Marie and her keyblade:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Marie-and-her-Shooting-Star-Keyblade-38350 2787
Marie's staff:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/Star-Rod-384177139?q=gallery%3Aswirl3y&qo=1
Ryan:
www.swirl3y.deviantart.com/art/That-s-his-name-286861562
A\N:
That was an interesting chapter. No one really lost their shit, and I feel a little disappointed, but hey! Maybe somewhere else later in the story someone will. Well, at least it's the calm before the storm. What storm? I shall never tell! :x Hey, since I'll be writing in 3rd for a while, mainly because since Marie is all 'void' of any feelings and stuff sorta, tell me which you'll like best, 1st or 3rd?
We'll be seeing a lot of Aura, too! Since she'll be a-joining the team! I hope she doesn't beat Sora up!
Chapter Forty-Four
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I remember you, my love
Stella looked at the screen, and a couple of beeping noises were heard. Dante walked into the room, and although they were still not on good terms with each other, they checked out what had happened.
"…She remembered," Stella said. She looked down Marie, and gave a huge sigh of relief. "I guess it was that Nobody who activated the remembering process."
"I thought it would be Sora," Dante admitted. He shook his head, and wondered what was even going on. "What's going through that kid's head?"
"I don't know, but we still have to thank him for making her remember their relationship," Stella explained. She lowered her eyes, and stared at the floor. "Even if it wasn't in the best of ways…"
"What happens now?" Dante asked. Stella didn't know she just knew that Marie and Sora had to deal it out amongst themselves. She sighed, remembering her own position with her own husband. She shook her head though, and figured she would talk about it sometime later. Hopefully.
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Marie woke up with a slight headache, but it quickly went away when she got up. She looked around—where was she? Oh right, she was onboard the Gummi ship. The last thing she remembered was being in the realm of darkness—at least Sora thought so—and encountering a box with a photo and sea-salt ice cream in it. The picture had Hayner, Pence, Olette, and a boy named Roxas, which popped into Sora's head. The ice cream turned into a keyhole, and they were able to get out of the place. Sora was still bent on finding Kairi.
Marie sat on her bed, and she brought out her hand. She tried calling her keyblade, but it wasn't coming to her—what was going on? She tried willing it again, but nothing came. She was worried; did she lose the ability to summon the keyblade? The ship stopped, and she wondered where they landed. Maybe this was her chance to ask about her keyblade. She got up from her bed, and walked out into the deck.
"Marie! Hey, are you okay?" Ryan asked. Donald and Goofy turned around, and were just as surprised, and relieved, to see Marie walking around. "You just fell so randomly, I thought something bad happened."
"I'm fine. It was just a bit overwhelming." He was a bit right on the bad part, she thought, but she wasn't going to expose that. Goofy asked what was overwhelming, and she looked up at the screen focusing on Hollow Bastion. "Do you think we can go visit Hollow Bastion first? I want to check up on something."
Goofy had no problem, nor did Donald. Sora looked at the girl—there was something different about her. She seemed calm, too calm for his liking. Did something happen? He shook his head, and they all headed out for Hollow Bastion.
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They walked toward Merlin's house, and when they entered they saw Yuffie, Cid and Merlin walking about. Yuffie looked at the bunch, and cheerfully greeted them. Marie smiled a bit, while Cid just greeted them normally. He asked what was up, but they didn't really know, and pointed at Marie. He looked at her, and asked. "Something bothering ya?"
"I wanted to speak to Merlin," Marie requested. They all stood still, until she looked around. "Alone."
They all gave her a weird look, but Merlin was okay with the request. Sora, Donald, Goofy and the rest walked out of the house, leaving only Marie and Merlin alone. She sighed and sat down on one of the chairs as she thought of the words she would say, and Merlin waited patiently. She looked up at him and began. "Merlin, I wanted to talk to you because I can't use the keyblade anymore."
He gasped, and asked her if she was joking, but she shook her head. She demonstrated by willing her keyblade, and only a spark of light appeared, but not the keyblade. Merlin stroked his beard at this, it was most interesting. How could she have lost her ability to will the keyblade? He needed to look further into this, and he looked at Marie. "I would like to run some tests, but I think everyone should know."
She nodded, she was just glad to have told Merlin first. After Merlin used his magic to see what was going on with Marie, he called over Leon and Aerith, who were at the computer lab. Once they made their way, Sora and the rest came into the room, too. Marie stood sitting quietly, while everyone else gathered around. Leon crossed his arms and asked what was going on.
"Yes, well, it has come to my attention that Marie can no longer wield the keyblade," he announced. Loud gasps were heard within the room, but Sora seemed the most surprised.
"Wait, what? How is that possible?" Yuffie asked. Aerith looked over to Marie, and asked if there were any changes in her mood.
"…I remember," was all she let out. She looked down at the floor, and gave a defeated sigh, "Everything from last year and a couple of things from my past. It must have happened during the battle with the heartless, when everything just started coming back."
