A/N - Fair warning, this one might get a little darker towards the end. It won't outright be dark but it will toe the linea little. I just hope it doesn't push this story into an M rating.
King of the Sky
Chapter VIII
The Prison of Elders Part I
Petra Venj, was very happy when they finally arrived at the Prison of Elders.
Not because she disliked the Guardian's company but more that she still wasn't quite sure how to react to his…unique, view of the world.
Sora, meanwhile, was just happy to see more of the Reef, even if it was the dreary hallways and cells of the Prison of Elders.
Petra eventually lead Sora and Chirithy into a room where a lone Fallen, waited for them "greetings" the four armed alien said with a number of insect-like clicks and gesturing with his mechanical hand.
If Sora was surprised to hear the alien speaking broken English, he didn't show it, as he just smiled instead "hi, nice to meet you. I'm Sora" he greeted back.
The Fallen on the other hand, was surprised by the Guardian's friendliness but managed to shake it off "pleasure to meet…I am Variks" he said, pausing between broken words to give a few clicks "Variks presides…over Prison of Elders…will monitor through Servitor…ensure adequate challenge" Variks explained.
Sora's smile never dropped "ok, cool. So when do we start?" he asked and Variks gave a few clicks that might be interpreted as a chuckle "now" he replied and Sora yelped as he suddenly found himself and Chirithy being Transmatted.
Variks watched the spot where Sora had been for a moment in thought "an interesting one…Variks hopes he survives" he thought aloud, though mostly for Petra's benefit, before turning around to face one of his consoles.
Petra sighed from her place at the door "I don't think we need to worry about him" she muttered, before glancing over at a number of Techeuns who would also be monitoring everything that happened and studying what abilities the Guardian possessed.
Meanwhile, Sora finished yelping as he appeared in a small room with four doors in ether direction.
Sora shook his head and looked around "well, I guess I kinda asked for that" he thought aloud before looking to his Ghost "so what now?" he asked.
Before Chirithy could answer though, one of the doors opened and Sora jumped back with a startled yelp, as it revealed a big, spherical machine, with exposed wiring and practically glowing with all the electricity sparking around it.
The Servitor was a little creepy and Sora almost summoned his Keyblade, but Variks voice soon came from the machine "Time lost Vex, arise…fight, win…live" it said ominously before vanishing and leaving the way open for Sora.
The Guardian looked to his Ghost with a quirked eyebrow before shrugging and heading down the tunnel while Chirithy vanished.
Sora emerged in a closed off area with blue light streaming in from an open top. Against the back wall was some kind of arch and tech that didn't look like it belonged with the rest of the room.
Sora looked around for a moment as he rested his hands behind his head "so, where is everyone?" he thought aloud, only for his instincts to suddenly scream at him and he summoned Kingdom Key and deflected a laser that nearly took his head off "whoa!" he yelped as he looked up to see a copper robot with two horns, standing on one of the higher platforms.
More Vex began to pour out from several doors around the arena. These ones with crests on their one eyed heads, instead of horns and their weapons seamed to be made for shorter range "I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut" Sora moaned before zipping away in a flash of Flow Motion.
Sora shot himself up to the first Vex that fired on him and promptly decapitated it with a single swing…only for the living machine to turn around and shoot him in the back.
Sora's eyes widened and he managed to dodge enough that the shot would only graze him, but his surprise grew even more as a barrier of Light, formed between the shot and him, taking most of the blow.
Sora quickly shook off his shock though and spun around with his Keyblade poised to bisect the Vex, but the machine hunkered down as Solar energy enveloped it, causing Sora's Keyblade to bounce off, much to the boy's surprise and announce "oh come on" he complained.
Just then, more Goblins appeared. Literally, out of thin air "they can teleport too!" Sora yelled as deflected more shots, and when they moved in for close quarters, Sora dashed through them in and instant.
A moment passed in stillness, before several slashes appeared on the four Vex, now behind Sora, and the ones that didn't explode, fell to pieces.
