Chapter 93- Crossing Oaths
The moon shone brightly down at the haunted town as the blade of the guillotine reflected a light beam just outside the town, within the graveyard. As soon as the light disappeared, five travellers looked around the creepy town. The Keyblade Master looked at his dark and creepy surrounding, smiling at the familiar world before looking down at his garments to see the similar change. His clothing had become almost completely black, appearing to be made of faded leather. He wore white gloves, a darken golden arm guard that was placed on his right arm as well as his fingers turning into heartless claws like his shadowed claw. The shoulder pads on his jacket turned from silver to grey but what caught his attention were the bat wings on his upper back; instead of being black they were a whitish-grey colour. His normal shoes were replaced with large, black ones with pointed toes and a grey stripe on their midsections. His legs are wrapped in what appear to be black and red bandages. He quickly felt his pointed canines at the front of his mouth with his tongue adjusting the orange jagged, jack o' lantern-esque mask that rested on parts of his spikes to hide the white roots that were appearing. He took a deep breathe before turning his pale, shadowed self to the others with a childish smirk on his face, "Wow! You guys look different." He commented.
Donald's entire body, save for the tips of his toes and his beak, was covered by mummy-like bandages with a gap between his stomach and waist that revealed nothing under them as similar gaps are located between his right elbow and wrist. His beak and feet became less vibrant in colour, the feathers on his tail and "hair" look sharp, and his eyes gain a thick, black outline around them, similar to ancient Egyptian eye makeup.
Goofy's appearance resembled a stereotypical version of the Frankenstein's monster. He wore a tan turtleneck sweater, a yellow, tattered, patched jacket, green pants that are equally tattered and patched, with a black left leg, black suspenders, and brown shoes with holes ripped open for his toes as all of his clothing looked faded. He retained his floppy ears, but they looked thinner and mangier-looking than normal. An enormous, silver screw in the top of his head replaced his beloved hat his fur spiked wildly on his head around the screw. His nose became a metal cap and is tipped with a small jack o' lantern while his eyes are heterochromatic; the left one is red and the right one is a grey spiral.
"What the-" Riku's voice seemed to growl slightly as he talked. Riku's garments had been completely ripped up from his transformation as he looked at his appearance in shock. His teeth had turned razor sharp as his face had turned into a canine shape, his hair covered his entire body, showing off the silver coat that he now had and looked at his sharp claws that showed on his paws and his ripped shoes. Riku has turned into a silver werewolf. "This didn't happen last time."
"It didn't?" Sora raised an eyebrow before clicking his claws with realisation, "Donald's magic helps us blend in so we don't look like we're from another world."
"Yeah, thanks for telling us by the way." Riku said with sarcasm before looking at Kairi and Max, "Nice outfits." He smirked, making Sora turn back to the rest of his friends.
Max's clothing seemed a little ripped up as parts of his fur seem to come off to show patches of green skin, his eyes were similar to his fathers expect he had a electronic device placed on top of his head, metal reforming half of his face. The device on his head beeped slightly before Max responded to his surroundings, "Woah! This placed is messed up!" Max took his surroundings in.
Goofy scratched the edge of the screw, where his head was, at his son's comment, "Gawsh! It looks the same as usual." Goofy said with confusion.
Max's helmet beeped again before he looked at his father with shock, "You mean the whole world is like this?"
Sora chuckled at Max's behaviour, as well as seeing his mind controlled zombie form, before his laid his eyes back on Kairi. As soon as he did, he looked away as the images from his dream began to appear in his mind again, "Donald! What did you do?"
"Wak?" Donald turned to see what the Keyblader's problem was as he looked at Kairi's form, "She looks fine."
"I look a bit blue." Kairi looked down at her own appearance. Her garments looked wrinkled and ripped up as if she had just come from a fresh fight. Her skin had turned blue with her auburn hair turning slightly darker and dirtier than usual. Her side was completely exposed as her boney ribs showed showing her corpse-like form.
"Blue?" Riku barked, "You look dead!" From the sound of his voice, he didn't approve as much as Sora. "It's not gonna help much if you get hit to the ground and look to see that you look dead."
