Disclaimer: I don't own any of the media from which I used proper nouns in this story.
Nexus HWR 22.4 Saruman:
"Hey! Where are you?!" Nami shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth and yelling out despite being all alone in the dark.
She only thought she was alone though, as after she called out, a voice asked from not far from her, "Nami?"
"Sora?!" Nami shouted at the sound of that voice.
"Sora?" Robin also questioned in confusion. Then she looked around and wondered, "Juvia?" She did not see the blunette or their other companions who she expected might also be around more than she expected to see Sora here.
"What are you girls doing here?" Sora asked. He lifted up a Keyblade and created a white light at the end of it to illuminate the room they were in. When the light appeared the three became able to see each other, but the Keyblade did not illuminate anything else. The walls stayed black as did the air around them and wherever the walls or ceiling were.
Nami looked around in the black void, and then she lifted her head and said, "Juvia, Izumo, and Timmy didn't get caught. Good, they'll take care of this sorcerer."
"You guys are here to fight Saruman too?" Sora asked in surprise.
"Wait," Nami started in confusion. Robin looked over at the teenage boy in surprise as well, while Nami asked, "You didn't come here looking for us?"
"Huh? Nope," Sora said and shook his head. "I didn't even know you were here. Thought everyone was still back at Headquarters."
Robin lifted her eyebrows at that statement, then she said, "We must have left around the same time then." Nami had a confused look on her face from what Sora had said, but she nodded as Robin made sense of it.
"I don't like this room," Sora started before the two women could ask him any other questions. The girls looked towards him and watched as Sora lifted his free hand not on his Keyblade. "It's, strange," he said. "I can't use the darkness. Nothing should be able to stop that."
"Maybe there's a special field," Robin began.
Sora just shook his head though. "Not one that could stop the darkness. It couldn't exist," he said, and Robin did not argue as she heard him sound far too assured for that.
Nami did not just accept that though, saying, "Well seeing as you can't use it right now, I'd say it must exist."
"Nooo," Sora said, looking around and holding out the 'no' like he was trying to find a different reason so as to explain it. He could not find one, but that did not mean he was wrong. He looked back to Nami and said, "The laws of time and space are inconsequential to the power of darkness. Physics versus darkness, darkness wins. The rules the Gods placed on this world, darkness," he held up his hands in front of him with each one he said, then he again rose the hand higher that he lifted after saying 'darkness.' "So yeah, some evil sorcerer's magic isn't going to stop my darkness that easily. Something else is going on here."
As much as Nami and Robin were confused and unsettled by Sora's casual mention of the Gods and how strong his powers were in comparison to them, they refocused on their situation if something so powerful was not even working in it. They felt a lot more nervous knowing that now, and Robin started thinking harder on what they were seeing. Nami realized it first though, because unlike Robin, she had been in a situation like this before. "Hey Sora, remember the perfect day we had? Or, what started as a perfect day?"
He nodded at her, then his face lit up too. "You're right!" He exclaimed. Sora turned to Robin who looked confused, and he said, "Riku had tried using the darkness to get us out of that dream world the Forever Knights put us in once we knew what it was, but it didn't work. Probably because we were in our own minds… wait a second," Sora said it, then his eyes opened wide as did Nami and Robin's. Nami had already put it together that the scenarios were similar, but now she started looking around again wondering if she was right.
"The dreamscape," Robin said. "It does seem familiar. This emptiness is similar to the realm Ben and I faced Enoch in."
"Ahh," a sigh of relief echoed over the dark realm around the three of them, and they all snapped their heads up as a figure appeared high above them. "I suppose there is no need for an explanation then." Saruman had on a white robe, his hair and his beard were long and white, and he held a mystical staff in his right hand. He held up his left palm after he appeared, and then he said, "Please, I am not really here. Do not waste your efforts."
"Usually when someone says that," Sora began. He pointed his Keyblade up and yelled, "It's because they're afraid!" He fired a jet of fire so thick that the women behind Sora leaned away and shielded their faces. Bright reddish orange light lit up the realm much brighter for a few moments, then the beam faded away and Saruman was floating in the same spot without any damage, like the beam had gone straight through him. "Then again…" Sora said, a sweatdrop on the right side of his face at the ineffectiveness of that attack.
"Your allies are off on a goose chase I sent them on looking to save you," Saruman said to the women behind Sora, looking over the boy's head to focus on them for a minute. "However I will keep you alive. That child you were with could be a thorn in my side, so it is always good to have bargaining chips he cares for."
"Timmy's going to kick your butt," Sora called to the man, then he smiled as did the girls behind him as Saruman flinched and got a mad look on his face. Sora heard Nami laugh and he looked back at her, only to lower his Keyblade as he did not need to reignite it to see the women anymore. They stood out as much as Saruman did in the black realm around them that was not actually full of darkness, but emptiness.
"I should have known you would know them, Keybearer," Saruman's words made Sora's smile lower and his eyes narrow back up at the man in the air.
"What do you want?" Sora asked. "Why are we in the dreamscape?"
"It is good you recognize it. Less explaining this way," Saruman smiled, then the old and powerful wizard scratched his beard while examining the boy's facial expression. "I would like to know more about this world. Its secrets, its purpose." Sora's eyes narrowed even more while the women behind him stared hesitantly at Sora's back. "Your mind is so full of memories though, I would never be able to find what I am looking for. So, I will make this simple. You will show me what I want to know, or this will be very unpleasant for the three of you."
Sora had a defiant response ready to shout at the wizard, but the end of Saruman's speech made the teenager's eyes open wide and start shaking. He slowly turned his head to the side and looked back at the women Saruman just threatened to harm should he refuse. "What can you do to us in here?!" Nami yelled out.
"Have you forgotten, I also possess your physical bodies?" Saruman questioned, silencing Nami. "However I would not harm those. If that boy is too much for me to handle, I will not bring his wrath upon me by causing you physical harm."
"I don't like this," Robin said at the sound of his wording. She was not speaking out of her own mouth, but out of small mouths that appeared under the hair of both of her comrades' left temples. They tried not to freak out at the strange feeling, because Robin was being sneaky by speaking like that. "His repeated use of the word 'physical' is a threat to our mental states. However he would not tell us this at the start to give us time to prepare ourselves, unless he wishes for us to unknowingly help him-"
"I can hear you," Saruman said. "So there is no need to use that silly trick of yours." Robin grimaced, then the sorcerer continued, "You were correct though. Mentioning the secrets of this world did not get the young Keybearer to think of those secrets. Despite your appearance, your mind is well guarded."
"Thanks!" Sora called out with a smile on his face, making Saruman frown at the boy's acceptance of the compliment. He was hoping Sora would get frustrated and angry, but Sora just continued, "I've really been working on it. Too many telepaths on this world, and the Gods were pretty keen on keeping everything a secret."
Not that he does a good job of it, Nami thought while looking at Sora skeptically.
"He doesn't, does he?" Saruman questioned, and Sora spun to Nami with a look that said, 'Stop thinking that!' Nami dropped her jaw that Sora instantly spun to her instead of Robin, but when she looked at Robin she saw her friend had a totally calm look like she had emptied her mind. "But you, pirate, your thoughts are all over the place. In fact, the two of you may be more useful than just as bargaining chips against your young ally and the Keybearer."
"Guys," Sora warned.
"What am I supposed to think about?" Nami snapped at him. "This is all freaking me out! And the more you tell me not to think about stuff, the more I'm thinking about it!"