Merlin told them that he ran a few tests on Marie, and found that there was something preventing her from using her keyblade. Leon had a feeling that he knew what was going on, and turned to them all. "It's said that if a keyblade user can't use it, they've lost their heart… or their way."
"So, what? Marie lost her heart!?" Sora asked, starting to panic at the possibility of that. Leon just shook his head, and mentioned that if she had she wouldn't be there with them. Sora lowered his head a bit and looked at Marie, who had a very solemn look on her face.
"It's obvious she's lost her way, the path is… clouded," Leon said. Marie lowered her eyes as everyone started talking amongst themselves. Leon seemed pretty spot on—she had lost her way. She thought remembering everything would solve half of her problems, but it felt like it was getting worse. She got up and walked towards the door, she heard the voices calling out to her, but she couldn't listen. She couldn't understand. She couldn't cope.
When she was outside, she looked around. Everything felt so dark, so alone. Aside from having to deal with her powers, her identity and the imposter walking around as her, she also had to deal with Sora being very affectionate and she couldn't return his feelings. Now that she had remembered everything, was it too late? Sora walked out of the house, and spotted Marie looking around the place. What was going on? What was happening to her?
"Marie!" he shouted out. She turned around, and met with his arms wrapped around her. She froze in her spot—why was he doing this? He wrapped his arms around her tightly, and snuggled his head into her neck. Why was he doing this? It was hurting her too much. "Marie, what's going on?" he asked.
"No, Sora," was all she could mutter out. He slightly parted from the hug, but she had her hands on his chest. She didn't want to cry in front of him, so she fought the feeling. Sora could see it though, and he really wondered what was going on. "I can't keep doing this…"
He raised an eyebrow, and he looked down at the girl. She had her head facing down, and she didn't dare look up. She just continued. "I can't keep loving you without it hurting."
"Loving—Marie what are you saying? Do you remember?" he asked. She gave a slight nod, and all of his joys came back on top of everything. He was so glad to hear that word, and to know that she remembered made everything go back into perspective. He was smiling but it quickly went away when she mentioned the last part 'without it hurting'. He looked at her, "what's hurting?"
They were still in a slight hug, but she lowered her hands from his chest. She took a moment to take a deep breath, and still didn't look up at him. She seemed scared to; because she feared she would find the answer she wasn't hoping for. "When you talked to that member of Organization XIII you told him that Kairi meant more than anything…"
She parted from his hug, and she turned around. She wanted to cry, but she held it in. Sora looked at the ground, and recalled what he had told that guy. It was true that Kairi meant a lot to him, but he never meant to make it sound anything more than just being best friends. He turned to her.
"I didn't mean it like that!" he said. She didn't turn around, but he kept talking. "Yeah, Kairi means a lot, but so does Riku! They're my friends!"
"But the way you said it…you even got down on your knees," she brought her hands close to her chest. Honestly, it wasn't the fact that he liked Kairi, but the feeling of having her heart betrayed was more of the issue causing her to be like this. "If you like Kairi, that's fine… but... it just really hurts. I really thought—"
He came up running behind her, and embraced her back. She just stood there, and felt as Sora placed his chin on her shoulder. She really wanted to cry, all these affections felt like he was just trying to convince her without any feeling behind it. He wrapped his arms around her stomach, and he just stood there.
"Don't you remember last year? All that we went through?" he recalled. She remembered every detail of that year, but was it all real? It was so sad that she was questioning Sora's love for her, but she felt betrayed, ripped and thrown away. "I…"
She looked up and sighed. "You can't say it, can you?"
"But I care for you, Marie. I care a lot and you mean everything to me," he fought back. He held the hug tighter, and dug his face into her neck again. He couldn't say those three words, it was true. He didn't know what was stopping him, since he knew he could say it in his mind, and he was going to prove to her how much he loved her. "I'm going to show you how much I care, so you don't have to feel like this."
"Do you love Kairi?" It took a moment for Sora to think about it, but he really didn't know. Being away from Kairi was bad, but he really felt that he loved Marie. Why was it being so hard to choose when he would've picked Marie in a heartbeat? The blonde sighed. "I think you should figure out your feelings first, but… no matter how much it hurts… I'll still be here for you."
Sora let go of the hug, and Marie turned around. She gave a slight smile, but it looked very empty. He felt horrible, but he didn't understand why it was hard for him to just choose. Did Kairi have a subtle effect on him that escalated? Marie told them they needed to head back, and Sora nodded, although reluctantly. They walked up the stairs and in toward Merlin's house, with the wizard talking on and on. They turned to the young, somewhat couple standing by the door, and Merlin raised his hand. "Here, I've developed a staff for you to use while you try and figure out how to get back the keyblade."
Aerith walked up to Marie and gave her the staff, which was pretty much identical to her keyblade, just in a staff form. Merlin explained that the staff had a couple of cool spells and techniques, to make up for not having the keyblade. Aerith patted the girl's back, and comforted her. "You'll find your way, Marie. I know you will."
