Sora and Goofy had pretty good chemistry. Goofy was pretty cool and super encouraging. He had much more stamina than Sora expected, barely having to take a potion after being knocked around for a while. His attacks were powerful and he had Sora's back, no questions asked. He answered all of Sora's questions and was probably one of the only ones that weren't annoyed by his constant questioning. He'd been compared to a child several times, but Goofy never considered him one. He was sympathetic to Sora's situation and was patient with him.
It felt like forever before the forest area was cleared. Sora wasn't sure he could call it a forest. It was just gigantic blades of grass, some lilypads, and a tree. Sora and Goofy high-fived. Sora suggested checking out the other areas to see if Riku needed any help.
As they climbed into the leaves to go through a hole in the tree trunk, Sora sensed them. Nobodies. But this world didn't have Nobodies. Especially none of that caliber. Sora pulled Goofy out of the way as a yellow, electrified kunai shot past them. As he whirled around, Keyblade in hand, the blonde girl was suddenly in front of him. Static charged around her knives as she smirked at them.
"Larxene, be nice." A voice called from below. The woman snickered as she flipped off the branch, landing behind the man with pink hair. His smile was confident as he beckoned to Sora and Goofy. "Will you two join us? We want to chat."
Sora held his Keyblade at the ready, glancing to Goofy. He shook his head. Sora wasn't sure what he was trying to convey. In a low voice, he said, "Goofy, go get Riku."
This was their chance. Sora leapt from the branch as Goofy quickly ran off to find Riku. How many places could he be? Sora didn't expect Goofy to take too long. He'd have to buy some time with the Nobodies until Riku got here.
"What do you want?" Sora asked, slinging his blade onto his shoulder.
"You," the man replied simply.
Oh, boy. Maybe he shouldn't have sent Goofy off.
Sora laughed. "And why's that? So I can join your Organization? I don't think so. I mean, I'm not even a Nobody." He pounded a fist to his chest. "Heart's still beating."
The girl laughed. "No. We aren't interested in being in the Organization either."
Oh. Wait. What?
"You'd make the perfect puppet to overthrow the Organization." Marluxia mused. "Two Keyblades? You have just the power we need."
Hold up. Back up, rewind, stop. "Wait… you want to overthrow the Organization?" Sora held up a hand, trying to understand what they were trying to insinuate. "Don't you, you know, have the same goals or whatever?"
"No," Marluxia and Larxene replied together. Marluxia shook his head. "We don't see anything wrong with being Nobodies. We prefer it that way. Emotions only get in the way. We don't see much of a use for them."
"And we can't exactly leave the Organization," the girl continued. "They'd find us and turn us to Dusks." She shrugged. "So, we'll just take over instead."
"You guys are nuts," Sora told them flatly. He glanced around. Still no Riku or Goofy. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold them off. He noticed Larxene was not too happy about his comment. While he wasn't looking, a static charged knife came at him. It was easy to reflect it. He didn't even have to bat an eye. The kunai ricocheted off his Reflect, clattering to the ground a few feet away. Sora turned back to them. "So, you want me to be your puppet for this grand scheme? Hm. I think I'll pass."
"We weren't asking." Marluxia brandished his scythe, cherry blossoms falling to his feet. "Try not to damage him too much, Larxene."
"No promises."
Two on one? Totally not fair. Now Sora understood how Axel might have felt back at Castle Oblivion. Sora could take them. He summoned Spellbinder, hoping the little boost in magic might help him out. Man, he wished he'd worn some thunder-resistant armor. Well, who could see into the future, hm? He wouldn't be alone for long. Riku would be here soon.
Marluxia swiped his blade, pink energy shooting towards Sora. He flipped over them, only to be met with a surge of lightning. It hurt, but not more than the lightning he'd been subjected to before. Before he could recover, Larxene was on him, her kunai cutting through his clothing and into his flesh. Marluxia swung his blade—Sora barely had time to jump back. The two were quick. They were fast and never giving him time to recover. Marluxia by himself wasn't too hard. But with Larxene by his side, they certainly were formidable.
Sora tried to keep his distance, throwing magic attacks at them. Thundaga did nothing for either of them, which Sora learned the hard way. Larxene brushed it off easy, reveling in it as if it fed her hunger. Marluxia made a quick recovery from Sora's attacks. Sora danced away from Larxene as she shot herself at him. Flower petals met him, cutting through him.