She looked down at her appearance, "But it's not that bad. It's only a costume, right?" She looked over to Max, Goofy and Donald, who nodded their heads to her answer.
"It looks too real." Sora muttered quietly as he began to walk to town.
Kairi watched Sora's departing form with worry, "Sora?" She stepped to run after him when Riku stopped her.
"He'll be fine." He assured her, "He just needs to get used to your appearance."
The Princess of Heart nodded to this, looking in the direction that her friend had departed as well as wondering why the appearance of her costume had managed to place Sora into his own thoughts once more. Before realising the reason, she managed to notice no cocky comments, allowing her to notice the number in their group, "Where are Brian and Hikari?" she asked.
"Brian said that he wanted to keep to his research, wanting to know more about the past." Riku explained, gaining a nod of understanding from the others. "He also said that the world is just in stage one of the balance being corrupted, meaning that we just have to find the Keyhole and seal it so that the world can't get any worse."
"Does that mean one of the Order members could come?" Donald questioned, seeing Goofy shrug in confusion.
"Most properly." Riku replied.
"What about Hikari?" Max asked as his helmet beeped.
"Umm…" The silver wolf looked away, "She didn't want to leave Brian on his own in the state that he's in." He told them.
Kairi smirked playfully at Riku's actions as she leaned forward him with her blue skinned arm behind her back, "Are you sure it has nothing to do with your-"
"It's has nothing to do with that." The wolf quickly defended before following the path that Sora has taken, "We better go get Sora." He said hastily, hearing the others giggle at his quick departure before following him into Halloween Town.
The town itself was a strange and creepy thing to see through Max and Kairi's eyes as their eyes were set on the huge guillotine that was placed in the middle of the plaza while in the middle of the town square was a fountain full of a green liquid. Their surroundings were as dark that the graveyard itself, even though the graveyard seemed safer than the town in Max's mind. His headgear beeped once again as he walked towards the fountain, "Please tell me that isn't acid." He said as he approached the fountain.
"Hey Maxie!" His father called out to him, "You might wanna keep away from the fountain." He warned him.
"Why's tha—Beep! Beep! OW!" Max quickly jumped away from the fountain after getting squirted at by the fountain, burning his zombie skin.
Kairi was still looking around her surroundings the town, as well as looking for any sign of her two best friends. As she stepped around the town, she quickly looked back at the fountain to see some Heartless appear from the centre piece of the square, jumping out to strike the unexpected Donald and Goofy.
Max jumped back in shock from the appearance of the Heartless, seeing them in bangages like mummies and looked darker than usual, "Even the Heartless look creepier than usual!" He said in panic as he summoned his bow, jumping back once more so that he could aim at his targets.
Kairi quickly dashed over to Donald and Goofy, placing Oathkeeper up in the air, "Heal!" Green vines quickly surrounded her two friends, recovering from their confusion as they summoned their weapons and went to heal Max. She looked around once more for her best friends before turning back towards the Heartless, quickly blocking one of its fast strikes before rolling out of the way of the other.
"Ligth!"
Shots of light flew through the darken atmosphere of Halloween as the orbs of light burst towards the Heartless, destroying their bodies as their hearts ascended into the dark sky. As Donald healed Max, the corpse like princess looked around to see the vampire boy return with the silver wolf behind him, "Sorry guys." He said to them sadly, "I shouldn't have taken off like that." His eyes still couldn't reach hers.
The Princess of Heart sighed at this as she stepped towards him, "It's just a costume, Sora. There's nothing to worry about." She assured him, making the vampire smile weakly at her.
"It looks like we're not just dealing with the Order here." Riku stepped forward, changing the subject for his friend's sake. "We should look out of any signs of Maleficent while we're here. If we find her or Pete, they might be able to tell us something about the Order or anything unusual."
A couple of beeps came from Max before he commented, "This whole place is unusual. Heartless could look like a model citizen here."
"Well wait until we reach Christmas Town." Donald told him.
"Christmas Town?" Kairi repeated as she looked at the duck in confusion.
"Yeah, it's all pretty with the bright lights and soft snow and they even have a merry-go-round." Goofy said cheerfully, remembering the snow filled town.
"And that's where Sandy Claws lives?"
