Sora smiled as he felt the warmth of Aqua and Donna. It was like a dream come true, sure they may have been dead, and he was still under the effects of Donna's powers, but in his opinion, he couldn't have felt happier. The more he looked at his parents the more he realized that this was probably the best chance they had at defeating Miranda and the other lords. All they needed was a plan and some way for him to fight the lords.
Aqua and Donna had grabbed him a couple of blank books and a trash bin, as the family decided to brainstorm since time was meaningless inside their dream-like world. Sure the lycans, and possibly other lords could pop up but from what Aqua had experienced, they rarely showed up or noticed as they were not fully a part of the Megamycete's hive world yet. So thankfully that meant the family could work and relax in peace.
Sora knew sadly that once he was outside of this dream, Angie would be awake and going off about Donna for messing with her memories. Meaning Sora would have to explain everything to the murderous doll, and the utter insanity that would become. Thankfully his memories had returned so their conversation might be smoother than intended.
Sora felt like the best option they had was starting with Lord's Moreau, or Heisenberg, as the ugly fish guy was weak outside of the water, and Karl was always in his factory so maybe they could get the jump on him. Alcina would be last as her daughters were fast, and they'd need good firepower to even attempt to hurt her. Miranda would be the biggest question, but doable if Sora could unlock the keyblade and unload everything about the cruel dictator of the village. The only weapons that Donna and Aqua left around the waking world of House Beneviento were Aqua's shotgun in the gardener's shed and Angie's loud mouth. Everything else was up to chance unless the merchant returned, but from what Donna said, Duke wasn't returning anytime soon. The happy businessman only returned on the rarest occasions after the death of his friend, Ethan Winters.
"I think we should plan for when my cadou overtakes your face, sweetie. I know everyone will look at you differently, and I don't think the other lords should know that you have my powers." Donna let out, grabbing a measuring tape, while signaling to Aqua to grab a mirror from one of the rooms from upstairs.
"I guess that's true, but I'd be more worried about how losing one eye will affect my ability to fight, let alone deal with the villagers, or anybody else from the outside worlds. Besides I don't even know what I'm going to say to Judy, and the others once I return to Destiny Island. It just seems too crazy for anyone to believe, you know what I mean." Sora said, looking at his mother's mourning garb, and veil as an idea slowly began forming in his mind, and a cheeky grin quickly appeared just as Aqua returned from upstairs.
"Hey Mom, Madre, I have an idea! What if I dress up in the mourning garb and veil? Everyone will think that Donna killed me, or I ran off and she's trying to find me." Sora said, looking at his parents, as he placed a hand on his hips, laughing at the insane yet goofy idea.
"That's interesting, but knowing Mother Miranda, she'll have thought of that once she remembers that you're my son. So maybe just the mourning garb for now, you'll be mourning my death, and you'll tell her that you obtained the keyblade, and then we'll go from there." Donna let out, holding back a smirk at the thought of her son pretending to be a little version of her. It made Donna happy to see the pieces of her family coming together once again for the first time in years.
"Sora, since we're here, and not to ruin the moment of forming a plan, but what happened after my death, well all of our deaths. Cause outside of the whole you thought Terra was your father thing, what happened to you afterward? please tell us a little bit about your life, I think it'll help us move forward as a family!" Aqua declared, flashing a mirror in front of Sora, as the teen could see the start of the cadou forming around his left eye as a sad sigh quickly escaped his lips.
"May as well, it probably be better to get everything off of my chest now, since I doubt we'll be able to have an actual conversation until everyone is dead. I guess the first thing that happened was me being sent to Destiny Island, and meeting Judy again for the first time since we saved her from the unversed.
The Doctors told me that part of my memories were gone and that I wasn't responding like all the other kids from the island. It had taken me, and Judy a year to realize that I lost my heart, and was like those nobodies that me and Aqua saw in Raident Garden. I had become an empty shell of my former self.
"It had taken us several years just to rebuild me as a person who could understand and use more complex emotions, and ways to view them. Making friends was a living nightmare when nobody wanted me with the boy who talked to himself and couldn't understand when you were mad at him, or happy. Honestly, I didn't feel about how I am today until I turned thirteen when my nobody friends came into existence, and I took more time out of my life to understand people better. It was around that time when I had improved on befriending Riku, and Kairi, even if it was recently, but outside of them the only friends I had were Judy and her fellow policeman. Well until today when I finally got to see you guys again, and now it feels like the whole universe is opening up to me again, I feel excited, and scared at the same time." Sora let out, feeling tears pouring from his eyes, as the pain of the cadou quickly overtook him, it was much worse than the memories of being alone in a dark house, being wrapped around his favorite bunny, for warmth and comfort.
