In the words of Zoidberg from Futurama, "YAY! People are paying attention to me:D"
Yeah, that's about how I feel right now. xP Two reviews do mean a lot when a fic of yours is getting so little attention.
Yay, this is one of my favorite chapters (grin)
Char: (yawn) Joy.
Disclaimer- If I owned Kingdom Hearts, Riku and Sora would've talked more on the dark beach at the end of KH2, and Ansem the Wise would've been nicer to Roxas, and Kairi would've kicked more ass with that Keyblade Riku gave her, and Xigbar would've been a superhero, and Namine would've been killed by Xemnas for treachery... Gah, the list goes on and on!
Char must have fallen asleep, because when she opened her eyes it was only because something was shaking her by the shoulders. She blinked blearily, trying to clear her gummed senses, and looked down to see Donald, looking disgruntled.
"We're here," the duck growled, instantly taking his wing away now that she was obviously awake.
The redhead yawned widely and stretched. "And where is 'here', might I ask?"
"Who knows?" This was Goofy, who was currently staring out the window of the train. Char followed his gaze and nearly gasped aloud at the almost garish surroundings. Below the train tracks floated a sea of pale orange clouds, the trend of orange occasionally broken by a green blur that faintly resembled a tree.
She let her eyes look straight ahead; through the windows, she saw what looked like an "island", floating in the vast orange abyss. On that island, was a crooked tower.
At first Char wondered where the hell they were. Then she realized: this must be the "tower" DiZ had told her about – it made sense, due to the nighttime design of the train they were on. Though her mentor had never really been here, he had done his research back home. Back before…
Er, well, yes. No point in resurrecting that particular memory right now.
Shaking these thoughts out of her mind, a flicker of movement caught her eye. It was Sora, who was standing up and lifting his arms up in a stretch. "Wonder where we are now," he murmured.
Goofy shrugged. "We might as well go 'n check it out, right?"
Char nodded. "That's all we can do, for now."
Without another word she rose to her feet, ignoring the unpleasant way her head spun at getting up so fast, and started for the entrance of the now-stopped train. As the door opened, she sighed and cast an impatient look at the others behind her. "You coming, or what?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Donald muttered sarcastically, stepping haphazardly from top to bottom stair to follow the redhead. Goofy gave Sora a helpless look and followed.
Sighing, the Keybearer, checking to see that items and keychain were intact, exited the train as well. Almost as soon as his feet touched the ground he heard a whoosh of air behind him and turned to see that the train had vanished. He chuckled weakly. "There goes our ride…"
Char, who had been walking ahead with impatient strides, turned her head slightly to see what he was looking at; Sora thought he heard her groan before she went back on her way.
After picking up the items in the chests nearby, the brunette couldn't help but notice the strange figure with its face pressed to the tower door. It didn't look human, but it obviously wasn't a Heartless, either – the creature didn't have that feral air about it. Still, though, there was an unmistakable sense of danger, so Sora walked up, keychain in hand just in case. He motioned at the others to come too; Donald and Goofy stopped what they were doing at once, but with their newest companion it took a few insistent hand gestures before she decided what Sora wanted was urgent.
"What's going on?" Donald asked, narrowing his eyes belligerently at the figure in front of the door.
The one he was talking to laughed. "Well, if y'must know, I sent some of my lackeys inside, to see if the master of this tower's as big and tough as they say!"
Char rolled her eyes. "Really?"
"Yeah. See, word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer. But in the end, it doesn't matter how strong he is – once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say."
Sora, Donald and Goofy started. "A Heartless?" Sora managed at last, the very picture of angry disbelief. The look on his face almost made Char laugh, really – the boy just couldn't pull off the angry look.
"That's right. They're those things that come out of the darkness in folks' hearts. With all those Heartless at her side, Maleficent's gonna conquer everything! I'm going around a whole bunch of worlds and gathering up an entire army of Heartless, just for her." Without turning around, the figure waved a hand in a gesture of dismissal at them. "Aw, why'm I talking to you pipsqueaks anyway? Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is."
