Battle of the Mages

Come Together

"So, you were looking for me," Sora checked, pointing a finger straight at his nose. He no longer wore gloves, as he found they held no importance to him as they did to Tai. Her hands, so white with scars, reflected the endless amount of pain of a mysterious and unknown past. To Sora, it seemed the longer she stared at her hands, the more fear she showed in her eyes. Just like he gave her his promise, he gave her the only pair of gloves he owned, to hide the scars from creeping eyes.

"Uh huh," answered the goof. Leon and Yuffie were there now, too, now that the giant blocks of ice had melted. Yuffie had been sitting next to Tai, checking everything but her spelling and math skills. Her hand looked for a fever, a pulse, and any spots in her throat; much like an over curious doctor who needed to know if anything was wrong. Yuffie didn't have a flashlight to shine in the kid's eyes, but she forced the lids open wide enough for light to get in and dilate her pupils if she wasn't on any drugs. Aside from electric burns and a fever, she was perfectly fine.

"Well, not you exactly," Leon said. He crossed his arms, staring down at Sora, not menacingly, but it was hard not to stare someone down if they were so much shorter. "They were looking for the Wielder of the Keyblade. Anyone would have done, as long as they bore a Keyblade."

"And we found you!" the duck quacked. "And now that we've found you -"

"We can go to other worlds to destroy the Darkness!" the goof cut in, right next to the duck's face. The duck pushed his head away, looking at Sora rather expectantly while he waited kindly for an answer. Sora shoved his hands in his pockets, staring up into the starry sky. There was a long drawn out silence while the duck and the goof waited. When Sora finally brought his gaze down their level, he turned around instead to look at Tai.

"I wonder if we can find Kairi, Riku, and Kylie."

"You can!"

"Really!" Sora spun to stare at this duck character, a bit with disbelief and a lot of hope. There was almost a smile on his lips, and yet it wasn't allowed to grow. Halfway through the process, the smile turned upside down and Sora hung his head. "But...what if we don't find them?"

Will you?

"You will," said Tai unexpectedly. She looked up, with the baby, childish eyes that an eleven-year-old should have. Yuffie looked up as well, shaking what should be a bottle of elixir for Tai's fever and her burns. On wobbly legs, Tai stood, facing Sora with her hands at her sides. Even when she looked so childish, her eyes were always still so distant. With no memories of her own, her mind should be more than just a blank. "If you believe, you can do anything, right?"

"Right!" Sora agreed. At her, he smiled, knowing that even with a consciously blank mind, there was at least something working at a subconscious level at the back of her mind. It was just there she didn't look, but it always came out of her mouth. "You ready to go then?"

"She's coming?" the duck asked, frowning. Sora looked at him and nodded, reaching out to Tai who didn't refuse to go to him, she just didn't because she was focused more on what Yuffie was giving her for her fever and burns.

"There's no way I'm leaving without her. She's just a kid anyway."

"But -"

"Donald!" Leon started. Donald, the duck, was shocked into attention, with his back straight and his arms tightly at his sides. Leon brushed his fingers through his hair first, then calmly defending the boy, said, "Let her go with you. She's a good fighter, even for a kid. She'd be a good help."

"Awright..." muttered Donald reluctantly. But he wouldn't stay reluctant for long. The goof stepped forward, holding out his hand out in front of Sora, smiling such a goofy smile that made Sora almost laugh.

"Now that everything's settled, I'm Goofy!" he introduced, finally after minutes of waiting.

"Donald!" Donald chirped, slapping his hand down right on top of Goofy's.

"And that one's Sora, and That one's -"

"Tai."

"Oh, you know her?"

"Asukki..." Riku turned away his gaze to face the golden haired girl right next to him; the girl who found him when he woke up in some strange world. That was her, and the very same girl who kept harassing Sora and Tai just chapters before, and now they both were sitting on a roof. She always had a dancing smile on her lips, and bright, devilish minty eyes that just overflowed mischief. But, even though she was clearly impish, her outfit would suggest she was colorblind. Nothing she wore matched in color, but all the colors were specifically solid, and each color represented one of every element anyway. Maybe she did match?