"Get serious!" the girl yelled, frustrated. "You aren't even trying!"
Sora chuckled. "You don't want me to get serious. Believe me."
"All talk, no bite!" she threw her blades at him that he deflected. When they shot back at her, she caught them expertly. Sora huffed, wondering what was talking Riku so long. He might actually have to get serious with these guys. He didn't want to have to show his true potential with a couple of rebellious Nobodies.
Even so, he stepped it up a notch. He moved quickly, dashing behind Marluxia to slash at him with both blades. He jumped over him to meet Larxene and unleash a flurry of attacks, knocking her back. He threw Kingdom Key at Marluxia as the man raised himself up for an attack, effectively knocking him out of the air. Back to Larxene, he cast Stop on her. It would only last a few moments, so he needed to make the time he had good. Sora slide to Marluxia, catching Kingdom Key to knock Marluxia in the air. Sora leapt up to meet him, slamming him back to the earth.
Maybe they'd get it by now. He was not one to trifle with. He'd trained under Master Aqua his whole life, the only living and active Keyblade Master around. He had immeasurable power. He knew how to handle himself, even against these two jerks. At least, he thought he did.
Riku finally showed up. Riku and Goofy ran towards them, Sora grinning. Good, now he wasn't alone.
"Ah, ah." Marluxia wagged his finger, a smirk sliding across his features. "You two aren't part of this."
A barrier sparked as Riku ran into it, pushing him back and shocking him. Goofy slid to a halt, his shield protecting him from the electricity that ran through the invisible barrier. Oh, good, Sora thought. The cavalry was basically useless.
Sora slide to Marluxia, clashing blades with the man. Larxene threw kunai at him that he blocked with his other blade. He whirled the one by Marluxia and thrust into his gut, pushing him back. Sora threw Spellbinder at Larxene who knocked it out of the way.
He heard Riku and Goofy shouting at him. The worlds were garbled in the clash of battle, magic flying around him. He could make out the tone, though. Worry. Encouragement. A strong tone that suggested he should be taking orders. He could take a beating, but he felt his energy draining. When he felt three kunai lodge into his back, he decided this needed to end quickly.
The kunai sparked. That hurt. Then, lightning coursed through him. That really hurt. A beam of pink energy knocked him off his feet, throwing him across the field. It left him stunned for a moment, his blades slipping from his hands. Marluxia and Larxene laughed, coming together somewhere behind him.
Sora slowly got to his feet, the Keyblades vanishing. He turned to them, feeling the metal rub against his ribs and shoulder blade. He needed to get them out. He grit his teeth, pulling both of his hands up to each opponent. Behind them, Keyblades appeared.
"That hurt!" he told them, pulling his hands to him. The Keyblades lodges into the backs of the Nobodies, knocking them off their feet, dazing them as their heads met metal and magic flowing from the blades.
While he had a moment, he reached behind him to pull the kunai out. Two were easy to reach, the third being a little more difficult. He arched his back, feeling the warm blood drench his shirt as he tried to pull the third out. He noticed Marluxia trying to get to his feet. Sora summoned some Keyblades above the man. "Stay down." He ordered, forcing the Keyblades through the man's coat and into the ground. "Gimme a second to get this out. Ah, it hurts."
Sora finally reached it, pulling it from his back. He was lucky none of them hit his spine. He wasn't sure what he'd do if that happened. Maybe just fly everywhere? He didn't give much time to consider his luck. He needed to end this. His vision was growing dark and the blood growing cold. It made him shiver. Sora walked over to the two Nobodies, Larxene still out and Marluxia watching him with wide eyes.
Sora motioned for the Keyblades to raise off of him. He stood in a very unsteady fighting stance, unable to put any strength behind it. "Come on, get up. I'm not ending you without a fight. That's just not fair."
The man began to grin. His smile stretching so wide, it was almost scary. "You will be my puppet yet, boy. With this much power—" Two Keyblades flew at him, sufficiently silencing him. Sora didn't have time for monologues. He just wanted to fight. Marluxia got up, throwing himself back into the fray.
He was barely able to touch Sora. Sora kept a circle of Keyblades around him to block, his Reflect growing low. They blocked him from attacks from behind, which was good. Those flower petals were like razors.
