Once they had landed, Sapphire rested her head on the top of her turret, making incoherent noises. She hadn't been on a ship ride like that since... Since her father was alive. She was way out of practice with the wildness of space combat, and it definitely had thrown her threw a loop. She remained where she was for a while, taking deep breaths. Niko walked over to Sapphire and rubbed her back. He felt bad that his reckless flying, while badass in his opinion, put her in this state.
"Sorry Saph." Niko said. "Sorry Sapphire...I feel worst of all for you. I didn't mean to put you in this state."
While feeling sick, Sapphire didn't think she was going to throw up like Saph did. Niko's back rub was soothing, and it made her dizziness and sick feeling mostly vanished. She groaned, raised her head, and got out of the seat, her first step shaky. She grabbed her head as she wobbled a little.
"It's fine," she mumbled, waving his hand away. "Come on, let's take care of whatever's next."
"We're back on Mobius." Niko said. "It doesn't seem like the Mobius we know though. Seems like we're in a past version of Mobius."
"That's right!" Flora said. "We're in the past of Mobius. We need to help Sally."
"Sally is a princess?" Saph asked.
"Correction; she's a queen now." Flora replied. "We went to the past because Xehanort and Vanitas sent Heartless to this version of Mobius to corrupt Sally's heart while she was still young."
"Genius!" Niko said. "Very evil...but genius."
Sapphire scoffed at Niko, hitting his chest roughly with the back of her hand. "Don't compliment him," she told him sharply, looking disgusted. She didn't waste anymore time after that, quickly moving and heading out of the ship, moving carefully and cautiously and being wary.
"Ow!" Niko said. "That hurt!"
Niko and Flora followed Sapphire and Saph and Sarabi stayed behind on the ship. As the trio ran around the forest, Niko began to notice that they were walking through where Shimalu was built. Shaking his head and foirgetting his memories, he took to the trees to scout ahead. Seeing Sally in the distance he looked downard and whistled.
"Sally is in Robotropolis, surrounded by SWATbots!" Niko shouted. "It doesn't look good! As they seem to have Heartless as back up!"
"oh no!" Flora said. "You two have to use your Keyblade Gliders! They're special vehicles that are created from your keyblades! Sapphire yours is a hoverbike and Niko's is a hoverboard. Toss your keyblades in the air and they'll come down your gliders."
Niko did so and hopped out the tree. The Keyblade comes down as a hoverboard and Niko landed on it easily. Gaining his balance, Niko looked to sapphire and smiled.
"Cool!" Niko said looking at the board. "Your turn honey!"
"Don't call me that!" Sapphire called out to Niko as she through her Keyblade up. It transformed quickly, coming back down as the aforementioned hoverbike. She gave it an impressed look before throwing one leg over it and situating herself on it. She could ride a motorbike, but a hoverbike? Only one way to find out, she supposed.
The controls seemed to be akin to a motorcycle, and as she revved it, it floated further up into the air. "Ready when you are, Niko," she called out.
Niko nodded as Flora pulled out her extreme gear and hopped on and nodded. Niko turned to face the direction of Sally and pushed off and rode down the road. Sapphire followed directly behind Niko, preparing for what was to come. She didn't know Sally very well, nor did she like her, but if she was in danger, she knew they had to help. When they got close, Niko swept up Sally and stopped at a clearing. Putting her down, Niko checked her for injuries. When she was cleared, he smiled.
"Get as far as possible from here!" Niko said as the Heartless approach.
"Okay!" Sally said.
"Get ready!" Niko said summoning his Keyblade. "You're going down!"
Niko rushed at the Heartless, attacking with much brutality. Sapphire leaped off the motorbike and it quickly turned back into her Keyblade. She joined Niko in slaying the Heartless, moves calculated and her slashes careful and precise. She was quick and efficient in taking down the enemy. Once the Heartless were gone, Niko dispelled his Keyblade and looked at Sapphire handing her a water bottle.
"You could use the rehydration." Niko said. "I have trained myself to go days and even weeks without water."
"You mean like a camel?" Flora asked. "They sounds interesting don't you think Sapphire?"
After putting her Keyblade on her back, Sapphire glared at Niko and Flora. "I could care less," she grumbled before taking a swig of the water. "Where did Sally go? Is she alright?"
"She's fine." Niko said. "Flora what now?"
