Timeless

Chapter 5: Broken

(Sept. 23rd, 2007 – CTL)

The walk back to the castle was an uncomfortable one. Sky was very serious and focused, while Leon was still reeling from what he had witnessed in the alley. It was hard to believe that Sora could become such a vicious person under the right circumstances. Leon knew that Sky and Sora were two completely different people in a way, but he couldn't help but keep thinking of Sky as the boy who fell into Traverse Town, scared and alone, searching desperately for his friends. Now Leon was starting to realise just how different Sky really was.

"What?" Sky suddenly demanded, causing Leon to jump.

"I didn't say anything," he said.

"You didn't have to. I could sense you brooding over there." Sky stopped walking and faced Leon. "So what is it? Are you freaked out because of the way I treated that guy?"

"…Maybe." Leon looked away, pretending to find something interesting about the weapon shop across the street. "I've never seen you so cold."

Sky looked like he was about to sputter an excuse, but instead, he quietly said, "It was just an act."

"Yeah, but when does it stop being an act and start being reality? Where do you draw the line?" Leon was looking at Sky now, approaching him. He placed one hand on Sky's shoulder, looking him in the eyes. "Sky, you're not living in your timeline anymore. You don't have to be the harsh soldier all the time. The Righteous Hearts aren't nearly as big a threat as Maleficent was, so you can relax a little."

"Relax? Leon, in my time, these assholes kidnapped children and experimented on them! They tested anti-light weapons on entire cities to 'save' them from becoming Heartless! They fucking are a threat! And we need to stop them before they do something horrible here!"

"I get that, I really do. But you need to calm down. Stop reliving your past! We're going to take care of it!" Leon let his hand drop away from Sky's shoulder, his eyes lingering on Sky's face just a beat longer than necessary, and he turned away to begin walking up the street. Sky watched him go for a few seconds, surprised that he had the courage to stand up to him. He churned Leon's advice around in his head. It was nearly impossible for him to relax. He had spent so many years on high alert that it became second nature to assume the worst when a threat emerged, and it was especially high when it concerned the Righteous Hearts. They were the ones responsible for his kidnapping, even if it was in an alternate timeline. They were the ones who nearly broke him.

(July 12th, 2008 – ATL)

If there was only one word that could accurately describe Sora's current state of mind, it would be "broken".

For days after his rampage in the Land of Dragons, he appeared vacant and lifeless. The usual child-like twinkle in his eyes was missing and in its place was jaded scorn. During the day, he went about his daily routine as per usual. He trained and worked out with the other soldiers, he attended the meetings with the generals, and he went on missions to recover refugees. He kept up the façade that he was fine and he was moving on. But it was all very robotic and half-hearted.

However, in the evenings, he struggled to sleep, he had nightmares, and he sought console and support from Kairi. More than once, she had to prevent him from leaving the castle grounds to go on another rampage. Over and over, he proclaimed that he was to blame for Riku's death, and each time, Kairi would have to talk him down. She did her best to alleviate his sorrow, setting aside her own grieving and toughening up to stay strong enough for both of them. But there was only so much she could do.

Deep in the night, Kairi was awoken by the sound of knocking on her bedroom door. She sat up and grabbed her sleeping robe from the foot of the bed, pulling it on as she answered the door. On the other side was Sora with tears streaking down his face. Without needing to be told what was wrong or why he was crying, she took him into her arms and held him close, letting him sob on her shoulder. So many nights were like this that she was used to it and she knew how to handle it now.

Blindly, she guided them both to her bed and sat him down, gently shushing in his ear and murmuring words of comfort. Nothing she said ever truly made his grief go away, but it did serve in calming down his episodes.

"Why couldn't I make him stay…?" he wept, his face practically drenched in tears. Kairi could tell from the amount of tears and the tone of Sora's voice that this would be a strong episode, and it would be harder to bring him out of it. There would be no sleeping tonight, if only to ensure he didn't do anything drastic. "Why couldn't I just win one game…?"

