Hey guys (to those who like this) sorry for the long update. I have no excuse and it was our semester break here in our country and so I had a vacation.
And regarding the world if you are familiar with Fantasia 2000 and watched it then you'll know the world they are in. I don't know about this chapter, this is just a trial to see if I should add any original world. Plus, I kinda liked that part if Fantasia so I decided to just put it their for sake of my peace of mind. Hope you guys like it. If you don't then please just say why because I would like to improve my writing.
Anyways, hope you guys like it. I know I did enjoy writing it no matter how crappy this story or chapter is. Haha
Disclaimer: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts Franchise nor do I profit from it. I am merely doing this out of entertainment and cure for boredom.
Sora woke up with a killer headache and every time he thought of his dream it gave him terrible mental agony. The dream, whatever it was, cannot be accessed by him consciously and it was killing him just remembering it, but he felt that it was one he didn't recall ever happening to him.
A bark on his bedside gathered his attention. He decided then that he'll resolve it. Not now though. He'd had a busy day or so the hybrid thought.
"Hey boy," the brunet Keyblade wielder greeted Pluto who was playing with the pups. Apparently, King Mickey's loyal dog had found some of the still unknown pups in Olympus. The singular pup now became five and it was getting hard to feed them all. They may have to drop them in Traverse town for Leon's gang to take care of them till they find the parents. How a bunch of puppies got lost on many world was lost on him.
"Hey Sora! Play with us!" One of the pup barked and then chewing his shoes, making him laugh at its antics.
"Sorry guys," he ruefully said petting its head. "I promise next time before we leave Traverse town."
The pups frowned, and their tail sagged in disappointment. "Aw… you never have time to play with us. Come on guys." Another pup said turning towards the door.
"Hey, hey, hey," Sora consoled them more. "I promise." Geez, the pups were relentless in their convincing him to play with them. The brunet hybrid really didn't have the time as they took turns who'll drive or man the guns in case Heartless attacks. Over the course of the week they already had three damn Heartless spaceship attacks. Goddamn that was intense hours of fighting just to destroy them all.
"Really?" they looked at them expectantly. Pluto on the side, was he amused? The boy thought so because of the dogs' tail waggling and his demeanor gave him the thought. He'd known the dog to be mischievous but to pass to him the responsibility on playing with the dogs. Oh, he'd even out the score this time, he smirked a little.
"Yes, really," he said patting their heads making the mewl in response. "Well, guys it's time to get started. Don't be too noisy okay?"
"'kay Sora!" they then all ran off followed by Pluto.
Jiminy was eating along with Chip and Dale when he came to the small dining room. It barely fit him, Donald and Goofy when they eat at the same time.
Sora gave a tired yawn when he sat down, "Hey guys. Mornin'."
Chip, ever the happier of the two greeted him, well, happily. "Good morning Sora! You're all right already!" the red nosed of the two said eating a bread thrice his size.
"Yup," Jiminy, who from his perch of stack of books in a chair, answered. "The fight was one heck of a doozy. I barely held on to you on your fight." Sora blushed and looked away in embarrassment at this.
"Sorry, Jiminy. It's just that… you're so tiny I sometimes forget about you in my hood," he said giving a rueful smile.
"Ah, that's fine," their cricket scribe replied. "No harm done." Jiminy was still writing on his tiny notebook while taking small bites of his food as he did so.
"Say, Jiminy," Sora asked slowly. "What does your world look like?"
The cricket gave Sora a smile. "It's a secret. I'll show you when we save the worlds."
Sora groaned in protest. "Come on, Jiminy. Tell us. Tell us. Tell us."
It seemed Sora's cute (or so he thought) begging face was not working on the scribe. He increased the level but Jiminy just ignored him and continued writing on his journal. The hybrid stopped after minutes with no results.
"It'll be better if you see it personally than me telling you," he didn't know if Jiminy was joking or not because the smirk he gave was giving mixed signals.
"Fine," Sora relented. He didn't bother anymore because what if Jiminy is still hurting until now? Sora was still reeling from the shock of losing their home but his focus on ending the Heartless threat was what's keeping him from thinking of it, his mom, and his friends.
Deciding to switch topics he then asked him. "Did you ever find some of your friends in Traverse Town or King Mickey's world?"
"Sadly no," Jiminy replied dejectedly with a sigh. "It was all so fast. One moment there was a good day then the next there were Heartless everywhere! It was an anarchy."
"Well, we'll save 'em," Chip chirped happily. "I know so because the King is also finding a way to save them. Right Dale?"
"Yeah, Jiminy! Isn't that why were on this journey entrusted by the King?" the twin replied. "We'll do our best to find those lost worlds."
The cricket, wasn't sad at all. He was still happy and he beamed wider. "I believe in it too. Maybe along the way we'll find Pinocchio. Goodness that boy's luck for finding trouble is unbelievable."
"Pinocchio? Who's he, your friend?" Sora leaned forward in interest.