"But... what if she doesn't—"Cid quickly slapped Yuffie's head, and she yelped in pain. Cid told them that Marie was strong and she would find the way in no time. Leon, however, seemed a bit skeptic.
"To find the way... or even oneself… wouldn't that take years to find?" he asked. Marie dropped her shoulders, and she really thought that too. Sora interjected, and told them that he was going to help her find it no matter what, and Marie looked at him as he smiled back at her. Ryan brought a finger to his chin and thought for a moment. He wanted the best for his cousin, so he looked at everyone else.
"In that case, I'll stay behind." Everyone looked at him, but he had a serious and firm look. Marie seemed the most shocked, and she asked if he was joking. He laughed, but told her he wasn't. "If you need to find yourself or the way, then protecting me is only going to drag you down. I don't like you like this, so I want the old Marie that everyone else likes. Plus, I've learned I'm pretty good on a computer."
They all laughed a bit at that last part and Marie smiled at her cousin as she thanked him. He nodded, and looked at Sora straight in the eye. "And I expect you to protect her while you guys are gone."
Sora nodded, and it was a little weird seeing such a serious Ryan. The guy in question scratched the back of his head and chuckled a bit as he looked at them, "Just don't forget to pick me up when we need to go home."
They laughed again, and Marie looked around. She thanked everyone for the encouraging words, and looked at Sora, Donald and Goofy. They nodded and she smiled, she really hoped she would be able to find the missing pieces in her heart. It wasn't like she was looking for a physical person, but something to make her feel like she was Marie again. She didn't know where she would find it, but she was determined.
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After leaving Merlin's house, the gang started walking to where the Gummi ship was. Although everyone encouraged her, Marie still felt insecure and wondered if she would ever wield the keyblade. Sora looked her way, and lowered his eyes as he did, was it his fault that she was like this? He couldn't say 'I love you'? Or the mishap with Kairi? He knew that her memory was her problem prior to the battle, but now that she regained most of them, she got even worse. Was it really his fault?
"You pulled a very stupid move trying to give yourself up to those losers," a mature voice was heard. Everyone looked up, and saw a girl in blue sitting on top of a roof, and she had her hood on which covered her eyes. Donald took out his weapon, since he didn't feel quite right with the girl staring down at them. She just smirked, "How can you even protect that power if you can't even fight?"
"Who are you!?" Sora shouted, not liking the girl's attitude. He took out his keyblade, and she just scoffed. She lifted her leg, and rested her elbow and her knee. Marie looked up, and noticed it was Aura, but she didn't say anything. She didn't budge, and Sora was getting irritated. He looked at Donald and Goofy, who also seemed irritated. "Let's go guys."
Aura jumped down from the roof and stood right in front of Sora, she had a devilish smile plastered on her face, and he was getting suspicious. He still had his keyblade out, and was prepared to hit her if she did anything dangerous. She raised one hand quickly, and Sora automatically brought up his keyblade, but before he could hit her she grabbed a finger of his and pinched it.
"Ow, ow, ow!" he shouted. She was still grabbing his finger, which was his left pinkie, and continued the devilish smile she had. Donald got angry, and told her to stop or he would hit her, but she was eager to fight. Marie raised her eyebrow at what Aura was doing, and it seemed a bit comical, but they needed to be serious.
"Stop it," she said as she walked up to Aura. She turned her head towards the blonde, and raised her eyebrow. Sora was in pain with his pinkie entrapped within the girl's hand, and he was trying to pry it from her. It wasn't helping, since she seemed way stronger than he was.
"You like him, don't you?" she asked. Marie dropped her shoulders, but she nodded at the brunette. Aura was surprised that she was able to remember loving Sora, and she felt like she had paid her dues. That part of the plan was over with, but Aura needed to protect Marie from now on, and she was getting a little tired of hiding in the shadows and she was tired of always being around Riku or DiZ. "Alright, I'll let you go. I'll even help you guys, since it looks like you'll need it."
"W-We don't need your help!" Sora shouted as he sucked on his inflated pinkie. The girl had tremendous strength, and he didn't doubt that, but who was she to tell him she was going along with them all? He definitely wasn't going to take her after nearly breaking his pinkie!
"I think it would be great if you helped," Marie said as she smiled at the girl. Sora looked at her, completely distraught at what she said. She turned to him, Donald and Goofy, and tried explaining. "This is the girl who helped Ryan get to me, and she also protected him a bit before I met him. She also helped me when I almost got into a fight with one of those Organization guys."
"You—what? You got into a fight with them?" asked Sora, who felt deflated that he hadn't been doing a very good job at protecting Marie. She nodded though, and told them that she was sure Aura would be a great help. Sora pouted his lips as he was still unsure, but he knew Marie wouldn't lie about someone. He took a deep, defeated sigh, and looked at her. "What's your name?"
