King of the Sky
Chapter XII
Homeward Bound…Almost…
Sora had much to be thankful for.
Normally he would include his near phenomenal cosmic powers, among them.
At this moment however…
"Please, you can't leave yet!"
Sora did not include those powers, as a crazed Techeun, gripped him hard by the arms "Guardian please! You have to show me how you did all that!" The robed Awoken begged, as she shook Sora back and forth violently.
All Sora could do was make incoherent sounds as his head was thrashed back and forth, giving him whiplash.
A swift chop to the back of the Techeun's neck, brought a sudden end to Sora's thrashing and his head drifted in circles as he swayed on his feet.
"Ugh, dizzy" Sora moaned before shaking his head, getting his senses back under control and looking to Petra, holding up his unconscious assailant.
Petra looked a little unsure how to proceed, now that she had the unconscious Techeun in her arms but eventually settled on giving Sora an apologetic look.
"Sorry about her. I've never see the Techeuns like this" Petra said as she handed the Tech Witch off to one of her sisters.
Sora gave a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head "it's alright. I just wish I could tell you more, but I don't really know how to teach people magic" he admitted.
Petra stared at Sora for a moment, then blinked a few times. Even now she still had a hard time believing that anyone as nice and considerate as Sora existed.
Petra shook her head clear and gave an unsure but genuine smile to the Guardian "well, we best get moving. The Queen is waiting" she said.
Sora nodded before looking over to his Ghost, hovering over the remaining Techeuns as they poured over his Engram.
"Come on Chirithy, let's go" he called out and the childish Ghost chirped as he bounced in the air before flying over to and hovering by his side as they left.
"What about the Engram?" Chirithy asked as they walked.
"The Techeuns will have it decrypted and ready for you when you're ready to leave" Petra answered, prompting Chirithy to give digital noise that might be taken as a hum of acknowledgment.
Sora hummed in thought though "hay, why did that guy have one of those…Engram things anyway?" he asked as they were Transmatted away.
Petra hummed in thought as they instantly appeared again, back in the city proper "in this case, one of the Guardians he killed or their Ghost, probably encrypted their gear before Xôlak could get it and use it himself" she offered her guess.
Sora gave a thoughtful hum as they walked before giving a shrug in acceptance.
Sora did grin though, as they passed the square from before and the party he'd started was still in full swing. He had to resist the urge to spilt off and join in again, but kept fallowing Petra as they went.
Sora looked to Petra as silence fell between them as they walked. Sora wasn't particularly one for silence, especially with such a lively atmosphere nearby, so…
"So Petra, what is it you do around here aside from giving tours?" Sora half joked to lighten the mood and fill the silence.
Petra was a little startled by the sudden question "I serve the Queen in whatever manner she may require…" she hesitantly replied.
Sora laughed in response as he skipped ahead of her and turned so he was walking backwards with his hands behind his head "no, I mean you. What do you like to do. You can't serve the Queen all the time" he said.
Petra felt uncomfortable as Sora tried to coax small talk out of her "I…my life is in service to the Queen now…I don't partake of such things anymore" she said, hoping that would be the end of it.
It was a poor choice of words that only spurred Sora on as he frowned at her "well that's no way to live. And even if you do spend all your time working for the Queen, you still need to do something you enjoy. Otherwise what's the point of living" he said.
Sora then spun on his heel so he faced forwards again "I mean just look around at all of this. All this life here and in the Dreaming City. You live in an amazing world with lots of people in it" he said while gesturing around with his arms.
"You have an amazing job too" he continued before summoning the Kingdom Key and swinging it around playfully "filled with swashbuckling adventure and booty, arg" he joked with a pirate accent before turning to face Petra with the Keyblade resting over his shoulder.
Petra had to stop and stare at Sora for a moment as she processed the shear amount of positivity he exuded with every breath and movement he made.
And that smile…
That bright, innocent smile of his.
It almost made Petra believe. But just as quickly, memories came bubbling back up.
The razing of her home and the murder of her sisters during the Reef Wars, the Guardians and their Ghosts, that got caught in the crossfire of her pride and vengeance…and her exile from the Reef to act as emissary to The Last City.
Petra shook her head clear of the memories, but the scars were still visible on her face.
"No…I don't live here…" she muttered under her breath without thinking. Sora heard it though and turned to face her as they stood there.
They both stood there for a moment in silence as Petra stewed in her regrets.
Sora frowned at Petra before closing the distance and leaning on his Keyblade as he looked up at her.
"Hay, are you ok?" he asked with concern evident in his voice.
Petra was snapped out of her haze at that and found herself looking into the concerned eyes of the Guardian.
"It nothing. I'm fine" she tried to play it off with a huff.
Sora tilted his head to the side and hummed in thought as he stared into her eyes and Petra suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. It felt almost as if he were staring into her soul and daring it to lie.
"Nope" Sora said suddenly, before resting Kingdom Key back on his shoulder and pointing at her "you're upset about something, and I'm not gonna stop until I figure out what" he said simply.
Normally Petra would just scoff at such a declaration. But this time she felt the need to audibility gulp at the determined stare he was giving her with those pure, blue eyes of his, as something in the back of her mind, told her that resistance was futile.