"You ought to find something nicer to do," Goofy pointed out, and Char mentally slapped herself. Oh, these dorks were very naïve indeed…
"Says who?" the anonymous one challenged, turning around to face them as he did so. Donald and Goofy gaped at the sight of the large, dog-like creature, who currently had his red-and-blue-clad "hands" at his sides in fists.
"Pete?" Donald cried, his eyes comically huge.
"What're you two nimrods doing here, with them?" Pete growled, pointing first at the duck and the dog and then at Sora and Char.
"You know this guy?" Sora asked, looking from one to another.
"Yeah, would you mind telling me where the hell you know this guy from?" Char added.
Goofy flinched at the use of the swear word, while Donald just shrugged. "He was always causing trouble in the castle, so the king banished him to another world." The duck lifted his shoulders in another shrug. "I wonder how he escaped in the first place…"
"Ohhh, I'll tell you how," Pete said, grinning. "Maleficent bailed me out, that's how! And now, now that I have Heartless deployed everywhere, all the worlds are gonna belong to yours truly!" He smirked. "'Cause, Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em."
Is he that stupid? Char wondered. He just tells us he's got Heartless in all the worlds, like we don't have a Gummi ship to go take them out. Smart, Pete. Really smart, indeed.
"Maleficent, huh?" Sora asked, sounding as though he were holding back a particularly bad bout of laughter. Donald and Goofy started snickering as well, which only served to rouse Pete's temper.
"Hey! What's so funny?" he demanded.
"She's toast," the brunette managed through his laughter.
Oh, yes, the redhead remembered; from watching Sora's memories, she had gathered that they had already fought Maleficent, mostly due to Riku's influence – which, the silver-haired teen had informed her, was not one of his proud moments. From the looks of things, the witch had been a particularly annoying foe, mostly due to her dragon form.
However, for the time being, all she could do was sigh and roll her eyes. "You guys kicked her butt, didn't you?"
A nod from a sniggering Donald was her unneeded confirmation.
"You!" Pete snarled, pointing at them. "So you're the ones that did it!"
"Eh, well…" Sora looked away shiftily. "When people get in our way, y'know…" He looked back and lifted his palms up in a 'what can you do?' gesture.
Pete seemed to struggle with the force of his fury for a moment before yelling, "Heartless squad! Round up!"
"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot about that…" Goofy mumbled, getting out his shield even as the black creatures appeared from the ground. One of them materialized between Char's legs and the redhead snarled indignantly as she drew her blades, rolling to the side as she did so, and ripped them through the bug-like Heartless even as she was regaining her balance.
Already, Sora had summoned the Kingdom Key and knocked aside a small group that had chosen to rally around him. However, he was so busy he didn't notice the slightly larger Heartless forming up behind him.
"Sora!" Goofy called, before Char could so much as open her mouth. "Behind ya!" The brunette whirled around, leaped away from the enemy's strike, and defeated it with a thrust of his weapon.
The girl sighed to herself and, even as she was hacking through the Heartless' ranks, reminded herself that she couldn't exactly be Sora's "babysitter" all the time. At the same time, though, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly made Sora and Riku such allegedly close friends, when they were such opposites. Sora was, from what she'd seen, a bit of a goofball, clumsily enthusiastic about everything, like a puppy when it came to Kairi. Riku was… Riku.
Char was so deep in thought that only the flash of pain from one of the Heartless' claws brought her back to reality. Shaking her arm to free it of the small bit of blood that had been drawn, Char slashed at the Heartless with the sword in her other hand. It was knocked back into Donald, who cast Thunder, finishing it off.
Pete hissed irritably at the sight of the others having finished off his Heartless. "Just you wait, I'll get you back for this! No one messes with the mighty Pete!"
