Chapter 4: Spell Mishaps
{Disney Castle: September 10th 2013: 5:45am}
It was early, far too early, and yet, Roxas felt something tugging at his senses. It could have possibly been Sora coming to get him in the early morning for a rude – and begrudgingly hated – awakening for more training. Roxas would be the first to tell you that he despised Sora's training regimen for several reasons: it was grueling, stressful, exhausting, bone-breaking, blister-inducing, and ill-boding lessons that made his body ache for hours, his eyes nearly cross to the point that he couldn't bear to stay awake any longer, and his bones feel as if they'd splintered; however, Roxas was seeing something different in himself, Namine, and Kairi. Sora was a demon when it came to teaching - he knew what he was doing – and while neither Roxas nor Namine knew exactly why Sora was so tough on them, they suspected it was done within good reason.
However, Roxas desired sleep, not lessons in Keyblade wielding, but he was being denied it due to a slight ticklish sensation he felt upon the tip of his nose followed by the heavy scent of fire and coal. The blonde Keyblade Wielder batted at his nose slightly, and as soon as the scent and sensation were gone, he fell back asleep until at long last his alarm clock went off. Roxas sat up out of bed, hair askew, eyes half-lidded, and skin a bit pale as he got up.
"What was that? I must be dreaming half awake..." he said to himself as he walked towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.
As he got himself cleaned up and dressed, Roxas thought about the recent training they had been undergoing. Sora taught them well when it came to spells and maneuver work, sparring, and further training, but the one thing that terrified him and made him dread training was the upcoming session: Wisdom Form. Roxas sighed as he recalled the first time he had ever seen Sora's Wisdom Drive Form in action. It was dangerous, graceful, quick, accurate, quiet, and beautiful – something that made Sora look as if he was almost flying with gleams and faint wind wisps of royal blue behind him. The blonde could admit it, the Keyblade Master was someone he both admired and feared to a great degree; however, there was something else he considered when he thought of Sora Seiren: friendship.
Roxas was one of the lucky few in all the worlds to say he was a good friend of Master Sora Seiren, savior of the worlds, defeater of Darkness, Bearer of the Silver Kingdom Key, the chosen one who was selected out of many to hold the honor of putting a stop to the most vile, wicked, black-hearted man in anyone's memory. The blonde looked down as he put down his toothbrush to think for a moment as he considered all of the titles Sora bore. What had the boy gone through to gain each of those so highly esteemed titles? What had he given up to acquire the accreditation of the higher ranking persons around him? And what wounds did he bear to be given the title of Keyblade Master? Those thoughts ran through his head as he finished with brushing his teeth and got dressed.
"Sora and Riku are the only Keyblade Masters I've ever met besides King Mickey and Master Yen Sid. Are there more of them? Were there more of them? What happened? And how come no one's said anything? Why? Is there something so bad that..."
Roxas's internal musings were cut off as a small black object appeared in the corner of his eyes, and he turned to see it fumble its way into the fireplace. Standing from his seat at the edge of his bed, the blonde headed to the mantel and crouched to where he could look at the soot that was present in the grate. Sighing, he took one of the metal pokers and went to jab the burnt-down logs with it when he received a shock he'd not quite expected: the soot moved. Roxas dropped the poker and scuttled backwards as he looked at the same spot again and realized he hadn't been imagining things and saw the soot once more move until a set of beady, large white and black eyes poked up from the soot and a tiny creature came scrambling about for a random piece of wood that was only partly intact still.
"What are you?" he asked as he looked at it, only for it to squeak and grab the chunk of wood before racing back towards the fireplace.
"Whoa, hold on, little guy..." the creature, tiny as it was and made of soot, turned to look at him.
"Where did you come from?" it looked back to the fireplace as if to answer him.
"It came from the fireplace? Really? Then what is it? A soot fairy?" Roxas made a frown at that as the soot-creature ambled it's way over to him, and a few others did the same, but stumbled over one another.
"Well...that failed.." he muttered, as more and more of them started to emerge and he began to panic.