Sora grimaced as that was true, and he did not really know what to tell her. Learning to hide his thoughts, put up mental walls, it was already difficult for him and took more than a single day to learn how to do. To try and teach Nami in a few seconds, minutes even. Dang, when training how to do it I needed to start by thinking about the things I wanted to hide anyway. This is going to be rough. "Nami, just try and think on something in particular to get your mind off of whatever he might be trying to find out."
"Sora, it's not that easy-"
"Nami, anything I ever told you that might have seemed like a secret, I told you it because I trusted you not to go blabbing it to everyone." Nami's eyes widened as she stared at Sora, and even Robin looked at him in surprise too. "I mean it, I trust you a lot. So try. Please."
Nami opened her mouth to apologize to him, but then she shut it and focused her mind on something else. She focused on anything, everything, to get her mind off of whatever her thoughts could wander to.
"You are impressive at this as well, Nico Robin. I can tell by your silence though, it is straining you to keep your thoughts occupied on advanced arithmetic problems. It is amusing though." Saruman sounded like he was chuckling as he listened to the complicated math equations Robin was working out in her head.
Math? Should I focus on math? Nami thought in panic. I can't come up with any math problems long enough to distract me from Sora! Stop, think math- Sora told us that he- STOP IT! Ah! But Sora said, oh my God I can't do this! Okay okay okay okay just keep thinking loudly and in a single stream of thoughts so that nothing else can come up ever ever ever. Okay alright okay think think… this is exhausting but if I stop for a second I'll think of- In Nami's head appeared the last time she was in a realm like this, a time she remembered so well. She saw Sora in the sky, holding onto a plank of wood as the entire world around him was ripped to pieces. As she thought about it, that same image started appearing in the dark realm around them. Oh shit! Stop stop, um, Riku! Think about Riku. In her head appeared Riku, and Nami smiled though then went red in the face as she realized how easy it was to distract herself with that.
However, the memory Nami already had was still going on around them. "Hey what gives?" Nami asked while keeping her eyes focused down. She started thinking about it again as a scene went on around her, then she refocused on her distraction as the memory playing above was going to make her think of other stuff. Riku. Tall, handsome Riku. "I'm not thinking about this," she yelled.
"You did for a moment though," Saruman said, his voice echoing down while he stared around the dark realm that was now somehow even darker. The purplish-black sky in Sora's memory, full of lighting and a deep dark sphere of evil in the sky with a flaming orange core. "As I said, it is only searching through your memories which I plan to avoid. There are too many to sift through. But once you show me a memory, I can continue to look at it. I can look at all your memories of that day." He paused after saying it, then he recreated not one of the memories they saw that "perfect day," but an illusion Nami had witnessed that day instead.
Nami backed up as they appeared. Her family appeared in front of her eyes, in a memory of her family appearing in front of her eyes on the Thousand Sunny. Then, a pair of hands covered Nami's eyes after arms suddenly emerged out of her forehead. Nami heard herself scream in the memory, and she started thinking about it herself, but she let out a deep gasp of relief that she did not have to actually witness it again in front of her. "Thanks, Robin," Nami said, though her mind was racing after what almost just happened.
"What is this?" Saruman asked right after Robin's hands disappeared from in front of Nami's face. Nami knew that meant that her melting family was no longer there, so she looked up, but then her eyes opened much wider than they had a minute ago.
Robin had not been there during the illusion the first time, but she was told by her best friend who confided in her how badly that had hurt to see after Robin had helped free them. She realized what was about to happen which was why she covered Nami's eyes, preventing her best friend from seeing it again, but what she saw now had her confused. Thinking about them, my family, and about Riku. Of course, Nami thought, even as she shook her head around and tried thinking of other things. She even started thinking about fighting the Nobodies, and as much as she cursed herself for doing so, she thought about Sora talking about traveling all over the multiverse with his Keyblade back in the Dread Fort. Shit! I can't keep my mind off anything!
Saruman did not seem interested in those things though, as he stared wide eyed at the memory forming around them. Robin got ready to cover Nami's eyes again, but what they were seeing seemed more like she should cover Nami's ears. "Arlong would have let me live if it weren't for you!" A woman who looked identical to one who had melted in front of Nami back on the Sunny had a hand on Nami's throat, choking the life out of her.
Robin suddenly recognized the dress Nami was wearing, This is the night of the Dread Fort. So this is what she meant by their "worst demons." This is worse than I thought however. Bellemere continued yelling at Nami from a month back, while present Nami ignored it with a strong look on her face. "If only you had run, he would have let me live. Even if I had claimed to have daughters, if you had just escaped like the others told you to, I would have been allowed to live!" The image of Bellemere clenched harder and memory Nami tried to scream but it just came out as a raspy breath of air.
"Nami!" Sora called out, then he spun to the woman behind him as he remembered that she was fine. "Are you alright?" He asked her, as she seemed surprisingly calm about all this.
She was ignoring every word out of her mother's mouth though, no matter how true the words might have sounded to her back then. "That's not my mom. That's some douche named Zexion."
"What do you think happened to everyone you left behind?" Bellemere asked, her voice getting deeper and darker. In a different, deeper voice from before, the older woman who spun past-Nami around by the throat said, "Look what befell your old world only months after you left it."
"Here we are," Saruman said. "Now let us see what…" His voice faded off, and he just stared in shocked silence as did Sora and Robin at the planet that appeared in the dark of space in front of them in the memory. Out of the black space reached a hand a deeper black than the darkness around it.
Nami trembled as she re-watched this, and she called out in a shaky voice, "Th-This is just an illusion!"
The enormous black hand started closing down on the planet. The image of the planet zoomed in far though in the memory, and Nami clenched her eyes shut. Robin was too shocked by what she was seeing to even think of covering Nami's eyes up. An illusion? Robin thought while she saw a village down below. She saw a girl with purple hair who reminded her of Nami's sister, a picture of whom was in their shared room back on the Thousand Sunny. It had appeared on Nexus with the rest of the Thousand Sunny on the First Day, and Robin felt horrified as she watched that woman scream from the sight of the giant hand closing on her village.
The hand crushed down on the planet, and then the realm returned to darkness as Saruman stopped watching the memory. He scratched his beard, then pondered to the younger woman down below, "I want to believe it was just an illusion as well, however all three of you started thinking about the worlds left behind while you watched that." They snapped their heads back up and all tried scrambling their own thoughts again. Saruman continued to them in a serious tone though, refocusing on Sora as he did, "Although two of you thought of the Wizard King in the south and how he had amazingly traveled back to his own world to find it in ruin, you Sora, thought more along the lines of what we just witnessed. Tell me, was that just an illusion?"
Nami snapped her head to Sora, sweat covering her face and then shock and fear spreading over more of it as Sora just bit down hard at Saruman's question. Nami stormed up to Sora and spun him by an arm so he was facing her again. His head was bowed, but Nami reached forward and grabbed him by the front of the shirt. "Sora!" She yelled, her voice cracking. "Tell me he's lying!"
Sora looked into her light brown and orangish eyes. He shook his head, and he replied, "I don't know. Maybe you're right, and Zexion was just messing with you. It's what he does- what he did, anyway."
Robin started to calm down a little, only for the sky around them to shift from dark to very very white. Sora stood there in a white realm, and Goku was the only other person there who the women recognized. Nami and Robin stared with jaws dropped at the sight of floating swirling lights all around them. There was a handsome man who looked like a viking holding a war hammer, and a green man with antennae sticking out of his head, as well as two other men standing in front of Sora, Goku, and those two behind them. The two in front of Sora looked like normal humans, but their very appearances made Saruman flinch in fear. "What of all I told you? The worlds being are being consumed by the Darkness. The Originals have given you an order."
