Two posts in one weekend - cherish it while it lasts. There's only four chappies left of already-written material after this.
Still pissed off at Mia on .hack... (grumbles)
So, yeah. And Anxclof makes a cameo in this chapter. Yay.
LMAO I JUST REALIZED THIS IS CHAPTER XIII xDDDD Oh, irony...
Disclaimer- PLEASE don't make me repeat myself...
The thunder crashed overhead, closely followed by a jagged white bolt of lightning, stark against the dark black sky, which showed just behind the pale green skyscraper. The lone figure moving through the overcast city hardly seemed to notice the wetness of the rain pounding against her body, the rain that plastered her long brown hair to the sides of her neck and back; she lifted her eyes to the sky almost in dim recognition of the weather.
Her ears suddenly seemed to prick. Something appeared in her hand in a flash of golden light – light that was somehow dark at the same time – and the weapon whipped down to slice into the torso of the creature that had just sneaked up behind her. The shadow Heartless, already posed to turn around and return from where it had come, hissed in displeasure and dissolved in a surge of black smoke.
The girl lowered her Keyblade and stared straight ahead with indifferent, dark green eyes. She knew part of the reason the Heartless had been about to leave her was because it had realized she didn't have what it wanted.
Somehow, the knowledge didn't bother her as much as it used to.
Meh, whatever. She held her glove-clad arm out to the side and allowed the pale gold Keyblade to disappear, but kept the Keychain – complete with a lightning bolt-shaped charm at the end – close at hand, just in case. With any luck, her business in the creatively-named World That Never Was would be over soon.
She just wished she knew why it was so empty right now… (1)
When Char caught up to the others, they had already nearly climbed the stairwell that led up to the clearing in front of the bailey. At first she felt a wave of confusion due to the fact that Goofy was nowhere in sight, which was promptly magnified when she saw Sora in his red clothing.
Since there were no Heartless around, she felt it was pretty safe to just walk up and tap Donald on the shoulder; though she regretted it instantly when the duck squawked in surprise, whirled around, and raised his staff to zap her in the shoulder with his newly-acquired Fira attack.
Char swore rather loudly at the pain. It was magic fire, and so didn't hurt as much as the regular kind and didn't leave a huge mark, but nevertheless it still stung quite a bit. She rubbed her shoulder and glared fiercely at the mage.
Sora turned as well to see what exactly his friend was doing, and his eyes widened at seeing the already-fading scorch mark that had created a hole in the dark brown fabric of her jacket. "What happened?" He looked as though he were about to add something teasing about how she'd already gotten hurt on the way here, but wisely restrained himself.
"This idiot over here zapped me before I could do anything!" Char snapped back, jerking her head toward Donald as she spoke. The Keybearer recoiled a little, but otherwise met her gaze rather steadfastly for someone under Char's icy glare.
"Well, I can't exactly take any chances when you sneak up behind me like that."
"I'm sorry. Does my tread sound like a Heartless appearing to you? I think not."
Donald sniggered. "I wouldn't be too sure…"
Sora sighed and lowered the hand that held the lavender Keyblade. "Here we go again…"
"Where's Goofy, anyway?" Char asked, deciding to abandon the subject of Donald's paranoia for now. She'd be a hypocrite if she said that she wouldn't have done the same thing in his place, anyway. She could always chastise the duck properly later.
Sora's eyes lit up. "Ah, yeah! You see –"
But before he could continue, a flash of light rent the air, and Char instinctively raised an arm to shield her eyes. When the light faded, there stood Sora in his normal clothes, the lavender Keyblade reduced to just the Keychain – crescent moon-shaped charm and all. What confused her most was that Goofy came ambling over from near them, when just a few moments ago she hadn't been able to find him at all.
The redhead blinked in bewilderment, looking from the dog to the Keybearer and back again. "Um – okay – what the hell just –"
Realizing she probably looked like the biggest idiot in all the worlds right now – if the smirk of smug amusement on Donald's face didn't testify to that – Char promptly shut her mouth.
"When we left," Sora said, "I decided I wanted to try out that new power the fairies gave me back at Yen Sid's place."
"Well, yeah, I gathered that," Char snorted, regaining her haughty posture almost at once as she folded her arms. "But…" She let her voice trail off and pointed questioningly at Goofy.