Nodding, Jiminy answered him, "Why, yes. I served as his conscience. Well, you see, Pinocchio has a habit of lying and when he does his nose becomes longer. I guide him to do the right thing." Nose that grows long when lying? That was certainly the strangest thing Sora had ever heard. Weirder than Phil, Heartless in a competition or Hades (seriously the had a fire for a hair, if that wasn't weird then he doesn't know what is). He guessed that some people had strange ticks when they lie. Take him as an example, for the life of him he can't lie because his tail would give it away. The young Keyblade Wielder doesn't even know what people mean by that! It just it gives him away, so he can't lie even if his life depended on it.
"Gee, why does his nose grow long?" Chip asked curiously.
Jiminy stared at empty air as if he was seeing something else. Sora thought that he was imagining their world and he understood that well. All the worlds they've seen, the boy couldn't help but compare it to Destiny Islands especially with the variety of people they've met. He looked at the world with a very longing expression. "I'll tell you perhaps later or tomorrow but for now let's all do our jobs."
Sora pouted trying to convince the scribe, but it didn't work. How? How was it possible that Jiminy is resistant to what Kairi dubbed as his "cat charm"? Or maybe he simply wasn't really that cute at all and his redhaired friend was overexaggerating when she said that.
After their breakfast he went to relieve Donald of his station. The boy only stared at the stars that was shining in the eternal darkness as if beckoning him to them. He looked eastwards there was a star that shone the brightest.
"Hey Goofy," Sora called quickly. "Does that star I'm looking at shining awfully bright?"
"Uh, Goofy?" He turned to Goofy but his wonder turned to shock quickly as darkness greeted the hybrid. "Hello?" his words echoed in the dark and he gulped in anxiety. He already knew it was going to be something else. What that "something" was the question he was dying to answer. "Guys!"
His call was left unanswered as it only echoed. "Guys! Donald!"
The hybrid Keyblade wielder didn't know if this was an illusion or not but he started walking forward regardless of where it is going. "Guys!" Sora kept calling. "Come on, where is everyone?" muttered the boy going nowhere with his trekking in the dark and keeping himself from shivering due to so much shadows. The darkness was creepy, it's like he was being handled by a slippery snake like hand when its near him. It reminded him so much of his Keyblade dream, vision or whatever it was.
Is that a light? The lost boy squinting his eyes in concentration looking forwards to see if his vision was tricking him.
Walking and walking, Sora spent minutes, hours? Still the light won't get near and he was already feeling the darkness creep slowly near him that he shivered automatically, and his tail rolled his waist in reaction to it. His fur stood on one end, his heart pumping at an fast rate and he kept blocking out the words. Unintelligible words were whispered to his ears and try as he might, the words cut through his soul as he felt part of him or was it all of him that was revealed to the shadows. He tried summoning the Keyblade to try and ward off the darkness, but nothing came to his hands. Try harder as he might, that he felt his eyes were gonna pop but to no avail.
The entire situation was seriously messing him up. How did he get from the Gummy ship to the… wherever he was now!? Was it Maleficent? Did the evil fairy find a way to kidnap him? Was he under a spell he didn't know? Sora didn't know what to do! He wasn't even on the advance parts of magic to get himself out of whatever it was in case it really was a spell.
"G…uys," the boy kept shaking. He tried casting fire, calling the Keyblade, but again he still couldn't! It was scary how powerless he was. The way things where when… No! leave it Sora! The past is past! Let it go.
"I'm sorry!" a younger voice of him echoed. What? What was happening!?
"Get -ay! f-ak!"
Sora shouted as swift and unrecognizable images stormed his mind. He bears it through but it was really painful! The scene showed a boy down on the ground shaking in fear. The scene blurred and darkened, then the scene shifted but it was smudged with darkness like a rising smoke. What was happening? What was he seeing? The scene scared him for some reason and he had no idea why.
The hybrid's breath was beginning to accelerate faster. He was panicking because of the way the boy was looking directly at him. Why is looking at him scared?! Was what he was seeing scary?!
"When you want-" an image of a blurry man crossing his arms flashed briefly. "-to me." A younger Sora was facing him, but his features were blurred much as those in heavy rain.
"What!" At this moment the brunet boy didn't care if he was rolling on the floor as the mental agony was unbearable. It was a storm in his mind, a strong thunderstorm hitting him infinitely with no plan for end. Feelings of great anger, sadness, fear was what the storm felt like. The pain was too much to at once! Too much! Stop it! Pain's companion was the
His scream, guttural with all volumes he possibly had, filled the silence of the dark and his vision turned lost its light.
"The time is not yet nigh, young one," a deep voice echoed. It had power behind it that it blew away the confusion and it left him with clarity alone. It took Sora few minutes to recover his bearings.
His scream left his throat feeling hoarse but he managed to croak a word, "W..hat d-o you… mean?"
