Chapter 2: Limit

{Training Hall: 8:00am}

Sora watched the group summon their Keyblades, and he considered what to do next. They were going to begin training with his Drive Forms so they could work alongside it, if by chance Sora would have to enter one and combat the Heartless in one. Naturally, Riku had a bit of an upper hand, but not by much, seeing as his weakest Drive Form was Limit, and they'd only worked with it twice since returning to the castle. The Keyblades clinked in their grasps, and he smiled just a bit.

Taking into account the Keyblades he possessed that were more honed to the type of Element Limit Form was tuned to, he only could think of three: the Kingdom Key, Fairy Harp, and Jungle King. Frowning, Sora sighed, and settled upon Fairy Harp, knowing it was the closest he'd get without dual wielding both the Kingdom Key and Fairy Harp or Jungle King. Summoning the green and white Keyblade into his grasp, it made an almost flute-like sound as he swung it and prepared to pull out his Drive Form.

"What type of Keyblade is that?" asked Kairi as she looked it over. Sora smiled; there was time for a small lecture, he supposed.

"This is Fairy Harp, the Keyblade belonging to Neverland. I got it when I fought my shadow in Captain Hook's cabin when you were unconscious...and I was trying to find you and Riku." He had silently sworn that he would never mention more about Riku's involvement with the darkness than needed.

"Okay...so why are you using that?" Riku smirked a bit, deciding he would rather not step in on Sora trying to teach his students, except when he needed to in offering advice or perhaps extra information. Sky-blue eyes gave him a faintly grateful look, knowing he was trying to let him adapt to the fact that he now had not one, but technically three people looking towards him as their teacher and source of information. Taking in a deep breath, Sora looked back at the other three.

"Well, there are a lot of Keyblades out there in the worlds that are element based. Fairy Harp is an Air-Wind-based Keyblade, and Limit Form is an Air-based Drive...so I tend to stick with Keyblades that complement their stasis element," he explained.

"That's amazing! What about the Kingdom Keys?" Namine looked down to hers, as did Roxas.

"As far as we know, the Kingdom Keys are versatile...they don't have a singular basis in an element or ability. Which is good, seeing as you don't know what exact element you fare better with," Sora told her as he swung Fairy-Harp, and it made the familiar flute-like noise.

"That sounds very pretty, but what can air do in a fight?" Riku asked this question with sincerity, and all he could do was watch Sora smirk.

"Let's see how you handle this; ready?"

The four Keyblade Wielders stepped back, and Sora focused in on the Drive, his right eye turning a pale-blue as he felt the energy associated with the Drives gather around him. To most, it appeared to happen in mere seconds, and it did, but to him, it felt as if it took minutes. Sora felt his flesh cool ever so slightly and took in a steady breath as the magic slipped over his body, and just like that, he was in his Limit Sprite Drive Form. The red jumpsuit with the crown at the front, the black straps, white lining, his shoes yellow with black tongues, a blue belt at his hips, the jacket black with white at the sleeves, and his gloves, which had turned white, bore silver detailing and blue X-shapes across the top. Sora put his feet firmly on the ground and swung the Keyblade a bit and looked to the others.

Riku, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine eyed the boy's appearance; having seen this Form before, it was relatively unstressful; however, with the boy's mismatched blue eyes looking to them, it made them feel a knot form in their chests. Sky-blue and pale-blue stared directly at them as Sora smiled, assuring them that everything was okay, as Riku smiled, genuinely excited to be dealing with the Drive Form again, and at its full power. Sora looked at them once more, and with a smirk, a burst of wind shot away from him in a complete circle, taking the others by surprise as he used it to propel himself into the air and cast a blast of magic at them it was a simple shot of wind magic, but it did disrupt them faintly as they barely dodged it, and he landed in a crouch and looked to them with a smirk.

"What's wrong? I thought that you wanted to fight me?" he asked. Riku stared onward as Sora spun the Keyblade in his grasp, and Roxas took in a series of deep breaths.

"What the fuck?! That stole my breath!" Sora gave Roxas a faint look.

"My Limit Drive is all Air and Wind based...any magic that has a basis in that element will be much more dangerous and will deal extra damage. This is my weakest Drive Form; we still have three more to deal with," he explained to them as they got to their feet.

"What in the hell are they?" Sora looked to them, backing up a bit as they braced themselves to attack.

"Come on, attack me!"