Sora smirked a little before more shot flew over his head and he quickly rolled out of the way and behind cover. He peeked out to see an assortment of Goblins, Harpies and Minotaurs, all joining the fray.
Sora groaned a little, especially when he saw the Hobgoblin he beheaded, start to stand back up and aim at him "shoot the white stuff in their chests!" Chirithy suddenly called and Sora blinked only once before pulling his new pistol from it's holster with his left hand and taking aim.
It took three shots to actually hit the target and not the machine's armor, and another two to rupture the core, but Sora managed it and sighed in relief as he watched the robot fall, from his place behind cover "man, I really need to work on my aim" he muttered as he glanced down at his pistol.
Sora's eyes shot wide though, as a Minotaur teleported right next to him. He quickly dodged it's downward swing and lashed out with the Keyblade, causing the Vex's Void shield to flicker a little. The Minotaur payed no heed to the flickering shield and raised it's own weapon and fired a few shots at Sora, who dodged around them while firing his pistol at the behemoth.
The shots from the weak sidearm, normally wouldn't have done much damage, but Sora's Keyblade had already weakened the shield. And in the hands of a Guardian, a weapon's quality was only half of the equation. Sora instinctively channeled his Light through the weapon, as all Guardians did and the Minotaur staggered as it's shields broke and the rounds bore into it's armor, giving Sora an opening to dashed in and slice the Vex in half, sending mind fluid spilling everywhere.
Sora slung the white substance from his blade "ew" he grimaced a little "DON'T TOUCH IT!" Chirithy suddenly yelled in Sora's head, making him wince "sorry! But whatever you do, don't get that stuff on you without a full suit on, and please don't drink it!" the Ghost warned and Sora suddenly found his helmet Transmatted onto his head and sealed.
Sora didn't particularly like wearing the helmet, but Chirithy's reaction was enough for him to ignore it for the time being. He would definitely be asking about that later though.
Sora quickly refocused on the battle though, as more Vex closed in on him. He just smirked though, as he saw them all huddled together and he raised his Keyblade and called out "thunder!" and the Vex suddenly found themselves spasming as golden lightning, shot though their conductive, metal bodies.
Sora then used Flow Motion to kick off from his cover and shoot though them, sending pieces of the Vex flying everywhere and exploding, as he hopped around the arena, taking down any Vex that crossed his sight, until the area was clear of enemies.
Sora looked around and panted a little as he took in all the carnage "well…that was easy…" he said while dispelling his Keyblade, only for his eyes to widen and to immediately slap a hand over where his mouth would be under his helmet.
It was too late though, as an alarm sounded and Variks' voice echoed over the PA system "enemies advance…mines must be destroyed…or die. The choice is yours" he said with a dismissive voice. Or perhaps that was just the way Fallen sounded when speaking English, Sora didn't yet know.
Sora's attention was quickly drawn to the floating mine that just Transmatted in and the new wave of Vex, now streaming in. Sora groaned in response and beat the front of his helmet a few times, where his forehead was "ok, let's do this" he said as he readied his weapons and dashed in.
Sora carved a path to the mine in less then a second and hopped up to the scaffolding that it floated over "ok, watch my back while I-" Chirithy didn't get to finish as Sora just jumped up without a second though and shot past the mine, leaving a glowing line where he'd sliced though it and it slid apart before giving a small explosion.
Sora glanced back with a smirk while Chirithy groaned from wherever he disappeared to "next time let make sure it's safe to blow it up like that" he scolded. Sora just laughed sheepishly before having to dodge again.
The Guardian continued like this for a while. Dismantling Vex and getting rid of the mines as they appeared. Sora did get hit a few more times and that shield of Light appeared again, and Sora finally noticed the faint glow coming from his armor when it did "that would have been nice to have before" he thought aloud as he stopped hopping around and eyed the various clusters of Vex still functioning.