The viking man said this, and both Robin and Nami spun back to Sora to see him biting down hard. Sora lifted his gaze back up to Saruman and shouted, "That's enough!"
Saruman's illusion form turned to Sora while the memory around them started shaking. Sora had a pissed-off look on his face that was getting increasingly furious. "I'm not supposed to be telling anyone this, let alone, an evil…" Sora shook his head and growled, so mad at himself right now, but also at Saruman for what he was doing. "These are secrets I'm meant to be protecting, and you're, you're forcing them out of me." Sora trembled where he stood, his shaking fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.
"I asked you to tell me the easy way," Saruman began. An even more furious look spread on Sora's face, and the memory above that was about to continue shattered instead. The white sky cracked apart and the black realm reemerged. "What are you doin-" Saruman's head snapped to the left up in the air, then he vanished from the mental world.
"Think it's Timmy?" Nami wondered as she saw the man flee. She turned to Robin to see what she thought, only to see Robin taking a step backwards while looking over towards Sora. Nami turned to Sora as well, and she gulped at the sight of the dark wisps coming off of the boy's body. "Sora!" Nami shouted.
Sora spun his head towards them, and then he leaned back in surprise. The shock of seeing their afraid faces made him snap out of it, and Nami sighed in relief as Sora regained his normal friendly appearance. "Geez, you scared the crap out of me," Nami said. "I didn't know you could do that, whatever that was," she added. She still was not sure what she had just seen, but it sure scared Saruman off so she was glad it happened.
Robin was more hesitant than her friend, because she saw the look on Sora's face that told her, He had no idea what he was doing. That thought scared her especially so because of the last memory they had just seen of him.
Saruman reappeared in the air in the darkness, and he glared down at Sora furiously for some reason. "Influencing your physical body from inside this realm. You really are impressive, Keybearer. But what I have seen so far is not enough!"
"You won't see them anymore," Sora responded, though he was not smiling as he said it despite his attempt at a smug tone. "I'll protect those memories whatever the cost. If I'm going to show them to anyone, it's going to be because I decide to. If I tell Nami and Robin what the Gods told me, it will be because I choose to."
"Don't feel obligated," Nami mentioned from behind him. "I could go without knowing."
Robin hummed to herself, then she began, "If you ever feel comfortable, I would always like to learn new history. Feel free to tell me."
"Heh, we'll see," Sora said, though he turned Robin's way and winked at her after saying it, making Robin smile at what to her sounded like a promise.
Nami looked at Robin like she was crazy for wanting to know about this kind of stuff. "You really-"
"ENOUGH!" The realm around them shook violently at Saruman's bellow. Nami clenched her mouth shut as the man seemed to be yelling at her for talking, though really it was just an outburst after being ignored for so long. "That episode you just had," Saruman began. Sora's eyes opened wide as he realized why Saruman was bringing it up. As much as he distracted his thoughts now, he knew it had already been thought upon deeply for much too long even as he pretended to be happy to his friends. Saruman continued in a more calm, in-control tone, "Let me know, would you like to relive that, or show me what I request without resistance?"
"Why don't I just resist you anyway?!" Sora shouted.
"Because if you could on command, why would we still be here?" Saruman questioned. Sora sweatdropped as did the girls behind him who thought Sora had the upper hand for a moment. "Perhaps ripping secrets from you that you are supposed to protect can set you off, but what of a normal secret? Not one you swore to safeguard? I can see the memory, and I am very interested as to the source of that power which allows you to defy even your own unconscious state. So interested, that maybe I'll just take a look at that instead of my initial goal?" He offered it up, and Sora grimaced deeply before clenching his fists and staring at the floor.
Come on anger! Anger! Gee-whiz, if it's between the two, I'd rather have Nami and Robin see the world's truth. But not him. If Saruman learned certain things I know, he could use them for evil. He could trade those secrets to other evil people like him, people even more dangerous. That's what got me angry, knowing that I could be putting them all at risk. Not just the Gods, and angels, but all of heaven, all of Nexus. Sora calmed himself down and then stared straight up into Saruman's eyes. "Do what you wish. The longer you waste your time here, the easier it will be for Timmy to get to us."
"I can search your minds and distract that child at the same time," Saruman boasted right back.
"Yeah? And what about Juvia?" Nami asked. "How about you check my memories again?" She asked, a threatening look in her eyes as she thought about something she saw in Pyraxas. Saruman looked towards her, and he twitched as he saw the crazed blue-haired woman killing people with a smile on her face. Sora got confused as to why Nami would bring that up, as he still did not know the reason for the girls and Timmy being in this part of the world.
Saruman's focus passed right over Nami's mind though, and he brushed off her threat after a single hesitation on the moment. He refocused on Sora, making Nami frown at him for his lack of concern over what she thought was a good threat. "Last chance," Saruman said, while the dark realm around them started to shimmer all over with a new memory. Sora just stayed stoic in his expression, and Saruman slammed his staff down in the air in a frustrated way. "So be it. Enjoy yourself."
He's going to try and search my mind while distracting me with this. If he focuses too much on a different memory though, will it appear in the realm around us? Will I know that he's stealing it? Sora thought to himself while a dark sky replaced the blackness around them. Saruman's fake body disappeared from the realm, but Sora glanced around, wondering if the man was still there only invisible and hiding from him. Or is he going to just read my memories of heaven without letting us know this time? Can he do that? If he learns any of it, I'll, I'll kill… Sora realized what he started thinking, and he lifted his gaze back to the memory that started just ahead of him. Nami and Robin walked up on Sora's right side, and they stood there staring silently forward with eyes as wide as saucers.
Nami lifted her hands and covered up her mouth as a dark-skinned man in the memory said, "...Because they're all dead."
The start of the conversation had been hazy but Nami and Robin had caught the gist of it. They were in a dark area covered in snow, at a campfire in the middle of a group of people. The past version of Kairi on the opposite side of the fire as Sora asked, "You killed, three villages?"
The same man who said that had smashed Sora in the face with the butt of his pistol a few seconds ago. Their usually powerful friend did not do anything in retaliation though, and Nami and Robin could see why. The bearded light-skinned man on the other side of the fire who had a submachine gun pointed at Kairi said, "That's right. Cooperate, and you might not end up like they did."
"Sora," Nami began. Sora turned to her, glad to get his attention off what was going on in front of him. The memory had transformed the dreamscape in such a way that they were standing on a snowy ground only fifteen feet away from the side of the fire, watching people who looked the same size as them. It was so real that they could even feel the cold around them, hear the voices like they were actually present on the scene, and they could see the intense fear on both past Sora and Kairi's faces. "Was this recently? You don't look much different-"
"It was before we met," Sora assured Nami.
Robin stared closely at the boy to her left. That was not a very long time ago. Why not give us an amount of time, unless in doing so you think we would pity you more? I don't understand. I don't see how this could go… oh no.
Oh no. Nami had the same thought as Robin, because the leader of the group who had hit Sora in the face just said a phrase that echoed around the quiet realm. "They didn't know anything. Each one of them was questioned the same way you are going to be. If they knew anything they would have told me."
"Hey Saruman," Sora began. He cupped his hands to his mouth and called out, "I'm telling you right now, if I have to watch this, just to find out that you secretly stole my secrets anyway." Sora quieted down for a minute, then he continued in a low, serious tone, "I'm going to end you." It was not a very threatening voice, did not have any malicious intent in it. Sora just promised it in such a calm, serious manner, that it was hard to imagine he would not follow through with that promise. It sounded more like he was saying it as an unavoidable fact, which is how he perceived it. Admittedly Saruman had not done all that much to him. In fact, he had done a lot less than many who Sora had faced and let live before. I can't let him take those secrets though. Riku was right. I am not careful enough with them normally. This time though. Against a man like this, I can't let those secrets out.