"Seems that whenever Sora goes into his fancy red outfit," the dog said, grinning like nothing had happened, "he gets my power with it! Pretty cool, huh?"
"Damned confusing, is what it is," Char grumbled under her breath, raising one hand so that her fingers were pinching the bridge of her nose. "Wouldn't it get kind of annoying, being absorbed every time Sora decides he needs dual-wielding?"
"It wouldn't be all the time," Donald cut in, giving her a "duh this is obvious" look.
"Whatever," Char growled, deciding the subject needed to be changed immediately. Donald, realizing he was not going to best Char today, looked grumpy at that. "Don't we have a bailey to get to? We don't have time to be messing around talking about where Goofy goes when Sora goes into his little… red… state thing."
"Oh, yeah, that!" Sora chirped. "I've decided to call it 'Valor Form' – you know, because Goofy's brave and all of that."
"Whatever, man. Do what you want."
Sora just looked amused as Char turned and headed up the stairs – but not before an armored Heartless had appeared between her legs again. She snarled indignantly and summoned her blades to slash it away. "Why does this always happen?!"
Sora raised a hand to his mouth to cover his snigger, while Donald just chuckled openly and went in to zap it with Fira. Goofy had the good grace to look sympathetic.
Leon turned at the sound of footsteps, and smiled in welcome when he saw Sora, Donald, and Goofy. His smile faded a little at the sight of Char, who just glared back at him.
Apparently, something had set the redhead on edge yet again.
Surprising. He, Squall Leonhart, had pretty much just met this girl, and he could already see she was going to be somewhat of a hindrance to Sora. (2)
Well, it didn't really matter. Sora had saved the worlds once, and he could do it again. Leon was confident enough in the younger brunette that he thought the one-year absence didn't really matter for the Keybearer.
The eldest of them all turned back to the ledge overlooking the greater part of Hollow Bastion – overlooking the once-magnificent castle. "Look at that," he said, gesturing at the view. Sora walked over to stand beside Leon, as did Goofy; Donald was forced to pull himself halfway up onto the ledge for a better view. Char chose to stand a ways behind them, but not so far away that she couldn't see.
Sora and his two friends gasped at the sight of the great castle crumbling away before their eyes, but Char rolled her eyes. "We noticed that when we landed, thanks very much. We already know the castle's in ruin."
Leon narrowed his eyes slightly at her arrogant tone. "And I suppose you also already know that we're planning to restore Hollow Bastion to what it used to be."
Char shrugged. "Well, it was kind of obvious."
Deciding to leave the matter alone for now, Leon directed his next words to Sora. "There's a lot to do, but we – that is, the Restoration Committee – are trying to handle it all."
"No problem, then!" Sora said, smiling confidently up at his friend and giving him a thumbs-up.
Leon couldn't help but give his own little half-smile – the Keybearer's emotions were contagious that way. However, the sight of his world in its current state wiped the older man's pleasure away again. "And there's also… that…"
He pointed discreetly again, and this time they all had to crane their necks to see; Donald actually nearly fell off the ledge, but Goofy managed to steady him in time. Two Dusks were slithering along toward the castle, far below.
Sora looked back up at Leon. "Aw, those guys aren't so tough. We can handle 'em."
"Remember what I told you before?" Char interrupted abruptly. "Don't underestimate your enemies. Overconfidence breeds carelessness." (3)
"You know, you've technically been journeying for less time than we have," Donald pointed out, giving her the venomous look he had already reserved just for the redhead.
"You're right – and if I'd had a say in the matter it would definitely have been under different circumstances."
"If you'd had a say?" Sora asked, looking somewhat suspiciously at her.
At this Char instantly went quiet, though the sour look never left her features.
Leon ignored them. "So, do you guys have any idea what's going on?"
"Well," Goofy began, "there's Pete, who's been bringin' more and more Heartless to each world."
"But he's not smart enough to tie his own shoes," Sora continued. "It's the Nobodies you need to worry about."
"And don't forget Organization XIII," added Goofy.
"You called?"
The trio jumped in surprise – Donald nearly fell off the ledge again, but caught himself just in time – at the sudden deep, ominous voice that had pierced the air.
Char, however, seemed to go on high alert almost at once. The twin blades appeared in her hands, and, looking around furiously to see where the voice had come from, looked angry enough to spit fire at the next thing that dared get in her way.
It's just like when Yen Sid told us about the Organization, Goofy noted.