"There's...wait...HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE?!" the door creaked open, and Roxas jumped as Sora stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.
"One, but I figured that was enough, considering how often you bitch about how horrible a single one of me is," he said. Roxas jumped to his feet, ran towards the other boy, and dragged him over to the fireplace.
"There are little soot-creature-things in the fireplace!" the blonde pointed at the area, and Sora crouched down enough to spot a single little pair of eyes looking up at him from the fireplace.
"What? I've never seen one of those before," he told the other.
"Really? Because there's a whole colony in that thing..." Sora smiled.
"What's the matter, Rox? Scared of a house keeper?" the chestnut-haired teenager questioned.
"NO! I'M NOT AFRAID OF THE LITTLE SOOT PUFF-BALL CREATURE-THINGS THAT EAT BURNT WOOD AND SCAMPER AROUND LIKE..." Sora held a hand up to stop him.
"Would you calm down? They're harmless," Sora told him.
"B-But...there was one on my nose earlier this morning when I was still asleep, and..." the other gave him a pointed look.
"Roxas, calm down and get downstairs," he said.
"But the...soot puff-ball-things..." the blonde pointed to the fireplace, and Sora frowned.
"Why don't you take one of them with you? Maybe Riku or one of the girls has seen one before in the castle," Sora suggested as he glanced to a random mason jar that had been left on the dresser.
"Okay..."
Roxas grabbed the jar – something that had been left with a note that said: for annoying blue lights – and popped it open before he crouched down and grabbed one of the little soot creatures that rested just at the edge of the fireplace nibbling on a bit of burnt wood. Sora nodded, smiling as he looked at it, and Roxas stood to head out of the room towards breakfast, where he knew the small black puff-ball of soot in the jar would not only raise a few eyebrows but more than likely be gushed over by Kairi and Namine because of the fact that the tiny creature was oddly cute. Roxas, however, just wanted to know what it was, and why it was in his fireplace.
{Dinning Room: 7:00am}
"Roxas? What's in that jar?" asked Kairi as she looked at it.
"I found one of these little buggars in my fireplace this morning – I don't know what they are, but there's a whole colony in there." Sora sat back in his chair, looking at the jar.
"Have any of you guys seen one of these around?" Kairi shook her head.
"Nope, I've never seen one before," she stated as the boy next to her glanced to Namine and Riku.
"Me neither, I don't know what it is." Namine shook her head as well after Riku had answered.
"I haven't, but I bet the library will have a book on them," she said as she got up.
"Where are you going?" the blonde-haired girl looked to Roxas.
"I'm going to search for an answer about the little friend you've brought with you," Namine stated as she left the room.
"Will she be back soon?" Sora laughed a bit.
"I wouldn't worry too much. Namine is resourceful, and the brooms seem to like her," he mentioned as Roxas shivered in a visible bristle.
"Can we never talk about walking cleaning equipment again? After I retire from being a Keyblade Wielder...I'm moving to a relatively neutral or non-life-threatening environment..." Sora glanced up from his book that he'd brought with him.
"Why not look at the Constellation Map in the astronomy tower? There's a grand list of most of the worlds there," he said.
"A list?" Riku and Kairi momentarily glanced Sora over as he mentioned the map.
"Well, the Constellation Map shows all the worlds that still exist. There's supposedly a map somewhere that details the worlds that were once part of another, larger world – I guess you could call it a Kingdom of sorts," Sora told Roxas this, and the blonde raised an eyebrow.
"But, why would they split up?" Riku sighed.
"Because the main world, the one at the center, probably died off. If there was a Kingdom made up of multiple worlds at some point...then it only stands to reason that if the center connecting realm vanished, then they would split up and become their own worlds," he explained.
"That's sad..." Kairi looked down at her plate in thought.
"Yea, considering what we've seen of the worlds when they become fragments..." Sora stated in half-thought.
"You've seen fragments of other worlds before?" sky-colored-eyes met ocean ones and the chestnut-haired Keyblade Master nodded.