"Soon, everything will be clear, young one," Gasping and taking a large breath in surprise when something incomprehensible entered and flowed within him. It filled his very being to the brim that it scared the young hybrid Keyblade wielder as one movement brought him pain.
What is this! He gritted his teeth as he fell again. It was as if gravity was pushing him down because he cannot stand nor move.
"Sora!" he felt someone shake him and the Hybrid boy automatically screamed and landing face first on something.
"What hit me?" cried Sora whose forehead was in pain.
"You were having nightmares again. You were shaking real bad and you were talking," Donald's gaze may look angry, but he knew it was only worry for him. Dreams of varying degree had been… making sleep harder for him. The two kept badgering him about it. The hybrid did tell them about it, or at least some of it. He wouldn't tell them what the whole if he himself didn't understand what it was about and why he was having it. His friends could only keep looking at him with worry and helpless to do a thing. It was clear they wanted to help but what could they do? Unless Donald had some nightmare reducing spell up his sleeve then he concluded nothing could be done for now. Treat it as he would when just as he was taught: to let it continue and flow out like a river to the sea. "What was it about this time?"
Sora's expression furrowed, "I can't remember clearly," he said massaging his head as if it would help in retaining what was experienced. "Something about a memory from my past," the hybrid was unsure if it was, but it felt so even if he wasn't able to clearly recollect what happened. "What did I say?"
"Something about being sorry," Donald then elbowed Goofy, probably since he was the only other beside Sora before the knight called the mage.
"Eh, ya talked about lots a things. Ya said sorry over and over, then," Sora realized that a frown on Goofy's face was not good, like it didn't belong to that kind of face. "Something then about an invisible man? Even something about a cave?" Goofy recalled. None of it made sense for him. Maybe the sorry part but an invisible man? It didn't add up. Maybe it was just a random nightmare.
"Gee Sora," the knight clapped his back gently. "Sure wish we could help ya. I mean, I think ya'r not sleeping enough."
Sora waved their worries away with a grin and a nonchalant shrug, "It's okay guys. No need to worry. It'll sort itself out, it's just like our doctor said, let it flow like the river." The boy noticed their discreet glance of the two at each other but made no decision to voice it out loud that their worries were unwarranted.
Goofy gave him a loopsided grin, "If ya say so. But ya can always ask us for help if it's too much, okay?"
"Yeah, I'll do that."
"Goofy, keep an eye on Sora and call me if he has any more nightmares," Donald stretched and yawned. "If anyone needs me I'll be in my room."
"Okay," Donald began breaking the silence of the cockpit as the three of them stared curiously at a world. The world was curious yes, a world with a half dead and alive forest and a big volcano on the center but that was not what was strange. The queerie fact came from that it only registered as "No data". They had no name for it. Donald had said that King Mickey had been through many worlds looking for the Keyblade wielders of the old, but it seemed that King Mickey missed some.
"Are you sure the computer has no data on it?" said Sora leaning on the monitor. "It could be one of those glitch you talked about."
Donald snorted in annoyance, "I'm sure, I've checked it twice."
"Bah, let's just go check it out," grumbled Donald walking out of the cockpit first. Goofy, along with Sora chuckled at their friends expense. Seeing Donald fume in annoyance was always a good show. "I've already set the gummy ship on autopilot to land us on it."
The Gummy ship immediately flew away after landing and unloading the four of them, he had to remember that Jiminy was on his hoody, the only spectator on their group. Sora felt sad when they landed on the world. The forest was dead, the trees were black as charcoal, and the ground like a great fire swept the land and killed everything on its path. The air reeked! The duo may not have noticed it, but it really did for his sensitive sense. It was like a combination of many things he didn't like. The first thing that he thought was wildfire. A rare occurrence of Destiny islands but when it hits, well, the result was close to what he was seeing now.
"What do ya suppose happened here?" Goofy whispered.
"It smells of magic," Donald stated. He looked at his duck friend weirdly. Magic? His look clearly said, and the mage understood his glance at him. "Only magic could bring a destruction this wide, maybe someone fought."
"What about natural disasters? There's a mighty big volcano," Goofy stated pointing towards the really big volcano on their right. It loomed menacingly despite the fact that it was inactive. It was massive! Taller than the one on Destiny islands, and he heard of the tale ages ago when Mount faerie, a name coming from their fire fairy deity ruling over fire, erupted and prompted the resident of the island to leave on a self-impose exile for many uncountable days. The boy didn't exactly know what happened as the tale varied from each people but what he got from his mother was that the sky darkened, and the mountain roared like an angry god. It was sudden He shuddered thinking if a volcano like that ever exploded while they were still there. No magic he had could stop the nature, maybe Donald but he could still get tired.
The duck harrumphed then answered, "Yeah well I don't see how ashes could burn land, Goofy." He had considered Goofy's words but now that Donald said it, yeah, it would be pretty weird if ashes could burn like that. "Look at it, it's all burned up. Unless the whole land itself was flooded by lava, even then I don't see any of the tree surviving that."