Sora shot another burst of wind from Aero outwards, and this time, Riku used shield and gave Roxas, Namine, and Kairi an advantage towards him. Sora and the group clashed, blows being dealt between the sharp gusts of wind, the sparks of metal, faint shouts, and the clatter of spells being deflected caught their attention as the group soon found themselves spent, and breathing in deeply as Sora moved back a bit and sat down in front of them, casting out cooling, gentle air spells to help them cool their bodies down before they became ill from overheating. The fight, from what they could tell by the clock on the wall, had been going for almost two hours already – one hour, fifty-three minutes, and forty-two seconds, if you wanted to go by the exact time – and they were truly spent. Sora was certain that the group wasn't used to it, but unlike the first time, they clashed almost perfectly with this weaker Form he had right then. However, Sora wasn't certain if they were prepared for the other two he used the most. Taking in a deep breath, he observed them, and Riku smiled as he looked him over.

"Damn, you're good with your Aero spells...now, what about your other ones?" he questioned. Sora laid back against the polished wood of the training hall's floor.

"I'm going to be introducing Wisdom Form again in about three or five days. Master Yen Sid stated that when I felt you were ready to handle one of the stronger ones I possess, I can bring you to his Tower, where you'll be meeting the three Good Fairies," he said.

"Neat, but...are we really doing that well against Limit Form?" sky-and-pale-blue looked to Roxas.

"Yes, you are. But we have to remember that you guys are a little more use to this Drive than the others...and I don't even know how you'll face the other three I have," he mentioned off-handedly. To that statement, though, Namine found herself slightly confused.

"Sora?" he hummed.

"What?" Namine frowned.

"That's only four Drive Forms. Limit, Wisdom, and the two others..." the boy glanced to her, as did the others in confusion.

"Your point?" the blonde girl looked him over.

"You told us in Twilight Town, after the fight with the Heartless, that you had five Drive Forms," she clarified. The others recalled the statement and gave him a swift look over.

"Yea, I remember you telling us that!" Sora huffed, not wanting to discuss the topic coming at him.

"What about it? I just decided I didn't want to use it," he stated.

"So? We should try and adapt to all the ones you have because your style of fighting is different in these Forms." Sora nearly banged his head against the floor.

"I'm still learning control over it, okay? I've barely practiced with one of them, and that one I'm still working on how to pin down the power it uses..." Riku frowned, not liking the sensation he got off of the other.

Sora never showed distress in his facial features or body language, even when he was down-right terrified; however, talking about this Drive, the one he couldn't control, made him so anxious and put him under so much duress that he felt almost like a livewire of fear. Sometimes being Sora's Dream Eater was a good thing; it allowed him to sense when something was genuinely wrong with the other boy, and being his best friend and a practical older brother to the smaller teenager, it made Riku feel ever-so-slightly better, knowing that if he wasn't careful, and if Sora ever slipped, he wouldn't end up being hurt. Nonetheless, he promised to have a discussion with him about it after training ended.

"That's fine, so, back to training?" he asked. Sora jumped to his feet, and the others slowly did the same.

"Yea, show me what you guys got!" the four Keyblade Wielders picked up their Keyblades and charged, excited to continue advancing in their lives alongside the others.

{Mysterious Tower: 9:45am}

Master Yen Sid sat at his desk, uncomfortable by the prospects he had seen from their allies who had been turning in reports since the Dream Drop incident in April. The aged Wizard had seen reports come in from both Owari and Burgess as well, but hadn't expected to see reports from Hollow Bastion, Radiant Garden, and even Daybreak Town. The only report he hadn't received was something from Traverse Town, which he assumed would be arriving shortly, as he did trust Cid, Huey, Dewey, and Louie to do their part in keeping tabs on the Darkness. He sighed and heard Oswald walk into the room and bring King Mickey in with him. His two former students, now Masters, stood before him, holding reports and allowing them to keep tabs upon the darkness influxes within the worlds they were charged with. Master Yen Sid looked to them, and King Mickey sat his report down upon his Master's desk, and Oswald swiftly followed.

"It is good to see you, Mickey," the wizard stated. The Mouse King smiled.

"As it is you, Master Yen Sid...is everything alright?" the wizard frowned, folding his hands before him.

"I just find the activity, or lack thereof....rather strange," he said calmly. The two Masters before him seemed to nod in agreement.

"Twilight Town has been rather quiet since Master Sora and Master Riku left with those two new Keyblade Wielders..." Oswald's statement momentarily hung in the air, as the Wizard considered this.