"It's not your fault, Sora. Even if you won, he would have still gone. He was so stubborn…" Kairi sniffed, wiping her eyes with her free hand. "It's not your fault at all…"

"Will it ever get better…?" he whispered, shaking still. Kairi pursed her lips, keeping them from trembling. "Do you think the pain ever goes away?"

Blinking back tears, Kairi replied, "Yes."

"Are you lying?"

"…Probably…" His grip around her waist tightened as a new wave of sobs began.

"Thank you." Kairi couldn't stand to see her best friend in this shape. Something had to be done. The war was still raging on around them, and their side was losing faster than ever before without their strongest warriors participating in the fighting. She needed Sora to toughen up, as selfish as it might have sounded.

"Listen…" she began, breathing in sharply. "You know Riku wouldn't want you to mope around forever, right?" Sora didn't answer right away, still racked with sobs. "I know it hurts. Maybe it always will. But we need to be strong. If not for his memory, then for everyone else who still need our help. We can't let the light of the universe go out; otherwise Riku and countless others died for nothing." Waiting patiently, Sora did quiet down after a minute or two. "Let's make a promise now. On the count of three, we're going to stop crying. I'm not saying we forget Riku's memory or become cold-hearted. We're just going to stop crying and we're going to focus on winning this war for him. Okay?"

"I can't…" Sora gasped, hiccupping slightly. "I can't…"

"Hey." Kairi pulled back to look Sora in the eyes. "Those are two words I don't want to hear together ever again. Understand?" Two tears trickled down Sora's face on either side of his cheeks. He squinted, gulping back more sobs, and nodded. "Okay. We can do this. We need to be strong." It sounded like she was trying to convince herself of her own advice more than Sora. "On the count of three. One…" For a moment, it appeared as though Sora would burst into tears again. "Two…" He let out a pitiful noise, clenching his teeth to hold back his tears. "Three." After one last gasp for air, the room went quiet.

Sora and Kairi blinked, staring at each other, holding their breaths. The tears stopped rolling. The sobs ceased. Their shaking was quelled. And like magic, they were done crying.

"There…" Kairi whispered, managing a weak smile. "That wasn't so bad…" Sora exhaled slowly, nodding, suddenly feeling drained, both emotionally and physically. He curled up on the bed next to Kairi, closing his eyes and falling asleep almost immediately. Kairi's smile slipped away. With wavering hands, she smoothed out Sora's unruly locks and wiped away the last of his tears. "Time to be strong…" And she allowed herself one last tear to roll down her cheek. "Being strong now…"

(Sept. 23rd, 2007 – CTL)

"Leon, wait up!" Sky jogged the short distance between him and Leon. "You're right, okay? I'm…" He swallowed the lump forming in his chest. "I'm sorry." Leon looked rather surprised. Sky was known for his stubbornness. Everyone knew that. He was very rarely apologetic for anything. Even Sky found himself surprised at his apology. He didn't know why he felt the need to say anything to Leon, but he was acutely aware that something about him was changing, something powerful.

"Sorry for what?" Leon finally asked, breaking the spell that had come over them. Sky stuttered a moment, unsure how to begin answering.

"For yelling at you. For interrogating that guy. For… not relaxing?" Sky ran his fingers through his own hair nervously as he sorted through his thoughts. "Trust me when I say I've been trying to take it easy and relax. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with. Everyone is always a bit tense in my presence 'cuz I think they keep expecting me to do something stupid and funny like my younger self would have done, but I'm not like him anymore. And I'm sorry I'm not."

"No, don't," Leon interrupted, this time putting both hands on Sky's shoulders. "Look, I when I say, 'Relax', I don't mean, 'Be more like Sora'. I just mean take it easy and think things through. You don't need to change who you are to do that, so don't apologize. We like you just the way you are. I… like you just the way you are." Sky's breath caught in his throat at the tender look that Leon was giving him. That powerful something was threatening to overwhelm both of them. It should have been obvious what the something was, but Sky didn't want to put a name to it. He didn't want to admit it or give it a voice, but there was something terrifying about what was happening to him and his heart. It was filling up with an emotion he hadn't felt in over 6 years. It was also accompanied by a prevailing guilt.