Yeah, their resident duck was right, every step they walked on was burnt soil. No way a lava could do that. "Well, let's get moving. I wanna see if anything existed on this world aside from dead trees."
As much as Sora love every world, this one was just depressing. Didn't it have a lush part? He remembered seeing so, but as of the moment they trekked through the dead part of the world.
The hybrid wielder was glad when the environment started to shift from the black soil to becoming slightly green. With each step the grass grew taller, and the trees lively than the next. Heck, for Sora, the air was pleasant to the nose than that of the other half. The brunet boy didn't like the smell of it. it reeked and overstimulated his nose with just a single whiff. The air on these side was a breath of relief to his poor nose. Sometimes he wished he could just turn off his senses even for just a minute.
The wind blew, and leaves flew blocking their vision with the magnificent view of the leaves flying towards the sky like free birds and butterflies surrounded them and one even landed on his nose making him sneeze. The world was more than what deep jungle was. It was untouched by man, as they'd never encountered one. If there was, then maybe it was on some other part of the world. The world was all but conquered by nature where trees, soil was left to the whims of great mother nature.
So, even with great silence from the environment aside from the birds, the three of them continue heading to who knows where to find someone from the world. Sora didn't care if it was a talking rat, deer, dog or whatever because they were lost.
"Is there anyone living on this world? Maybe it's just a blank world," said an irate Donald. "Were wasting time on this one. Phooey, I'll call Chip and Dale to send the Gummy ship down."
"Now wait just one minute," Jiminy stated before Donald could complete said action. "We haven't explored every part of this world, so we couldn't exactly say it's empty. Wait for half an hour before saying it is."
Tapping his feet furiously Donald argued back, "We don't have time to know every world. With every second we waste Maleficent is sending worlds to darkness." Sora like Donald because he kept them focused on their mission, but he was too focused at times. The hybrid agreed with Goofy on this one that they should check this out first before moving on.
"Yeah," he supplied. "Don't be in such a rush Donald. They say patience is virtue."
The mage huffed, and Sora probably thought that it included an eye roll. "Says the impatient one." He gave his duck friend a grin and not bothered by it. It was true after all.
"Hey, at least I'm trying," the hybrid shrugged.
"Yeah, yeah."
Sora quickly froze and closed his eyes when he detected something. What that something was still to be determined.
"Sora, you okay?" Goofy questioned.
He replied with be silent gesture. The boy couldn't smell precisely but, it was a very leafy thing. It gave a strong scent of nature than anything surrounding him, but he could hear some faint echoes coming from somewhere. His ears twitching in focus, he slowly walked forward and led their group to the mystery sound.
Together they explored the forest with a slow pace since the source, but it was proving to be hard because it moved fast enough before he could detect its precise location. Donald was getting impatient with not finding this something but a welcome reasoning from Goofy gladly (which secretly made him happy) shut the duck.
"I think we're near now of whoever or whatever is making the sound," Sora beamed at the other two. The hybrid brunet was right, the person or something smelled so powerful of nature, mainly leaves and it created a leafy sound just like when winds makes the plants branches sway as if dancing to the winds music. Sora had no expectation as to what the being they're gonna meet look like. Maybe it's going to be talking tree based on what he sniffed, or someone who was just covered in leaves.
"It's nearby guys," he gave them a reassuring grin. "I could hear someone playing ball too!" His walk turned to a sprint. Excitement filled him as the hybrid's curiosity overwhelmed him. Just a little more, pushing aside a branch and there on a clearing three people played. The weirdest looking of the three was the one clothed in green (probably that was the one who smelled strongly of nature), a deer (somehow weird too because it bounced the ball on its antlers) and lastly, the person who was just passed the ball to.
The young Keyblade wielder was frozen, mouth open in great surprise as he gaped at the sight of a face he knew. Yellow fitting tank top and shorts reaching the knee having an x, brown hair with a red bandanna tied around the head and ball on hand. It spurred something beneath him to see someone he knew. An actual person (not counting Kairi since she had been under a coma) from Destiny islands! He could feel the fringes of his eyes melt and water in relief.
"Wakka!" there paying with the now realized leafy woman was his friend, Wakka, as if nothing special about a person like that. His sprint turned to run, and it was as quick as he could and poking it to see if it was real or just a cruel hallucination of his yearning heart to see his home or a part of his home. "You're alive."
"Hey Sora," his older friend greeted and ruffling his hair in the process.
After a brief introduction, Wakka introduced his green friend as Spring. Spring couldn't speak only do gesture and it looked like the woman liked the name given by his older friend. The deer, was called by his older friend as Odin for strange reason and when prompted why the guy just shrugged and said it fits.
They had huddled around a campfire then had the account of Wakka how he got on the world and how long. It surprised their group dearly that Sora's friend had been on the world for about a week? That shook the hybrid Keyblade wielder.