"…how it will work. I am going to ask you repeatedly about the artifact. Whether or not you know about it matters little to me. The chance that you do know of it is worth what I am about to do to you. If you try to fight back at any time, I will have my men start working on your woman behind me." Nami and Robin's eyes opened much wider, and they looked at some of the men in Rider's group only for their suspicions to be confirmed by the nasty looks in those men's eyes. They each turned towards Sora again while Rider's voice got louder,"If she tries helping you, then I will chop both of his legs off on the spot."
"Oh my God," Nami whispered. "This, this is," she couldn't come up with the words.
"Sora," Robin began in a soft voice. "This was not long before we met you in Port Royal." She said it softly, and then she continued to the boy who did not look towards her. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Sora assured her, spinning her way and smiling genuinely to prove it. "I'm sorry you two have to be here for this. Don't watch if you don't want to-"
"Where is the artifact?!" Nami and Robin spun to see the man had just pistol-whipped Sora in the side of the head and stomped his leg to knock him down. They wanted to yell out, but then their mouths froze open as the man pulled out a few knives and grabbed Sora's right hand. He shouted the question again, "Where is the artifact?!" A knife went under Sora's index finger's nail while the boy said, 'I don't know.' More knives went under more nails, more of the same questions were asked, more of the same answers were given.
Then Sora screamed. He had held out longer than either of the women thought he would be able to, but the past version of Sora from not that long ago started screaming. "Ahh! AHHH!" Rider twisted the blade under Sora's nails, shredding his nerves and popping a nail off while Sora screamed in agony. "OH- AH!" Time skipped forward in the memory and Sora in the present looked around the snowy landscape of the dream. Is Saruman still in here? Or did he leave because of Timmy and Juvia? Are they having a battle right now? We should try to find a way out of here… but this isn't the same kind of dream realm as the last. I couldn't hit Saruman, but Ben had been able to fight that Enoch guy. If Saruman is more powerful in here, does that mean he can keep us here without an escape route?
Sora, how are you holding out? Nami thought while she watched the bloody younger boy in front of her on her knees. She did not notice the same man on her left side deep in thought but looking around focused on everything else instead of what was going on in front of him. Nami was too focused on the boy on his knees, taking everything the villain dished out without collapsing off of his knees. When the memory skipped forward a little, Nami saw that Sora no longer had any fingernails on his bloody hands. He can't use Cure magic. If he could get his Keyblade out, he could stop them all easily! Why? Why did this have to happen?
Rider grabbed the back of past Sora's head and tilted it back. He brought a lighter up in his other hand and asked, "Why are you lying to me?"
"I'm not. I really don't know. You could ask me a million times, the answer-"
"I can ask you a million times? Alright then, I think I just might do that. Don't get fucking smart with me," Rider finished in a more smug voice as Sora's defiant expression got more fear on it at what Rider just threatened. Rider pressed his lighter up against Sora's face and the seventeen year old let out an agonized scream. His flesh started smoking and blood came out of his left cheek, and Rider just kept it there and shouted, "What do you know about the totem?"
"AAGGhhhAA…" Sora could not make out a response, only a raspy scream.
Rider pulled the lighter away and slammed a knee up into Sora's mouth which got him to stop screaming. "You are a strong boy. I can tell you will not pass out. That is good. Very good. How much of a beating can you take before you break?"
"I'll never, have what, you want," past Sora said.
"I don't mean 'break,' as in 'give me what I want to know.' That will come before you truly, break." Rider brought a knife up and cut underneath Sora's left eye, up towards the eye for a few seconds only to curve out towards the outside of the face before slashing at Sora's left ear. He cut straight through Sora's ear at the middle, and both Nami and Robin winced at the sight.
Nami turned to Sora again, but she was on his right side and could not see his left ear. Sora turned to her as he saw she was staring, and Nami felt some relief as she saw there was no lasting damage to Sora's left ear. "So," Nami began. "How did you get out of this?" She asked it because she did not want to turn back to the memory going on. She would rather hear something good, good news on how Sora was going to get out of a situation that seemed so hopeless yet she knew must have worked out in the end. Sora's expression after she asked did not make her think that everything wound up alright though.
"Really you guys," Sora started instead. "You don't have to watch. Let's just turn around." He looked behind him, and then Sora's eyes widened as the memory that had been in front of him appeared there. "Well, I guess it is in my head," he started, though when he turned back around he saw it still in that place too. "And we're, in our heads," he added in a slow way. He thought about asking them to cover up their eyes and ears, but that would mean they were deciding to just sit around helplessly waiting for Saruman to show himself again. And if they're both focused on my memory, Saruman won't be able to dig out any of their memories about me. "Actually," Sora said. "I think watching is all we can do."
Robin had already had a similar thought to what Sora just said, the main reason she had not looked away and covered her ears already. This is a private memory for Sora, but if I don't think constantly on it I might think of- torture! Focus on the torture. Robin cut her thoughts off short and had to focus intently into what she was seeing in order to stop her mind from going to the exact thoughts she was trying not to have rise to the surface. Luckily, as much as it hurt to think of it in that way, Sora's torture was an easy distraction.
Time had passed in the memory since Robin had looked towards the present version of Sora. "What has it been now? Five hours? Six?" Nami's jaw could not have dropped farther as she heard that question. The sky was still pitch black so she had hoped that the night was still young and Sora would soon come up with a way out of this situation. "Don't you get tired of the same questions? They'll never stop."
"I don't know… I mean, yes." Past Sora seemed to respond as if in a trance at first, like he had responded the same way to so many questions in a row that he was programmed to just say it again. "Yes, I'm tired. So please let me go."
"Kairi," Robin whispered, looking towards the rest of the group who she had focused on so rarely since Sora started getting tortured. Sora heard Robin's voice but did not want to look Kairi's way. Yet he could not help himself, and he turned right from his past self to look over at Kairi. She was on her knees, shivering in the snow while wearing a pink sweater and black pants that were tight to her body. Kairi's eyes were focused on Sora with such a distraught, sad, worried look in them. Nami and Robin could see how much the girl loved him, and she had tear streaks all over her face that were part of what was making her so cold. She had gone for hours crying nonstop, and even though the tears had gone for now, she had the same look in her eyes as before.
As present Sora stared at the look in Kairi's eyes, his fists clenched at his sides. That's how much she cares for me. That look right there. During it all, I at least got to see that look. As much as I hated seeing Kairi like that, she loves me! She loves me so much! Although what he was thinking should have been a good thing, Sora just scrunched up his face and got a more helpless expression on it. What am I doing? Why am I here trying to fight some weirdo wizard, while Kairi's at the hands of the Organization? What if they're doing insane stuff like this to her right now? No, no that's not like them, but still! Look at me! I'm just sitting here watching memories of us. What if we aren't able to make any new ones, because I wait too long and she's merged? But what if I go there and they merge her right away? AHHH! This is so frustrating!
Rider beat illusion Sora senseless, giving him bruises and bumps all over his face. He was using his fists for a while, then he pulled back out a knife with a growing look of frustration on his face. "Alright kid, you're running out of time. Tell me what I want to know, or…" His knife came forward and pressed up against Sora's throat and the boy in the memory gasped. Kairi screamed out his name, only for the cold steel to leave his throat a second later. Rider pressed it up against the bottom of Sora's chin, then he ran it up towards Sora's mouth, pressing too lightly to cut through the boy's skin. He brought it up over Sora's lips that he pursed, and the blade cut through just a bit on his top lip.