"I…" he murmured. The guilt was painful, forcing him to pull away from Leon. "We should get back. We got a good lead so let's not waste it." Turning his back, he missed the look of deep hurt on Leon's face. Or perhaps he was purposefully avoiding it.

oOoOo

"Cid!" Sky barked as he and Leon walked into the security room, causing Cid to jump with alarm.

"Don't do that, kid!" he retorted. "I'm running on 8 cups of coffee right now!"

"Pull up a list of all the unused warehouses and storehouses on the outskirts of Radiant Garden. I want to know which ones Shinra was using." Cid set Sky with an intense glare. Sky rolled his eyes. "Please?"

"That's more like it." Turning around in his swivel chair, Cid got to work. With a speed and skill that only he possessed, he accessed the industrial database, pulling up a list of all the warehouses in Radiant Garden. He then narrowed the search results down to the ones owned by the Shinra Electric Company. Five appeared on the list. "What do you need these for? No one's used those warehouses in over ten years."

"Someone's been using them. The Righteous Hearts."

"How'd you find that out?"

"We captured one of their super ninjas," Sky said with a proud smirk. "Proving once and for all that pirates are better than ninjas."

"Whu…?" Cid stared at Sky with confusion, his unlit cigarette nearly falling out of his mouth.

"Get Yuffie, Tifa, and Aeris on the line. We'll get them to help with the other ops. What do you got for me, Cid?" Sky pressed on, ignoring Cid's dazed expression. Cid shook his head and went back to the console, bringing up addresses and maps. "Great. Send the information to my phone and dispatch four teams to check out the first four locations. Leon and I will lead a team to check out the fifth." For the first time since their awkward moment outside the castle, Sky chanced looking at Leon. The older man's face looked hardened and he was staring sightlessly off to the side, ignoring Sky's instructions. "Leon, we should move out."

"Whatever," he muttered as he pushed away from the wall he was leaning on and headed for the door. Sky blinked at the unnecessary hostility, trying to figure out where that had come from. Cid was watching their interaction without a word.

Sky sighed. "Keep me posted on the others' progress," he requested quietly to Cid.

Cid nodded. "You got it, kid."

(Sept. 24th, 2007 (midnight) – CTL)

A team of four soldiers and two commanding officers stood in a huddled ground just outside a dark, abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. They had arrived ten minutes prior via a Corridor of Light, and they were now discussing their plan of attack.

"You two, bust open the door," Sky directed in a hushed voice, pointing at two soldiers. "Leon and I will take up the lead, and you two," he pointed at another pair. "You take up the rear. The rest of you stay outside and secure the building."

"Sir!" they said, saluting. They approached the entrance to the warehouse, a massive set of double doors made of aluminium roofing. The windows were all boarded up, making it impossible to tell how many were inside. There was a chain and padlock around the handles of the doors. One soldier immediately got to work, using a bit of light Fire magic to cut through the chain keeping the doors locked tight. As soon as he was through, he and his partner took firm grips on their respective door handles. In a silent countdown, they wrenched the door open at the same time. Sky, Leon, and two of the soldiers charged in, weapons ready, while the two who had opened the door took up positions next to the entrance.

The warehouse was dark, lit by the occasional hanging lamp, but even in the darkness, Sky could tell they were almost alone. There were no terrorists in this building, no initial indication that this location was ever used by anyone in the last ten years. Sky silently directed the soldiers to investigate one side while he and Leon checked out the other side. There were countless rows of metal shelving units lining the walls and creating something of a maze out of the expansive area. The shelves stretch up to the roofs, their spaces empty of any material or boxes. In the corner of one side of the warehouse, there was a set of grated stairs that led to the manager's office and the rafters. Still, there was no sign of life beyond Sky, Leon, and the other soldiers.