"None of your business, but you can all call me A," she replied as she crossed her arms. Sora was getting irritated again, but for the sake of the team he took out his hand and expected a handshake. She looked at it, and just turned around. "I'd put that away, unless you want your other pinkie damaged."
She gave a small cackle, and started walking towards the Gummi ship. Sora growled, and Marie gave an innocent smile. Including Aura felt like a great move for her, since it definitely took Sora and Kairi off her mind, but she still needed to find her way… and a way to wield the keyblade. She walked along with Sora, Donald and Goofy, and listened to the brunette boy's complaints about Aura. Marie couldn't help but chuckle, but she didn't understand why she didn't introduce herself as Aura… but she figured she had her own reasons, and Marie wasn't one to disrespect them, so she would call her A like everyone else.
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When they boarded the Gummi ship, Aura looked around. She hadn't had the luxury of looking around the last few times she was onboard, but now that she was, it looked pretty cool. She checked out the bedrooms—and a pretty suspicious Sora eyed her as she did—and then headed towards the deck as she looked at the controls and buttons. She seemed impressed.
"Not bad," she said as she placed a finger on her chin. "You guys got some pretty high tech stuff here."
"Just don't… touch anything," Donald said as he looked at her. It was obvious that Donald and Sora didn't really take a liking to her, but Marie and Goofy were fine with it. Marie was fine with it since she knew Aura wasn't a bad person, and Goofy… well, he was just a really nice guy, so he didn't judge her before her got to know her. Marie walked up to her, and Aura stared at her.
"Why did you decide to join us?" she asked. Aura closed her eyes for a moment, she couldn't tell Marie that she was her Nobody and that she was part of Organization XIII, since it would seriously cause some already created friction. She sighed, and looked back at the blonde.
"I've heard about Organization XIII," she said. Sora, Donald and Goofy caught wind of what she said, and they all looked at her. She knew they would listen anyways, so now would be her chance to clear their suspicions of her. "I'm only going to repeat this once, so listen close."
They all walked up to her now, and they listened in. she sighed as she began to talk, "I know what Organization XIII is all about. These guys are a force to be reckoned with, so you shouldn't take them lightly. They're cunning, and they can use the ability to play with hearts since they know how it works."
"But they don't have any hearts," Donald replied. Aura shook her head.
"Doesn't mean they don't know how to pretend to have one," she told them. "All I really know is that they want to be whole again—the whole lot of them—and Marie's involved."
"So then why are you helping us? I can protect Marie fine on my own," Sora retorted. He didn't really like the girl then, but she was getting even more annoying by the minute. "And why are you after them?"
"That's none of your business," Aura told them. Sora and Donald glared at the girl, but she didn't care as she continued. "I just have business with them, and I want them gone. Whether you trust me on that or not is your problem, but you can't ignore the threat these guys pose."
She was right—Organization XIII was a dangerous group, and they really needed all the help they could get. Still, there was something about Aura that got to Sora, but he couldn't really tell other than the fact that she annoyed him. Marie, on the other hand, smiled at the brunette girl. "I trust you," she said.
"Me too!" Goofy added. Donald and Sora looked at them like they were nuts, but if they were willing to trust the girl, then maybe they had to as well.
"We'll trust you too, I guess," Sora said. Donald agreed, and Aura nodded. The ship started up, and they headed towards the nearest place around them, which was the Land of the Dragons. Marie grew excited, since she was going to see Mulan.
Aura watched as the ship started moving, and she closed her eyes. She felt a bit weird being with all of these people, but she knew they were on the path to victory, even if it meant the demise of some of her closest comrades. She wasn't there when Demyx died, but she certainly heard his cries. Her shoulders dropped, and even if he was an enemy, Demyx was the kindest of the group and she really liked that. He didn't like to fight, and he always got lazy within the group, but it was his carefree attitude that made him a memorable person. Her only regret was not trying to convince him to leave the Organization. She sighed, and figured it was probably for the best. She didn't have time to mourn her friend, but she swore she would make a proper burying for him.
When the ship stopped, everyone started getting off. Aura was the last to get off, and they all landed in the snow village of the world. Donald, Goofy and Sora walked ahead, while Aura and Marie walked a bit behind them. Marie told Aura she was excited to see Mulan, but the Nobody didn't even know who that was.
"Look, over there!" Donald shouted as he pointed ahead. They all saw a hooded man looking straight at them, and Aura gasped. It was one of the Organization members, and they were all ready to chase after him until they heard Mulan's voice.
"Mulan, hey. No time to talk, we gotta catch that guy!" Sora replied. Mulan walked ahead of them, and told them she was following him too.
"Then quit your dilly-dallying, and let's go," Aura said as she started running ahead of them. Sora grunted, but followed the girl towards the hooded man. Everyone else followed behind, and Marie watched as Aura took the lead. She was a bit envious at how upfront and intimidating she was, but she felt like she was missing something. It was weird to her that she was able to pick up energies from the girl, but maybe it was because they had met before. Regardless, she ran with everyone else as they chased after the man.