It ended swiftly. Marluxia teleported behind him. Sora sensed him, quickly twisting to grab one of the Keyblades around him and sliced upward. The man flew backward, landing with a thump. Darkness rose from him. That was it. He was returning to the Darkness from whence he came.
He didn't have time to worry about Marluxia and his talking. Larxene was still here, albeit, very unconscious. Sora crossed over to her, casting Cure on her. She needed to wake up. He wasn't going to put her down like a sick dog. If he was going to fight her, it would be a fair-ish fight. She groggily looked up at him.
"Get up and fight me," he heard his voice growing weak. He was growing tired and maybe should have used Cure on himself and just waited for her to wake up. His magic was out, but he still had some strength left.
She was quick to jump to her feet. She looked around, noticing Marluxia fading, reaching for them. Sora could see the rage building up in her—or rather, her pretend-rage. "Die!" she threw kunai at his face. He deflected it with the blade in his hand.
Almost there, he told himself. The fight with her was annoying. She was fast, could teleport, and her kunai instantly returned to her when needed. It was like a never-ending supply of throwing knives. Sora found it hard to get close to her. She kept her distance now; probably knowing Sora was out of magic and had to get close. Did she forget he was good with long-range attacks? It seemed clear to him that she was out for blood now, no longer caring about Marluxia's original plan. She wanted to kill him.
Sora manipulated his blades to attack her. When she appeared, a group of Keyblades followed her. They knocked her out of the air, blocked her attacks, and hit her at all angles.
It was finally over. She dropped, her knives falling to the ground. She looked at her hands as darkness rose from them, denial in her voice. "No. No, no. This can't be happening. No!"
Sora offered her a sad smile as she looked up at him. He didn't feel good about this. It was self-defense, but they were so human. He felt horrible that he had to put an end to them. "Sorry."
She made a noise of frustration, her form fading. Sora's reflexes were slow. He'd lost too much blood. He didn't catch on when she threw one last electrified kunai at him. Thump. Zt! His body jerked as he fell backward.
He expected to hit the ground—hard. But he found himself in strong arms that caught him before he fell. He grinned up at Riku, glad he was looking out for him. Sora reached up, pulling the kunai from his shoulder. Ugh, it hurt to pull them out.
"You idiot!" Riku yelled as he cast Cure on him. Warmth spread through Sora's body and he felt his wounds shrink. They weren't gone, but maybe they stopped bleeding. Hopefully.
"Sorry, I know I'm supposed to hold back," Sora's voice had gone hoarse. It was too much to talk right now. "But they started it."
"You're worried about that?!" Riku huffed. "You could have died! How would I explain that to Master Aqua?"
Sora laughed. Oh, it hurt! "I can't die just yet. I'm not a Keyblade Master yet." Even with Riku's cure spell, the fight took a lot out of him. His eyelids felt heavy as he looked from Riku to Goofy. They both had worry in their eyes, but what could he do to stop them when he was just so tired? "Can we go back to the ship? I really need to sleep. And maybe drink some potions. But more importantly, I need to sleep."
Riku grunted, asking Goofy to help him out. Sora found himself on the boy's back, hitching a ride. He would have protested had he found he couldn't really move his legs. His toes could wiggle, so he was proud of that. He wasn't paralyzed.
"Sora, that was really brave of you." Goofy said as they made their way back to the ship. "You could have ended them without a second thought when you had them down and out. But you asked them for a fair fight."
"I guess," Sora breathed, leaning his cheek on Riku's shoulder to face the royal guard. "I don't like the idea of a slaughter, you know?"
"That almost got you killed," Riku said firmly.
"I knew I could do it," Sora smiled. "My friends are my power… and I have a lot of them backing me up."
I'm sorry guys. I feel like I'm crazy bad at fight scenes? I haven't written any in a super long time. I hope this was okay. Please tell me if it was okay. I def need that confidence boost if I'm going to continue writing because there's going to be more fights and if this one was halfway decent, then I won't be half-assing the next ones.
It kind of hurts me to kill Larxene 'cause I kind of really love her & heart ;
I think this was a good thing to show Sora's power, but not be like "He's so OP, he can take out two Nobodies without blinking." When being double-teamed, it's hard for him to keep up. Also, I love me some beat-up and bloody Sora.
Thanks for reading!