Sora looked at them all. "Come on!" he said, firm determination etched onto his face. Donald and Goofy nodded, drew their respective weapons, and followed him down the path; Leon stayed where he was in case the Organization chose to pop up in the bailey.
Once the four of them had all descended the broken stairs to the more open space below, Char swung her head from side to side, looking for the speaker; Sora had never seen her so angry. "Show yourselves!" she demanded.
The deep voice chuckled. "Well, well, Charisa. It looks like you're doing well. And the rest of you, too."
"Shut up!" Char snarled.
The voice just chuckled again; this time, it addressed Sora, whose confusion at the Organization's interaction with Char turned to attention at the voice. "This calls for a celebration, does it not?"
There was a pause as though the owner of the voice had just snapped his fingers; giving the four of them a moment to glance quickly at each other. Then a group of Nobodies – Dusks and Samurais alike – appeared, surrounding them.
There came a yell from above – Leon's battle cry. "We have to help him!" Sora cried, even as the Kingdom Key appeared in his hand and he sliced at one of the Dusks. However, it just slithered out of range.
"Then what do you suggest we do, O Brave Leader?" Char grunted, spreading her arms out to their full lengths on each side so the swords could slash through the Samurais on either side of her. Obviously, she wasn't planning on making the same mistake she had before. "We're surrounded by enemies. What should we do?"
Sora looked confused for a brief moment; then a look of realization lit up his features. He turned to Goofy. "Goofy, give me your shield!"
Without hesitation, trusting the brunette, the dog dodged to the side of one of the Dusks and threw the shield, not unlike a boomerang, at Sora. Donald saw that this left his friend without a weapon and immediately moved to cover him.
Sora switched his Keyblade to his other hand so he could hold the shield better. Somehow knowing what he was doing, he raised it high up in the air, blocking the Nobodies' attacks with his Keyblade, and tossed the shield haphazardly through the air with an underhanded throw.
The shield whipped through the air, knocking all the Nobodies aside with a burst of gray smoke, aided by the power of the Keybearer. As the blue-and-green shield whirled full circle, it came to rest in Goofy's hand once again. Char watched Sora's display of strategy out of the corner of her eye, secretly surprised. It must've been the Roxas in him coming out, she decided.
Sora's grin of triumph didn't last long, as more Nobodies only took their place. He groaned. "Are these guys just gonna keep coming…?"
"Sora!" Char yelled, nodding discreetly toward the now-open broken stairway. Sora's eyes followed where she'd gestured, and nodded quickly in reply. Without another word, the two of them began to leap up the gray "stairs", parrying aside the Nobodies that appeared in their way as they went.
When they reached the top, Char, seeing that they had both sustained injuries from when the Nobodies had pinned them to the walls of the lower bailey, groaned irritably. "Damn it, we could really use a Cura right about now…"
"Yeah, Donald had it right before we went to sleep. And I still can't remember how we came to be there in the first place!"
Char felt the inner cringe of guilt again and made an effort to cover it up at once. "That is frustrating," she agreed, and it was truly how she felt, "but you can't dwell on it right now." Without hesitation she charged toward the mass of Nobodies surrounding Leon.
Before she could reach him, a pale orange glow appeared in the small gap in the heaving mass of Dusks, and they all vanished, defeated. Leon stood there, panting, holding his Gunblade out in front of him like a shield. "About time," he grunted.
"Yeah, yeah," Char growled in response. "You're welcome." She let out a growl of pain as one of the Samurais' scabbards struck her in the side of the ribs, knocking her against the wall. Her anger turned to fear as it closed in. If this was going to be a repeat of before, then she was definitely going to scream.
But, like before, the Nobody froze in place for a brief moment before Sora sliced through it. "How do you do that?" Char asked breathlessly, chest heaving as she got to her feet.
Sora shrugged, equally out of breath from the exhilaration of the fight. "Uh… instinct?"
It's Roxas, is what it is, Char thought, but kept it to herself. "Right," she grunted, refusing to say a straight "thank you". "Well, they're almost gone now, at any rate."
Sora tossed a Potion at her, and she gulped it down gratefully; she didn't even notice the somewhat bitter taste of a long-untouched Potion, because the pain from her wounds was fading.
A final squelching noise came from behind them as Leon cleaved the last Dusk into two and it faded back to the darkness from which it had appeared.