"Find the world's keyhole and lock it with your Keyblades." Flora replied. "First we gotta get our bearings first. Let's go to the Freedom Fighters HQ."
"Right." Niko said.
"Following you," Sapphire told Niko as she took another drink from her water bottle, tilting her neck to the side to crack it a little. After leaving the Insurgents, she didn't always fancy taking point.
Walking towards the Freedom Fighter HQ, Niko saw everyone getting prepared for a wedding of some sort. Reminding him of the wedding he left behind, Niko turned his attention to Sally who came up with her father.
"This is my father, Maximilian Acorn." Sally said. "He wanted to thank you."
"You three are in our debt." Maximilian said. "Thank you for saving my daughter."
"It was no trouble." Niko replied.
"We just did what we thought was right."
Maximilian looked to Sapphire. Tilting his head and looking as if he remembers someone.
"Allison?" Maximilian asked.
Sapphire had walked with the others to the Freedom Fighter HQ. She had bowed her head politely when confronted by Sally's father and his thanks. Though, when he spoke her mother's name, she felt her eyes go wide as she froze. Her heart beat hard in her chest, and she felt her mind become flooded with sudden memories and emotions.
This was a past Mobius, right? Was Allison still alive? Did Maximilian know of her from the military's cooperation with the Freedom Fighters? She wasn't sure, but saying that hearing the name caught her off guard would be a gross understatement.
"No, m-my name is Sapphire," she replied, trying to recover from the shock, swallowing as her eyes narrowed slightly. "Sapphire..," she repeated, mostly to herself. "I'm just glad Sally's safe," she replied to his thanks, avoiding eye contact.
"Sorry... You just look so much like her." Maximilian said. "You see she went missing looking for Espio. Could you look for them for me?"
"Sure!" Flora said.
Look for Espio, and Allison? Sapphire didn't know if she could do that. Her mother had died by her own failure, and she didn't want to see that. She couldn't.
"Excuse me," she murmured under her breath to no one in particular, appearing to still be quite shaken. She stumbled away, still wracked with thoughts of her mother and her death. Once she had walked far enough away, she leaned on a tree and breathed rapidly, trying to calm her beating heart.
"We'll do it." Niko said. "We'll go as soon as Sapphire calms down."
"Niko maybe you should go find her." Flora said. "Just in case she needs you."
"I'll find her." Niko said running off.
Sapphire, leaning against the tree, put her head in her hands as she continued to take shuddering breaths. The thought of Allison being alive in this time period was frightening to her. If she was alive, she couldn't face her after everything she had done. After everything that had happened with her dream, with the Insurgents. Without warning a young Allison pops out of a tree nearby. Looking at Sapphire and tilting her head, she walked over to her and smiled.
"Hey are you Sapphire?" She asked.
Sapphire's eyes went wide at the sudden appearance of her mother. She froze, and she felt like the world had stopped. Her mother... Her mother was alive right now. She observed her, her age and appearance. She'd die a few months later, based on her appearance. Regardless, seeing her hurt her, and she didn't know how to react. She couldn't react. She was facing her mother, who would die. A mother she would fail. A mother who wouldn't live to see her grow up.
"I'm... I'm just a friend of hers," she replied stupidly, shaking her head. She couldn't talk to her like she was her mother. She couldn't. Not when she knew what would happen. What she would do. She couldn't talk to her like a daughter to a mother.
"Maximillion said you went to look for Espio?" she asked, avoiding eye contact, trying to calm down, despite the fact her living mother was standing in front of her.
"That's funny... I could've swore I heard him call you Sapphire. What was his name... Niko."
"Sapphire!" Niko said running up her. "You okay?"
"She isn't hurt, Niko." Allison replied. "She's fine. I think she doesn't realize that I put up sub versions of myself to make sure I exist in each timeline I'm in. I know she exists and I know she's also afraid.
Sapphire glared at Niko. There went that plan. Her eyes moved back to Allison, then back to Niko, and to Allison again.
She couldn't do this. She couldn't face her. She couldn't. She couldn't.
"I can't do this," she muttered, clutching her head in her hands. "I can't... Do this..." Her breathing became heavy again and she began taking steps back away from her mother. She mumbled something about going back to the ship before, once again, running away. She felt like she was going to be sick.
"Ummm...Allison?" Niko said. "You should go look for Espio. I'll deal with Sapphire."