"It was a stormy night, ya" Wakka gave him a knowing look but it felt that he was staring at something else behind him. "It was like any normal storm, 'cept there was this huge red ball floating on the play island," shuddering the older teen smiled a little to reassure them but the way the fire lit his expression says otherwise. "Then there was this great earthquake that I barely made it through. The rain became stronger and I was lucky to surviv' the wind that blew me away."
Breathing deeply the dark skinned young man paused for a second and closed his eyes. "Ya don't know how it felt my man. When the wind blew me away I couldn't see anything other than darkness." Wakka's gaze travelled around the campfire. His dark-skinned friend had a haunted look on his face when he said this, and Sora couldn't fault him for it. The darkness was scary indeed. The strongest darkness he faced was the one that destroyed Destiny islands, but he couldn't help but feel it's really not it. It was something else, but he blew that train of thought away. "I…I… I, didn-t know how lon' I was floating out there, but I found myself here and met Spring and Odin," the young man gave the strange woman a small smile. "How 'bout ya Sora? How'd you get here?"
"It all began after I found myself on Traverse town," Sora started. He forced himself to push the tears away as the hybrid boy excitedly talk to a familiar face, not that he didn't like his present company, but it just wasn't the same with someone you know. Sora recounted his experience from the beginning like a tale from legends and with insertion of other things from the others (specifically Donald saying; "Then I healed you!" or "Don't be reckless because it's tiring to heal you.").
When everything that could be said was said their group was silent for a while. It was a very hard thing to swallow and Donald protested about revealing the fact that there were other worlds on the two people or rather creatures from the world they currently are but Sora didn't know why but he had a feeling that Spring knows more than she let on. The boy realized this of the look the leafy woman gave her.
"That….," Wakka said but failed to say something. "That… that… was awesome Sora! Also dangerous ya? Riku and Kairi wouldn't like it if you were hurt ma little bro." The older one then grinned and threw him the ball which he caught easily.
"I know," Sora too gave a grin in return with his hands behind his head as he bobbed left and right. Kairi would probably say to slow down and Riku, man he could just imagine him taunting him. "Still, I bet they're gonna be so jealous of me once I show them my trophy I got from other worlds!"
"Ya betch'a Sora," the dog knight supplied giving him a thimbs up. "That alone will excite them going to other worlds."
The next day they explored the world despite resistance from Donald saying how since there is only two people living in it they should leave quickly and probably drop Wakka off on Traverse when they resupply. He was prevented by Spring who dragged them to play and see the wonders of their world while she showed them her powers too.
It took the young hybrid's breath away when he saw Spring grow flowers, grass, plants, soil and other natural organism easily as it was for him and Donald to cast a spell. Right now said being was flying through the air and releasing some spores that when it hit the earth brought back life to it like it wasn't even barren on the first place. A wave of hand here and there, trees of height he and Wakka had never seen before because it was a tall as the trees than the one on Destiny islands. She made another plant by shaping the soil with the gentleness of a sculptor.
"Cool!" gushed Sora when Spring grew a tree with pink leaves. "What are these called?" the leafy woman smiled so innocently and free and made the tree grow taller with a movement of her arm and ended with a fully grown very beautiful pink leaf tree.
Moving her arms in an upward arch as then words made of leaves appeared and floated. "Sakura," he had read. Maybe he can have a smaller one of that tree and the boy was shy of asking her but he did. "Can you please make me a smaller one of that Sakura tree?"
Spring looked at him curiously by tilting her head and her golden eyes so open and easy to read with wanting to know why. Not a suspicious why but a silent question that was filled only with her curious mind.
"Can ya' do that Donald?" the boy laughed when Goofy asked Donald this. Said duck reluctantly grumbled about how he doesn't know that.
"Well," Sora grumbled, and he could feel his face turning red. "I…. I… want to give it to Kairi so that when she wakes up that's the first thing she sees." The Keyblade wielder couldn't look at them and suddenly found the ground interesting.
"Awh shawks. Ya don't need to explain to us Sora," Goofy laughed. "Ya wanna give her to ya'r sweetheart Kairi."
"Wh-aaat!?" He spluttered and choking on his saliva as the others laughed at his expense. "That… that's not... not why I wanted them for!"
Donald grunted in disagreement. "Phooey," the duck waved away his concerns easily. "No need to be shy. I give Daisy a flower too. Everyone gives flowers to their girlfriend, wife or loved one."
Wakka gave Sora thumbs up as he was helpless on their teasing and no matter how much he denied it they wouldn't believe him. Heck, even Sprin grinned at him and started poking his beet red cheeks! Oh, what's a hybrid to do to have a little peace. "Way to go Sora! I knew ya' and Kairi wou'd be together ya."
"Hyuk," the knight laughed. "Ya don't haft'a be shy 'bout your sweetheart Sora."