"Leon, you're hurt!" Sora cried, staring at a rip in the dark fabric of the elder's sleeve.
"Don't worry about it, I'll have Aerith take care of it when I get back," Leon replied gruffly. "Just get to Donald and Goofy!"
"I'd say he's got the right idea," Char muttered, grabbing Sora's wrist the way he had grabbed hers. She noticed almost at once the warmth of him, but shook it off before the blush could tint her cheeks. "Let's go."
Sora's eyes flicked briefly down to the green-clad hand holding his wrist, as though he were afraid she would try to crush it between her fingers. For some reason, it stung a little that he was afraid of her.
The confrontation lasted a brief moment before Char let go and led the way down the broken stairs. Below, Donald was just blasting the final Samurai into oblivion.
"Alright, we beat your stupid cronies," Char called out, the dark look of icy fire taking her face and eyes again. "Now show yourselves!"
Again, the voice ignored her, which ignited her temper even further, if possible. It addressed Sora again:
"Ah, the Keyblade… a truly marvelous weapon." Sora's gaze lowered to the silver Kingdom Key in his left hand, then rose back up to where the voice was coming from. "Were it only in more… capable hands…"
Derisive laughter followed these words. Char froze. Of all the Organization members, he has to pick the ones that will haunt me the most…
Sora glared furiously at the stone wall in front of them, where he judged the voice was coming from. "Get out here so we can finish this!"
The voice chuckled. "As you wish…"
There was an odd whooshing noise from above, drawing the four's attention to the top of the wall. Six figures had appeared; all of them were wearing the same black coat, just like in Yen Sid's simulations, and all six had their hoods up.
"Organization XIII!" Goofy cried, drawing his shield.
"Now we can settle this," Sora said, getting into his battle stance.
The hooded figure that was standing slightly in front of his companions sighed. "Tsk, tsk," he murmured, revealing that he was the owner of the deep voice. "And here I thought we could be friends…"
"How the hell could I ever be friends with you, Xemnas?" Char snarled. She looked as though she were fully ready to spring up onto the wall and take out the entire group if she tried.
"It may not be wise to reveal our relationship just yet, dear Charisa," the figure standing on the right side of Xemnas said, his voice sounding like he was smirking. "You know what Master said…"
"You shut up too!" Char spat, the grip on her weapons growing white-knuckled.
"Temper, temper, now," said the one on the left, raising an arm and waggling a gloved finger mockingly. All six of them laughed again and vanished in bursts of dark light.
"Stop!" Donald shouted, already making his way up the stairs to try and find a way to the top of the wall.
Char sighed wearily. "Don't bother. They can warp – they're probably worlds away by now."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that." The voice of the figure that had been to the left of Xemnas rang through the air, causing them all to whirl around.
"What's the big idea?" Donald growled, waving his staff threateningly.
"Oopsy daisy!" the man said sarcastically. "It seems I've totally overshot my warping destination." He began to pace around them, tapping his chin with his finger in mock thought. "Now how, oh how can I get back?"
"You just want to stay here and taunt us," Char said angrily.
"Move!" Sora commanded.
"Now, do you really think that's polite, shutting me down like that?" the black-clad man asked.
"I said get out of the way!"
"And if not, then we're gonna make you move," added Donald, glaring fiercely at the man. Char almost laughed at the sight of a three-foot-tall duck glaring daggers at a six-foot man, but restrained herself due to the circumstances.
"See, that would work, if I were just any old dude." The man put extra emphasis on the word "if", and Char flinched inwardly. No… even in becoming a Nobody, he hadn't changed a bit.
"Except," he went on, "that I'm with the Organization. Nothing 'any old' about me." He turned his head to Char, making her almost positive that he was directing a derisive, condescending smirk at her. Just like old times, eh? "Isn't that right, dearest Char?"
"Don't call me that!" Char spat, her temper flaring up again.
"But it's who you are." The man looked almost imploringly at her.
"I'm not who was I was back then, Braig!" Char retorted, holding one blade out in front of her in a threatening stance. "Or have you taken to the idiotic trend of renaming yourself like our other little friends?"
Sora, Donald and Goofy exchanged confused glances. Braig? Did Char really actually know some of these mysterious black-hooded men?
But Sora put a finger to his lips, signaling for the duck and the dog to keep quiet. This was Char's confrontation and they really had no business interfering.