Sora's bloody lips started trembling as the knife neared his nose, only to cut to the left side of it while Sora stared up into Rider's eyes. The boy was exhausted. He looked barely able to keep his eyes open from all the swelling and bumps surrounding them. His panting was light but he quieted it and just stared silently at Rider while the man glared back at him. The memory version of Sora knew what was coming, and Rider never asked the question again, because the boy's mouth stayed shut despite the knowing look on his face. "Okay then." Rider pulled the knife off of Sora's face, and Nami let out an audible gasp of relief as Rider stood up fully like he was deciding enough was enough.
"Hey Nami," Sora began and made the woman on his right turn to him. He stepped towards her and put his left hand up on the side of her face closer to the memory. Nami got confused, while Robin lifted her hands and covered her mouth at the sight of Rider bending down and jamming the knife in his hand straight into Sora's left eye.
Nami flinched at the sound of the squelching noise. For a split second she thought she must have misheard, because Sora was smiling at her and looking in her eyes with both of his own. Then the screams started, "AHH! AHHH! EEAAAGGCCK! AHHHH AAAGGHHH RRRRAaaa..." Past Sora's screams lasted close to ten seconds. He rose up his arms to try and grab at the knife, only for Rider to punch him with his free hand in the fingernail-less fingers, making the kid pull his arms back and scream in even more pain. His arms stopped moving, then his screams quieted down as his voice gave out. His head that had tilted back for all those screams dropped down, bowed motionless for the first time since they started watching this memory.
Sora shook his head at her, but Nami turned and pushed his arm aside. She looked at the snowy campsite in front of her, and she saw Sora with his head bowed and a knife sticking out of his face. The knife with Rider's hand still on the hilt was plunged in deep, but not deep enough to kill him. Sora twitched there on his knees with his head bowed, and Nami let out a whimper at the sight of Sora looking so defeated. "This is getting us nowhere." Right when Nami and Robin thought it could not get any worse, Rider tore the knife brutally out from Sora's eye socket. Blood splashed out of the socket with the knife, as well as some scrambled eye. Sora's mouth opened to scream but no sound came out except for a cough that sounded like it scratched Sora's throat.
His hands flinched forward towards Rider, but they stayed down at his sides. Robin saw this and her eyes opened huge, as she was reminded of the sole reason past Sora had been letting this happen to him. She turned towards Kairi as Rider remarked, "You are an impressive boy, holding back for so long for the sake of your friend." He looked towards Kairi and added, "Normally, I would not break from my normal routine, but seeing as you are no longer even responding to my questions, it looks as if I have to try a new method."
Past Sora lifted his head slowly, and Nami and Robin could see him trying to comfort Kairi with his gaze. He was trying to force out a reassuring look, but instead all they saw was a broken teen whose body could not betray how his mind was really feeling. Sora's one remaining eye was half open under all the bloody and swelling marks around it. His left eye was a hole of red with a thick trail coming down below it all the way to his chin. The sad look on past Sora's face made Kairi start crying again, but in the dream realm, Sora spun to Nami and walked in front of her and Robin. "Alright, calm down." He smiled at them, and he lifted back up his right arm and formed a Keyblade in it.
"What's, snnf, what's that for?" Nami asked with tears in her eyes. She thought Sora had come up with a way to get out or something, and she brought up an arm and wiped her eyes with it. Even doing so though, she could not help the sadness she was feeling. She thought back to Midway Island when the two of them had come up to her with shy, embarrassed faces, and how Kairi looked when she had lifted up her ring finger. She thought about the adorable promise they shouted to each other as Sora went running off to chase after Roxas. Nami recalled all the crazy memories they had seen of Sora searching for her the last time they had gotten stuck in a dreamscape. As much as these two were her close friends, they were also the love story that Nami idolized. They're perfect together. They're perfect people, just so, so good. Sora and Kairi. They're Keybearers who protect the worlds. And they, they had to go through… it's not fair.
"Listen," Sora said, speaking loudly to the girls in front of him. He looked back and forth to make sure their eyes were focused on his own, but he had not thought very far into this. He had a serious look on his face like he was about to continue with a plan, but that look only seemed serious to them for five, even ten seconds. After that, it was pretty clear that Sora was just stalling, and doing it very badly at that. "Just, listen," Sora continued when he saw them both about to look past him. "Please," he added, almost in a begging tone which made them turn back to him despite what they just heard echo around them.
"…kill them and be done with it."
"Not yet," Rider said.
Sora continued to the women in front of him. "This might be unavoidable now, but I'm actually pretty sure Saruman's not here. He probably reversed through the memory fast, since he would have started at the end of it considering what I had been thinking about which made him start with this in the first place. So just listen, please. I want you to close your eyes and clamp your ears shut."
Nami opened her mouth to counter him, when Rider continued in the background. "…would not give it up easily. I can see how much you care for the girl. Tell me what I want to know, or my men can have some fun with her."
"Please?" Sora asked the girls again, as what he was fearing was coming up.
Nami and Robin had horrified looks on their faces though. They spun from their Sora to Rider, to the men behind Kairi, to the girl herself whose face was starting to change from its expression of horror and worry over Sora, to something different. Nami bit down on her bottom lip while it started to shake in a violent way, and she said, "You didn't let-" Nami looked back and saw one of the men keeping a gun trained straight on Kairi's head. Rider had walked away from Sora, but the boy could not get up or he risked them killing her.
"Those are scum, worse than monsters," Robin said, her voice cold and dark.
Nami spun to Robin in terror as it sounded like her friend had already accepted what was about to come. "No no," Nami spun back and her heart crushed as she heard past Sora's cracking voice.
"Please," his past self whispered. His voice got louder, "Please, I don't know what this thing you're looking for is. Please. Please!"
"Do what you will." Rider had no sympathy in his voice. He gave the order, and two men kept their guns trained on Sora while occasionally pointing those rifles down at Kairi to show they would shoot both of them if he tried anything.
Four men dropped on top of Kairi, and Nami finally snapped her eyes shut. She covered her ears using her hands, but Kairi's voice carried through her fingers anyway. "No! NO!" Robin did not take her eyes off the scene in front of her, but when she glanced at their older version of Sora, she gained a confused and even angry expression at the anxious way he was staring at the scene. "Ahhh!" Kairi yelled as her black pants and pink sweater were ripped apart. "Stop! Please! We don't know- AH!"
What is he thinking? Robin thought. She turned from their Sora to the other version in the memory who was staring forward in a much more horrified way, unable to move a muscle. Rider looked back at the boy too, and he said, "All you have to do is tell me and they will stop." Past Sora's mouth opened, but he had nothing to say to the man before him. He kept staring towards Kairi as the men ripped her shirt apart and groped all over her body. His helpless look was unbearable, and then his head bowed. He looked at the floor and his brown hair fell in front of his destroyed face.
As this happened, Robin frowned at the boy in the past. She felt horrible for him, yet the entire time he had endured all that suffering, Kairi had kept looking his way. She had dealt with every last second of his pain, but he was looking away and Robin could not tell what he was thinking at all anymore. She looked towards the older Sora again, and he looked right over Nami's head to Robin whose eyes he looked into. "Please," he whispered at her, as Kairi's screams echoed through the void. Nami held her hands tighter against her head as the screams were still getting through. Kairi's matching bra and panties, a cute pink color Robin assumed she picked out for her boyfriend, were all that remained on the girl. "Robin, look away."