Sora felt his parents hands beginning to wrap around him, as more hot black tears began to drip from his face. The weight of his pain was finally taking its toll on him, as well as the pain of the cadou nearly being completed. Sora was thankful that he would not feel any of this pain in the real world and only had to suffer for a moment. But alas even those thoughts were meaningless, he still knew that the pain of living and the aftermath of Donna's death would now be put upon him. Sora could feel his body shaking in fear, even with his parents comforting him, he could imagine the sight before him, Donna's face lifeless, Angie in rage, and he would have to go alone through the horrors of the village, this time with all of his memories and emotions in tack.
"Sora, I know it hurts but don't worry we'll make sure you never have to go through these feelings ever again. The pain of the cadou will pass, and then we'll find a way to help you get real friends, ones who will love and respect you. So just hold on a little longer, Donna gets some of your flowers, we're gonna have to put him under and send him back to the real world, the pain is becoming too much for his mind and heart to take." Aqua screamed as she held her son down, Donna rushed to a nearby coffee table and grabbed a handful of her yellow flowers, placing them next to Sora, forcing the blue-haired teen to sleep once more.
Everything was fuzzy as Sora woke up, the first thing he felt was an unbearable amount of pain coming from his eye where the cadou had completely covered up. Sora quickly brushed his fingers against the moldy thing that had grown out of his head, it was horrible to touch and would be a constant reminder that he was no longer and yet more human than when he was a nobody. Now he was being made out of mold, and it was time to start getting ready to kill those lords for hurting his family. However, Sora immediately noticed that everything was getting blurry and it was difficult to spot anything inside of the nearly pitch-black basement. The only thing he could see was the white outline of what must have been Angie, lying next to him almost like a guardian angel.
"Angie, are you still there?" Sora whispered as he got off of the stone work table, and began walking over to what looked like a desk that had an old typewriter and numerous doll parts. Meaning the door to the main hallway was near him, Sora brushed against the wall, as the sounds of someone yawning could be heard in the distance.
"What a good nap, now then where is Donna? I need to give her a piece of my mind, for forcing me to sleep again and be left alone in the basement. Oh, hello Sora, I see Donna left your sorry ass down here as well. Hey, wait a sec why do you have a new arm, and is that Donna's cadou on your face." Angie yelled, floating over to the teen, and grabbing at the teen's right arm, Sora took a deep breath as he closed the one good eye he had remaining, this was gonna be a fun conversation.
"Angie, Donna is dead! Her heart, her cadou, and her arm are a part of me now, she sacrificed herself to make me stronger. So I guess we're kinda in this together. Kinda like the good old days when we pretended to play hide and seek in Alcina's castle." Sora said, gently walking back to the worktable, he needed to get a grip on things quicker. Donna's moldy remains needed to be buried, and the blue-haired teen knew that he still needed to tell the crazy doll about his parent's new life.
"You're telling me that she's dead, no that can't be true, we were gonna have tea, and Donna was gonna tell me why my head always feels fuzzy. Sora do you know anything, cause I feel so lost in the dark right now." Angie whispered, looking down at Sora, as the teen desperately tried to scoop up chunks and pieces of his mother into his jacket, arms, and any pockets. He had to deal with his mother first, and then he'd talk to Angie, she had to know if they were gonna kill those monstrous bitches for destroying his family.
"Angie, I'll tell you everything the moment we bury Donna, and I get enough of my eyesight back to see properly, ok?" Sora declared, doing his best to find the unlocked door to the main hallway, he had to get to the elevator, and fast he didn't wanna feel his mother touching him any longer, it was one thing to see them in the megamycete, but feeling the dead touching him was something that Sora didn't wanna experience again.
"Ok, Blueberry but I swear if you lie to me, I'll go for the neck first, and I'll make sure your demise is nice and slow. Keep going through I'll let you know when you hit a corner." Angie said, floating next to Sora as the pair made their way to the elevator. Sora quickly ran into the elevator nearly hitting the walls of the small cage, Angie hit the button sending them up to the silent manor above. Sora wanted to vomit, he could smell and hear the sounds of his mother rumbling inside of his pockets, he held the pieces of her closely in his arms, as the cage to the elevator opened, Sora bolted out of the box waiting for Angie to give him directions, the last thing he needed was to spill his mother all over the place from hitting a coffee table.