"Let's just go already," he stated walking ahead of him and they took advantage of this and despite of it they still did it knowing he could hear it. It continued till they laughed no more.
"Did that volcano explode once?" Wakka pointed the volcano looming above them and adding a mysterious air on the serene world. He shuddered involuntarily just looking at it and he didn't know why. But whatever the case, he didn't like the volcano.
They all stopped walking when they noticed the green woman wasn't following them. Spring was looking serious and stared on the ground as if looking for something.
"Is something wrong?" Donald asked and despite his annoyance had concern on his voice. Spring didn't reply and kept looking down.
Her action made Sora worried. Why? was the question on his mind. The joyful air of their new friend was gone and replaced by someone serious. Why is she like that? The first thing that he thought was that their green friend detected some Heartless but no, it was impossible because the world was too pure and uncorrupted by darkness for Heartless to have been here. He smelled no trace of the darkness. So, what is it?
"Spring, what's wrong?" Wakka approached the woman breaking her focus. Spring pointed at the mountain and shook her head. The message he'd gotten from this was she didn't like the mountain or probably scared of it.
When asked why she only shuddered and flew towards it with them scrambling to catch up with her. Her speed caught them off guard and he thought that she was faster than him on his normal form and so the hybrid struggled to catch up with her skillful weaving on the forest.
"Catch up guys!" Sora shouted ignoring Goofy and Donald's call as he attempted to catch up with Spring. He jumped when he nearly missed a fallen tree branch on his run and nearly fell. Spring's nervous flying had him and the others worried for their new friend. Did she detect something dangerous?
Eventually with all his running Sora was starting to reach his limit and he realized he had no choice (does even have one?) but to transform again. His body shivered at the prospect of losing control again, so he opted to partially transform. With his senses limit unlock he recoiled at the stimuli he received. It wasn't bad kind of recoil but that of an addicting one. It was hard for him to explain but the smell that hit him was unlike that of Deep Jungle nor Destiny Islands, no. It was something else he couldn't explain, and he didn't know why but he like it.
It was a very long run with the gravity against him while Spring had it easy flying and he could easily follow her not only because of her smell but also due to her leaving a new trail of grass wherever she went.
Minutes of running uphill and he could see the form of Spring stopping for some reason. "Spring!" Sora said struggling to even just say her friends' name. "Where… a-aare you," again the boy breathes to recover the lost air he had and using his knees to support himself. Looking up Spring was unnaturally serious and looking at the ground? "Going?" The woman moved her arms like she would create a plant and it did the desired effect, but it only reached a certain point until it vanished like hitting an invisible wall.
Their friend did it again having the same effect and her brows scrunched together in concentration. "Huh, that's weird." Why would Spring's power not reach the mountain? The boy couldn't say that her power was limitless (which it was) because the mountain was still a part of the earth so why would it not be affect by her powers? "Why do you think that is?" Wait a minute, Sora realized something. "Is that why you flew all the way here? Did you sense something from this mountain?" The minute the yellow-eyed leafy woman was boring her eyes down as if with her sights on it could give her answers but now she approached him and shook his shoulders as if the brunet hybrid gave her a clue. "What? What?"
"Ah!" screaming in fear as he was suddenly dragged flying by Spring. The brunet boy didn't dare flail or move a lot unless he wanted to fall from the sky and die a gruesome death. "Hey!" Sora shouted and hoped would be heard amidst the wind. "Where we going?!"
Spring looked at him momentarily then continued flying. Sora screamed when they found themselves on the volcano and entering it making him scream. Whether in excitement (because he'd never seen the insides of one before even with one on Destiny islands), worry (because he was scared it'll explode due to it smoking now that he was closer it) or both, he didn't know. Now that she was going down he could see something on the center of the as smoke rose up from around it. It was a round rock and Sora shivered automatically upon seeing it.
He didn't like the feeling of dread it gave off. "Uh… Spring," he glanced at his companion in worry. "I don't think we should be close to uh… whatever this is."
If Spring was listening it wasn't obvious because her attention was solely on this and he thought she was probably wondering why? Or was she remembering something?
"Spring," he called again as the woman approached the thing.
It all happened so suddenly when piercing red eye opened without warning and smoke choked him as it became thicker. "Spring!" he then found himself being dragged as he kept huffing and coughing. The smoke hurt his nose! There was a great rumbling originating from below and when they reach the top of the volcano his heart felt leaping out of his body when he saw a giant firebird with its wings spread apart and glaring at the two of them.
The bird laughed and just the sound of it alone shook the boy to the core. "I am free!" The bird declared in joy and fire exploded all around. He had to make a reflect barrier to protect them from the heat and splash. The bird that loomed tall was made of lava and he felt (he didn't know why he knew it) but the thing exuded malevolence of one he'd never experience before. The fact that lava was jumping like an excited kid made the firebird all the scarier.