"Do you ever talk to Kairi about this night?" Robin asked. Sora's eyes started to widen, and Robin continued in a serious tone, "Or do you pretend like it never happened?"
"Robin, you don't under-" Sora began, but then Kairi's piercing scream interrupted them and filled the dream realm.
"SORA, HELP!"
The entire snowy landscape shook. At first Robin thought it was the dream world itself shaking with the memory, but every single person at the snowy campsite in front of her stopped what they were doing. Robin saw one of the men over Kairi who had his pants halfway down to his ankles had just torn her bra off and had it in one hand. That man like the others around Kairi had frozen though, as did the two men holding their assault rifles, and the leader of the group. Robin's breathing slowed down, What is happening? I thought, it was inevitable. Was I-
Bu-dum.
The sound of a heartbeat filled the mindscape and Robin once again thought it was just in Sora's memory, but each of the men there reacted and spun towards the spiky-haired boy on his knees. Sweat started covering Robin's face, while Nami spread her eyelids open just a bit and started peeking through them. "Don't look, Nami," Sora said, and the woman who had loosened how hard she was pressing on her ears turned to him to see Sora shaking his head at her. "Go back to what you were doing," he told her.
Bu-dum.
Nami had loosened her hold on her ears even more to hear what Sora had to say, so she heard that heartbeat and turned her head back towards the scene in front of her. Sora winced as they both continued to watch, and he closed his eyes for a second himself. I wish, you would have just listened. He felt his chest clenching up, fear and sadness taking hold inside him. Fear that once they saw this they would never look at him the same, and when he imagined those looks, he could already feel the anguish of possibly losing them as friends.
Memory Sora's head snapped up in the memory in a swift movement. Nami and Robin pulled back. The ground all around Sora's knees was hit by a gust of wind that blew all the snow away from him in a wide circle. Kairi's head snapped up in that moment and her eyes opened huge at the sight of Sora's face. Robin did not know how wrong she was when Sora was telling her to look away, but she was starting to get an idea as she saw the glowing whites of Sora's eyes. "Nami, we should listen and-"
BANG!
Sora had been hopeful for a split second that Robin was about to listen to him, only for Robin to cut herself off and just stare forward in horror. Nami had just started turning to Robin, but she froze with her head half turned, still able to see what had just happened out the left corners of her eyes. Rider stood ten feet in front of Sora with his pistol held out in the boy's direction. There was smoke coming out of the barrel of the gun. Rider had an emotionless look on his face as cold as when he was torturing Sora for all those hours. Sora's head snapped back so far that it looked unnatural, and he fell backwards while the memory around them faded away. Past Sora's glowing white eyes were losing their glow, and then he hit the ground on his back and became still.
The cracking memory vanished, and Sora's eyes opened wide. A huge smile broke out on his face as darkness returned to the realm, and then he let out a deep sigh of relief. Nami and Robin had spun to him when the memory vanished, and both of them dropped their jaws even farther at Sora's reaction to all of that. He turned towards them still smiling, then he realized how that must have looked and tried to wipe it from his face. He couldn't do it though, and he wound up cracking a big grin again before chuckling and then straight out laughing. I was so worried, for nothing! Oh they'd never get it too, and I'm never explaining it so this must look like I'm craaa-zy! That only made Sora laugh harder, and he knew that only made him look more insane, which only made him laugh harder.
"Oh my God, you guys," Sora began. "Please, stop looking at me like that. You're killin' me here." As soon as he said it, he burst out laughing like a madman as he realized he just made a pun, a terrible, terrible pun.
We're, killing him? Nami thought, blinking a few times as she wondered if Sora had lost his mind. "Are, are you- what are," Nami reached forward and put a hand on Sora's right shoulder. His laughter settled down as he saw such a concerned look in her eyes. "What are you laughing about?" She asked so softly, as if he was laughing because of some insane grief he was feeling that he had no other way to deal with.
Sora licked his lips while pursing them, then he gulped down to hold back any more laughter. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "That was, I mean," he shook his head around and coughed a few times. "I mean, that was a terrible memory. That was, the least favorite moment, of my entire life," he admitted it and scratched his right cheek with his index finger. He thought back after saying it, then nodded and said, "Yeah, easily."
"Sora, I'm sorry," Robin began. "What I was saying, forget about-"
"No," he shook his head at her and stopped her from continuing with that. "What you were saying was right. We did need to talk about that day, and we have. Many times." Robin nodded at him, though she felt strange that Sora was telling her this defensively after what she had just seen. "I'm also going to tell Kairi that you two saw that," he got quieter, "once I save her."
"We'll tell her," Nami began.
"No," Sora shook his head at her. "I have to apologize first. Please?"
"Sora, it's not your-" Nami began. Then she thought about what Saruman had told them. The wizard had given him a choice between memories, and Sora decided to show them this one instead of the one with the secrets of Nexus in it. Those secrets barely mattered to Nami anymore though, and she continued, "He didn't give you a choice. It's not your fault."
"I know," Sora said quietly. "But I still need to apologize. You know as well as I do though," he began with his voice getting more uplifting, "Kairi will forgive me for it. She'll say the same thing you did." I hope, he thought, nervous about ever making Kairi upset at him. He shook that thought out of his head though, because as afraid as he was of hurting Kairi in some way, he knew her too well to think that she would hold this against him.
"Okay," Nami said. She frowned and it became quiet for a few seconds. Sora could see they had things they still wanted to ask, but he realized he did not know how he was going to answer those questions. Nami asked one that he was not expecting though, "Those men. After you were… did they, finish what they started?" Sora's eyes opened wide, and he quickly shook his head 'no' at her. "Then," Nami continued just as fast, "did she, get shot too?"
Sora's face scrunched up in confusion. "No?" He said, lifting his tone as if saying it as a question.
Does he not realize why she asks? Robin thought while examining Sora's confused face.
It hit him a few seconds later. "Ohhh," he said, then he chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Because I got shot, and I'm still here, you think somehow Kairi- okay, I see what you were getting at. We're on the same page." He nodded at her a few times to show they were thinking the same thing, then he put his hands behind his head and said, "But no. You think a bullet could hurt me? Nothing he did could have hurt me if I didn't want it to, but if I wasn't in real pain then he would have started up on Kairi. So I had to let him do what he wanted." Sora said it and shrugged his shoulders like it was totally fine with him. They saw the look in his eyes after Rider had pulled the knife out though; Sora could not convince them of that with a few cheap words.
He had his plan though, and he was rolling with it despite their incredulous looks. "So when he shot me, I just pretended I was dead for a little. Then I found my chance and saved Kairi once they let their guards down, but before they could go past the point, where there would have been no return from." His voice got quieter at the end and a dark look spread on his face.
How Sora described the end to this story did not sound very realistic. He left out anything about those weird glowing eyes they saw. He did not mention what happened to Rider and the others with him. And most unbelievable, was that this was also the only thing that seemed to make sense considering he was still standing there in front of them. He was, only pretending? Nami thought.
There is no way he was pretending, Robin thought at the same time as her friend. The memory itself faded as he collapsed backwards. He was shot in the head, and, is that why he was relieved? Is that why he was laughing, because the memory cut off? What happened after that? Robin's body started to cover in sweat. He was so against us watching, but what if that was not what he was against us seeing? She recalled his initial look of confusion after she had started questioning him during it.
Sora looked into Robin's eyes, and he got a nervous look on his face. She's way too smart, Sora thought at the expression in Robin's eyes. Still, leaving her in the dark and wondering what it could have been, is better than, Sora's head started turning to the left as he thought, because despite the pitch black world around them, he started to notice that the girls in front of him were looking darker too. Nami and Robin realized it at the same time; there were thin black lines rising up in between each other and giving them all dark tints. They could see each other in this black-tinted world, but they could also start to see other things around them.