Suddenly Sora heard footsteps, echoing in the distance, as Angie floated next to him. She was silent, and from what Sora remembered that wasn't a good thing, meaning either Miranda was paying his mother an unexpected visit or one of the maids had told Angie, she was making a break for the door, Sora knew that was code for Alcina was coming and shit was happening, please hide me.
"Oh, I see you awake, and you have the cadou, an arm, and oh good you've got a heart. Perfect, now then try and follow me, we gotta bury the second mother, and get you ready for what's to come, young Kizuna-Beneviento." The Figure declared, gently slapping their hands together, Sora and Angie followed the stranger until Sora felt the cold winds of the outside hit his face, it felt like someone had tossed glass in his eyes, and took the need to rub it deeper, Sora knew it was the cadou on his face, it was fresh, and an utter pain, at least Sora knew why his mother stayed inside or had her veil on.
"Painful isn't it? Sorry, I should have been more mindful of your current situation, but alas things have to get moving and I need Sora. I've kindly dug one of your mother's a hole, so kindly bury her, and say your goodbyes, it's time to get to work, and kill those lords, then Ansem." The figure said as Sora tried looking at them, but he only saw a cloak made of white, the only thing Sora could even remotely tell about the mysterious figure was that they sounded like a woman, and didn't seem to care about him grieving.
"Why should we listen to you lady, and what do you mean by one of Sora's mothers, the only mother that this blueberry told me was Aqua, and I don't know what you've been smoking to think Aqua ever got with Donna," Angie yelled, darting over to the cloaked women, as Sora ran after Angie, only to hit the ground, as Donna's reminds were sent flying all over the place, as Sora screamed hearing the sounds of his mother hit the ground, and against his shirt. Sora tried to look and see who was holding him down, but he couldn't see them, they were in his blind spot, meaning if he had his sight back, he only had one good eye, and it wasn't helping him.
"Yume, Liliana, please hold him down, Hateko, kindly bury Ms. Beneviento so that we can hurry this up. I'd rather not be stuck in this cold wasteland." Kay said, ordering the mysterious girl to grab the pieces of Donna and place them in the hole near an old rotten tree. She returned, grabbing Sora from Yume, and Liliana, plucking up the blue-haired teen, placing him next to the grave, digging through his pockets, grabbing the last pieces of his mother, and placing them inside the hole.
"Why?" Sora whispered as he tried looking at the girl holding him down, he wanted to move, it should have been him burying his mother, he should have been the one to tell Angie about Donna affecting her memories, not these strangers who seemed to have a connection to some strange woman in white.
"It's so you don't have to go through the pain of burying her alone, Yume already suffered through this same torment a few weeks ago, and I've buried countless children, and people to know that keeping quiet and pretending to move on helps. It'll stay with you till the day you die, or get reborn, all you can do is stay by people to comfort you, so here we are. My name is Hateko, I'd rather not see you suffer like this again, or I'm here to try and support you, all of us here want to help you." Hateko said signaling to Yume, and Liliana to come closer and help, as she let go of Sora, only for the blue-haired teen to grab a nearby shovel and help Hateko bury his mother.
"I won't let her be buried like this, we had planned on planting seeds in our graves, so that the villages or travelers could remember us in some way. I couldn't bury Aqua, and give her the funeral she deserved, but I can still give Donna her's. Angie, I know you're hearing this I won't let that woman steal the conversation that we should have had, and I'm sorry that Donna didn't let you remember that I was her son, but I promise that I'll make sure that everything will be ok. I can still see them, I saw them inside the Megamycete. They are happy, waiting for us to return to them fully one day, but for now, we are together, I know this is scary for both of us, but I will never leave you, and I'll always let you know what Aqua and Donna are feeling, ok." Sora let out, as he patted down the last of the dirt with the help of the three other girls, soon they'd make their way down to the village, but first Sora had to get Aqua's shotgun and understand these people a little more. Maybe they could help him or maybe they could at least give him answers to all the new questions they were bringing up. Sora was curious about how Yume buried his mother last year, and why Hateko seemed too concerned about him despite not knowing him.
"You'd better keep your word, Sora!" Angie yelled, escaping the grasp of Kay, floating over to Sora, only to see the teen smile at the doll, as the odd group went back into the silent manor.
--
It had been an hour since the four teens buried the reminds of Donna Beneviento, and Sora took that time to steel himself together, his heart felt like it was beating at a million miles, he wanted his parents to embrace him again, he hadn't been ready to bury his mother, let alone meet people who took an interest in him outside of Judy. The group told him to take a shower and get his thoughts in order, as he still needed a plan, and those lords were gonna die by themselves. But for now Sora had been told to take a shower, he wasn't gonna complain, the smell and feeling of his mother crawled into his flesh like a lycan, and Sora wanted to be rid of that painful moment of his life, as he stepped into the shower, letting the warmth of the water overtake him for minutes on end.