The man – Braig? – laughed tauntingly. "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. You're going to have to wait to find out, though, aren't you?" Crossing his arms, he added, "Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"
Putting his arms out to the sides, two lavender-tinted, crossbow-like weapons appeared in each hand. Char looked slightly intimidated at first, but it passed at once. She lowered the blade in front of her and placed both swords out to her sides in her battle stance. "Bring it on, then!"
In response, though, the other just laughed again and made his weapons vanish. "See? You really haven't changed a bit."
"You're awfully tough for a guy who stood on the sidelines while his Nobody flunkies did the fighting!" Sora interjected, stepping forward to stand beside Char. She gave him a brief, confused look, and he returned it with a sheepish grin that clearly said he wanted to help.
Turning back to glare at the cloaked man, the brunette raised his Keyblade the way Char had raised her sword. "I bet you can't even fight."
"Oh dear." The man "tsk"ed. "I think you got the wrong impression."
"You gonna cry?" Sora taunted.
"Seems I'm gonna have to remind you too. What a shame."
"Remind me?" Sora blinked, lowering his Keyblade slightly.
"Don't let him get to you, Sora," Donald cried from behind them.
Seeming to come out of a trance, the boy got back into his battle stance and glared even more fiercely at the Organization member.
In response, though, the man just laughed again – more raucous and condescending this time, which only served to infuriate Char more. "And just what are you laughing at?" she snarled.
Ignoring her, Braig pointed at Sora, still laughing slightly. "That's right – he used to give me that exact same look!"
"I guess you think you can psyche me out by saying really random stuff," Sora retorted.
"Gee, I just don't know…" Braig spread his arms to the side in what Char supposed was bewilderment.
These guys don't have hearts, Sora reminded himself. He's probably just pretending he knew someone like me so he can catch me off-guard. He narrowed his eyes even more so that they were dark blue slits. Well, it's not gonna work on me.
Donald and Goofy stepped up on either side of Char and Sora, clearly intending to help them battle the man. But the Organization member just waved and stepped backward into the dark portal that had just appeared behind him. "Be good, now!" he called, and smirked at Char – a smirk that she could feel enveloping her. "And you, Char – be careful what you decide to stick your little nose into. You just might get as good as you give."
With that, he stepped backward and vanished.
"Nuts," Donald grumbled. "He got away."
"That was weird," said Sora, tilting his head to the side. "Who gave him the same look?"
Char felt something catch in her chest at Sora's words and raised her head to stare out at the ruined castle far above, wanting to look at anything but her companions for fear that they would see what she knew in her eyes.
Unfortunately, Goofy noticed. "Hey, Char," the dog said, stepping up behind her. "You okay?"
Damn him for being so perceptive, Char thought. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled, turning away from the castle and choosing to focus on her shoes.
"Are you sure?" Sora asked, walking up to her. Clearly he was feeling bolder toward her after what she had done during the battle with the Nobodies. "You seemed pretty… well… angry when the Organization showed up, and then when that guy appeared…"
"I said I'm fine," the redhead growled, jerking her head up to look directly at the brunette. Apparently her glare was too much for him, because Sora blinked, clearly choosing to back off for now.
There were footsteps behind them, and the gang turned to see Leon. "You guys alright?" the older man asked.
"We're fine," Donald said, giving him a thumbs-up.
Sora reached into his pocket and took out the laminated purple card that Aerith had given them; Char had almost forgotten about it in the heat of the battle, and then her anger toward the Organization.
The Keybearer read aloud from it, almost to reassure himself: "The Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member: Sor – huh?"
For as Sora had begun to say his name, the card had started to glow brightly, and not just from the light of the sun. The brunette stared down at his Keyblade for a moment, then raised it up to the sky. A thin beam of white light shot out from it, creating a keyhole-shaped rip in the sky; Char could see dark clouds moving within the rip.
"What's this?" asked Leon, looking up at the sky.
"Gawrsh, ya think…?" asked Goofy.
"Ohhh…" Sora murmured, lowering his Keyblade. "Now I get it…"
"He said 'whenever a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade'…" Char let her voice trail off. She turned to the brunette. "Sora, we have to go. Other worlds are calling."
"Right." Sora nodded and grinned at her. She was surprised to find herself smiling back, but forced it away almost at once.
"Oh boy!" Donald squawked in excitement.