Out of nowhere a noise ripped through the void. The noise came in the form of a bloodcurdling screeching voice, "RRROOOOAAAARRRR!"
"Oh come on!" Sora yelled up at the sky.
Nami spun to Sora on her left in confusion, then she turned back forward and leaned away as she heard gunshots going off in the darkness that scream just roared out of. The black tint around them started to get brighter and she could see the white on the ground. Everything was still tinted black, but the winter landscape in front of her finally became recognizable again. She saw Rider firing his gun over and over, and then she realized that he was firing at something right in front of him. She did not notice it at first because she had thought it was just a thicker part of the darkness filling her vision, but this darkness made a shape. "A monster," Nami whispered as it opened its mouth that glowed red on the inside. Its jaw unhinged, it bent backwards, and with wind pulsing out of its body and sending snow flying in all directions, it roared in a voice that made Nami whimper and take a step backwards.
"RRRAAAAA!" This roar was less pure animalistic, but also one full of bloodthirsty rage. Nami blamed it on all those bullets Rider just fired into it, and she started to become smug as she expected to see the man get what he deserved. The monster moved, and Rider was suddenly missing an arm. It stood on Rider's side while Nami blinked in shock at how fast it moved, then she winced as the creature clenched its hand and crushed a man's arm into mush. Then, right as Rider let out an agonized scream, the dark creature jumped up and spun a kick into Rider's head. As it spun and kicked Rider's head clean off, Nami focused in on the creature's own head that became more clear than ever. She stared at its eyes, glowing white, and the dark spikes sticking off the top of its head expelling black tendrils that rose high into the sky.
Nami's breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding harder and faster as she recognized those eyes, recognized that hair. She knew she should have realized it sooner, yet she did not see any similarity for the first few moments of witnessing that dark creature's actions. Nami turned her head to her left and thought she was going to see Sora standing there, either looking at her or staring at this memory in a dark way. She saw neither though. In fact, she saw nothing at all. This made her entire body coat in sweat right as she heard another roar to her other side. Nami jumped in fright and spun around, checking to make sure that Robin was still there.
Robin was there, but her older friend was staring with giant eyes at the scene before them and had yet to notice that their Sora was gone. "Robin," Nami whispered. Then she spun back the other way, her heart racing faster. What am, why am I so afraid? "Sora!" She called out, then she closed her mouth tight and bit down on her bottom lip. I didn't shout that very loud. Why didn't I? "S-Sor-" a body dropped out of the air right in front of Nami and splatted on the floor of the memory world in front of her feet. Mixed with the black color the realm was already dyed, red tinted into it on the shaded memory snow. Nami lowered her gaze to the disfigured and mangled body in front of her and her feet stepped back. Everyone thinks Riku's this, this thing when- stop it! Nami shouted at herself in her head. She opened her mouth to call out for him again, but her hands were shaking at her sides and she was so afraid as she heard that bloodcurdling scream on her right again.
Robin had not looked away once. She had watched in terror as Sora held a dark Keyblade dripping black ooze to call forth something that dragged two men into a dark realm. That void had then vanished after they disappeared, and Robin found her breathing picking up faster than ever. I should look away. She wanted to look away, for Sora's sake, but she could not pry her eyes from the scene in front of her. She was now watching the final man in that group remaining, facing off against the dark form of Sora. The guy had seen his final comrade splat to the floor, and he was pressing a sharp blade into Kairi's neck while the dark creature faced him. "You love this girl right? Then stop what you're doing, and I'll give her back…"
As Robin continued to watch, Nami stared around the realm dyed in black and red, and she finally saw him. She saw a form out in the darkness a good distance away from her and Robin. He was looking their way, but he turned from them when Nami noticed him. Nami flinched as he turned away, and then she let out all of the air in her lungs in one wheezed gasp like someone kicked her in the chest. "We were told it would not bring her back, exactly the same as she was before. But even after finding out about her bloodlust, not once, not once did any of us look at her like you just did." Kirito was right. I'm- I'm still trying to make right what I did back then. Helping Juvia right now, is because I love her and she's my friend, but also because what I did to her was so terrible. She ran! She ran away from me because I… Nami's eyes opened wider and tears spilled out the corners of them as she thought about the first thing she said when the memory started back up and she saw the creature in it, "A monster?" Did I really say that right next to him? Again?! Kirito still hates me for this. And he's right to. "Sora," Nami whispered, ignoring the scene on her right where Sora ripped a man's head off not even a whole year ago. That man's blood splashed up in the air and rained down over the whole dream realm. "Sora," Nami repeated, and she started jogging forward while ignoring the red rain falling on all sides in the illusion.
Robin winced as past Sora crushed the man's head that he pulled off in his hand, then she glanced to her left and saw Nami running off towards Sora who was pretty far away. Huh? She had no idea what they were doing, but as she was about to follow Nami, she spotted memory Kairi on her right side standing up. Robin glanced back and forth, and at this point she figured it was too late. Might as well. She had watched up until now, and she was far too curious a person to let up.
"Sora!" Nami called out. She ran faster as she saw Sora turning away from her. "Hey!" She yelled accusingly, and he froze where he was instead of walking away. He bowed his head, and then Nami picked up speed behind him and threw her arms around his sides, a look of relief on her face that she caught him. Sora disappeared on his own enough already that she knew if she lost him here she would never get this chance and would spend so long regretting it, like she had that week after Pyraxas while she was separated from Juvia. "I'm sorry, I was just surprised."
"What?" Sora asked, turning his head sideways and looking behind him to the woman who kept hugging him despite his confused reaction.
"Those bastards deserved it. You're a total hunk, saving your girl like that." Nami pulled back from Sora while saying that, as it was a kind of weird thing to say while hugging him, though holding his sides from a leaned-in position that pushed out her cleavage looked a lot more flirtatious. Sora glanced down at her body and Nami's face filled with surprise as she thought he was checking her out. It actually made her feel strange because of the perfect couple image she had of Sora and Kairi in her head, and his look was disillusioning it for her, maybe as much as the crazy attempted rape torture bloodbath she just witnessed.
"What are you doing?" Sora asked, and Nami felt relieved as he had apparently only stared at her flirtatious stance in a confused way trying to figure it out.
Her hands moved to his shoulders and she held them tightly while looking straight up into his bright blue eyes. "Sora, you know you're like, the best person in the world, right?" Sora's eyes opened huge, wider than saucers at the sound of that. "And I don't just say that to everyone," Nami continued in a lighter tone, though still serious. "Really. You're the best. Well, I mean Kairi might beat you," she said hesitantly and apologetically. She lost the joking tone again and squeezed his shoulders tighter. "I get why you didn't want us to see that. And I'm really, really, really sorry I reacted that way. If I had known it was you. I mean, I should have known, should have put it together on my own before I opened my big stupid mouth. I just- you didn't need to tell me to close my eyes. I would- you could have- I'm just sorry. I'm sorry that had to happen to you, and I'm sorry you feel like you have to hide it or we'll think you're a monster because you're not! You are, the farthest thing, as far as I'm concerned. So I'm sorry, that if at any time during that I made you feel like you needed to run over here and, just-"
"Wow Nami, I don't think I've ever heard you apologize," Sora said while tilting his head to the side. "But you just said 'sorry' like, a hundred times! Hahaha," he started laughing and Nami's face filled with shock. "That's not how you apologize," he began again in a voice like that of a teacher. He reached his hands out and put them on Nami's shoulders while her grip on his loosened. "One time would have been fine," he told her, and he clapped his hands down on her shoulders while leaning his head forward. He pressed his forehead against hers for a second and finished with closed eyes and a big smile on his face, "And thanks. I'm glad I'm the best."
