- Chapter 15 -

Heart to Heart

Author's Note:

So, either next chapter or the one after it is when we finally go for the Disney worlds. Still trying to figure out which one to do first, though; so many good choices.

Enchanted Dominion

Diablo, still in his human form, knelt before Maleficent on her throne, having finished giving his report.

"Darn that Key-brat and his pals," Pete said angrily. "Honestly, how hard can it be to take out a bunch of meddling kids?"

"No offense, Pete, old buddy, but that line is almost as old as we are (1)." Mortimer said matter-of-factly. Pete just rolled his eyes.

"I see," Maleficent said to Diablo, ignoring the other two. "Are you hurt, Diablo?"

Diablo nodded. "Not severely, but I had to make a tactical retreat when the rest of Sora's group caught up to us."

Maleficent nodded, a rare emotion on her face: compassion. "Very well, then. Once you've recovered completely, we'll go re-establish out contacts in the other worlds."

Diablo bowed. "Yes, milady."

Pete and Mortimer looked at them, somewhat jealous.

"She's never that nice to us," Mortimer muttered under his breath.

Radiant Garden, Castle

Sora opened his eyes to find himself laying on a recovery bed in the castle infirmary. The walls were a sky blue, and the floor was a warm yellow. Other beds and medical cabinets lined the walls, and stained glass windows were visible on the walls.

"He's awake!" a young girl's voice called, and Sora turned to see a little boy and girl, both at least seven or eight years old, sitting on the bed next to him. The girl had long brown hair in a braid that was tied in a red ribbon just like Aerith's, matching eyes, and wore a white dress, while the boy had shaggy brown hair, blue eyes, and dressed in a short-sleeved dark green buttoned shirt that was left unbuttoned over a gray undershirt, dark blue denim jeans, and black sneakers. The boy waved at him.

"Hi, you're Sora, right?" he said. "I'm Denzel, and this is Marlene."

Sora smiled back. "Hi, kids." He looked at them for a minute. "I've never seen you two before. Where are you from?"

"We're refugees," Marlene explained. "Two years ago, my daddy found me and adopted me. He left me here with Cloud and Tifa after this world was restored, and left to track down other people who are still missing. He's back here on a visit right now."

Sora looked at her. "Who's your dad?"

"His name's Barret Wallace," Marlene said, pulling a small photo out of her dress pocket and handing it to Sora.

The photo was of Marlene being held by a heavy-set, muscular man of African descent with black hair arranged in cornrows and a thick beard. He was dressed in a puffy off-white vest over a fishnet shirt, green pants, and brown boots. On his left hand was a black fingerless glove, and on his upper left arm was a tattoo of a round skull with fiery wisps that extended from the top. His most notable feature, however, was his cybernetic right hand. Despite the man's imposing appearance, he had a gentle smile on his face, which was shared by Marlene.

Smiling, Sora handed the photo back to Marlene before turning to Denzel. "So what's your story?"

"Pretty much the same as Marlene's, except Tifa found me herself and brought me back," Denzel replied. "Both Cloud and Tifa took care of me... until Cloud vanished last year. I heard you were one of the last people to see him."

Sora thought back to the Dark Depths, where he had watched Cloud engage his rival Sephiroth in combat. After a brief struggle, the two swordsmen had vanished.

After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah, I was there. So were Donald and Goofy."

The three sat in silence until the door opened, and in filed Riku, West, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Leon, and the man in Marlene's photo.

"Daddy!" Marlene squealed happily as she jumped off the bed and scampered over to Barret, who easily lifted her up onto his shoulder before approaching Sora's bed.

"So, you're Sora, huh?" he said, holding out his metallic hand. "Heard a lot about ya from Leon and Tifa. Name's Barret."

Sora grinned and shook Barret's hand. "Yeah, that's me. Nice to meet you."

Kairi took a seat on Sora's bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like a million munny," Sora replied. "Stuffed in a blender and set on frappé."

"I never knew that Diablo had those powers," Riku said. "And Kyra swears up and down she didn't either."

"It doesn't matter," West said simply. "The next time we see that overgrown buzzard, I'm gonna clip his wings."

"I'll help you with that," said Donald.

Sora nodded at that. "Where's everyone else?"

"Lea's walking around town, since he hasn't really been here since this world was destroyed, Nixe's exploring the world herself, Kyra's getting some training in, and Sï'Lea and Hikari are in the library." Mickey replied.

Radiant Garden, Castle Library

Hikari sat in a soft red lounging chair, enjoying the peace of the library. Remembering what Sora had told her about his exploits here two years ago, she saw it was far more welcoming and cleaner than he described. There were no broken wires sticking out of the walls or ceiling, new curtains hung over the windows, and the entire area was freshly cleaned and dusted.

"Nice place, huh?" came the voice of Sï'Lea. Hikari turned to see the older woman approaching.