Sora directed his grin to Leon. "Sorry to run, Leon, but we've gotta go!"
Leon nodded and folded his arms across his chest. "Organization XIII… They look tough. Be careful out there."
Sora and the others nodded. "See you soon," Sora said, waving. He turned to the others. "C'mon, guys."
As they made their way up the bailey steps, Char heard Goofy mutter under his breath, "So… where'd we park the Gummi ship again?"
The four of them found the Gummi ship right where they'd left it – sitting just behind one of the buildings in the marketplace. Sora stifled a yawn as they entered. "Man, I'm tired…"
"Well, I'd think what all we've done today would do that," Donald replied, sitting on his copilot chair so he could look out the window.
"And it's gettin' late, too," Goofy added, his own gaze focused on the late sunset that painted the sky outside.
Char absently took the pilot seat next to Donald, too absorbed in her own thoughts to notice she was sitting next to the mage. Did the Organization have to show up, right when she was just hoping that this journey would go well? It pissed her off; it really did. And Sora and the others still didn't know the reason behind her problems with the Nobodies.
Hopefully, things would stay that way.
She felt something tap her on the shoulder and turned her head slightly to see Sora. "Are you really okay?" he asked, tilting his own head to the side in a way that caused his cinnamon-brown spikes to tremble.
Char sighed and shook her head in amusement. "You really don't trust me yet, do you?"
Sora's features turned to flustered guilt. "What – ? Oh, no, no, it's not like that –" he began, shaking his head and waving his hands from side to side.
Char laughed; he really did manage to cheer her up this time around. "Look, Sora, I appreciate the concern." Sora smiled in relief that she hadn't tried to impale him for talking to her. "But really," she went on more firmly, "everything's fine. I just let him get to me when I shouldn't have, that's all."
"So…" This was Goofy, who had walked up to stand on the other side of her.
Char narrowed her eyes at him. "So… what?"
"Are you ever gonna tell us about how those Organization guys know ya?" the dog asked.
Char sighed. "All in good time; all in good time."
"Why can't we know now?" Donald cut in, giving her another suspicious look.
"You wouldn't understand if I told you. It's a long, embarrassing, annoying story."
Donald scoffed disbelievingly and turned back to look outside, folding his arms grumpily.
Deciding she needed something to take her mind off of today, Char stood abruptly, startling both Sora and Goofy. She looked fiercely at the Keybearer. "Sora. You, me. The back of the ship. Now."
Sora blinked at her forceful tone, as well as how she was currently grabbing the collar of his jacket – to accentuate her order, he supposed. Either way, it was working just fine. "Er, o-okay, sure," he stammered.
If he was obeying her, it was really only to make sure her face was no longer mere inches from his.
Char smirked and pushed him away, causing him to stumble. "Good." Drawing her blades, she swept out of the cockpit, toward the more spacious area in the back of the vessel.
Donald and Goofy exchanged bemused glances, as though asking each other what the hell had just happened.
Sora sighed. "I guess I should go meet her."
"Be careful, Sora," Donald said instinctively.
Sora shrugged. "She hasn't tried to kill us yet, has she?"
"Yet," the duck snorted.
Goofy just gave the brunette a helpless look and a shrug.
When Sora entered the room – a combination of living room, kitchen and dining room, if the tables, stove and chandelier didn't testify – Char was indeed there. She was sitting cross-legged on the tiled floor, absently staring at the purple-and-blue hilt of the blade she held in her left hand.
Not knowing what he should do, Sora cleared his throat awkwardly. The redhead jerked in surprise, lowering her sword at once and turning to glare at him. "About time," she grunted. She stood and paced the room so she was standing across from him.
"I couldn't help but notice during our fight with the Nobodies," she begun brusquely, "that your fighting skills seem to have gotten a little rusty while you were asleep."
Sora looked indignant. "You don't even know –"
Char put up the index finger of her free hand for silence. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I just thought it would help if we practiced a bit while Heartless aren't breathing down our necks." She said all this almost at once, as though trying to get it over with.
Sora blinked. "Uh, okay. What brought this on?"
"I just told you, didn't I?" she retorted. The other of her two blades – the one with the purple-and-red hilt – appeared in her previously-free hand. She pointed the sword at him. "Now, summon your weapon."
"But… but I don't want to…" Sora had no idea what he was going to say. I don't want to hurt you? I don't want to fight you?