"So, mighty Pete," Char mocked, even as Sora snickered and slung his Keyblade over his shoulder. "Who lives in this tower anyway?"
"Oh, you don't know? It's the wizard, Yen Sid." Recovering some of his arrogance, Pete laughed. "'Course, he's probably a Heartless by now!"
Donald gasped. "Master Yen Sid lives here?" Without another word, he pushed past Pete – quite a feat, considering their size difference – and had gone into the tower.
"Yen Sid was the king's teacher," Goofy told Sora and Char.
"Wow, sounds pretty strong. Let's go check it out," the brunette said.
"Yes, let's," Char muttered under her breath, following them inside while trying to ignore her still-bleeding arm.
Apparently the hole torn through her dark coat made the blood visible to the others, because as they opened the tower doors to go inside – Pete ranting behind them all the way – Sora gasped. "Char, what…?"
The redhead narrowed her eyes. "What're you looking at, Key –" And then she followed his own sapphire gaze, which was focused on her wounded arm. She laughed, putting one hand over it and ignoring the sharp pang of pain that greeted the feel of leather on exposed flesh. "Oh, that? Just a scratch from one of those Heartless. Nothing, really – I've had way worse."
Goofy looked disbelievingly at her. "But it's bleedin' a lot!"
Char's eyes narrowed further until they were ice-blue slits. "Like I said. I've had much worse."
"I say she's fine," Donald interrupted. Obviously he'd been listening in; he was already standing fidgeting on the stairs to the green light that lay just beyond. "Now c'mon; we gotta go meet Yen Sid!"
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
"Are you absolutely sure you don't need a potion or something?" Sora pressed. Char was about to snap back when she noticed something in his eyes she had not expected: genuine concern. Though her common sense reminded her that it was just because of her possible loss as a fighter that he was worried, she did remember the compassion shown toward others from his memories. Of course, now that tiny spark of sympathy – damn that emotion – flared up in her chest, reminiscent of when Riku had taken Ansem's form, as well as watching some of Sora's memories.
"I'm fine, seriously," she replied, her tone softer this time.
Sora raised one eyebrow, as though he thought she were still in denial, but, obviously not risking to test her change of mood, said nothing more on the subject. He turned and looked up at the green light at what was the visible top of the stairwell. "So… guess we're going up there?"
"Wizards do tend to keep themselves near the tops of their towers," Char muttered, and was startled to realize she was actually trying to keep up a conversation with the Keybearer. Well, she had to fix that right. Now. She shrugged. "It helps them with their mysterious aura." As she spoke she lifted her hands and imitated said 'mysterious aura' with a wiggling of her fingers.
Sora laughed, actually laughed. It was rather a pleasant sound, really, if one refused to acknowledge the fact that it sounded like any other typical teenage male's. But the brunette's seemed more innocent somehow, not derisive so much as purely amused. Char was almost surprised.
But almost as soon as his chuckle started it halted, like he was afraid that she'd smack him for laughing. The thought struck her like a blow from behind, reminding her that she was supposed to just look out for Sora, not become friends with him. The redhead let her eyes travel to just behind Sora, where Donald and Goofy were talking about something; Goofy said something that caused the duck to squawk indignantly and thwack him on the head with a wing.
For that matter, she wasn't going to get all chummy with the other idiots, either.
So she just raised and lowered one shoulder indifferently and started toward the foot of the stairs; she couldn't bring herself to check Sora's expression. "We should be going," she said without turning around. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Donald and Goofy turn at the sound of her voice, the latter still rubbing his head from the duck's onslaught. "Shouldn't we go meet Yen Sid?"
"Of course!" Donald cried, racing on past her and into the green light.
Goofy frowned. "Y'know, I bet there's Heartless on the stairs…"
"Well then, let's go," Sora said, walking past Char. He stopped right in front of the light and turned his head slightly to acknowledge the redhead; she nearly flinched at the look in his eyes, a mixture of hurt and anger. "Are you absolutely sure you're okay with traveling with us?"