"If you say so." Allison said smiling. "She must feel so sad and guilty because of what happened to me."
"She thinks it's her fault." Niko said.
"That's not true." Allison said. "We have to set the record straight."
Sapphire moved quickly back to the ship. She sat down on the floor of it and rested her back to the wall, taking shuddery breaths as she tried to calm down, failing to calm down, truly. She was shaking and she wrapped her arms around herself. She wanted to leave this time period. She needed to. She couldn't stand to further coexist in a world where her mother was still alive because of how much of a failure she would be in her eyes. Allison had always been rough, but compassionate, and if she saw what she had done with that... She couldn't do this. She needed to go back to the present.
"Giving up are we?" Niko said walking in. "Don't worry. Allison went to find Espio. I can tell you're stressed and worried. What are you afraid of? If I saw my mom, I'd be trying really hard to keep my composure."
Sapphire shook her head, unable to look at Niko. "The things I did in the name of her... The things my father did..." She shivered and shook her head once more. "I can't look at her. Not after what I've done. Not after what WE did." She was referring to the Insurgents, which had once been Allison's dream. It had been a failure though, and turned into an operation to hide the Director's crimes. And she helped them. They all had, hiding like cowards behind Allison's memory.
Taking Sapphire's hand, Niko smiled and kissed her cheek. His eyes lit up with their usual flair as he spoke.
"I know your pain." Niko replied. "But you can't run. She knows of what becomes of her. I have to admit she's taking what happens to her pretty well. I guess what I have to say is...the past f*** sucks and it can and will hurt. But you have two choices; either run from them and go home...or learn from it. I want you to learn from it...but it's up to you, Sapphire. If you want to go home, Saph and Sarabi will take you home and I'll stop Xehanort and Vanitas alone."
She looked up at Niko as he spoke. Sapphire was still shaking slightly, and she held his hand tightly. His touch was comfortable, and his smile and kiss was familiar. She bit her lip and looked down before turning her sapphire eyes up to look at him again.
"You won't let me do it alone, will you?" she asked softly, her eyes full of worry and fear. She couldn't face the past and her mistakes on her own. That much was simple. But if he was willing to do it with her…
"I'll never ever let you do it alone." Niko replied. "You're my everything and we're in this together. No matter what. I love you and I will always love you."
Holding Sapphire close Niko began to remember when Sapphire said yes when he proposed to her. He felt the same happiness he felt back then.
"So are gonna leave now?" Niko asked. "Or are we gonna go kick Xehanort's ass?"
Sapphire hugged Niko tightly. She felt suddenly re-energized and re-inspired, all by Niko's words. If he was by her side, she was confident she could face any challenge in front of her, as cliche as that would be.
"Let's beat his fucking ass," she muttered with an almost sick smile, easily feeling much better than she had before all due to Niko's support.
Upon leaving the Gummi Ship, the two caught up with Allison who was carrying an unconscious Espio. She smiled and sat down happily.
"I'm glad you are calmer now, Sapphire." Allison said. "There's something I wanted to tell you. You are greater than you think you are. You were destined to carry on what I died doing. Your father thought he was killing in my name. Ha! He never knew when to quit. I'm just glad he was stopped before if all got even. If you're looking for the world's keyhole, Mobius doesn't have one. However, Eggman seems to helping a bald man and his spiky haired friend. That might be worth checking out. In fact, I'll go with you. I have always wanted to see how my daughter fares in combat."
Niko took in all the information he was hearing and looked to Sapphire to see if she was okay.
Sapphire looked almost as if she were going to cry at her mother's words. She smiled sadly and nodded. Now that she was over her initial fear of seeing her mother, she didn't want to believe she'd die in a few months time, most likely a year. Though, she pushed her thoughts aside.
"Dad taught me a lot," she told Allison a little too eagerly, as if she were a child again, eager to please her mother. "You... You did too, before you headed off for the war." She wrung her hands together before biting her lip, straightening herself up.
"Alright, let's move."
Niko nodded and walked towards Robotropolis. He was glad to see Sapphire and his mother in law bonding and hoped Sapphire will have some closure when this is all over. Walking past all the robots and standing in front of Eggman Niko saw that Eggman has a giant robot like Heartless next to him.
"Ahh well if it isn't the Freedom Fighters!" Eggman said laughing. "What do you think of my newest robotic associate?"