"And Disney Castle? What of its status?" inquired Master Yen Sid. King Mickey cleared his throat.

"Rather quiet; I've seen a few randomized stray Shadow Heartless, but they don't remain anywhere long before completely vanishing...Sora and Riku are training Roxas, Namine, and Kairi diligently; in fact, prior to me coming here, I saw them training with Sora's Limit Drive Form in the training hall." Master Yen Sid nodded.

"Good, Sora is going to have to get used to activating those Forms a bit more than normal," the wizard said cryptically. King Mickey and Oswald looked to them in concern.

"May I ask what you mean by that?" the Former Keyblade Master sighed heavily, distress evident upon his features.

"Xehanort has gone quiet...something is coming..." the two of them looked to one another and then to the Wizard again.

"Are you saying that..." Master Yen Sid nodded.

"I am afraid...the Dream Drop has become a tertiary catalyst for something we have boldly tried to hold back for quite some time," he clarified.

"The things we're trying to conceal might do more harm than good if we just up and tell them what's going to happen!" King Mickey smiled to Oswald.

"It's nowhere near as horrible as we make it sound...Master Yen Sid, Sora has a right to know the truth...I know you have the journal," he stated. The wizard looked down before he pulled out a picture frame from a drawer and placed it flat upon the desk, and with a touch of magic, it sprang to life.

A young man with ginger-chestnut hair and electric-baby-blue eyes looked around, holding a Keyblade in hand and moving in faint motions, the Keyblade glinting in the light. This boy stood there, looking around, and then he was joined by others, by familiar faces lost to time, and their smiles and laughter appeared as the Keyblade vanished, and the boy gave the girl next to him a bright, gentle smile as he grasped her hand, and the others bunched in around them in a manner that seemed as if they were preparing for an image to be created. It seemed to almost pause, and Master Yen Sid looked to the image.

"It's been over a century since this picture was created...and we've lost many keeping this secret until the time came..." Oswald put his ears down.

"Are you saying we..." the wizard looked down.

"I am afraid we cannot tell anyone who is not privy at current the truth of this matter...Mickey, just keep them safe, and Oswald? Would you check in on Himitsu and the others? I just wish to cover our bases," he explained. The two nodded.

"Yes, Master Yen Sid." he smiled.

"Good, now, I must speak with the Good Fairies, we have some Keyblade Wielders coming in a fort-night, and I do not wish to catch them off guard," Master Yen Sid said as he stood and started to leave the room, with King Mickey and Oswald walking behind him.

{Disney Castle: 12:45pm}

Riku looked to Sora, who was rotating his right shoulder in an attempt to get the stiffness out after training had ended for the day. Sora had called it early, due to Roxas and Namine not being used to the hours that he typically worked on. Riku and Kairi were faring well enough that they could have kept going; however, Sora wanted to keep them together while working with the Drive Forms and adapting to the battle patterns. Riku rubbed a towel over his wet hair and went back to looking at where Sora was with a simple towel laid over his own damp hair from the shower he'd just gotten out of and frowned as the boy moved his upper body a bit, which caused his bones and joints to make a faint crackling noise. The silver-haired teen sighed and looked at the boy once more as he started to pull on a shirt and finish drying his hair.

"So, Limit Form seems stronger than last time," Riku stated. The chestnut-haired sixteen-year-old looked to his friend.

"Yea, it and two others get stronger by just using them...and then there are ones who also become stronger by using their element..." the silver-haired teen hummed in thought.

"Okay, Sora? Can I ask you a question?" he inquired. Sky-blue eyes looked to him.

"What?" Cyan eyes looked him over, and the boy backed up a bit.

"What is that Drive you're so scared of?" Sora glowered ever so slightly.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Riku, I'm not ready for people to know what that thing is...it's dangerous...if I can't control it, I won't ever bring it out...so don't worry..." Riku looked him over in questioning.

"Is it that bad?" he questioned. Sora looked down, knotting the towel up in his hands as his still-damp hair hung in his face.

"Yes...you...I'm afraid of it..." Riku looked to him in evident worry.

"Why are you so afraid of one thing? You can manage the other Drives no problem...right?" he asked him. Sky-blue met cyan eyes, and the older boy felt his eyes grow wide.

"No...one of them is a bit too strong for me...I need to practice with it more. There's that one...and...that other one..." Riku looked down momentarily.

"What's stopping you from using it?" sky-blue eyes looked shiftily around.

"I'm scared of...what Kairi and all of you will think of me when...you see what it does to me..."