Char rolled her eyes. "Duh." Without another word she went ahead and stepped into the wavering jade light.
It was like walking out into the sun after just waking up from a night's sleep, if only for a second. When her eyes had finally blinked away the glare spots from her vision, the first thing she saw was Donald, casting Thunder furiously at a group of shadow-Heartless that had surrounded him.
Quickly she had summoned her two blades and charged. Donald hissed irritably as the hacking swords knocked one of the bug-like creatures into him and hit it away with his staff. It fell backwards, where it promptly faded, its heart floating upward and disappearing. Even as Sora and Goofy appeared through the light portal and drew their own weapons at seeing the situation, Char had already finished off the others.
"I could've handled 'em myself," Donald grumbled, glaring at the redhead.
Char rolled her eyes and threw one of the recently-acquired Potions at him. "Oh, yes, you were handling it so very well. I expect that's why you were surrounded and casting like you were never going to do it again."
The duck continued to glare at her, even as he reached out, snatched the Potion from her hand, and drank it. Goofy sighed, as did Sora. "Look," the brunette said, "can we just stop bickering for a minute and go see Yen Sid?"
"Ah, in a hurry suddenly, are we?" Char muttered, again walking ahead; after a few moments she turned back around and gave them an impatient stare.
Goofy turned to Sora. "She's hidin' somethin', isn't she?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, she waits for us even though it looks like she doesn't want to…"
"Or it could just be because I want to get on with this!" Honestly, the trio wasn't good at hushed whispering at all, Char thought, annoyed.
Donald crossed his arms and, bill up in the air, marched up to stand beside her. Goofy and Sora hastened to follow.
One eyebrow went up over an ice-blue eye as Char realized that they were prepared to actually follow her. Don't flatter yourself, she told herself before the pride could take over. It's only because of your fighting skills. Sora's the one they trust.
Damn, this was going to be hard.
She took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at the Keybearer. "Isn't this… your journey?" Agh… stupid pride. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Sora blinked. "What?"
"Did I stutter, Key-boy?" Ignoring his pout at the nickname, she turned around fully and, mentally ordering her weapons to vanish, put her hands on her hips. "You were the one who defeated Ansem and closed the door to darkness or whatever." The last part was added hastily; she knew the story by heart from Riku, but wanted to – had to – make it seem like she just remembered it from what Sora had told her earlier. "So, as one of your guardians on this journey –" she restrained the mighty urge to use the word babysitter – "I think you should lead."
The brunette blinked again, looking surprised; Char guessed he had assumed she would take the lead without protest, which inadvertently ended up annoying her more. It didn't help that her pride was taking a major beating right about now, either.
"Um, okay, sure." Looking bemused, Sora stepped in front of her. She noticed he still had the Kingdom Key out, and had it slung over one shoulder.
Okay, Riku, she couldn't help but think as they set off back up the stairs, and the irritation in her mental voice was enough to make her imagine he was walking right beside her. I'm in this stupid situation good and deep now because of you. Because of your stupid friend here. So, care to tell me – dare I jinx this even more – how this can get any worse?
Char's eyes unconsciously slid closed, and if she didn't know any better she could've sworn she heard a faint chuckle.
"Heartless, Heartless, Heartless!" Donald snarled, after they had fought off yet another group of the shadow ones as well as higher-ranked, armored Heartless. "Things haven't changed one bit!"
"Well, what'd ya expect?" asked Goofy, catching his shield since it had been still spinning in midair from his most recent attack. "Pete did say he was sendin' Heartless into this tower, remember?"
"Still, that doesn't change the fact that the worlds aren't at peace after all," Char murmured.
"Man… so all that work we did was for nothing?" Sora groaned, even as the Keyblade he held in one hand vanished.
Char shrugged. "I didn't say that. You saved the worlds once – you can do it again, right?"