However, as they travelled deeper inside the warehouse, Sky caught a glimpse of a chair between two shelves. Getting closer, he saw a figure slumped over in the chair, bound by rope and gagged. The figure stirred as he approached, her eyes heavy with drowsiness and her face showing signs of abuse. She had bruises on her cheeks, a split lip, and a swollen eye. Sky's eyes widened at the sight. It was Lucrecia Crescent.

"Lucrecia?" he called. Her eyes went wide with fright and she began making muffled noises of alarm. "Hang on, we'll get you out of here."

"'Ooohh!" she cried, struggling to get the gag out of her mouth so she could speak. "'Ohgh koh ahee kyohyer! Harh a 'ong!" Ignoring her protests, interpreting it as fear of being arrested, Sky came up to her, removing the gag from her mouth, but as he did, he heard a distinct click noise, followed by a series of beeps.

"What was that?" he hissed, eyes scanning the surrounding area.

"You idiot!" Lucrecia screamed, her face white with terror. Leon and the other two soldiers were approaching them now. "I was trying to warn you not to come any closer! There's a bomb!"

"What?" Sky yelled, instinctively backing away from Lucrecia.

"It's a proximity bomb! Under my chair!" Sky dropped to the ground and looked under the chair, seeing a black box with two green lights and three red blinking ones duct-tapped to the bottom of the chair. "You set it in motion when you got too close!"

"Shit!" he growled, bringing up a Protega shield around the bomb to contain the explosion.

"That won't help!" Lucrecia explained desperately. "It's a two-part bomb! First, it releases an anti-magic wave, and then it explodes! Your spells will be useless!" One of the red blinking lights turned green. "When all those lights turn green, it'll go off!"

"Then let's get out of here before it does!" Leon ordered, already untying Lucrecia.

"It won't matter how far we run, that bomb has a ten mile radius! It'll take out a quarter of the city!"

"This just keeps getting better and better," Sky muttered sarcastically. Another red light turned green. "Then what the fuck are we supposed to do?" His mind was racing a mile a minute to come up with something to stop the explosion from going off. He began charging a bit of lightning magic to disable the electronics in the device.

"Don't do that, you'll only set it off!" Lucrecia warned, grabbing his arms as soon as hers were free.

"You got any bright ideas, Crescent?" Sky demanded. He froze up, an idea popping into his head. Shaking Lucrecia off, he quickly opened up a Door to the Light Realm and threw the bomb in, quickly closing it as the last red light turned green. A shockwave rippled out from where the Door closed, sending everyone in the room spiralling off their feet. And then it went quiet.

Sky sat up, shaking off the dizziness of his rapid mana-loss, and he quickly scanned the room.

"Everyone okay?" he asked, already checking on Lucrecia.

"I'm fine…" she muttered, pulling her arm away from Sky.

"We're good," Leon answered as he helped the two officers to their feet. "That was too close."

"This whole thing was a fucking set-up!" Sky roared, rounding on Lucrecia. "Crescent, you better start talking!"

Lucrecia looked rebellious, as though she was going to remain tight-lipped, but after a moment, she opened her mouth to speak. "I want full immunity."

"Are you serious?" Leon erupted. "You're looking at a life-sentence here for treason and conspiracy and god knows what else the Restoration Committee will charge you with! We trusted you and you broke that trust! Why should we grant you immunity and trust you again?"

"I was deceived!" bellowed Lucrecia. "My actions were not my own! I was forced into doing their bidding! They have a powerful mage on their side who can manipulate minds. He took away my free will and made me plant the virus! I swear I didn't do it on my own! I would never betray Radiant Garden!"

"Bullshit," Sky grunted. "What proof do you have?"

"Isn't the fact that they left me here proof enough? Left me here with a bomb to kill me? I was never an important player in their game of politics! I was always just a pawn!"