The group turned their sights around to a woman that seemed to look like she had been stitched together with pieces of limbs that didn't match. While Riku, Kairi and Max took in the appearance of the newcomer, Donald and Goofy looked over to Sora to see a mischievous smirk on his face as he approached Riku.
"Sandy Claws?" The werewolf repeated before turning to notice his friend's smirk.
"She means Santa Claus!" Sora said to him in a childish tone.
Riku huffed at this as he looked at his friend, "Only you would think that she meant Santa Claus." He said before turning back to the stitched up newcomer.
"That's what she meant!" Sora said to him, only to get ignored.
The newcomer smiled gently as she faced them, "Hello again, Sora, Donald, Goofy." She greeted, "Who are your friends?" She asked.
Sora smiled as he stood behind Kairi, placing his hands on her shoulder, sighing to himself in relief as he felt warmth coming from her shoulders, making him believe more in the costume. "This is Kairi." He introduced as Kairi waved shyly.
Goofy pointed over to the beeping zombie, "This is my son, Maxie." He said proudly.
"Daaaaaaddddd!" Max moaned at his nickname.
Donald snickered as he pointed to Riku, "And this is our pet." He said, only to jump back in fright as Riku growled at him and began to chase him around the town.
"That's Riku." Sora introduced while his best friend was chasing his duck friend. "Guys, this is Sally." Kairi and Max greeted Sally just as Riku and Donald returned to the group.
"What brings you Halloween Town at such a close time to the holidays?" She asked them.
"We're just here to check the key-" Sora halted himself as he realised what Sally had said, "Holidays? He questioned.
"Why." Sally pointed to the huge number sign that hanged about the town hall, Sora, Donald and Goofy were amazed that they didn't notice it before. "Within seven days, it will be Christmas." She told them, showing the number dial down to seven till Christmas, making everyone gasped at the time that has just shot by during their journey.
Has so much time really gone by? Sora asked himself as he looked around the Halloween themed town. We left home near the end of July, we've been away from home for five months. I wonder how everyone is doing? He had half expected to hear a comment from the corrupted soul that rests inside him, only to receive silent. He didn't question it though as he looked around for any sight of the pumpkin king before turning to face Sally once more, "Where's Jack?" He asked.
"He's trying to take down the decorations from this year's Halloween. He'd placed these strange scarecrows all over the place." She answered as she pointed to the one within town itself, making everyone turn their attention to the scarecrow.
A scarecrow that seemed to be built on a couple of broomsticks, leaving some at the top of the scarecrow to represent hair, the arms were thin black claws, the head was a sack while a black cloak. From the sight of the scarecrow, one person came through Sora's mind, "Roxas…." He said sadly, looking up at the scarecrow once more.
BOWBOWBOW
"So many memories….." Roxas spoke as he looked around the many murals that represent memories within Kairi's heart. If he can reach the centre of Kairi's heart then maybe he will be able to find a way to Naminé and even be able to meet up with Xion again and maybe even Axel. "Where do I go?" He yelled through the empty brightness through Kairi's heart, hearing his voice echo once more. "Where do I go?" He whispered to himself this time, looking back at himself at the memories he had crossed. So far, he had only managed to cross memories that have happened to Kairi for the last few weeks, none of them having a connection to Naminé or himself, only the group that she was with at the moment. "I don't have time with this!" Roxas yelled with frustration through Kairi's heart. "NAMINÉ!"
Roxas?
Roxas gasped in relief as he heard a familiar voice, "Kairi!"
What are you doing in my heart? Kairi's voice questioned him, Naminé's worried sick about you and something is going on with Sora without you in his heart.
"The Virus forced me away from Sora's heart. This was the only way to get back to him and I don't even know if the virus knows or not. Why? What happened?" Roxas asked her, hoping that his other was okay. The virus! It's making Sora change. You need to get back to Sora! She told him.
"I'm working on it." He replied as he looked around the selective memories, "Kairi, could you bring up the memory with me, you, Sora and Naminé at the World that Never Was? It's the only memory that I can think of that involves the both of us." He asked her.