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding, you silly boy, you," she giggled as quickly as she always had, "For three years you lived with her, you did, I know, I know," she finished, then Asukki cooed, leaning back on her hands and letting her now-braided golden hair fall behind her shoulders. Her minty eyes tilted up to the sky, she let the world be quiet for just a little while longer, until it was just about time to be mysterious. "So, five of the Mages had come together, but only four of them are going on a journey. This is depressing."

"Why?" Riku asked. He didn't know her very well. Like before, he had only just met her not too long ago. After the islands were destroyed, he woke up on a new and strange world. The first face that met him was Asukki's, grinning as playfully as if she were playing a childish game. She knew about the Mages, and why? She was one herself; something Riku found out the hard way. Once he walked in on her in the bathroom, and she had such a strong reaction, Riku was left unconscious for the rest of the day. Actually, he's still not sure what happened that day.

"Because, because, it'll just take that much longer to get the little dears all together, now wouldn't it?" she answered. Riku dropped his head forward, letting his hair fall over his crossed legs. This he knew. If all the mages were to be together, it would just be easier if they found each other and stuck together.

"What are you planning anyway?" he wondered, looking up at the minty-eyed girl. A finger found its way to her lips, a hum vibrating the discolored nail. Her nails were colored, too, yes, in the same colors that mismatched her clothes. There were eight colors and ten fingers, and those unfortunate to have a color were left uncolored. One was a pinky finger; the other was the opposite hand's index finger.

Asukki stood up without answering the question. It was something she would or could not answer. Knowing Asukki, it would be something she would not - as opposed to could not - answer. She had her mysterious ways, just as everyone else did.

"Let's go home," she told him, raising a hand in front of her.

"I have another question, though."

"Can you ask it at home?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to answer it here, and explain there?"

Wouldn't it?

"Awright, what is it?"

"Those two, Donald and Goofy, they're Mages, I understand...but what's their elements?"

Asukki looked at him, removing her hand from the air in front of her so she could turn to face Riku. She didn't want to stand and answer him, so crouching without need, she slid onto her stomach and peeked over the building.

"The four primary elements a girls," began her roundabout answer. "That includes wind, fire, water, and earth. As both of them are male, and there are only two elements left besides light and darkness, what do you think their elements are?"

"I know what they are," Riku spat, standing this time. It was his turn to hold out his hand into the air. Maybe he was ready to go to, maybe he just wanted to go before Asukki. "I just wanted to know which element which had specifically, is that so hard?"

"No need to be fussy," grouched a put-off Asukki. She stood once more, pushing herself off the top of the roof and hopping to her feet. She held her hand out next to Riku, ready to help if he needed help. He was still new to his magic after all, he could need help. "Donald's starting element was ice, but he is the wisest out of all the mages, but also the shortest-tempered. His magic also includes fire, lightning, wind, and earth respectively, but he hasn't learned everything yet."

Only half-listening, Riku snapped black-gloved fingers. Instantaneously, a swirl of black, purple, and electric-blue formed and grew to a man-sized hole between time and space. The only way to get from one place to the next without wasting time was to create a tear between time and space, resulting in what they called a Dark Portal. It was part of Riku's magic. Asukki grinned, her minty eyes flashing with pleasure. The boy did know how to control his element the way he should.

"Riku, the Mage of Darkness," she breathed. "Before you, I dare not go. Please lead me, lest I be lost?" Riku rolled his eyes, but indeed allowed this game to be played. Taking her hand, he led her, as she requested, through the darkness of the portal, not releasing her hand before they had arrived at their destination: the other world.

I don't understand why she calls this place home. She hates it as much as I do.

So dreary and blue-grey, this world had no color to it except for the castle. That castle was the one place that stood on the world. Its color was gold and brown against the blue-grey the rest of the world had to offer. Nobody actually lived here; nobody that was alive lived here. Just the only person who owned the castle, and Asukki, and now Riku was there, too.

What's so great about it here?

"Riku, Riku, let go of my hand, can you, now," babbled a mixed up Asukki. Riku gasped, quickly removing his hand from her as she had requested, or not. She was smiling, just as she always did, and took his hand back, stalking up to the long, double doors that led to the inside of the castle.