"When I was thirteen, I started off on an adventure after our island was attacked by the darkness...I was chosen by the Silver Kingdom Key and became the one selected by the powers of the worlds, and I fought my way through several worlds alongside Donald and Goofy...when we got to the place that Ansem, Seeker of Darkness – the one responsible for this mess starting – was waiting...there were pieces of the worlds that he'd destroyed floating about like pieces of stained glass in water...it was horrible..." Roxas looked down.
"You know...we were never told about you and how all of this started for the three of you," Roxas stated.
"Honestly, I don't know if you or Namine would want to know about this..." the blonde looked to his Master.
"I'd rather find out something about it," he said.
"Why? It's not really that important..."
"I just want to know how you became a Keyblade Wielder and..."
"Roxas, drop the subject – now..." Sora's tone became cold, and his eyes transcended into a cold blue that made him nearly flinch in fear.
"But I just..."
Roxas was going to say something, but Riku shook his head, and he fell silent, hoping that Namine could tell him what those soot-creatures were, considering that his Master wasn't going to tell him anything more than he just had about how he, Riku, and Kairi had become Keyblade Wielders – this was going to be a long day.
{Two Hours Later: Court Yard}
"Stupid Sora, keeping a bunch of secrets over nothing..." he muttered as he took a break from training.
Roxas had obligated to take a break and read a book that he had borrowed from Sora for reference to spell-work and summons – he needed quite a bit of practice with that – and had sat down under a tree to read and mull over his thoughts. Sora was going easy on them today, which meant that the Wisdom Form training wasn't far off; however, Roxas had other thoughts playing around in his head that involved the beginning of the events that lead Sora, Riku, and Kairi to where they were today. Back in Twilight Town, Sora had defended their reason for killing Heartless by briefly outlining the fact that he himself had once turned into a Heartless, and yet, there was something wrong with the information. It was choppy, telling them only the facts that he had become one because he'd sacrificed his own life for Kairi's, become a Heartless, and been brought back by Kairi because of her love for him.
It was far too short, too simplified, and beyond and above too easy. There was more involved, and he needed to know what Sora was keeping quiet. The blonde frowned and realized that there were many things that the chestnut-haired Keyblade Master was keeping quiet. He was not obvious about his history with Organization Thirteen, and while they had been given a decent chunk of details concerning the Dream Drop event, even that felt halved. He groaned and snapped the book shut before banging it against his head in pure frustration over the situation.
"What the fuck is so bad about the beginning? Did something devastating happen? Did someone die? Why won't they fucking tell us! Don't we have a right to know?" he said aloud.
"Oh, Roxas..." the blonde looked to see Donald standing beside him.
"Donald? What are you doing here?" the Court Magician raised an eyebrow.
"Sora told me to come and get you – training is restarting," he was told.
"What?! How long have I been out here?" he looked at the clock in the courtyard and realized he had been out in the castle's courtyard for almost a full hour now.
"Come on, I'll walk back with you," Donald said as Roxas nodded, grabbed the book, and followed after him.
"Why didn't Sora come and get me himself?" his question may have seemed odd, but he was highly irritated by his Master, and he didn't feel up to putting up with any excuses.
"He's helping Kairi and Namine with their spell-work and Riku is supervising – they asked me to come get you so you could get back to work on the spell-craft," Donald explained as they continued to walk.
"Damn that spikey-haired brat..." suddenly, a sharp pain spread through his head, and he placed a hand to the sore spot and turned to look at Donald, who was holding his staff in a position that was poised almost completely over Roxas's head.
"What the hell was that for?!" Roxas exclaimed.
"Watch what you say about your Master!" the blonde narrowed his eyes.
"He doesn't own me," he said.
"No, but he deserves your respect!" Roxas looked at the duck with a glare.
"Why the fuck should I respect someone who won't even tell me about how he became a Keyblade Bearer?! I just got dragged into this fucking mess without any real explanation, and you all just expect me to do what? Follow like an obedient dog? Fuck no!" Donald eyed him slightly.
"You don't want to know what sort of hellish things Sora's had to go through to become who he is now..." the blonde looked down.