As they kept running, they saw him run up towards the mountains and quickly followed him behind. Once there, however, they didn't see anyone. They looked around, but Mulan commented on how he must have run. Goofy looked towards the oriental woman and asked, "How come you're after somebody from Organization XIII?"
She didn't know who the group, and Sora explained it to her as them being the bad guys. Aura looked away, and knew Axel was probably the only one not scheming with them. She had heard rumors that he was acting against them, and even found out how he brought Kairi into this mess. She narrowed her eyes; he'd get one for pulling a stunt like that. Mulan sighed, and looked at them all after being explained about the Nobodies.
"There's a rumor in the Imperial City about a spy in black, lurking in the mountains," she said. "I'd been up here tracking him, but when you arrived, I lost him."
Goofy apologized on the team's behalf, but she didn't mind—she was just curious where the man went. They all looked around, and when Marie took a step forward, she felt the floor tremble. She gasped, and everyone looked at her. Aura wondered what was going on, until she looked up at the mountain's peak. "We've got company," she said.
"Again?" Donald complained as he saw the same little heartless that they saw the last time they were at Mulan's world, and he dropped his shoulders and he sighed. Mulan took out her sword, and Donald, Goofy, and Sora did the same. Aura was a bit hesitant with using her keyblade, so she used a back-up sword to fight. It didn't make her as strong, but it wouldn't draw attention to her. As they all ran towards the heartless, Marie held her hands close to her chest. She didn't have the keyblade, and she didn't know how useful the staff would be. Still, she called it out in the same way she did with her keyblade, and it appeared in her hands. Sora turned around, and gasped as he saw the hooded man behind Marie.
"Hey! You!" he shouted as he ran close to Marie. He brought out a hand in front of her, and glared at the man. "Quit sneaking around!"
The man pointed behind him, and Marie saw a heartless about to attack him. She brought her staff close to her, and a powerful leveled fire magic came from it. Sora glared at the man, and immediately started attacking him. Marie watched as he did, but the man only seemed to be blocking all of his attacks. She wondered what was going on, and when he started fighting against the heartless she was really confused. Nonetheless, she stayed with Sora and healed him whenever his health got low. He wasn't making her feel any better about herself, but she couldn't let him die. She did love him, after all.
She was adamant about attacking the man, since there was something off about him. It wasn't anything bad, but she couldn't figure it out. As he kept fighting off the heartless, Sora kept fighting him. She kept healing him while casting spells around for the heartless. After a moment of fighting the heartless, healing Sora, and watching him fight with the man, everything stopped. The heartless stopped coming and Marie sighed out of relief as she placed her staff away. She and Sora looked at the man, who only moved his hand around—kind of like in an apologetic way—and ran away. Sora chased after him, and Marie ran after him. He stopped, and was a bit out of breath.
"No… why would he…?" Sora muttered. Marie looked at him and wondered what he was talking about. "Riku?"
Marie's eyes lit up—Riku? Could that really have been Riku? She held her hands close to her, and looked away. What was Riku doing dressed in Organization XIII clothing? Donald, Goofy, Mulan and Aura walked back towards them, and Donald asked if he was okay. Goofy asked if caught the guy.
"Hmm, oh—he's gone," said Sora. He turned around and scratched his head, and Aura eyed the boy. There was something else that happened, and even Marie looked a bit out of it. Donald got annoyed, and Mulan seemed a bit disappointed. Sora scratched his cheek, and looked at them, "Anyway… what now?"
"I think that we better get rid of all the Heartless first," suggested Goofy. Donald agreed, and as they were about to move, they felt the floor tremble. Marie and Mulan screamed a bit, while the rest gasped. They looked around to see what the problem was, but Mulan told them it was best to get off the mountain.
As they got a bit away from the mountain, the floor shook again, and they all saw a giant flying heartless in the sky. Everyone but Aura took out their weapons, but the Heartless just kept flying by. Mulan gasped and told them that the heartless was heading to the city. "We've got to warn Shang," she shouted.
Without a moment to lose, everyone started running down the snowy path and towards the city. Marie was confused by what Sora said—was it really Riku who was behind that outfit? What was he doing? Why was he doing it? She was scared to find out the truth, but Sora looked determined to find what it was. She just hoped it nothing grave would happen.
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When they got to the entrance of the Imperial City, they looked around. The three soldiers that they knew before walked up to them and greeted them. They were glad to see them, and were definitely glad they weren't wearing black cloaks. Mulan asked where they saw the man, and they told him he was in the palace. Mulan turned and quickly ran inside, with everyone else in tow.
As soon as setting foot in the entrance to the castle, everyone was surrounded by heartless. Aura growled as she saw so many heartless, and took out her sword. Marie looked at everyone else taking out their weapons, and she tried to call out her keyblade. A spark of light appeared in her hand, but it quickly disappeared with no keyblade in sight. She watched the rest fighting and saw Aura easily dismantling the heartless around—and that was when she noticed, where was Aura's keyblade? She knew the girl had one, yet she was fighting with a simple sword. She shook her head; maybe this was something she needed to ask in private, because right now she needed to fight.