Sora was enjoying the warm running water against his skin, he could feel it burning, and yet comforting. He hadn't felt this since Donna, and Aqua made him take a bath right before Miranda ran him, and Aqua away from the village. After that day, Sora never felt the same feeling of warmth even during the land of departure, it didn't feel the same, and Sora knew why. The family wasn't together and he didn't feel whole, but now even after burying his mom, he felt a little more whole, he knew they were alive waiting for him in the megamycete, and that he still had Judy hopefully waiting for him on their tiny island. But for now, Sora washed the dirt, and traces of Donna off of his skin, sure it was probably cruel and wrong to think about wanting his mom dead off of him, but Sora knew that she'd probably be more mad at him for keeping her in him. The last thing Sora did before leaving was mess with a box of black hair coloring that Hateko had brought for him, Sora smiled as he looked at a nearby mirror, he was now even more like his parents. Their hair colors were now his most defining trait outside of the cadou, Sora wished that Judy was here to see him now, he wondered what she would have said about his new insane life that was happening.
Sora knew that the only downside of exiting the shower was his clothing options, he had the dumb idea of dressing up like his mom to mess with Miranda, but he didn't think it was his only option. Miranda had burned all of Aqua's clothes, and the only thing of Donna's to fit was a cute white dress that had nice flowers, a pair of black pants, and her mourning set up on top of everything just to make sure that he'd be warm enough since his clothes were currently in the wash, and it was likely he wasn't returning to the manor till tomorrow.
Sora opened the door after getting everything on, taking a moment to think about what was going to happen. He knew that Angie would laugh at him for dressing up like Donna, and for the other girls he was unsure, maybe some would laugh, some would be pissed, but the only way Sora would know was by going down to the living room and finding out. Sora silently made his way across the second floor of the Beneviento manor, the first thing he could see was the painting of his parents, and Angie. They seemed happy, if Sora remembered correctly his parents had that painting made right before the artist was sent to the castle, and the last they had, the woman was butchered like a pig due to the daughters not liking it, sending the artwork deeper into the castle.
Sora could tell he was gonna dread going to the castle, which was why it had to be last, or at least he hoped it would be last, those daughters from what Donna mentioned once were hard to kill, hated the cold and Alcina was like a giant vulture towards anyone that would dare hurt her daughters. He was still contemptuous of killing Moreau first, maybe Karl. But Sora felt like the ugly fish had to die first, he was the reason for his grandfather's death, and the sole reason for Aqua and him running from the village. Sora had made up his mind as he made his way down the stairs, gently brushing his fingers against the painting, that Moreau was the first one to die, it was the only way he could start taking revenge for his family.
--
By the time Sora made his way into the living room, things felt different. The sounds of chatter echoed throughout the manor, making the place feel like how it was when he was a kid. Sora took a deep breath as he stepped into the living room, looking at the group of girls in front of him, although surprisingly the woman in white had vanished, and Sora knew not to complain about that part, he'd gratefully take three strangers who seemed to care about him, and Angie over a woman who viewed him more as an objective weapon to kill Miranda, and Terra. Sora had to take a minute to look at the teens in front of him, he had recovered his eyesight in the shower, even if things still felt weird, figuring he might as well look at the girls. After all, it was probably best to see if he could understand them before actually talking to another soul that wasn't a form of his parents, or a cop walking him.
The first girl seemed normal enough, she had spikey auburn hair and kinda looked like Kairi. The only difference that Sora could see between Liliana and Kairi, was that Liliana was wearing black pants and a big winter jacket that was much bigger than her. She seemed to be perfectly fine inside of the manor. She seemed to be enjoying her time inside, almost like she had lived in the house of Beneviento for a while. Liliana was holding up better, well compared to the black, and blond-haired girl, Yume. The teen seemed on edge, Sora could only assume that she had either just come out of some trauma, or she visited the manor before he did and Donna didn't give her a good time. Sora just hoped that he could give her a better experience if it was the latter that happened to her. Yume seemed normal enough, she had blue eyes, black yoga pants, and a white shirt that had some school logo on it, Sora assumed she must have been from a more urban world, but it was probably best not to pressure the girl at the moment.