But the way he left it hanging, he realized, must sound incredibly bratty.
Char rolled her eyes. "Key-boy, it's not a matter of desire. It's a matter of kicking ass and doing it right."
Sora drew in a deep breath. He knew she was right. The Star Seeker – the lavender Keyblade normally reserved for his Valor Form – appeared in his hand.
Char looked briefly confused at the change from the Kingdom Key, then swung her blades out to the side. "Right. Attack me."
"As simple as that?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
Char just shrugged.
The brunette stared from his Keyblade to the redhead for a brief moment. What the heck, he decided, and, readying his weapon to hold it in both hands, charged at her.
The result was almost instantaneous. Char whipped to the side, and in the same moment that Sora stumbled, trying to get his balance, lashed out with her sword. He barely managed to leap back out of the way in time.
"Good," she said. "A little predictable, but at least you know when to get the hell away when your enemy's coming at you." She grinned slightly. "Now, try again."
The training went on for what felt like forever to Sora. No matter what attack he tried, Char seemed to know what was coming. Whenever he asked how she could dodge so well, she simply replied that she had learned her style from the best. The sound of steel clashing against steel echoed throughout the large room. Sora was sure Donald and Goofy could hear what was going on, and was surprised they hadn't come in to see what exactly was happening in here.
At last the door opened slightly, and a loud squawk rang through the air. "Dinner's ready!"
"Hm?" Sure enough, Char could smell the delicious aroma of spaghetti sauce wafting through the air. (4) She felt her stomach rumble in anticipation, and realized that she hadn't eaten anything today. Unless she counted the sandwich she'd managed to eat just before she'd gone out to meet Sora in the mansion, but otherwise…
In the brief moment she'd spent dwelling on food, she felt something strike hard against her belly, knocking her to the floor. The swords flew out of her hands and vanished upon contact with the floor. Panting, trying to get her breath back from flat on her back, Char looked up to see Sora breathing hard, holding the Star Seeker to the side of her neck. He was grinning even through his exhaustion, in the triumph of someone who has fought hard and managed to win.
Char looked from the pale purple glint of the Keyblade to Sora's dark blue eyes. "Nice," was all she could say.
Sora's grin widened, and he made his weapon vanish so that the redhead could get up. She did so, then smirked. "Just make sure that next time you can disarm your opponent while they aren't distracted."
The brunette's countenance faded into a pout.
"Well, either way, I'm hungry," Char said. "Let's go eat!"
The spaghetti was delicious, Char was surprised to find. Goofy, for all his idiotic talk, was a very good cook – he'd gotten the sauce to perfect temperature and everything. She'd had to restrain the urge to fling a spoonful of the sauce at Donald a few times, though, mostly because the duck wouldn't stop pestering her.
The moon was just above the horizon outside, shining a conspicuous silver against the pale gray of the marketplace walls. Sora glanced at his companions. "So, where are we gonna sleep tonight?"
Donald and Goofy put a finger to their chins in thought, then shrugged after a moment.
Char spoke up at once. "I want to sleep in the back of the ship."
"And why is that?" asked Donald.
She rolled her eyes. "So I don't accidentally roll onto a lever in my sleep, of course."
Actually the real reason was so that she wouldn't be near any of these dorks, but she couldn't exactly say that out loud.
The trio blinked.
"…That was a joke."
"Right…" Sora murmured.
Thankfully, Donald had found a closet full of blankets in the cockpit – it was a wonder how he'd gotten to them, really, because the blankets were in the top section of the closet, and the mage wasn't nearly tall enough. Either he'd found a stool or had had Goofy's help.
Char snagged a dark green blanket almost at once, because she wanted to get some privacy before she had to go to sleep. She stalked out of the cockpit, headed for the back room where she and Sora had done their training.
Once Sora was sure Char was out of earshot, he sighed and leaned, sagging, against the wall.
"What is it, Sora?" Donald asked, stepping up and peering at the brunette over the pale blue blanket he was cradling in his arms.
Sora put a hand to his head, running his hands through his already-messy hair. "If Char's going to be like that every day, then I think we're gonna regret accepting her onto the team."
"Tell me about it," the duck agreed almost at once, making his antagonism toward the redhead even more obvious.
"Aw, she's not that bad, guys," Goofy cut in cheerfully. He blinked at the incredulous looks on his friends' faces.