"Then give us something. Where's their base? Who's their leader? What are they planning to do in two days?"

"Grant me immunity and I'll tell you everything I know. Leon, you have the power to do it, I know you can! You're an influential member of the Restoration Committee! Promise me I won't be sent to jail for the rest of my life!" Lucrecia's eyes pleaded with Leon. He appeared to be wrestling with his conscience over what to do. On the one hand, they really needed this lead, since the warehouse turned out to be a sham. But what if she was lying? What if what she says leads them to another trap? She could walk away from this thing without a shred of punishment and give them absolutely nothing in return.

"You should do it," Sky whispered discreetly in Leon's ear. "Her information could be valuable. If it turns out to be useless, we could always revoke her immunity." Lucrecia was looking back and forth between the men, trying to figure out what they were saying. Leon let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine," he said, addressing the desperate scientist. "You have temporary immunity. Tell us what you know and we'll give you full immunity and clear your name. This is the best I can do for you. Deal?" He held his hand out. Lucrecia hesitated, unsure if it was really the best deal Leon could broker, but seeing the finality in his expression, she took his hand and shook.

"Deal," she mumbled.

"Good. Now start talking. Let's start with the most important question. Where are the Righteous Hearts hiding?"

"I don't know."

"What?" Lucrecia shrank back at Sky's enraged voice. "How can you possibly not know?"

"I was always blindfolded when I was taken to their headquarters and even then, I was restricted to their laboratories, so I don't even know who was running the operation. I told you, I wasn't a key player. They used me to distract you from their bigger prize."

"What prize?"

"While you've been tracking me down, they've been allowed to move freely through the streets. They have a plan to win over the people's affection by turning them against you."

"How?"

"I don't know the full plan, but they had me working on an airborne chemical as part of what they called 'Phase One' of their plan. The chemical will increase a person's aggression and may make them susceptible to violent outbursts, given the right trigger. My guess is that they plan to use it on a key member of the Restoration Committee to make them appear volatile to the citizens, and the citizens will demand a new administration, at which point the Righteous Hearts will assume control."

"How do we stop it? Is there a cure?"

"There's no cure but it doesn't stay in the system for long. And there's no solid way to prevent it unless you plan to make all the Restoration Committee members wear gas masks for the rest of their lives."

"How are they going to release it?"

"I don't know the delivery method they're planning to use. I was only responsible for making the chemical."

"God damn it…" Sky muttered, pacing back and forth. "You're not really earning your immunity, I hope you know."

"I'm sorry! This is all I know."

"None of what you're saying adds up to what we know they're capable of," Leon said. "They're destructive on a wider scope. If they wanted to tarnish a politician's image, they wouldn't make such a big fuss about it, all they'd have to do is dig up some dirt. Everyone's got skeletons."

"Yeah, Crescent, you sure this is their plan?" Sky added. "It just doesn't sound like the Hearts' MO."

"This is all I know about 'Phase One'," Lucrecia insisted. "If there's more to it, they certainly didn't tell me."

"What about the day you vanished? How did you escape?"

"I was instructed to plant the virus and meeting an operative in a back alley attached to the Marketplace, right in a camera's blind spot. They hoisted me up on the roof and put a black bag over my head so none of the facial-recognition programs would detect me. After that, I don't know where they took me."

"Well what about the laboratory? What can you tell us about that? What'd it look like? Did you ever hear anything strange or unique while you were there or on your way there?"

Lucrecia went quiet as she tried to remember anything helpful. "It was… moist, kind of swampy all the time. I remember asking them to adjust the environmental system, but they ignored my requests. I recall… it was so humid. Like we were close to a body of water or something. And I remember when they'd have me blindfolded, they were taking me through some kind of tunnel system. It echoed really loudly and there were water droplets. I would almost guess that the entrance was a cave, but the labs looked really sophisticated."

"How long have you been with them?"