The third teen named Hateko was probably the most interesting to Sora, she claimed to have buried many people, but she looked like a normal happy teenager, it didn't make sense, but then again he was made from magic and was technically both human, nobody and mold, so anything was possible in his opinion. After all, she did pick him up like he was a toy, and was the only one out of the three to truly care about him, the only thing Sora could understand was the fox mask she was wearing. It made the brown-haired teen feel more mysterious, and tragic. Sora wanted to know why she needed a mask, if she was hiding from someone, or if it was some way to cope with something. The only normal thing about her was her outfit, it looked like a chef's apron over a long black skirt, with a white shirt that was poking underneath a bulletproof vest that had a red cross with the word medic written in white on the back.
"So what do we do now?" Sora said, entering the room, removing his mother's mourning veil, as his one good eye watched the girls sitting on his couch with anticipation.
"Well, what was your plan before we came to this world, maybe that could give us a better understanding of how to deal with your lords, and what you'd like us to help with?" Hateko said, gently rubbing Yume's back, listening to the teen quietly let out a few tears, Sora desperately wanted to ask Yume if she was ok, but all he could give her was a sad gaze.
"I'll be ok, it's just the last time, I visited this place it wasn't the best. She scared Ethan to the point that he killed her, I was left broken, and the horrors didn't end until I buried her, and took Angie. To be honest, I haven't been able to sleep since the village ended, and returning here is still a difficult thing to grasp. But I'll do my best to help you; Sora, I just need to take a minute and try and come to terms with everything." Yume declared as she took some deep breaths looking deeply into Sora's eyes. The eyes were as cold as Donna's yet full of so much warmth that it felt like Yume was looking at a different version of Donna, one that laughed, loved, one that Liliana would tell her was a woman of family, and hope.
"The only reason, Yume's even here is because we told her it would be a chance to heal, to try and fix some of the things that left her broken. So we asked Kay to send us here, to help you, because this world has affected all of us. My Dad and I, saved my mom after we dealt with a crazy farmhouse infested with mold, Yume ended up in this village after her home world faded into the darkness, and Hateko's parents tried saving the world from the same evils that have lived and poisoned your village since the beginning. So Sora just to let you know, we're gonna be here with or without your help, but thankfully we're on the same page, so what would you like from us." Liliana said, digging her fingernails deeper into her skin as she waited for the blue and black-haired teen to respond, as it was now the time to act.
"Well, me and my mother's had planned a little bit before I woke up, but my first plan was getting Aqua's shotgun, and going for Moreau first. I felt like it was best due to him being the reason for the death of my grandfather, he was the one to let Miranda know that I existed, and the reason that Ethan was sent to the factory to die at the hands of Karl. He is my only target at the moment, but if you have any other options I'd be happy to hear them." Sora said he could feel his hands shaking, he needed some tea, or more sleep, maybe another chance at talking to Aqua, and Donna. He wanted to know that he was doing the right thing and had the best chance at living.
"You could talk to the villagers? Me and Liliana never got to talk to them for long, but your village seems to favor them more likely to live, so it could be worth a shot." Yume let out, as she stood up, wanting to hold Angie only for the doll to rush over to Sora. Sora had to blink for a second, as his eyes felt hazy, maybe Yume had a point, maybe he could talk to some of the villagers and see what they would think about him. He was the last Beneviento in the village, and if Miranda and the others died, surely they'd have to discuss what to do in the aftermath. It seemed like something logical and sounded like something Judy would have done, getting everyone's opinion and gathering details in taking down bad guys.
"Alright, I'll go talk to the villagers, I think they might be at Luzia's old house! Maybe I'll get lucky and get on their good side, come on Angie let's go visit them. Yume, Liliana, Hateko can you guys stay here for a bit, I don't want Miranda to notice you being in the village if it's ok." Sora declared heading for the door, ready to battle the harsh winter and start taking out the lords.
"Are you coming back anytime soon?" Liliana said, rushing over to Sora, placing her version of Ethan's jacket over Sora's mourning garb allowing the teen to survive the journey down to the village.
"I hope so, I still need to figure out how to unlock the keyblade, and Miranda will be wanting results sooner from me, rather than later. Besides I don't think I can kill Karl, or Alcina alone so your help would be a lifesaver." Sora responded, zipping up the jacket, as he turned his head one last time to see his new friends. He wondered what his parents would say to him now, he had finally made friends and was about to get revenge on those cruel monsters. Today was gonna be a good day, and the first day of many in his new life as a human with a heart, no longer was he a nobody trapped on a tiny island, but now he was his person ready to make his place in the universe.