She called her staff, and it appeared in her hands. She raised it up and the starts started glowing as she chanted a spell. It was the leveled thundaga, and it made a couple of heartless twitch. She smiled at the damage, and did the same with the other heartless. Even if she didn't have her keyblade, the staff was an excellent back-up plan, as it dealt with something she really liked: magic. She swung her staff as it unleashed another spell, and a couple more heartless fell. Sora was busy fighting off the greater half of the heartless along with Aura, and he couldn't help but noticed her moves. She was quick and fluid, and with every attack she gained the rougher it was. It was similar to how he fought, but it could've been his imagination. After a couple more hits, everyone got rid of the remaining heartless staggering around.
They all ran to the palace, but the door wouldn't open. Sora, Donald and Goofy started banging on the door, but Mulan looked over to the poll. She called them over, and the first to climb was Marie, who thankfully learned this when she was dressed up as Mario. Aura came in after, mainly to catch Marie incase she messed up. Donald and Goofy went up after, and then it was Sora, followed by Mulan. She seemed a bit hesitant, but she got on the pole. She started climbing, and about halfway she tripped. Sora turned back and stuck out his hand to catch her, but she managed to grab hold of the pole again. She looked up and nodded at him, and he climbed up in return. When they reached the top, Marie dusted off the dirt she contracted, while everyone else looked around. They saw a man in a black coat, and they all jumped down. Marie was a bit scared to jump from so high, but before Sora could encourage her, she was already falling down with Aura. They landed decently, and Sora just glared at the girl. She was making his job at trying to show Marie he loved her hard, but she didn't care. The last to fall was Donald, who, didn't really land all that well, but he still got up.
They all ran towards the man, who turned around when he heard them approaching. Sora seemed a bit hesitant, and he walked up to him. "…Riku?" he asked.
Donald and Goofy seemed surprised, along with Aura. She didn't even expect him to be anywhere near them, and she wondered if he was trying to get her back, since… she pretty much just ran away from him and DiZ. The man kept staring, and slowly took off his hood. Aura's eyes widened when she saw Xigbar appear from under his hood, and she covered her face a bit more using her own hood.
"No. Never heard of him." A burst of energy appeared, and it nearly flew Aura's hood off. She quickly placed it back in order, and watched as a bunch of Nobodies stood around. She growled as she took out her sword, and watched as Xigbar ran for the door. Marie watched as he did too, and she was so fed up with everyone looking familiar to her. That man felt incredibly familiar to her, but it brought out the worst types of feelings from her.
"Come back here!" she shouted as she ran after the man. Sora watched with wide eyes and called out to her, but Aura simply told him to fight, chasing after the blonde. He couldn't just leave her with Marie, but Mulan and the others were struggling without him. He growled, and hoped Aura would keep her word.
Marie ran outside of the now unlocked doors, and stopped the man. He kept running and turned around, and when he saw Aura running after Marie he stopped. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" he said.
"Who are you!?" Marie shouted. The man just snickered, and wasn't going to answer her that. Aura walked closer to Marie, and she eyed Xigbar like a hawk. She cursed to herself at running after Marie, since it would be so easy for all of the members to ambush and kidnap them both, but she couldn't let the blonde go alone.
"And why would I tell you that, you little brat?" he retorted. Marie glared at the man, and demanded to know. He just kept snickering, and she was getting irritated. "I'll tell you when you're about half-way dying—"
"Watch your tongue!" Aura retorted at the man. He stopped talking, and just stared at the young Nobody. He was so disappointed at the fact that she turned on them, since she seemed like a much laid back and fun person, but if she was connected to Marie he knew where it would end up. He instead just walked backwards into his portal, and Marie was about to chase after him, but Aura grabbed her arm. When he was out if sight, Marie turned back to Aura and asked her why she didn't let her go. "Because they're dangerous and you're not strong enough."
Marie sighed, and Aura walked back inside with the blonde. They met up with everyone, and Sora ran up to Marie. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"She's fine," Aura told him in her place. He glared at her, but she looked at everyone else. "Let's go see what's up."
Mulan nodded and ran inside towards Shang and the emperor. Donald, Goofy and Aura followed close behind, but Marie looked at Sora. "I'm sorry it wasn't Riku. I was hoping to see him, too."
He turned towards Marie, who gave him a half smile. He still felt the hurt she was feeling and he sighed, hoping to find some giant way to show his love for her. He could kiss her, but he knows it would only make things worse—he wasn't that stupid in the love department. He just smiled, and they both walked into the emperor's room.
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"Your Excellency! Shang, something terrible has happened!" Mulan shouted as she stood in front of them. "We saw a huge monster fly out of the mountains and toward the city!"