"Almost two years. They contacted me shortly after I was hired by the Restoration Committee, but I turned them down. They were very persistent, so I agreed to meet with them once just to see what the deal was. I think that's when they started controlling my mind. There were days after that meeting where I felt like I was on autopilot, not completely in control of my own actions. And then there were days where I'd black out entirely and not remember doing things. After a few months, they came for me in the night, brought me to the laboratory, and forced me to work on dark-powered explosives. It's been like that ever since."

"Why didn't you tell anyone what was happening?" Leon asked. "We could have helped you break free."

"You think I didn't want to cry out for help? Believe me, I tried! But their mage kept a tight leash on my mind. I was powerless to resist their orders. This is the first time in nearly a year that I've been free to speak my mind! They've finally deemed me worthless and they've released their hold on my thoughts."

"What about the mage? Can he control others?"

"Only one person at a time and only when he's within a certain distance. Before you ask, no, I don't know who he was except that he had strange purple-toned skin."

"Anything else?" Leon asked.

"Not much else… except that the equipment I was forced to use was fairly old, almost ten years old. A lot of it was probably lifted from Shinra's labs before Radiant Garden fell 12 years ago."

Sky was already on the phone with Cid. "Cid, pull up a list of all of Shinra's laboratories and research facilities. Send me the address. Leon and I will check them out."

"No such luck, kid," Cid replied. "Those buildings were knocked down years ago. They were one of the first places that got hit when the Heartless came. After the Restoration Committee was formed, we cleared the sites for new commercial buildings."

"What about their head offices?"

"Rezoned for condos."

"Those aren't near bodies of water anyway," Leon piped in. "We're looking for something near the lakes perhaps."

"Fuck, Leon!" Sky shouted, slamming his phone shut. "We're surrounded by water! They could be anywhere!"

"Relax…" Leon said in a quiet voice. Sky opened his mouth to retaliate but stopped, remembering that he was trying to take Leon's advice about taking it easy. He took a deep breath and pulled his phone out again.

As calmly as he could, he said, "Cid, pull up a list of all the structures located near any body of water and/or caves." He snapped his phone shut again. "Officer, please place Lucrecia in custody."

"What?" Lucrecia screeched. "I told you what I know! We had a deal! I get full immunity!"

"We will wait and see if anything you told us pans out, and from where I'm standing, you haven't told us anything helpful at all. I'm not the trusting type, lady. There's something you're not telling us. So until we get another lead, you get to stay in a holding cell." One of the soldiers stepped forward, taking Lucrecia by the arm and put a pair of cuffs on her slender wrists.

"This is ridiculous!" Lucrecia huffed as she was steered towards the warehouse doors. "I can't tell you something I don't know!"

Ignoring her protests, Sky said to Leon, "We better get back to the castle. We've got a long haul ahead of us."

(July 14th, 2008 - ATL)

Disney Castle was in shambles these days, overcrowded with refugees and soldiers. There wasn't enough rations to go around, not enough clean water to drink, not enough beds for people to sleep on. It was a miserable existence living there, even working there. Every time Sora had a meeting to attend in the castle's command centre, he dreaded it.

The world representatives filed into the command centre and took their respective seats around the large oval oak table. King Mickey assumed his position at the head of the table, passing out file folders for the generals to go over. Each folder contained a mission report that he had gone over and wanted input on. Kairi and Sora looked over their file. It detailed the possibility of an assassination plot on Maleficent's life.

"This could be the one, folks," the King announced. "According to our intel, Maleficent's flag warship will be entering a low orbit over Fantasia within the next month. Zeus has been working on thunder bolts that will act like an EMP blast. We will have a very brief window of opportunity to infiltrate her ship when he strikes it and knocks out the radar. Someone will be able to fly a fighter on board without being detected and they can plant an explosive in the power core, taking it out." He hesitated, looking out among his allies. "We need a volunteer for this. It's likely it will be a one-way trip, I'm afraid." Several commanders shifted uncomfortably. Sora blinked several times. King Mickey was asking someone to go on a suicide mission.