The brunette offered her a tentative smile. "I guess."
His words were hopeful enough, but the redhead could tell that even Sora's optimism was feigned in this case.
For once, she didn't try to shoot him down.
Sighing, she moved to open the door to the next flight of stairs.
"How many more of these things do we have to go through?" growled the duck, still grumpy from the excessive amount of Heartless.
"Hopefully, only one," said Sora, following Char through the door. After a few moments of trying to calm Donald down, Goofy exited the room as well.
"Hey!" Donald squawked at noticing he was alone. "Wait for me!" And he managed to dive through the exit just as the door closed.
Donald threw the double doors wide open and scrambled inside. Char rolled her eyes. "Seriously, how obvious can he be?"
"What do you mean?" This was Goofy, tilting his head slightly to the side.
The redhead sighed and let her blades vanish. "Never mind."
One would think, she reflected as she stepped up to catch the already-closing door and let herself through, that three people who had been through what they had been through would be less… naïve. Perhaps it was an effect of being asleep in the pods for almost thirteen months – yes, that had to be it. Char knew she would be acting the same way if she had just woken up into a world of turmoil, with nothing but paths of darkness stretching out on both sides.
Or perhaps – this possibility felt strangest of all to admit – Sora and the others were merely trying to preserve their light. She knew all too well what happened to strong people who lost their hearts – in Sora's case, Roxas was living proof of that.
"Char?"
Squaring her shoulders, the redhead turned at the sound of her name; the speaker was Sora, waving his hand in front of her face again. She frowned slightly and took a step away. "Hm? Oh, yeah. Let's go." Without another word she whipped through the door that had been closing even as she had been absorbed in her thoughts.
Sora watched the dark black tail of the coat that disappeared through the door in her wake and put a hand to the sudden twinge in his head.
"Sora?" Goofy asked.
"It's nothing," the brunette muttered. "Let's go."
Upon entering the room, the first thing Sora saw was a long golden table, standing out blatantly against the dark blue of the rest of the room. At the end of the table sat an old, gray-bearded man, clad in blue robes and hat.
In other words, the perfect stereotype of a wizard.
Sora looked around and felt his jaw nearly drop, but to his relief it managed to stay where it was. The sight of Donald bowing at the waist could do that to some people… Goofy had lowered his head slightly to the wizard as well.
At least Char maintained her haughty stance. The sight of the temperamental redhead curtsying would be more than the Keybearer could take.
"Master Yen Sid, it's an honor!" Donald said, his voice muffled with how low he was bowing.
Sora, not knowing what else to do and somewhat flustered at the sight of what his normally-arrogant friend was currently doing, waved. "Hi there!"
Instantly he felt a tug on his pant leg and was yanked down to look into Donald's glaring eyes. "Sora, show some respect!"
The wizard put out one hand for silence, and then turned to scrutinize the brunette. "So, you are Sora…" he murmured. His gaze went to Char, who flinched slightly at the force of his stare, but didn't back down. "And who might this be?"
To Sora's shock, the girl put one arm against her side and leaned over in a bow. "Charisa Nightblaze, Master, at your service. Most call me Char, though."
Yen Sid nodded, with a look on his face as though he were storing this in a mental filing cabinet for future reference. "I see." He directed his next words to all of them, and Sora straightened despite his surprise. "Have you met up with the King yet?"
"Yes, we did, Master," said Goofy. "But we didn't get a chance to talk to him."
"The King has been quite busy of late…" These words made Sora tilt his head slightly to the side. He wondered what all the mouse king had been doing since he had fallen asleep who knew how long ago.
"Therefore," the wizard went on, "it would seem that the task of instructing you four falls upon my shoulders."
Char looked like she was about to protest being one of the people in need of "instruction", but Sora gave her a look that belied his silent desire for her silence. He wanted to hear what all Yen Sid had to say – both about the King and what would lie along the way on their journey.