"Ahh. So it is as the young man said," said the emperor. He looked over to the captain, and he nodded. "You see, a young stranger visited us not long ago. The Captain fought the visitor, but was quickly defeated. It seems that young man was the one in black that I have heard whispers about. "
"Did he mention the name Riku?" Sora asked. The emperor told him that he didn't, and was rather rude. Aura quietly snorted at this, she knew who it was. Sora's eyes widened when he knew who it was, too. "Rude? Then it was Riku!"
Donald and Goofy wondered if he was in the Organization, and Mulan wondered why he came to the Land of Dragons. Marie was probably the only one who was glad that Riku was even around. She sighed in relief to know that he was doing alright, but she still wanted to see him. They were questioning it, but then they felt another tremor. They quickly tried leaving the room, but Shang stopped them by calling Mulan's name. She told him to guard the emperor, but he wanted to come along and protect Mulan. Marie thought it was sweet, but she knew they had to act quickly. They left the room and ran towards the palace gates, and once they opened the door, they were ambushed by the flying heartless.
It was hard trying to land a hit with swords, and the heartless kept moving them around. Aura grew irritated, and ran straight for its tail. She grabbed it as she climbed on top of it, and both Sora and Mulan caught on. Goofy was the last to get on, while Marie and Donald stayed behind to cast their magic. Sora and Aura attacked the horns of the heartless, while Mulan attacked the other ones. Goofy did the same, and Donald fired a couple of thunder spells. Marie did her best at casting blizzard spells, and they were both effective.
The ones who were on the heartless were flung off of it, but they safely landed with the help of conveniently placed tornados. It helped them attack the heartless again, and they used it to their advantage. Donald and Marie kept firing their spells, and she felt something coming from the staff. She raised her eyebrow, and she felt her forehead burn. She tightened the grip on her staff, and closed her eyes. There was a spell being read to her, and when he opened her eyes she raised her staff.
"Diamond Dust!" she shouted. Aura heard the attack, and shouted for everyone to jump off. When they did, a snowstorm appeared around the heartless. It spun it around a couple of times, and when it stopped icicles came falling down on it after. It got dizzy from the attack, and Sora, Aura and Mulan got back to attacking.
"Where did that come from!?" Donald said as he kept casting spells. He was amazed at the spell she chanted, and wondered if it was the staff doing it. She looked at it and back at the battle, she was really enjoying her weapon.
"Who knows, but let's keep fighting!" he agreed, and they both kept casting spells and healing everyone at the same time. It was mostly Mulan and Sora doing the damage, with Aura coming in after. Since she didn't want to use her keyblade, it affected her strength a lot. Nonetheless, Sora and Mulan were able to get rid of the heartless with Donald and Marie helping out with their spells.
The heartless flew to the sky, but quickly started to fall. Mulan was right underneath it, and the gang gasped as it kept falling. They told her to run, but in a state of shock she couldn't. Shang came running in and called out her name, and held onto her as the heartless disappeared with it's heart floating towards the sky.
"Way to go!" Sora shouted. They watched as Mulan and Shang had a moment, but when the two noticed they were being watched they parted so far apart while blushing uncontrollably. Fireworks started going off, and they all looked towards them.
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"Once again, you have served China well," the Emperor said. "It would please me to reward you. What is it that you wish?"
Donald was thinking treasures all the way, but a hungry-looking Goofy thought otherwise. Sora placed a finger on his chin, and then looked at the emperor. "Well, you say a guy in black came to see you. What did he say?"
The Emperor asked if that was all he requested, and Sora was quick to answer with a nod. Donald and Goofy dropped their shoulders, since they had something totally different in their minds. Aura didn't really care, and Marie was curious about Riku. The Emperor told him that Riku came to warn him of the danger that someone was going around and turning monsters or people into heartless, and that he was told to prepare his troops.
"Did you?" Sora asked. The Emperor laughed and told him he was about to, but Shang finished with saying that the man told them that a 'couple of wise people' came and would take care of the situation. Sora smiled brightly. "That's gotta be Riku!"
"But what's he doin' hangin' out with Organization XIII?" Goofy asked. He and Donald were worried, and Aura didn't say anything to defend the silver haired teen. Sora didn't know, but he was really glad that Riku was alright. Marie smiled and agreed, and both Donald and Goofy were glad as well.
"Now then, Fa Mulan. Do you have a request?"
Mulan froze in her place, but summed up to courage to explain. "I'd like Shang… I-I mean… well… The Captain... could the Captain have a vacation, please?"
The Emperor was amused by such a humble request, and Shang blushed. The Emperor got up from his seat, and unfortunately told her that he would have to refuse. She grew disappointed, but the Emperor had more news, "And yet, Mulan. Would you like to serve alongside him and protect me?"