With one swipe of its wings lava was launched towards them. If there was a time of improving his spells, then it was now for Sora. "Freeze!" Sora summoned the Keyblade and shouted. He imagined his eyes the coldest it could be and put great as he could. A great ball of spiky ice launched from the tip of his weapon. The ice the boy launched froze only the center of the attack, and that enough for them to dodge the splash of the attack. He could feel the strain on himself, but he pressed on until they get to safety.
Together they ran dodging the lava and fire aimed by the large fiery bird at them. "Dodge!" he screamed when he heard the bird fire flames. The boy pulled Spring in time for it to land just a few feet away from them and making him hiss in pain when it hit his skin.
Their way out was slowly being cut off as lava flowed down but they treaded forward quickly and carefully. There! the boy mentally screamed when he saw a high ground with a tree where the lava just skirted around. "Wall!" said Sora making the spell face down and using it as a platform. This got them a little time and the good news was the bird disappeared and the bad news was it became the lava.
A deep rumbling laugh echoed all around that it made his fur stood on ends. "You cannot prevent the inevitable end, young one. It is the will of nature for I, Phoenix to return all to ashes from whence it came."
"Destroying everything as nature wills it!?" Sora scream back at the firebird. "Who are you?"
"I am the very symbol of destruction. Destroyer of life and nature. I am," the lava exploded but moved to the sides of the volcano. "Phoenix! Long have I been slumbering, long have Gaia delayed my awakening but no more! All will end as it is intended to be! Resistance is futile." Gaia? Sora wondered who it was but the only one aside from the deer was Spring, the boy pushed that thought for later. They had bigger problems to deal with.
"What do you mean!?" The moment is spoke Sora immediately knew that it was Phoenix that caused the other half of the world to become barren. "For what purpose do you do those evil things!?"
Phoenix laughed and then a wave of fire from the top headed crashing towards them. He was panicking, this he knew because who could stop a wave that large! It was as tall as fifteen meters! "Evil you say? Ha!" the reply resounded all around especially behind the wall of fire. "Is it evil if I only do as nature intended for me to do? Is it evil if it is my nature itself?! Don't be foolish boy, I sense within you the same urge. The same nature. You cannot resist who you are." Sora stopped, and he felt his heart paused as Phoenix's words were processed. It resonated somehow to a deep part of him. Why? was the question that echoed deep within his heart. Why does it feel true? Why can't I deny it?
A light brought him out of his trance and the boy saw Spring straining herself. He would've asked her to stop but two trees from out of the burning ground and expanding to become a wall protected them, still it wasn't enough as the flames burned through it.
"Blizzaza!" A familiar voice shouted. It was far away but he heard it nonetheless. The ice turned almost froze half the wave and immediately cracking and fell melting to the sea of fire. Phoenix screeched then a head of it formed and spewed fire that rained all around far and wide.
"Reflect!" Sora chanted, and his barrier barely blocked the great attack as he hissed in concentration. The attack was strong that one tiny splash of it made crack on his defense. So strong! He grunted trying to maintain the spell. When the fire died down he was out of breath and his mind released a terrible pain. "Spring," he struggled to say as he saw two of her. "Do you trust me?"
Springs' fearful shimmering eyes bore into his for what felt like eternity then nodded without hesitation. "Hold tightly!" the boy's senses became clearer and his fur grew more. Power surged through him and the pain temporarily suppressed. How can we defeat such power! He questioned. The Keyblade wielder doesn't do giving up but he knew his limits and that's why he always strives to do better.
On his Fury mode from their perch on patch of land he could see Donald, Goofy, Wakka and Odin the deer. Pushing with everything he got, he jumped high as he could and turning mid-air. His hand wielding the weapon released the spell he'd been holding, and a large wall spell blocked the fire but was no match for its intensity and cracked quickly like a glass. His landing was less than stellar with him carrying someone and let out a single grunt. It seems Donald was powerful because he was able to counter the fire launched by Phoenix, but the boy knew the duck would not hold it for long because Phoenix was powerful. Sora compared the fiery bird to that of a force of nature, akin to those of storms, lightning, thunder, hurricane, and earthquake.
The boy jumped again, and Spring was silent, showing only determination when he looked at her briefly. "Sora what's going on!" Donald questioned urgently. "The explosion came out of nowhere! What is that thing!?"
"I don't know but Phoenix intends to destroy everything!"
"How do we stop that ya?" Wakka said squinting. It was getting harder to see between the ashes and the smoke. Even a simple breathing was difficult.
"There is one way," Donald suggested. And guessing by the look of Goofy's face the dog knew about it too.
"But Donald we can't!" This surprised Sora. Seeing the knight disagree was new but he would've had to disagree with Goofy's refusal because they were out of options of how to stop the rampage of Phoenix. "You know the effects it causes."
Wakka asked what he meant and the look his two companions was worrying. "We have no time to explain. Quickly hold hands!"
"Imagine your energy being passed around. Feel the other's energy flow through you!" Sora tried to but he couldn't because he can hear the sound of something large approaching and it was hard to focus it out of his mind.