"Yeah," she replied as Sï'Lea took a seat next to her. "What's up?"

"Just seeing how you're holding up," Sï'Lea replied. "This is the first time you've ever been off your own world, right?"

Hikari nodded. "Yes, but it hasn't been all bad," she replied. "So many nice places, getting to see what all Sora told me and my parents about, and, well..."

She trailed off, a faint blush appearing on her face.

"Thinking about Sora?" Sï'Lea asked. Hikari snapped to attention.

"What?! No! Why do you ask?" she blurted out. Sï'Lea chuckled.

"Honey, you don't make Keyblade Master by being unobservant," she replied. "You're always happy and cheerful when you're around him, and whenever he gives you a compliment, you blush. Besides, helping save the worlds is a good motivation, but I'm pretty sure you had another one in mind."

Hikari's blush deepened. "Is it that obvious?"

Sï'Lea shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, yes, I do like Sora," the Wutai native admitted. "He's so kind and brave. He's a strong fighter who protects the weak. And he is pretty cute."

Sï'Lea nodded.

"But he doesn't like me back, at least not the same way," Hikari continued, a slight tone of sadness in her voice. "His heart belongs to Kairi, and frankly, I can't blame him. She's so sweet and caring herself. Besides, we've only known each other for six months. He's known Kairi for twelve years."

Sï'Lea looked at the girl with sympathy.

"But I don't really mind," Hikari said, back to her cheery self. "You don't always get the person you think you deserve, and I can live with that (2). Besides, if Kairi makes Sora happy, who am I to complain?"

Sï'Lea looked at Hikari, slightly surprised. "You sure you're a kid?"

Hikari raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Yeah, I'm sixteen. Why do you ask?"

"You seem pretty wise for your age, that's all." Sï'Lea commented.

Hikari smiled. "I just try to pay attention."

The two sat there in silence for a moment or two.

"Believe it or not, I know how you feel," Sï'Lea said.

Hikari looked at her. "You do?"

Sï'Lea nodded. "Yep. You all know that Terra, Ven, and Aqua are my best friends, but what I didn't tell you was that Terra is to me what Sora is to you."

Hikari was surprised. "He is?"

"That's right," Sï'Lea replied. "I liked Terra, but he only thought of me as a good friend. It was Aqua who he loved."

"How'd you cope with that?" Hikari asked. Sï'Lea smiled.

"Like you said, you don't always get the person you think you deserve. Besides, he was happy with Aqua, and they were both my good friends either way."

Hikari looked at her. "Well, Master Sï'Lea, it looks like we're two of a kind."

"You can just call me Sï'Lea, but yeah, looks like you're right." Sï'Lea giggled, causing Hikari to do the same.

When the laughing fit tapered off, Sï'Lea continued. "Besides, you have your whole life ahead of you. Be patient; you'll find the one."

"I'm sure you will, too," Hikari replied. Sï'Lea gave a short laugh, a bittersweet smile on her face.

"I wish that was true, but c'mon, Hikari, I'm thirty years old (3)," she replied. "I'm a bit too old to get back into the dating game."

Hikari said nothing for a moment, remembering that many people said the same thing about older women on Wutai, using some kind of Christmas cake analogy (4). Of course, Hikari herself thought it was ridiculous.

"Don't say that," she said finally. "Sï'Lea, you're pretty, smart, and kind. Anyone would be lucky to have you."

Sï'Lea smiled at that. "Thanks, kid, but I've got too much on my plate right now to worry about that."

Author's Note:

(1): Meant to be both a reference to Scooby-Doo, as well as the fact that quite a few of Disney's mainstays (Mickey, Pete, etc.), have been around since the mid-to-late 1920s.

(2): A line taken from Hyrule Warriors, used by Lana.

(3): As I mentioned previously, Aqua is seventeen, chronologically twenty-nine, in this fic, and according to Star Tours Traveler, Sï'Lea is a year older than Aqua.

(4): In Japan, women are traditionally supposed to be married young. The whole Christmas cake analogy compares a woman who's single after 25 to, of course, a Christmas cake: just as no one wants such a cake after Christmas, no one wants to be with a woman older than 25. Hikari's mention of it is yet another one of Wutai's Japanese influences.

I'm sure I don't have to explain this, but Barret and Marlene Wallace are from Final Fantasy VII, and Denzel is from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.

The scene with Sï'Lea and Hikari was planned for a while. See, in Star Tours Traveler's original story, Sï'Lea and Terra are/were a couple, and so were Ven and Aqua. However, I prefer to ship Terra and Aqua, and I see Ven working more as Aqua's little brother rather than her boyfriend. In any event, in case it's not obvious, the "Heart to Heart" in the chapter title references Hikari and Sï'Lea's little talk.

Please R&R. Until next time...