"Thank you, your Excellency!" she cheered. She and Shang walked up to each other, and smiled so happily at each other. Marie felt so happy for her friend, and watched as they shared a romantic look. Sora also smiled, and he looked over to Marie, who was smiling and seemed dazed at their interaction. He wanted to walk up to her and hug her, but he didn't want to ruin Mulan and Shang's moment. He sighed and debated over it, but decided to let it go. He had to prove to her otherwise. He lowered his head at how well Marie was handling things, and he wondered what went on in her head. He really thought she would hate him and would never want anything to do with him, but she even told him that she would be there for him, and so far… she'd been there. Yet, he can't return the favor quite as well. Aura also looked at Sora and Marie, and expected a hug or a wrap around the shoulders like Mulan and Shang were doing, but nothing. She even wondered if Marie really remembered her feelings for Sora.
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Aboard the Gummi ship, everyone took the time to relax for the night. They hadn't gotten much rest since Hollow Bastion, so they thought a quick overnight break would do them good. Marie and Aura shared a room since they didn't mind, and Aura just looked around and noticed how pink everything looked. She twitched her eye at the colours, but she figured she would have to get used to them for a while.
"Why don't you use your keyblade?" Marie asked Aura. She raised her eyebrow and faced the blonde. She thought of a way to tell her, but she was honestly too tired to really think.
"I don't like using it," she told her. Marie asked her why, and Aura sighed. "Using the keyblade will just complicate things, and I know using it will aid the Organization. I know you can't use it."
Marie widened her eyes and asked how she knew, but Aura just chuckled and told her that she was eavesdropping when Merlin told everyone. Marie pouted her lips, and Aura just smirked. "Don't let Sora or the others know I wield a keyblade, okay?"
"Sure… but why not let him know?" Marie asked. Aura explained that she didn't quite feel comfortable letting them know, even though it was a flat-out lie. She just wanted to keep things as simple as possible, and she didn't want to have to explain how she got the keyblade. She looked over to Marie, and decided to let her know what's on her mind.
"You love Sora, don't you?" she asked. Marie blushed, and laughed a bit weakly. She nodded her head, but she seemed rather sad about it. "What's wrong?"
"I love Sora, but I think he might like someone else. He hasn't told me directly who he liked, but I feel it. It hurts a lot, but… I'm a fool who already told him I'd be there for him, even though all I want to do is run away," she said. She looked up at the ceiling, and gave a heavy sigh. "But really, I'm the one to blame. I don't know how, but I forgot all about us and what we had. I think I drove Sora away because of it, and… I guess I'm just paying the consequences."
Aura looked away. There was a pang of hurt inside her, because it was her fault everything happened. This boy might not love her, and Aura didn't want her other half losing someone she loved. She didn't know whether it was fate or just coincidence that both Roxas and Sora would end up hurting them. It was hard for her too, since she kept herself from staring at Sora. She feared so much that she would see Roxas, and that everything would fall apart. Some things were meant to stay quiet until the time was right, and she learned that from Stella.
"I was like you a long time ago, you know, with being a happy person," Aura started. "But something happened and someone I loved hurt me, and I couldn't get over it. I turned into such a mean person, but the hurt was still there—it's still there. I don't want you… to turn into me."
Marie looked at the girl before her, with such a sad expression and such pain. She sighed, but Aura shook her head as she continued. "Don't ask me how, but I know you and Sora will get back to where you last left off. You just gotta be patient with these things."
Marie perked her head at Aura, and remembered the same thing Axel said when she spoke with him.
"Yeah, but sometimes ya just gotta be patient with these things."
Maybe the sleep was getting to her head, but was it possible that Aura knew Axel? He was with Organization XIII, and Aura was after them. She might have encountered him on her own journey, but Marie figured that would be for another conversation. The girls plopped down on their beds, and quickly fell asleep along with everyone else on board the ship.
Haha, conveniently placed tornados. You gotta admit, if it were real life, that stuff wouldn't be there.
Aura's with the team! Omg! I can't believe it! Well, actually, now that Marie remembered Aura needs to be on her guard with trying to deal with org13, and I guess being with Marie would help protect her best. She's not too happy with the situation between Sora and Marie, because it's too much like her and Roxas.
She won't be staying for too long, but enjoy the time she is! There's much friction between her and Sora, since she doesn't really like him. She also isn't allowing the merge to happen, since Marie doesn't even know who her nobody is. And speaking of Marie, her staff will have some powerful magic. I know Diamond Dust is a move of Aqua's, but it's a move from the summon Shiva, too.
Lvl-ZeR0:
lol it's fine. I'm glad you took the time to review, though!
Shadow 1n2:
Haha, I love kovu! And yea! That scene made me die of laughter! I really hope they do, I mean they have to! If they take out HT they HAVE to add in Corpse Bride or another of Tim Burton's movies. I'm not sure if Corpse Bride is with Disney, though…
Oh, yay! I can't wait to get me some Roxas! Aww, I know—me too! I feel with Axel the most. ;-;
Grapejuice101:
LOL yess kick le Scar's butt!