"You have a perilous journey ahead of you. You must be prepared."
Sora's head jerked back to look at the sorcerer at his words. "But… I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands." If they're even still in one piece, he added mentally.
"Yes. I know." A glimmer of sympathy showed in Yen Sid's eyes now. "However, Sora, you must remember: Everything in your journey is connected. Whether you will find your way back to the islands, whether you will return alone or with your friend…" Sora flinched as his fears were voiced aloud, and Goofy reached up to put a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "And, whether or not the islands will still be there.
"And the key that connects them all is you, Sora."
Sora looked up from where he had been observing his shoes. "I'm… the key?"
"Oh, but no pressure," Char muttered, barely audible. Sora stifled a grin, but at the same time felt a twinge of nervousness at the thought of what lay ahead.
He held out one arm and concentrated; after a moment, the Kingdom Key materialized in his hand. Looking at the weapon, Sora was suddenly struck with the same feeling he had gotten way back in Traverse Town, when Leon and Yuffie had first told him what exactly this sword could do – excitement, the kind that made your heart pound in your chest, accompanied by an unpleasant tint of fear and the feeling that an intense weight rests on your shoulders.
In this case, déjà vu was an unwelcome feeling.
"Chosen wielder of the Keyblade," Yen Sid was saying, and Sora glanced back up at him. The wizard looked deadly serious now, even more so than before, if possible. "Remember that you are the key that will open the door to light."
Sora leveled his gaze to meet Yen Sid's and nodded determinedly. Donald and Goofy straightened and their hands shot up in a salute; Char just gave a single nod of acknowledgment.
With a wave of the hand, Yen Sid had summoned a thick book on the table in a burst of light. "This book contains valuable knowledge you will need for your journey." As he spoke, flicking a finger, he sent the book toward them and opened it. "Study it carefully. Afterward, we will speak of the enemies you will surely confront."
Like a study session with Master all over again, Char thought. She stepped up and nodded again before starting to read. Donald and Goofy followed to stand on either side of her, with Donald craning his neck to get a better view; failing to do so, the duck settled back on his previously-straining feet and crossed his arms irritably.
Sora had walked over and, standing on tiptoe, leaned over her shoulder in order to read the book. Char could feel one of his brown locks tickling the side of her head, and she felt a flash of annoyance. Ignoring the sound of Goofy reading the book aloud to Donald, she edged away slightly; enough so she'd be able to still read, but just far enough away that the brunette's spiky hair didn't touch hers. She didn't dare turn her head to see the Keyblade master's reaction.
After a few moments of reading and holding her breath, Char let it out in a sigh and straightened. She could almost hear Sora's murmur of relief, and for some reason that bothered her. Am I not pleasant to be around or something?
Well, no kidding, Nightblaze, a voice inside her head quipped. Look how you're acting around him. Riku said to look after him, not cow him into doing what you want him to.
Oh, shut up.
"Hey, Yen Sid," she began slowly, and the wizard glanced over at her. "Why are the Heartless still running around?"
At her question Donald, who had been listening to Goofy read the book out loud to him, turned and walked over next to her. "Yeah, Master, we met lots of Heartless on the way up here." He growled softly as though the memory itself annoyed him to the point of anger.
Goofy and Sora had walked over even as the wizard was answering Char's question. The redhead folded her arms across her chest and tried very hard not to meet Sora's eyes. Half of her feared what she would see there, and half of her was restraining herself from trying to pummel the loser right then and there.
"Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the Great Darkness," Yen Sid was saying.
Sora, Donald and Goofy cast a questioning look in Char; the girl rolled her eyes. "Basically, what you did was brave and heroic, yada yada yada, and you saved the worlds from the Heartless. Stuff you already know."
Yen Sid's brow twitched in amusement, but he kept talking. "However, the Heartless themselves are darkness made real – as long as there remains a single shard of darkness in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them for good."