Sora smirked as he lifted his Keyblade "strike!" he called and watched the golden lightning come down. Then he did it again and again, spamming the lighting spell until he felt sufficient momentum build up and his body practically vibrating with static charge "Thundaza!" he yelled and several bolts came down, fallowed by the largest of all. Bathing the arena in lighting and annihilating the remaining Vex.
Sora panted as he waited for more Vex to come, but after a few moments, Variks' voice came instead "success! You have done it" his synthesized voice called and Sora sighed in relief "glad that's over. Now can I take this thing off" he said as he holstered his pistol and dismissed his Keyblade so he could tug at his helmet.
Chirithy sighed "alright, hold on" he said and stored the helmet away, allowing Sora's spiky hair to spring up, back into place and the Guardian to sigh in relief.
Sora's attention was drawn to the door he came in through, opening "return…to airlock" Variks instructed and Sora just shrugged as he made his way out.
Meanwhile, Variks, Petra and the Techeuns, were staring in amazement at the display. The Techeuns were practically foaming at the mouth over Sora's powerful display of magic, while Petra and Variks were amazed that the Guardian had just soloed a round in the Prison of Elders, without dying once.
Admittedly, Variks had gone a little ease on Sora. He hadn't expected Sora to be that powerful after all. The Fallen rubbed his chin with one of his upper arms and hummed, while his lower ones tapped commands into the terminal "Variks underestimated this one…will have to, increase the challenge…second round should keep busy while preparing changes" he thought aloud before working at his terminal and looking though the list of prisoners.
Sora found himself back in the room from before as he waited "so is there more, or are we finished?" he asked and his Ghost appeared "they're probably getting more ready for us" he answered.
As if to affirm his answer, another door opened and Variks' Servitor was waiting on the other side "Cabal war machine is on the march. Kill them dead Guardian" it said, but Sora froze up, while Chirithy vanished.
Killing did not sound like something Sora was comfortable with.
Sora shook it off though and continued on through the door, coming out into a battlefield. Fires burning and wreckage laying about and hanging from the ceiling.
Sora looked around, taking in his surroundings "so what's next?" he asked.
BOOM!
Sora rises his hands to shield his eyes from the dust before looking up at the Cabal Centurion that landed in front of him. The Cabal solder roared at him before giving a few insults in his native language and raising his weapon at Sora.
Sora blinked once before summoning Kingdom Key and blocking the molten slugs, fired at him. Sora then rushed in to strike, but his eyes widened as he heard metal being driven into the ground and jumped straight up, unknowingly tapping his old High-jump ability and sailing all the way to the ceiling.
Sora grabbed a piece of wreckage, hanging from the ceiling and looked down to see the crossfire of molten metal that he'd just dodge. He quickly glance to ether side of his path, to see two lines of Phalanxes, firing where he'd just been running "those tricky little" Sora muttered before dashing away in Flow Motion, just as a hailstorm of metal, decimated the area where he'd been hanging.
Sora bounced around the area but found no place to stop, as the Cabal had traps set up for him everywhere. Sora just smirked though, as he continued dashing around without pause.
Fighting the Vex had been tough. They all acted as one and with overwhelming power. Sora was just that much stronger then this small collective being held prisoner.
These Cabal seamed to be a bit more tactical though and it kept Sora on his toes. It excited him a little.
Didn't change the fact that Sora was stupidly overpowered compared to them though.
And so, Sora started lashing out while in Flow Motion. Shredding the enemies that had been laying in wait for him and whittling down their numbers until it was just the first group in the center, who had formed a shield wall around their Centurion, who was barking orders.
Once Sora was done with the outside, he stopped on top of the central wreckage and looked over the huddled up Cabal. He then aimed his Keyblade at them and the tip glowed green "wind!" he invoked and a vortex formed inside their perimeter, sucking the Cabla up and hurling them about. Sora then reached for the fire burning in his chest and summoned his Golden Gun in his left hand and fired his three shots into the vortex, before rearing his arm back and tossing his Keyblade forwards, still burning in Solar flames.