"A Heartless?!" Niko shouted summoning his Keyblade.
"Thanks to Xehanort, I can finally take down the Freedom Fighters once and for all! Now my friend! Attack!"
Suddenly a blue blue rushes past them. To Niko that meant only one person.
"SONIC!" Niko shouted.
Sapphire had quickly drawn her Keyblade, but she'd been taken off guard by the appearance of the Blue Blur. She didn't know Sonic very well, but she knew he and Niko had been close. She warily took a step back, eyes cautious and ever anticipating. She was back in the zone.
Sonic knocked the Heartless back a bit and jumped, landing beside Allison.
"You guys can handle this right?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah. We can." Allison replied.
Sonic nodded and took off. Niko smiled and looked towards the Heartless. Getting ready for a brawl unlike anything Mobius had ever seen.
Sapphire looked up at the Heartless robot. She glared at it, gripping her Keyblade tighter. She looked to Niko.
"Follow me up," she called out to him before charging at the creature, mostly to gauge its reaction, its defenses, and how it moves.
Niko nodded and followed Sapphire. Allison stood and watched the pair fight. She didn't have any intentions of fighting. She wanted to see her daughter in action at least once. The robot was large, so Sapphire knew she'd have to use a similar tactic to what she used to fight the giant Heartless. She leaped up and spun her body toward it, slashing her Keyblade. Niko ran towards the Heartless and slid underneath it. Once clear, Niko ran into the wall and hopped off of it and performed a downward slash, splitting the Heartless in half. Allison looked at the fight and clapped when it was over. She was surprised at how strong her daughter was.
Niko heard the clapping and bow clumsily. Eggman's robot was easy to defeat, even if it was a Heartless. But, was that supposed to be a surprise? It was Eggman's robot, after all.
Still wary, Sapphire kept her Keyblade in her hand. She looked to her mother as she clapped, smiling weakly. She had never been alive long enough to see the extent of her skill. The fact that she was now was surreal. Niko teleported everyone out and back to the Freedom Fighters Headquarters and sighed in relief. He was glad that everything was at peace for a while. Allison looked to Sapphire and smiled.
"You were so strong." Allison began. "I didn't expect any less from you. You are almost a spitting image of me in almost every way. I'm proud of you, Sapphire and nothing will change that. You must continue your journey now. Xehanort is still out there and your journey is not yet over. Here is something for the road."
Allison took off a sapphire pendant from around her neck and handed it to Sapphire.
"I meant to give this to you when you were older, but I never get a chance to." Allison said smiling "So, now I can give it to you. I love you so much Sapphire and I have nothing but high hopes for you. And um Niko?"
"Yes?" Niko responded.
"Take care of my daughter." Allison said bluntly. "Don't you dare hurt her."
"I won't." Niko said. "I promise."
As Allison talked to Niko, Sapphire observed the sapphire pendant she had been given. It was her Allison's favorite gemstone, the sapphire. She'd seen her wearing that very necklace in pictures. Slowly, she put it around her own neck.
Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tightly. "Father loved you," she murmured. "He was just so broken when you left, when he found out." She paused for a moment. "We both were." She shut her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I love you, Mother."
"I love you too Sapphire." Allison said. She felt the on her shoulder and smiled. She knew Niko was somehow getting her to open her emotions. She could sense how the Director forced their daughter to lock away her emotions. But the one tear she physically felt told her that dark barrier that Sapphire's emotions hid behind was breaking.
"We better get going." Niko said. "Xehanort is still out there. We still have a job to do."
"Of course." Allison said, letting go of Sapphire. "You two are such a cute couple. Not to mention fierce combatants. Take out Xehanort and make him pay for the problems that he has caused."
"Okay. Flora!" Niko shouted.
"Niko." Flora replied. "I have to stay here. This s was where we all died...mom...dad and me. Riku pulled me from this point in time to help you get here. I'm sorry that I can't go with you."
Niko wasn't surprised all that much. He understood and needed, kissing his sister on the forehead and hugged her close. He smiled as if to say thank you for the help and turn to the Gummi Ship. Sapphire wiped her tear with her finger. She smiled sadly at her mother, and she nodded her head in thanks toward Flora. She then turned and followed Niko into the ship, trying to hold it together, trying to figure out whether or not she had truly just seen her mother. She held onto the pendant around her neck. That was proof that she had.