The tension in the room rose as the seconds ticked by and no one volunteered. King Mickey looked nervous, his eyes trailing over each face. He understood it was a lot to ask for someone to give up their life for a small chance of success, but it was their best and only shot. Sora looked around as well. The others looked like they were at least considering the idea. He made up his mind quickly.

"I'll do it," he said, standing up. The others gaped at him in shock. Kairi stifled a gasp.

"Sora, no…" she hissed, grabbing his hand. She feared he was still in his self-loathing mode and was looking for another excuse to get himself killed.

"No!" Yuffie cried unexpectedly. "No, you're too important! You can't sacrifice yourself!"

"If this works, then it won't matter," Sora said sullenly.

"Forget it," Yuffie snapped back. "I'll do it. I'm a ninja, I'll have a better chance of getting in undetected. Stealth is my business."

"Well tough, I already volunteered." The two looked at the King for approval. He looked back and forth between them, his eyebrows knitting together in worry.

"I'm sorry, Sora," he said after a time. "I'm going to have to give the mission to Yuffie. She's right; you're too valuable an asset to risk losing." Sora stared at the King in outrage, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"And, what? She's not important? She's expendable?" He balled his fists in anger, his eyes burning a hole in Mickey. "You can't just throw away a person's life like that!"

"Sora, please, it's okay," Yuffie tried to say, but Sora wouldn't listen.

"No, it's not okay!" he shouted. "It's not fair! The King gets to decide who lives and who dies! It's not up to the individual!"

"That's enough!" King Mickey said sternly, standing up from his chair.

"You just pass out missions without any regard to human life!" Suddenly, it was clear to many present that Sora wasn't just talking about this mission and Yuffie, he was talking about the Port Royal mission and Riku. "You don't care what happens to them so long as they provide results!"

"Sora, stop," Kairi whispered, squeezing his hand in a desperate attempt to quell his rage.

"It's your fault!" he cried, wrenching his hand out of Kairi's, pointing an accusatory finger at King Mickey. "You're to blame! If it weren't for you, he'd still be alive!" The room went silent at that accusation, everyone holding their breath, waiting to see what the King would say in response to that. Mickey maintained eye-contact with Sora, refusing to back down.

"You're dismissed, Sora," he said evenly. "I suggest you take some leave time. Obviously you're still distraught about your loss-"

"Fuck you!" Sora snapped. He roughly pushed his chair back, causing several people to jump with alarm, and he stormed from the room. Kairi stared at his retreating form, her eyes wide open. She had never seen Sora so angry, let alone heard him use such strong language before. Apparently the King was surprised by that as well. He stood at the head of the table wearing the look of someone who had just been slapped.

"I…" Kairi said, standing up. "I'll go make sure he's okay." It took a few beats for Mickey to come out of his stupor, but when he did, he nodded at Kairi, making a quick waving gesture to the door. Kairi bolted from her chair and out the door where Sora had disappeared.

She caught up to him far down the hallway, calling his name to get him to slow down. "Are you okay?" she asked quickly. "What's gotten into you? Why'd you snap at the King that way?" Sora stopped walking abruptly, turning to look at Kairi.

"It is his fault! He's the one who assigned Riku to the Port Royal mission! He could have given that mission to anyone else, but he chose Riku! I practically begged him for that mission! But he turned me down! It's his fault! I'll never forgive him!" Someone had to be blamed, and if Sora wasn't allowed to blame himself anymore, he had to pass the blame to someone else. Without waiting for a response or a sign that Kairi acknowledged what he said, he resumed stomping towards his bed chambers. Kairi wouldn't have replied anyway, struck speechless by his allegation.

oOoOo

A/N: Ok, so this chapter's a little shorter than usual. I hope you're still enjoying the story! I love writing dialogue for Sky. He's so gruff'n'tough! And I love writing about his younger days and how he coped with his loss. Anyway, as usual, R&R!