Okay.I'll try
Roxas waited as he summoned his version of the Oathkeeper into his hand, checking his other hand to see if he was able to dual wield again, only to sigh in disappointment. He drew his attention away from his hand as his surroundings changed into the top of the Castle That Never Was, finding himself staying next to Kairi as the two looked to see Sora looking out at the darkness of the between world. Roxas raised his eyebrow in confusion as he looked back at Kairi, "This isn't the memory."
"It's a nightmare." Kairi replied in fear as she summoned Oathkeeper, the two keyblader wielding the oaths that they've kept in their hearts as they watched Sora turn around.
The Key to Destiny gasped at the sight as they watched Sora approach the two of them, shadows began to wrap itself around Sora's body as a sadistic expression stayed on his face, the closer he got, the more the shadows covered his body until his eyes turned golden yellow. While Kairi quickly rolled out the way of Anti-Sora's incredible speed in swipes, Roxas could only block as he held his ground.
The Princess of Heart gasped as she walked the shadow form of her friend, tripping up his nobody self as he hovered over him with a dark expression. As she ran over to the shadowed covered Sora, her Oathkeeper high, her surroundings suddenly break around her as she found herself back in Halloween Town, crashing into Sora's chest as she held onto his torso tightly.
"Kairi! What's wrong?" He looked down at his friend in worry as he wrapped his arms around her in a way of comfort.
Kairi looked up as she was about to tell him about Roxas when his words repeated in her mind, 'The virus forced me away from Sora's heart. This was the only way to get back to him and I don't even know if the virus knows or not.' Considering this, she pulled back her tongue as he looked back at her friends. "Just a flash of a nightmare." She let go of Sora's shirt and blushed in embarrassment before watching Riku, Donald and Goofy head out of the town while she, Max and Sora headed to gather supplied before looking for the item.
Roxas….Kairi tried to call out. Can you hear me?
I'm fine Kairi sighed in relief. I don't know why your nightmare suddenly turned against me but it managed to lead me to the portal to Naminé.
I'll let her know that she's coming
"Kairi." She came out of her thoughts as her attention directed back to her spiky brunette friend, who was looking at her with worry and concern. "You alright?" He asked her.
"Yeah. I'm fine." She said to him, only to feel his hands place firmly on her shoulders, "Sora-"
"You would tell me if something was wrong, right?" The expression in his eyes turned from worry to sadness. "Do you still trust me?" he asked her.
Where is all of this coming from? Kairi looked back at Sora with the same worry that he had for her a moment ago. Comparing to where he had started off, she saw it in his eyes that because of the loss of Roxas and the virus within him, his eyes looked sadder and lonelier than before. She could feel that he still felt guilty for everything that he had done to her and how his heart has weakened from her angered and hurtful words. Sora….. "I trust you with my life, Sora." She told him. Her eyes widened slightly with confusion as Sora pulled her into a strong hug, hearing him whimper slightly. "I'm here." She said softly as she hugged him back, thanking that Max decided to leave them be went he had seen them talking.
She didn't know that her words of trust had thrown the Keyblade Master into flashes of his nightmare once. Guilt, doubt, sorrow, hurt and lost hitting his heart once again as a single tear dropped down his cheek.
A/N: I got it done! I'm sooooo sorry guys that I haven't updated for the last couple of weeks. I've just got settled in uni, my computer just came a couple of days ago and I've been working on the script for the video-made fanfic- KH: Songs of Love. I've also been working on another one-shot which will be placed on deviantArt, not on here so I will create a link on my page when it is complete.
Messages
Foxthefox- No, you're not allowed to see the picture heheheh. You just have to wait and see, I could be evil when writing you know.
Ultima-owner- You're one of Riku's most powerful pie warriors ^^
Kisdota-The Freak Gamer- The chocobo was in the chapter, it flew over to Brian when Sora emerged from the hallway. The chocobo is back at the ship with Brian, will be mentioned more after halloween town is done. We'll past half way.
Future Keyblader- Ice cream for the win!
Artism- Hope you got BBS now. I still need to finish Aqua's story and get Terra's treasures.
Islands-style-girl- Yep! Talk in your sleep and you're screwed! I learned that the hard way hehehehe
Right guys, I will try to update as quick as I can but as you know, I now have to do work in order to pass my course so please bear with me.
See ya next time
Kingdommad