"Sora," Goofy calmly said. "Calm down. Feel the energy flow through you. Wakka relax and feel the energy."
The boy could feel energy flowing through him like a wave circling. Each energy was a new sensation, there was a power that was like a hard metal, a dense ball that was flexible, there was even an energy so powerful but was hidden. There were more but he couldn't feel the others clearly, but he knew it was the others because he couldn't identify which energy belongs to whom. I'll live for Kairi! Riku! Restoring Destiny Islands! We can make it! Sora gave all the energy he could, and the mental pain came back and increased. Tried as he might it was hard to push away but he couldn't falter now.
"Ha, ha, ha," Phoenix's laugh echoed and hit his ears like lightning and thunder. "It is futile to resist. Life shall end!" He would've turn to look back but one assertive statement from Goofy stopped him and he resisted the urge to defy that.
Focus on the flowing power within!
"How much longer Donald!" Sora didn't know if he screamed it or not but he wanted to get the message across fast without being drowned by that damn big lava heading right towards them!
"Not long," when Donald replied he was struggling. "Imagine the coldest place and thing you've experience! Imagine it and let it take physical shape then let it go when I say so!"
Ice cream! That's what the hybrid imagined. The sweet sea-salt ice cream after a hard day's work where it would cool down. To seat down with his friends. He imagined Kairi's laugh and Riku's taunting words. Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka would be with them and they would sometimes just sit down in silence or argue about the little things life had to offer. He longed for that life, but Sora knew it would not be even if they defeated Maleficent. Nothing would ever be the same.
Soon he found himself shivering and losing all strength. Things around him became a blur as he struggled to remember what was happening. Phoenix… he forced himself to remember that. He could not let himself be consumed by his own power like last time! Save the world!
"Release the spell!" Donald screamed, and he did as ask. His fur, hair swayed from the strong force the came in front of him and he held tight to Goofy and Wakka. "Don't let go!"
It was the strongest Blizzard spell that he'd experienced, and it was continuously trying to blow them away. It was becoming increasingly harder due to the fact that he was losing strength. They were losing strength! Wakka's hold was becoming slacker and he himself was straining his body just to hold on.
The wind grew cold and constantly shaking like a wet dog. More power!
"Not enough!" the firebird screamed. "You will not stop me! I-" Sora couldn't hold it any longer and let go. Even as he tried his best to deny the darkness that invaded him, in the end couldn't and the last thing he saw was him falling to the ground.
Pain was the first thing Sora felt upon waking. He found himself unable to move and feeling something on top of him. The brunet let out a moan as he tried to stand but even one micromovement was impossible. He currently settled for just staring the grey skies. It was raining, snow or ash he couldn't properly identify through sight but smell wise? He knew it was ashes. Everything was burned. The world was left barren again.
"Curaga," Donald casted the spell and he felt all pain went away. "I thought one spell was enough. Sorry, I underestimated the spell."
He tried to grin but even a simple facial expression hurt, "Damn it," the young Keyblade wielder muttered a curse. "What was that anyway? It sapped a lot from me," Well, sapped was a damn understatement. It took everything he had, probably the same case to Spring and Wakka. Even Goofy because he was snoring like nothing happened.
"Jiminy? Tell me you got all that," Sora called their smallest member. "Everything that happened from when that beast woke up to the spell."
A humming reply confirmed it.
"So, what happened?" He asked Donald.
The raggedness of King Mickey's court wizard was obvious and took a toll on him too but maybe not enough to knock him out. "Trinity happened. It's a forbidden spell that if not controlled can kill the casters. It enables the casters to cast powerful spells by gathering the magical energy the group has but at the cost of control because a power that strong is hard to be controlled, even with my level of magic I still find it hard. It's called Trinity for a reason too. Three people was supposed to be the ideal number because any more than that would be unstable. You felt how it nearly blew us away."
The boy nodded in agreement, "It certainly was. So, did we win?" He asked Donald because he couldn't move, even just turning his head cost a lot of his currently nonexistent strength.
His duck friend sighed, "No," Donald replied quickly. "We failed. The world was burned to ashes liked it said it would."
Somehow, he had a feeling that was the case but to hear it? The brunet hybrid didn't know what to feel. "Is everyone alright? Goofy, Wakka and Spring?" For Sora they may not have lost because they stopped the beast's rampage
"Fine if otherwise unconscious."
"That's good. I'll take a rest for now Donald. That spell really hit me bad," So, the boy yawned and willingly let sleep take him this time.
I know that is is not the trinity (that's what it was called in the games right? I haven't bothered to check if it's correct or not and relied on my memory) or something from the game but sorry if I mess that one out. I figured too that I'd twist it to so they won't be spamming it anytime soon, I know use that one a lot to destroy a lot of Heartless grunts. But I hope you readers like it. And I'll do try to be consistent with the updates but I make no promises because University and all that jazz.