A part of her mind tried to come up with some excuse or deflection, but Sora seamed to almost sense her thoughts and gave something between a glare and a pout, as he puffed out his cheeks.
What resolve Petra had left, crumbled under the combined force of Sora's determination and pure, innocence. Petra then gave a sigh as her shoulders slouched a bit.
"My time here is only a brief reprieve from my duties" she began while Sora and Chirithy listened with rapped attention.
Petra averted her eyes as a small bit of shame and guilt took hold "I made mistakes, and now as punishment, I serve as emissary to The Last City. And I will have to leave the Reef again in a few days to return to my duties" Petra explained. She didn't look back to the Guardian as she found herself lost in bad memories.
"Ok, so what are you going to do about it?" Sora said cheerfully, snapping Petra out of her thoughts as she looked back to the Guardian and his smiling face.
"I'm sorry, what?" She asked in a bit of a daze. She hadn't expected that reaction.
Sora just continued to smile "you made a mistake, so what. I make mistakes all the time, the trick is learning from them and not letting them stop you" he said as he started spinning his Keyblade absentmindedly "I mean, this is like the third or forth time I've lost my powers and had to get them back" he chucked at the fuzzy and slowly returning memories.
Petra just stared for a moment before giving a dry chuckle "that's easy for you to say. You're one of the great chosen warriors of Light" she said with sarcasm.
Said sarcasm died quickly though, as Sora abruptly stopped twirling his Keyblade, so that he was holding it by the shaft instead of the handle, and stood there with a vacant expression and dull eyes.
"Let the Keyblade choose…it's true master!"
"You were just a delivery boy"
"As if the Keyblade would choose a wimp like you"
"I know the Keyblade didn't choose me, and I don't care!"
Petra and Chirithy both glanced at each other with concern, before looking back to the Guardian.
"Hay Sora, are you ok?" Chirithy asked as he floated down closer, only for Sora to suddenly snap out of it and look between them before turning his gaze down to the Keyblade and staring at it for a while.
"Sora?" Chirithy called softly, as they watched him.
"I wasn't…" Sora suddenly blurted out, prompting the others to look at him in confusion, before he looked back up to Petra.
"I wasn't chosen by this" he began with an oddly serious tone as he held up the Keyblade "my friend was chosen to inherit the Keyblade, not me. This was supposed to be his…but he gave in to the Darkness and the Keyblade went to the next best person in line. It even abandoned me for a little while when he called to it, until I proved myself stronger" Sora finished with a somber tone.
Petra wasn't sure which hit her more. Surprise that Sora could remember some of his past, or surprise that he, with all the power and skill he had displayed, had been considered second best.
However, any concern for the boy was blow away, as Sora's mood did a 180, and he smiled at Petra.
"So, it doesn't matter if you're not chosen or if you make mistakes. All that matters is what you do after and what you learn from it" he said while pointing the Keyblade at Petra.
Petra just stared for a moment before giving a chuckle. A real one, the likes of which she hadn't made in a long time.
"You make it all seam so obvious" she said as she grabbed the handle of Kingdom Key and moved it so it wasn't in her face "anyone that says you shouldn't have gotten this key is a lier" she said while still holding the handle as Sora smiled while holding the other end.
Sora eyes suddenly went vacant again though, but this time it was a little different, as he felt something else creep into his mind and heart, as the memories came forth.
Sora stood in a body not his own, yet was inextricably linked to him, in a world that was no longer whole.
He looked down at his reflection in a fountain and a slightly thinner face with blond hair, stared back at him.
He turned around to find a man in white and blue robes with a unicorn mask, standing in front of him with a Keyblade held out to him.
He reached out and grabbed the handle of the Key as the man began to speak.
"In your hand take \\ receive \\ this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking \\ giving \\ , it's wielder you shall one day be. And you will find me friend. No ocean will contain \\ guard \\ you then. No more borders around, \\ no Deep below \\ nor Sky above, so long as you champion the ones you love" the robed man said as a second voice that did not belong, interposed it's self between his words. Unheard by ether and yet somehow enhancing the meaning behind the ceremony, as the key remained firmly in the boy's hand.
Sora blinked as he came back to reality, feeling somewhat weary of what had happened.
That…wasn't my memory… he thought with confusion as he stood there.
BONK!
"Ow! Hay, what was that for?" Sora asked as he rubbed his forehead, where Chirithy had rammed into him.
Chirithy's shell bristled outward "you weren't responding to anything!" he said with agitation.
"Huh?" Sora replied before realizing that he was still standing there, holding his Keyblade out to Petra, who still held it's handle while staring at Sora with confusion.
"You just went blank and then recited a short stanza" Petra said before letting go of the Keyblade and giving Sora a concerned look.
The Guardian just stared back for a moment before looking down at his Keyblade "in your hand, take this key…" he muttered as he tried to process what happened, but his fractured memory refused to provide answers.
Sora shook his head clear as he dismissed the Key "sorry, I'm ok now…" he said before turning around "we better not keep the Queen waiting" he said before he started walking again.