"I just want to know what happened to him to start all this...I barely know anything about the person trying to teach me..." Donald sighed.
"Have you tried to ask him about it?" he looked to him.
"Yea, and he basically told me to shut up and stop asking..." the Court Magician looked down in thought.
"Try talking to Riku about it – he knows the whole story, thanks to Jiminy Cricket," Donald told him.
"Jiminy Cricket?" the Court Magician nodded.
"Yes, he's the royal chronicler – he recounted all of Sora's adventures, and that includes the encounter with you and your friends in Twilight Town," he said.
"Couldn't I just talk to him?" Donald frowned.
"I suppose, but remember – if you find out these facts, you have to keep things quiet, and talk to Sora about it when he doesn't feel threatened..." Roxas frowned.
"Why would Sora feel threatened? He's a Keyblade Master! That makes no sense!" he stated.
"Just trust me – don't make him feel like he has to defend himself."
Roxas took that to heart.
{September 14th 2013, 7:45pm}
The Keyblade Wielders were heading back towards their wing for the evening to get themselves cleaned up and in bed after a long day of training and a few interesting discoveries. The small creatures in the fireplaces were known as soot sprites, a type of cleaning or household spirit that had been hired by King Mickey to help maintain the fireplaces within the castle. The little creatures, since their discovery, had been constantly engaging with both Sora and Roxas since they'd learned things about the little critters. Soot sprites loved star-shaped candies and conversation – therefore, the group of five had now taken to keep a large jar of star candy to throw into the fireplace when they got up in the morning, and again when they returned to get ready for sleep. The soot sprites were taken care of with the charred pieces of wood, but since they'd been given candy, they seemed twice as chipper and chattery.
However, with the discovery of the soot sprites came a few more interesting details that they weren't expecting to ever see. Roxas found that his soot sprites would dance as soon as they got their candy, and tended to gather around his feet and circle him a few times while holding hands before scattering to eat their dinner.
Namine had reported that one of her soot sprites that finally came crawling out of the grate one evening liked to sit up on the mantel and watch her paint or draw in the evenings, Kairi's liked to sit on her desk and watch her write or doodle as well, and sometimes it would sit at the window near her bed and stand guard overnight, Riku had made a few mentionings of finding soot sprites in the morning carrying his shoes to the bed out of the closet for him, or even once, they had brought in a book he'd left downstairs. Lastly was Sora, who had by far had the oddest case of soot sprites; because while Roxas's danced, Namine's liked art, Kairi's was a watch sprite, and Riku's were trustworthy aids, Sora's read books.
He had walked into his room one late afternoon and found a series of soot sprites lined up on the floor, while another sat upon his desk with a book open, chatting in a squeaky voice for quite some time before it flipped a page. Needless to say, the group had received a shock when Sora had screamed for Riku and the others had come running, slightly panicked as he stepped out of his room and pointed inside to show them exactly what he had been seeing and ask if he had genuinely saw it. With their confirmation, he nodded, shut the door, and the soot sprites cheered as he sighed.
This had been their lives for the last five days, and now they were experiencing a similar situation; however, when the soot sprites cheered as Sora opened his door, he froze as the others paused, noticing that he seemed slightly confused before he tensed and then sighed again as Riku moved a bit closer to him in order to find out what was happening. The soot sprites sat upon the floor and desk as usual, reading their evening chapter of a book that Sora had agreed to lend them so long as they didn't damage it, and then he glanced to Sora, who seemed surprisingly jaded as he looked around the room.
"Sora? What's wrong?"
"There is a book missing..." Riku raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know that? I mean, the soot sprites..." Sora shook his head.
"I left that book on the desk for their designated reader – that is not the book that's missing," he stated.
"Wait a second, how do you even know a book is missing?" sky-blue eyes looked to Riku.
"Any self-respecting reader knows what books are in the bookcase, and that one book isn't."
"Which one? And where was it?" questioned Namine. Sora thought for a second and then looked to them.