The burning Key, spun like a saw blade, into the midst of the Cabal, still being tossed about and they were burned to ash before the Keybalde suddenly stopped while continuing it's spin, and flying back to Sora's hand.
Sora took a breath as his adrenaline high, subsided and he watched the Centurion, who'd miraculously survived, stand up and roar at Sora. The Guardian didn't hesitate to change in and bash the Cabal's gun away and take a swing at his head. His swing was a little short though, and it only sent the Centurion's helmet flying.
Sora got ready to finish it but froze as the Centurion looked at him and he saw it's face…
It's very living face.
Sora felt the wind get knocked out of him as the Centurion punched him back, but he payed it no mind. He had taken far worse hits before. Plus, his attention was elsewhere.
While in the air, Sora saw the Cabal oil coating his Keyblade. The bodies that had not been immolated by his Solar flames. The ones that he had struck down in his adrenaline fueled blitz, without a second thought, running on long ingrained muscle memory.
Sora hit the ground and stayed there for a long moment, just staring at the ceiling"Sora! What's wrong!?" Chirithy called with worry, but Sora showed no signs of recognition, even as the Centurion walked up to and stood over him.
This was no machine Sora was fighting, or creature of Darkness, or even the perpetuation of a body that had long since lost it's heart.
No, this was a living being he was facing, and one that wouldn't come back once slain.
The Centurion lifted it's boot to crush the Guardian and Chirithy began to panic a little "SORA!" he yelled as the boot came down on them.
Only to stop abruptly as Sora caught it in his hand…
The Centurion looked down in confusion and amazement that the skinny boy was holding up his weight like it was nothing. Sora didn't even budge or react as the Cabal pushed down harder. He just stared up at the Centurion with a contemplative expression.
The Cabal just roared down at Sora with murderous intent and Sora seamed to come to some conclusion as his face hardened and he tossed the Cabal aside.
The Centurion started to get up but before he could even get to his knees, his head was severed from his shoulders, sending oil spreading over the ground.
Sora just stood there, staring down at the dead Centurion for a moment before looking around at the carnage "Sora?" Chirithy called carefully, feeling truly worried for his Guardian for the first time.
Sora continued to stare for a moment before shaking his head and his smiled returned, if a little subdued and he held up his hand as he called out his Ghost "sorry for worrying you Chirithy. I'll be fine though" he said and, in spite of current events speaking to the contrary, Chirithy believed him and that radiant smile.
Variks' voice, rang out over the P.A. again, heralding the next wave and Sora dismissed his Ghost as he closed his fist and stared at it for a moment. He then reached down and drew his pistol as he watched the next wave of Cabal rush in.
Sora may have been adverse to killing, but he was no stranger to it. And he could see it in the eyes of the Cabal. They were solders, through and through, and they would not stop until one side or the other was dead.
Sora sucked in a breath as he got ready. He didn't like this but he would do it anyway. He wasn't so weak willed as to let this stop him, and he would end it as quickly as possible.
And so he dashed into the fray.
One moment he was standing there and the next he was on the other side of a line of Phalanxes. Soon after, their shields all fell into neatly cut pieces as the Cabal fell.
Meanwhile, Petra and Variks watched the fight go on. Though massacre might be a more apt term. They were definitely surprised when Sora froze up though "I guess it's true…he really is a new Guardian" Petra muttered as she watch Sora fight. Powerful and skilled enough from his previous life to level armies, but still young and innocent enough to feel guilt at taking life.
It twisted Petra's heartstrings a little to be making the boy go through this, but his heart was clearly strong enough to endure and even thrive in the battlefield, as evidenced by his clearing of the second round.
Petra cast a glance over at the opponent that Variks had picked out for his next round with a little concern before looking back to the boy as he made his way back to the airlock.
She really hoped he could handle what came next.