Petra and Chirithy looked to each other for a moment before looking back to Sora and fallowing after them.
Neither one aware of the small spark that had just been ignited.
Mara Sov was still contemplating her next move when Petra arrived with the Guardian.
She noticed that the boy wasn't as cheery as before. He wasn't sad or depressed. He simply looked deep in thought.
He quickly shook himself free of whatever was bothering him though, as he approached her throne and bowed. He also gave a quick shoulder bump to his Ghost, who rolled his eye before doing the same.
Mara wasn't sure if she would ever get used to seeing a Guardian behave like this, but shook it off as she addressed him.
"You have fought well and upheld your end of the bargain" she began before glancing over at Uldren.
The prince groaned "as agreed, a ship is ready and waiting" he begrudgingly answered.
Mara turned her attention back to the Guardian "you are free to go Guardian. I do hope you remember the hospitality you have received during your stay" she said.
Sora smiled as his cheerful mood returned in full force "you bet! There's no way I'll forget this place" he said.
Just then however, everyone jumped as an orb of Light suddenly formed in front of Sora.
Uldren and the guards all aimed their weapons but Mara halted them with a raised hand, as she and Sora stared at the orb with fascination and a level of recognition.
Then, as if by instinct or habit, Sora reached a hand into the Light, and when he retracted it, the orb disappeared and Sora opened his hand to find a Keychain.
Purple links leading down to the ball he'd played with the Awoken girl with.
Sora blinked a few times before summoning his Keyblade to his free hand and replacing the Keychain and suddenly the Key transformed.
Purple metal, like salvaged parts, formed the hand guard, while a purple crystal, like the ones in the foreheads of the Techeuns, was embedded where the leather bound handle met the shaft of the new Key.
The shaft of the Key was two polished, purple metal rods, with a hexagonal pattered, twisted into an elegant spiral, up to the top, with bluish white Light and purple Darkness, pulsing up the twin gaps in the spiral, like a helix and leaking their respective powers outward.
And finally at the top, forming the teeth of the Key, was a half blueish white and half purple hologram of Mara's symbol. A circle with small points jetting out, like a sun, with three marks inside, pointing down with two triangles in between them, pointing up and the two colors, meeting diagonally in the middle.
"Wow, a new Keyblade" Sora muttered to himself in awe, as he looked the new Key over and it's name came instinctively to his mind.
The Reefborn Key.
"Interesting" Mara thought aloud with a hum as she relaxed back into her throne. Snapping Sora out of his thoughts and prompting her guards to lower their weapons.
"Care to explain?" Mara asked, though everyone except Sora, knew it wasn't a request.
Sora jumped slightly before chuckling and scratching the back of his head sheepishly "I think this is how we get new Keyblades. We do something important that effects people or we form bonds with them and we get new Keyblades" he explained as best he could.
"I see" Mara hummed as she processed the information. She then let a small smile slip. Seeing the foraging of the Key firsthand, had given her better understanding of it.
"Then it seams you have gained even more from your stay here then originally thought" Mara began as she let her eyes linger on the Key with a hidden, predatory gaze.
Mara then looked to her brother "please escort the Guardian to his ship" she ordered.
Uldren's head snapped to his sister so fast it looked like he might get whiplash "m-me" he sputtered before looking to the boy with a groan, knowing that arguing was not only futile but painful.
Mara suppressed her amusement at her brother's reaction and turned her attention back to Sora "farewell Guardian. Perhaps I will call upon you for aid in the future" she said.
Sora smiled at the Queen as he dismissed his new Keyblade "sure thing, just give me a call if you need anything" he said cheerfully while everyone else internally groaned at how naïve he was, making a promise like that to a Queen.
Sora then turned to Petra "see yah Petra! Hope we meet again in the City" he said with that trademark smile of his.
Petra hesitated before raising her hand as if to wave "I'm…sure we will…farewell Guardian" she replied.
Uldren sighed as he made his way down the steps and past Sora "alright, come on. Let's get this over with" he said, muttering the last part to himself.
Sora bowed one last time before he turned and flowed Uldren out of the throne room.
Mara sighed as Sora finally left and she fell back into contemplation.
She then came to a conclusion on her next corse of action and turned to Petra "ready my ship. We make for the Dreaming City immediately. I have business with an old friend" Mara ordered as she got ready to leave.
She paused though and looked back to Petra as she did as order. Her gaze lingering long enough to be noticed.
"My Queen?" Petra asked with concern. Mara just continued to stare at her though, as she thought she saw something. A spark that wasn't there before.
"It's nothing" Mara finally answered after humming in thought. She quickly turned her mind back to the task at hand though, as she stood and began making her way out of the throne room.
EXTRAS
Reefborn Key -
"A Key that treads the path of Twilight" - Unknown.
A/N - Last chance to throw your hat in for Exotics. It will definitely be revealed next chapter.
Also, in the Lore books, whenever words are thrown in enclosed by \\ these \\ it's when the Traveler speaks in the lore.
And finally, a shout out to Drake G. Reaper, for the modified bequeathing ceremony. I managed to make it work.