"Goofy, are you blind?" Donald asked disbelievingly. "She's angry, temperamental, vulgar, a huge setback in battle –"
"Er, well," Sora interrupted tentatively, "I'm not so sure about that last part. I mean, she fought those Nobodies as fiercely as we did, didn't she? And we were training in the back room earlier –"
"Training?" Donald repeated, his eyes widening. "No wonder you looked like Leon had beaten you up with his Gunblade when you got out of there!"
Sora shrugged. "Well, the only reason I even beat her at all was because she got distracted at the prospect of dinner. I dunno… it's… just an idea." He trailed off awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.
Donald sighed and headed toward his sleeping area.
Char tossed her brown jacket and dark shoes off to the side and settled on the tiled floor, refreshingly cool after the heat of Hollow Bastion. Of course, she would have kinks in her shoulders from the hard surface when she woke up tomorrow, but who cared? At least she had gotten to see her home again.
Even if it wasn't quite itself just yet.
The redhead leaned against the wall, gathering the blanket around herself, and stared out the windows that covered the opposite wall. She was homesick, and she knew it more than anyone. She was somewhat amazed that she had admitted it to herself this early on, and told herself that this was making progress.
…Wasn't it?
Char drew up her knees and rested her chin on them, wrapping her bare arms around her legs.
What had Riku and Master gotten her into?
She could hear Sora and his friends' voices outside, and wondered what they were talking about. Of course, now wasn't exactly the best time to open the door and make herself known – it would scare the hell out of them.
Why was she scaring them this early on?
It's your own fault, the voice from before reminded her. Char growled inwardly at its introspection.
Shut up.
Char had found in the past that if the slightest amount of guilt for anything she was doing to Sora, Roxas or even Riku popped up, she could blot it out by thinking about something more important.
The old times as DiZ's apprentice wouldn't do at all, because it would only resurrect the memory that had, really, been the cause of this mess in the first place. And it would make the aching, homesick feeling pounding inside her even worse.
She buried her nose further into the blanket between her knees as she realized that, right now, nothing was more important than this journey.
Char hardly ever cried. Crying, she had learned long ago, would get her nowhere in life and nowhere closer to gaining her just revenge against the Organization. She had barely cried at all since Shadow, her pet Heartless, had been "killed" by a gang of its fellows. She hadn't even cried when she saw the incident with her fellow apprentices – she had been too busy being panicked and scared and running to DiZ to cry.
But now she really did feel like crying.
Char noted dimly that Sora, Donald and Goofy's voices had receded to quiet whispers outside the door, and suddenly felt terribly lonely.
Deciding to give in just this once, she made herself get up from the floor, still with the blanket around her, and gathered up her jacket and shoes. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, blinking slightly at the light that assailed her from the cockpit.
Sora, Donald and Goofy's blankets were gathered up around each other, and the three had their heads together talking about something. But at Char's arrival, they all pulled apart and stared at her: Donald with hostility, Goofy with bemusement, and Sora with an unreadable expression.
Without a word the redhead settled down near them, with just enough space between them to preserve her modesty. She flicked them a belligerent glare, as though daring them to tell her to leave, as she lay her head down on the floor – which, she noticed, was somewhat softer than the tile in the back room.
After a few moments, she heard the trio go back to talking again. She sighed, softly so that no one could hear, and closed her eyes.
Aw, Char, don't cry D:
Alright, the reason for the numbering was so I could explain a few things without sidetracking you with my rants.
(1) The reason no one was in the World That Never Was is because the Organization is currently lurking in Hollow Bastion, waiting to scare the shit out of everyone. XD They deserve their own Halloween costume, I swear...
(2) Some of you may be wondering, "You already said Char lived here almost her whole life. So how do Leon and the others not know her?" Long story short, Ansem kept Char and the other apprentices fairly busy with work. They pretty much hardly ever went out, except to do a project or something. And they wonder why Char is so restless the way she is...
(3) I got this quote off of Tales of Symphonia, for the Gamecube. Go order it off Amazon - it's one of the best RPGs I've ever seen.
(4) Yes, Donald and Goofy cooked spaghetti. Just because spaghetti owns like that.
This is actually one of my favorite chapters, because you see a little development on the Char/Sora relationship that heads toward a mentor/apprentice direction, Char gets a chance to yell at Braig/Xigbar, and the fight scene is one of my better ones. :D