Sora and his two friends sighed and hung their heads in disappointment. Char just shrugged. To be honest, she had grown used to a world – or rather, worlds – with Heartless. It sounded strange, but she would find it hard to get used to living without them. After all, that was the reason she had bothered to learn the blade back home in the first place.
"Gawrsh, so if everybody's heart was filled with light, the Heartless'd go away, right?" asked Goofy.
The redhead scoffed. "Aren't we the optimist. Sorry, Goofy, but some of us live in reality. There will always be a little bit of darkness in people's hearts. It'll be difficult to snuff out no matter what we do."
Donald glared at her. "Aren't we the pessimist."
Char chose to ignore him.
"I'm afraid your friend is right," Yen Sid interjected before a fight could break out. "But for now, it is time to speak of the enemies you will encounter."
Okay, Char thought. She knew all of this already – seriously, she had the full right to tune this out if she wanted to. But she knew she had to make it look like she'd never known this before now.
Annoying, was what it was – pretending to be ignorant so she could fit in with this bunch. Especially considering it was the exact opposite of how it was at home; she had had to be as clever as she could, not just to best the Heartless, but to help her former mentor in gathering research on the door to darkness.
Yen Sid cast one arm out to the side, and a simulation of Donald appeared, causing the aforementioned duck to let out a "wak!" of surprise.
"If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart," the wizard began, "they too will become a Heartless." The picture of the mage faded, to be replaced by one of the feral, bug-like Heartless they had fought on the stairs. "But you know this."
Sora and Goofy nodded, and Donald turned and followed suit after staring at the image of the Heartless for a moment.
"The Heartless are always lurking, ever seeking to capture new hearts," Yen Sid went on, his tone becoming firmer as he spoke. "Never let your guard down!" He calmed slightly. "Now, then…"
He flicked his wrist again, and another picture was conjured next to the one of the Heartless: one of the white creatures they had fought at the train station. Sora gasped and pointed. "We fought one of those before!"
"Yeah, on the way to the train, Master," added Goofy.
Yen Sid nodded to show he had heard their words. "At times, if someone with a strong heart and will – be they evil or good – becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own." The Heartless disappeared, leaving only the white enemy, swaying from side to side. "An empty vessel whose heart has been taken away… a spirit that goes on, even as its body fades from existence. For you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all."
"Nobodies…" Sora murmured, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "They don't exist…"
"They may seem to have feelings," the wizard continued, "but this is a ruse. They only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!"
The sound of a "poof" next to them made the four of them turn. Three more of the simulated white things had popped up. "Now then… the being you see before you is called a Dusk. They are the most common form of Nobody. But, there are others, larger Nobodies, with stronger and unique powers.
"Along your journey, you will meet an alarming number of Dusks. They will all attempt to do you harm." The pictures of the Dusks faded, and the others looked back to face the wise wizard. "Still," the old man went on, "they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to darkness in the end. But…"
In the place of the Dusks appeared three taller, darker beings. This was the part of the lecture that Char had dreaded most, because talking about the Organization always made her antsy or angry, usually an uncomfortable mixture of both.
Sora, Donald and Goofy each took a step backward at the ominous look of the black, hooded figures before them, so that Char was the only one remaining right in front of the simulations.
"The beings you see before you now are different," said Yen Sid. "These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII."
Char cringed a little, and then immediately regretted showing such weakness.
"I knew it!" Donald squawked, pointing at her. "We should never have brought her along!"
Char rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her leather-covered chest. "How do you know for sure I'm with the Organization?"
"That coat," Sora said angrily, summoning his Keyblade. "You're a Nobody, aren't you?"
"That'd sure explain a lot," the duck mage muttered under his breath.
"I heard that, you know!" Char sighed. "Don't make me draw my weapons on you. Think about it – if I was with the Organization, if I was really trying to do you in, don't you think I would have done it by now?"