"Third shelf, left-hand side towards the center, black bound with silver writing, titled Spell-Craft and Summons by Merlin the Blue Wizard, written in fifteen-ninety-six. It has a bent page and an ink spot on page number three hundred and ninety-four towards the spine area of it, and a brand of Merlin's crest on the back, left hand corner at the bottom of the book." Needless to say, the others gaped at the detail of the memory.
"Um...wha? No wait, excuse me? Did you just...huh?!" Roxas was lost for words.
"This is why he was one of the smartest kids in our school back home – he doesn't let on, but Sora's got one hell of a memory," Riku stated as he ruffled the shorter Keyblade Master's hair.
"Yes, which is exactly why I was able to memorize all those spells on the fly...anyways, has anyone seen a book matching that description?" the group looked to one another.
"Sorry," Namine said.
"Me, neither..." Kairi winced a bit, knowing that the book had been sent to Sora from Merlin's collection as congratulations on becoming a Master, along with one for Riku on something with a type of information based around Dream Magic.
"I don't have it, but...I could have sworn you lent that book to someone," Riku stated as Sora crossed his arms and thought for a moment.
"Yea, I lent it to Roxas, but...are you fucking joking?" sky-blue eyes looked to ocean-colored ones as the blonde stepped back.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't done with it, and I completely forgot to give it back...I should have said something..." Roxas said.
"Uhuh...well, I guess I need to deliver a punishment to remind you not to forget to return something that doesn't belong to you..."
Roxas panicked as Sora stepped forward, and with simple spell, he felt his hair become cold, and looked towards the other, who was giving him a curious look as the others bit their lips or placed a hand upon their mouths to avoid saying anything as Roxas looked up, and noticed that the fringe of his hair wasn't honey-blonde as usual, but pink. Roxas panicked and looked to Sora, who laughed a bit and then turned to Kairi, who was doing her best not to say anything.
"That's a good color for you, Rox," Namine said.
"Thanks for your support, sweetheart..." Sora smirked a bit.
"Take a joke – you haven't done anything to piss me off that badly. I was just playing around. It'll wear off by tomorrow morning," he said as he took a tentative step back, and Roxas raised an eyebrow about his sudden posture change.
"Okay, so, what? It's some magic dye? If that's the best punishment you can come up with, then you're a sorry-ass excuse for a practical joker." Sky-colored eyes narrowed at the challenge.
"Who said that was a punishment?" the boy whistled, and soon, roughly ten brooms appeared.
"Sora...what are you doing?" the chestnut-haired Keyblade Master smiled.
"Just giving you a little extra endurance training – got to keep your wits about you..."
"Now wait just a fucking minute I just forgot to give a damn book back! What the fuck is with this?" Roxas asked.
"You're falling a bit behind – I thought you could use supplemental lessons..." the brooms started forward – they were some of the only ones that Sora could control, for some unknown reason – and turned their attention on Roxas.
"This isn't going to end well," muttered Kairi.
"You think?" Riku smiled just a bit at the two girls.
"Funny, I think this will be highly entertaining," he stated as Roxas continued to back up.
"Sora..." the boy smirked in a devious way, causing faint tension to rise in the blonde-turned-pink-haired teenager.
"Fetch..." the brooms charged, and Roxas fled.
"THIS IS FUCKING RIDICULOUS!" the boy yelled as he ran away, and Sora stretched before putting his arms behind his head.
"Well, that was fun – he'll only be ran around the castle five times, so, goodnight," With that, Sora stretched once more, kissed Kairi on the cheek, and went to his room before shutting the door.
"What a troll," muttered Namine.
"You said it," stated Riku and Kairi.
{….}
Be the One who took your place. When the rain falls, I won't let go. I'll be right here...
{…...}
Author's Note: And there's chapter 4. Revive is only 15 chapters long, and most of them are comical with some dark parts in them. Don't worry, Sora's story will be out towards the end, so Roxas and Namine will know the whole thing by the end, because it'll be important for the story that follows.
Well, tell me what you think!
Preview:
"Well, today's the day..."
"That was hell!"
"We should go on a date..."
Chapter 5: Wisdom