"Then we'll wait until you're ready, okay?" the boy glanced up at him with teary eyes.

"Thanks...Riku..."

{Disney Castle: 10:45pm}

Sora took in a deep breath as Kairi snuggled up to him. The girl had come into his room just a few moments ago and had asked to stay with him for the night – agreeing to it, the girl was now laid up against him, smiling ever so slightly. Sky-colored eyes looked to aquamarine ones, only to be given a soft kiss before he reached up to brush his fingers through her hair and gently pull her closer before she broke away from him and frowned. Kairi knew Sora was tired, but she also knew that he wasn't talking about something that was bothering him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"How I'm going to train them properly..." Kairi raised an eyebrow.

"Roxas and Namine are coming along fine, so don't worry about it," she told him.

"Kairi, I never had formal training. I'm teaching them what I feel they need to know, but how can I make that judgement call when I've never been given that before I went headlong into battles?" the red-haired girl frowned once again and crawled atop him to stare down at the boy, who felt himself flush just a bit at the rather awkward position.

"Sora, you're an amazing teacher, and I know you're doing this the right way. Roxas and Namine are learning at a really fast rate! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were ready to go out into the field soon," Kairi said to him with a smile. Sora sighed a bit as he struggled with the strange sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Kairi? Can I ask you something?" the girl leaned down to where she could place her head upon his chest and nodded slowly.

"What is it?"

"Do you think it's strange that Xehanort and the Organization haven't done anything in months?" he asked.

"Well, I guess so...but, honestly? I think we should be grateful that they haven't shown up yet..." he nodded a bit.

"Roxas and Namine wouldn't do well against the Organization...those two don't know how dangerous being a Keyblade Wielder is yet...but when they do...it'll change them...like it did you and Riku..." he muttered before going quiet.

"Like it did to you?" sky-blue met aquamarine.

"Kairi..." she looked down.

"You really did change over the course of that first adventure. When we were kids, you were quiet, but sweet and shy, a really good person, and compassionate...you wouldn't hurt anyone...and then..." Sora sat up.

"I know that I was different..." Kairi shook her head.

"When you cast the Keyblade aside and wrenched open the door to the darkness, you reached inside and grabbed Riku and the King out with your bare hands, and you were on top of Riku, screaming at him, swearing, threatening him...I remember...I was there, and it scared me to see so much difference between the boy I knew on the Islands and the boy who was pinning one of my friends down, screaming at him..." Sora reached out and caressed her cheek.

"Kairi, we've talked about this...change has to happen for people to survive...I had to grow out of being so quiet in order to live through those battles in order to bring you and Riku back! Even then I loved you, but I couldn't tell you because I wasn't going to be with you...I just wanted the two of you and our families and friends safe..." he said as he placed a kiss upon her cheek.

"I know...it'll be okay..." Kairi wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.

"However, we have to be prepared...I'm going to push the Wisdom Form training up. For the next three days, we'll work with Limit Form and a few other things, and from there, we'll go to Wisdom Form," he told her as Kairi snuggled closer.

"Okay...let's get some sleep, though...okay?" he smiled.

"Yea..."

{…..}

I can see all the fears you face, through a storm that never goes away. Don't believe all the lies that you've been told...

{…...}

Author's Note: Okay, chapter 2 is complete! Just a heads up, this story isn't pure comedy like the story that will follow it – it has humor, but it also stands to be considered very important, due to the training aspects of it, and the fact that Roxas and Namine, as well as Kairi and Riku, are going to be put through the ringer because of Sora's Drive Forms, and how fast they're having to go with the training. Now, in the next chapter, we get a little mayhem and some use of spell-work with the group. I'll list the spells that were taught at the end of the chapter, as well as the Drive Forms that are used in each chapter, summons when they're used, and Keyblades that were used will be listed in a trivia page at the end of the story.

Drive Form: Limit Form – the weakest of Sora's Drive Forms, it is Air/Wind Element-based, and works best with Keyblades that are based around the element. Sora's abilities are strengthened from the events of his first adventure, and he received this Drive Form from Axel in Castle Oblivion – though he states he only found it – and appears almost identical to his appearance through the events of Kingdom Hearts I.

Spells: Aero – a Wind/Air Spell that allows the user to surround themselves in a funnel of moving winds to protect them. It can be cast out to use as an attack.

Let me know what you think!

Preview:

"Okay, that worked perfectly!"

"Sora! Dont laugh at me!"

"Earplugs?"

Chapter 3: Brooms