know I will. There's so much I want to her… About flying, the pirates, and everything else that's happened. And I'll find Iji too. She'd love to know I flew too."
"Sora, I don't know if Iji would want to come back with us." Donald interrupted.
Sora spun around to look at the magician. "Of course she'll want to come back with us! Why wouldn't she?"
Peter suddenly sighed. "She's in love with Riku, that's why. Just like how I like Wendy. Even if she went to the end of the universe, I'd still follow her no matter what. That's how much I care for her. And Iji must feel the same way about Riku."
Sora's shoulders slumped. "It's not fair. We were getting along so well, and we were finding her memories more easily than before. Riku's such a jerk now. I don't understand."
"There's gotta be a reason for it." commented Peter.
The Keyblade Master jumped up. "Well, we'll just have to go and ask her what's up then!"
Peter was interrupted by Tinkerbell. She flew around his head excitedly. "What's that Tink? What about the clock tower? You say there's something there?"
"Let's go then." said Sora.
*****
Riku gasped for air as he emerged from the portal he had opened. He fell to his knees and put Kairi on the ground. Iji had a look of concern on her face as she helped him to his feet again and helped to support his weight.
Maleficent leered down in disapproval. "It was reckless to bring them here without as least using a vessel. Remember, relying too heavily on the dark powers could cost you your Heart."
"He won't lose his Heart. Not while I'm around." Iji glared at the witch.
Maleficent raised an eyebrow. "So you decided to rejoin us once more, Iji? I'm not sure if it is a pleasure to have you here again or not, especially after you deserted us before."
Iji was about to say something when an enraged roar echoed throughout the castle.
"What was that?" coughed Riku, getting his breath back.
Maleficent turned her back to them and waved a hand. "A castaway. Though his world perished, his Heart did not. When you two took the princess from his castle, he apparently followed her through sheer force of will. But fear not. No harm will come to you. He is no match for your power."
"My power?" asked Riku.
The witch smiled slyly. "Yes, the untapped power that lies within you. Now, child, it's time you awakened that power, and realised your full potential!" She raised her staff up high and laughed as she finished.
Riku's body started to glow green. He shuddered in pain and grabbed onto Iji harder.
"Riku…" she whispered worriedly.
Riku smiled at Iji as the pain subsided. He could feel it, the new power inside him. He lent closer to her ear. "I'll protect you with these powers, Iji. I promise. We're meant to be together after all."
Iji hugged Riku softly. "Yes, we are. I'd even follow you to the end of the world."
*****
Sora sighed. Traverse town was so peaceful compared to the other worlds. He hoped everyone else was okay on those other worlds.
"Sora!" exclaimed Donald.
Goofy wagged a finger. "Now, just remember what Donald said to ya: no frowning, no sad faces."
The Keyblade Master felt irritated by their mood. "How can you be so cheerful? There's still no sign of your king. Aren't you worried?"
"Aw, phooey." commented Donald.
Goofy laughed. "The King told us to go out and find the Key Bearer, and we found you! So as long as we stick together, it'll all work out okay. Ya just gotta believe in yourself, that's all."
"Just believe…" Sora repeated in a breath.
'I believe in you.' whispered Kairi's voice.
Sora closed his eyes as he felt himself be drawn towards a bright light. He opened them and found he was floating in a library. An old woman sat in a rocking chair, knitting. She placed her knitting needles down and held her arms out as a small red haired girl jumped into her lap. The girl smiled as the chair rocked.
"Tell me a story, grandma?" asked the girl.
The old woman lent back in her chair. "Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of the Great Light. Everyone loved the light. But unfortunately, people then began to fight over the light, trying to get closest to it. And then families rose up against other families and tried to claim the Great Light for themselves. That was how darkness was born into their Hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing everyone's Hearts and covering the land. Even the Great Light could not pierce the darkness. And then one day a terrible thing happened. A child destroyed the Great Light using a powerful weapon nobody had ever seen before."
"Why did the child destroy the light?" the girl asked.
"That child was the first one to have their Heart taken by one of those who were of the darkness," explained the woman. "When that child destroyed the Great Light though, some of it was left behind in the form of fragments. The fragments hid within the Hearts of children that survived. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light of the Great Light sleeps deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will be reborn. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light and the darkness will never defeat you. Your Heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away." The grandma paused. "Do you understand, Kairi?"
"Kairi?" asked Sora as the room disappeared and he soared back to Traverse Town.
"What's the matter?" asked Goofy as Sora opened his eyes.
"Um, nothing…" Sora said hastily. 'Kairi… Did you call me?' Sora thought. 'The story your grandma told… that was about Iji, wasn't it? I'm sure it was.'
Cid grumpily trudged back to his corner. "K, I installed the gummi. But ya know what? That there place is crawling with Heartless. Don' say I didn' warn ya though. Oh, and if you were in'erested, I just wanted to tell ya that there's a new tournament at the Colosseum. You might wanna stop by and train before heading off ta Hollow Bastion."
*****
Hercules wiped his brow and grinned. "Wow! And I didn't even hold back!"
Sora grinned back. "Now I finally know what you mean about strength of the Heart. Mine comes from my friends." During the battle, he swore he could almost hear Kairi cheering for him to win.
"Sora!" exclaimed Goofy, pointing at the Keyblade in his hand.
"Huh?" Sora looked down. The Keyblade was glowing. He could almost feel it steer itself towards the large rock cube that Phil had once asked them to move. "There must be a Keyhole underneath."
"Here, I'll help!" offered Hercules, picking up the cube like it was made out of foam. A shining Keyhole emerged from the ground.
"Time to seal the Colosseum!" Sora pointed the Keyblade and a ray of light shot out into the Keyhole. A click resounded, confirming the action.
"At last Olympus is safe from the Heartless." Phil nodded approvingly.