"Y'could just be waitin' to do it," Goofy pointed out.
"I do not believe this is the case." The three of them whirled to face Yen Sid. "When Char entered this room," the wizard went on, "I sensed a powerful aura of light coming from her. Nobodies would have a subtle air of darkness, would they not?"
"But…" Sora lowered the Kingdom Key.
"She does not intend to harm you. For the moment, anyway."
After a few moments, during which Char could feel her heart rate speed up slightly at the thought of having to fight these bozos – but it was not because they were growing on her, hell no, if anything it would be because they'd be without a guide for the rest of their journey – Sora allowed his weapon to vanish from his hand.
"Sora!" Donald sounded shocked.
"If Yen Sid senses her light, then she obviously still has a heart, doesn't she?" Sora shrugged and glanced at the redhead. His sapphire eyes carried a slight hint of suspicion. "Even if it does have its own darkness."
Char snorted.
"He's right, Donald," Goofy reminded his friend.
"Okay," the duck muttered grudgingly, and then hastily added, "But that still doesn't mean we have to trust you!"
"Oh, no," Char sighed sarcastically, putting one hand to her cheek in mock indignation. "You made me cry, Donald. I'm so sad. Look at my distraught eyes." She opened her eyes very wide for emphasis.
Sora looked as though he were restraining a laugh, not unlike earlier at the very bottom of the tower.
Yen Sid waited patiently, and then went on as though nothing had happened. "Organization XIII commands the lesser Nobodies. While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan; and it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is, we do not know."
Sora, Donald and Goofy exchanged an uneasy glance at that.
"The King sensed this danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's Keyblade, and with it, closed the door. Now he is traveling from world to world, fighting off the Heartless and searching for the answer to the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII."
The pictures of the Organization members dissolved as Sora spoke up. "Well then, I guess we'd better go find the King first!"
"One problem – we don't know where he's going to be," Char said.
"Well, we're not gonna know till we look," said Goofy, grinning.
"Yeah, and the King has to know where Riku is, because they were together in the realm of darkness when we closed the door."
Again, at the sound of her friend's name the redhead felt an unwelcome twinge in her upper abdomen. Guilt, perhaps?
"Before you go," Yen Sid said, "you will need suitable traveling clothes." He gestured to what Sora was wearing. "Those look a bit too small for you."
Then again, Char didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt for insulting the brunette's outfit. She couldn't suppress a smirk. Sora smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, you're right."
"Through there," Yen Sid pointed through a wide door nearby, "you'll find three good fairies. If you ask, they'll create for you appropriate garments."
"Right, thanks!"
"Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy said, "you sure are growing fast!"
"Um, I guess…" Sora tried to flex his arms for muscles, or lack thereof.
Char rolled her eyes. "You're not buff, man. Just face it."
Sora cast her a withering look, which Char returned with gusto.
Donald sighed and shook his head. "This journey's definitely going to take a while."
Yup, Yen Sid doing his usual "blah blah blah" speech. And somewhat of a Char/Sora moment. Yay.
Next chapter: Sora gets his new clothes, and due to some interference from the fairies, Char shows her new outfit as well. (God, that sounded like a fashion designer o.O) I really should get some pictures of her on my Photobucket account... (is too lazy to get a DeviantArt)
But I have drawn a little five-page comic of my characters' misadventures. Hopefully you'll be able to reach it here:
http / s62 . photobucket . com / albums / h111 / safaricat / OCs ?start (equals sign) all Just take out all the spaces, and you'll get to it. Only for some odd reason the pages are out of order, so... yeah. Hopefully you'll be able to figure that out x-x;
However, there ARE spoilers for two OCs later on. So if you care about that kind of thing (for whatever reason...), just leave it alone. (I'd love your feedback all the same, though :P)
ALSO! I'm coming dangerously close to the end of the material I've typed out so far. So expect the rate in updates to drop at around Chapter 16 or so.