The Entrance Hall was empty, but Asukki could tell already that people had been here. Who, she knew quite well, but abhorred their visits. The floor was dirtied with the filth of their feet, shoes, or whatever it was they walked on. Drawing her breath, Asukki shut her eyes tightly to keep from screaming out loud into the air.

"Riku!" she pronounced, falsely cheerfully, "The guests have arrived for din-din, yes they have. I have to mop here, I do, so please, please, set up the kitchen, will you, please?" she asked. Riku watched as she cranked her head forcefully to look at him. As much as she hated to ask for his assistance, she loved it. They were both here for the same reason - a reason which Riku still had yet to understand - and the only one doing any work around the castle was still only Asukki. There had to be a break somewhere, she wasn't a scullery maid, but the owner of the castle preferred Riku.

"Be quick, okay?" he told her, before disappearing, in quite a different way than the first. Inching toward a dark shadow, he slipped out of sight, and disappeared completely. Asukki, mildly put-out by her job, stalked to a hidden broom closet, removing what happened to be a mop, and proceeded to clean the mess the owner's guests had made by simply walking in; a job she was expected to do every day as soon as she came back.

"Dakara yakkai na..."

So messy...

"Yuffie, is Tai ready to go yet?" complained an over eager Sora. Yuffie was still taking check-ups on Tai to make sure she was in tip-top shape. Why, Sora had no idea. But Tai was little, and prone to fevers. She got them at least once a week, but only because she kept abusing her magic, and yet no one stopped her.

"Just a minute!" Yuffie huffed, checking Tai's temperature just one more time. "Well, you seem okay, do you feel okay?" Tai nodded her head in response. "Good, take these just incase, hold out your hands," Tai did as she was told and held out her hands. One, two, three, four elixirs Yuffie dropped in Tai's hands, a precautionary measure made by Dr Kisaragi. "If ever you run low on magic, or you're hurt, feel free to use those, their effects are great, so don't overuse or waste them. And Sora..." she turned to the girl's keeper, the boy who bore the Keyblade. "...please refrain from giving her any potions; she's allergic to them, okay?"

"What? How do you know?" Sora threw back. Yuffie rolled her eyes, shaking and upside down potion bottle that was so obviously empty from Sora's stand point.

"I just tried one and she started sneezing uncontrollably," she clarified. "If you must heal any wounds, use an elixir, but only if it's serious, okay? Other than that, don't bother if it's only minor."

"But -"

"She's not a baby, Sora," muttered an oft-silent, but rather forceful Leon. Yuffie nodded, and continued from where she left off, herself.

"Scratches, cuts, and gashes are considered minors, just wrap them up and keep them from bleeding. Broken bones, holes, loss of limb, use an elixir right away. Other than that, ethers are fine for simple fevers, since - I'm sure you know - Mages get fevers when they're low on magic. Ether's are made especially for magic use. Go on, now," Yuffie allowed, pushing the young Water Mage to her keeper. "Go find your friends, and show those Heartless who's boss!"

"You're not coming with us?" asked Sora. He took Tai back, placing her right beside him where she stayed loyally. Yuffie shook her head frantically, gulping once or twice. She looked to Leon, hoping for him to answer for her, instead of she herself, or maybe hoping he wouldn't say a thing at all. But he did anyway, leaving her glaring with disgust at her partner.

"She's scared of flying."

"A Wind Mage scared of flight?"

"Hey, I get airsick, okay!" Yuffie complained. "It's not very pretty."

"Oh, well, then," Sora sighed. He grinned, flicking his bare thumb upright and clear for both Yuffie and Leon to see it. "We're off, we'll come back often to visit, and maybe restock if we need to."

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Tai all left. Leon and Yuffie found themselves waving after their new hope, trusting the lives of many and their worlds to four misfits who all had their troubles. Sora, who was new to serious fighting, Donald who had a temper fit, Goofy who wasn't too bright, and Tai who had no memory. None of them had a clue what they were getting themselves into.

Just call my name, and I'll be there for you, okay?