He dropped his arms right as Nami was dropping hers, then he started back towards where Robin was standing and occasionally glancing their direction. Nami blinked a few times in shock as she stared at where Sora was just standing. That was, so, easy? That was way too easy! He must be faking it just to, no, no that really seemed genuine. Did I do it? Nami spun around, her face lighting up, then she calmed down her expression fast and marched after Sora. "I said you might be the best, but then I remembered Kairi and I mean, now that I think about it it's really no contest."
"Can't take it back," Sora said while putting his hands behind his head. He locked his fingers, then turned his head and pulled his hands apart for a second to make air quotes. "'You're the best,' Nami, five days into the month." He laughed and put his hands back together through his brown hair, but Nami stopped for a second and stared at Sora in surprise. He's been keeping track of the days? I mean… I guess it has only been five, but I had to think about that for a second. I should start keeping count for now on.
Sora and Nami showed back up near Robin at around the same time, right as the memory in front of her began to fade along with the red and black haze in the air. They showed up and Sora opened his mouth to say something, then both he and Nami lowered their bottom lips at the sight of tears dripping out of Robin's eyes. That was so, beautiful. Robin wiped her eyes fast then turned her head, only to stare in surprise at the two she thought were still farther away. She quickly tried to recover her composure, only to hear Kairi's voice in her head, "You saved me from the darkness once. Now I'm going to save you!" Robin pursed her lips and then smiled so warmly at the boy in front of her whose memory she had witnessed until the end.
"What's up?" Sora asked her, as it seemed like Robin had something she wanted to say to him.
Nami looked around and wondered what was going on. The realm was completely black again, but the memory was over and this time it seemed for good by the way Sora was acting. Saruman was not showing back up though, and she did not like this one bit.
Robin took a step towards Sora, then she paused and shook her head as she realized what she was doing. Then, she smiled and ignored that urge to keep up her usual composed nature in front of her friends, instead reaching forward and putting a hand on Sora's right shoulder. "You," she began. She stopped and closed her mouth. Robin could not think of the words to say, so instead she stepped forward and gave Sora a hug. The hug was brief and Robin pulled back afterwards, while Nami stared slack-jawed at her older friend, and even Sora had a confused and wide-eyed expression on his face. "You deserved a hug," Robin said, though she was already feeling odd having just done that.
"Thanks," Sora said, returning to his usual friendly expression. "Didn't think you were the hugging type," he mentioned with a laugh, explaining why he had looked surprised which to Robin sounded like he was just trying to make her feel less awkward. That only made her smile more though, even as it worked in its intended effect. Sora clapped his hands together, then he laughed and said, "Alright, so who wants to play a game?" Robin and Nami lost their small smiles and started gaining confused looks as to what he was talking about. "It's called the time game. We all guess how long it will take for Timmy to show up. I bet, five seconds. How about you two?"
"Huh?" Nami asked.
"I guess," Robin began, but she was too late, because Sora vanished from in front of her and Nami. "I believe he chea-" Robin vanished as well from Nami's right side. Then Nami let out a loud laugh right before vanishing herself, because her eyes opened in the real world.
A/N Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you don't remember this flashback that Nami and Robin see here for the first time, it was back before the Battle of Metropolis when Sora and Kairi explained it to Riku. I actually wrote this chapter called "Saruman" years ago. I had it before I knew the structure of the month-gap, or where Sora, Nami, and Robin would be in their own timelines and adventures. It was like an idea I had and just decided to roll with at the time, then I workshopped the chapter and the arcs around it in order to fit the scene in. Saruman being in the Magic Kingdom made sense. Sora was on his way southwest in Android territory on the way to the Tower of Babel, which meant he would be passing through the Magic Kingdom around now too. This chapter is pretty important to Nami, Sora, and Robin's character arcs in this second Saga of Nexus. Nami and Sora's it's more obvious than Robin's, though you'll understand why it matters to Robin's arc by the end of Chapter 22... ;). No need for a list this chapter, though I'll mention that Saruman is from the Lord of the Rings, and Rider is actually Baron Reiter from the tv show Arrow. Back when I initially wrote him in years ago, I guess I didn't look him up to realize that his name wasn't spelled "Rider," but since I've already included it that way, I'm not going to adjust the spelling now. He was a bad guy in Arrow's Season 4. Alright. Think that's everything for today! It's getting late and I'm sitting in my grad school office in an empty building because I've been busy editing this for the past few hours. I'll write some review responses below, then I'll hopefully get another chapter out soon!
Smlluffy67 chapter 144 . Aug 26
welp at least asta and Noelle and charmy and Secre could still be alive and some more good news amity and luz are alive and a couple yay now if amphibia is on nexas and all the main characters are still some how alive I will be happylet me dreamalso meguminis here which means poor kazuma is somewhere on nexas also marco is alive but a slug wonder how that happened good chapter also I have a theory/question about sora but I will save it for the next chapter he is in
ALSO megumin HAS THE MIND STONE I HOPE NOTHING BAD HAPPENS FROM THAT.
also isn't it possible for nobody's to grow there own hearts with enough time pretty sure xemnes said that in dream drop or maybe xemnes hasn't told anyone that and the nobody's think that merging with there somebody's is the only way
Yeah I left it intentionally vague about some of the characters. Either I have some ideas for what to do with them, or I don't yet have ideas but don't want to kill them off either in case I come up with ideas. Glad you recognized a lot of the new characters the main cast bumped into last chapter. If you have a theory/question about Sora I guess now's the time to ask then! Showed up sooner than usual with his start of the full chapter parts! Megumin has the mind stone XD, thought that would be pretty funny. And I think you're right about Nobody hearts, but I doubt Xemnas would tell all the others about it when it helps keep their motivation up to be hunting for their own hearts. Thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.
Limit-Breaking chapter 144 . Aug 26
MAn lots of crazy stuff, Castiel doubting sora was kinda sad especially after he saved them from the ant king, you hate to see it lol.
Even sora was dealing with to many issues with regards to wasting time or trying to deal with many things at once.
Also that's so interesting, ashura rebelling against 17, sounds like a great setup for something fun. I would love to see that confrontation in some way or another.
Hopefully the ant king doesn't do it, he would end that way too soon. But than again it's probably only a matter of time until it falls, especially if your surrounded by the enemy.
Also damn juvia is really getting angry it's like she's on her period 24/7, hopefully she can helped In some way cause boy she needs it.
Also kinda sad the resistance mentions Goku alot but it is understandable since they are desperate, and really want the help.
when your dealing with so many issues in a deadly land like aebirth it's understandable in wanting someone to come help or to make a difference. I just can't help but feel sad for them since they really are struggling alot and are losing a lot of comrades.
Honestly I wonder where it will go from here and how will the group meet up go after a month passes. Will some have become stronger and what other ways will they go about it.
There certainly is alot of despair in this land so hopefully something positive impactful happens for all of them.
Either way great stuff as always and I look forward to the next chapter.
Sora and Castiel's fight is def a tough one, especially for the two of them. You can tell through the fight that neither really wants to be having it. Sora continues that struggle this time when he sees the memories of Kairi and just wishes he could go save her already. We'll see about Asura in the future... at some point. No spoilers about what will happen until then. The goal of this chapter is to get that help for Juvia, so we'll see if they succeed or not. Thanks for the long review, and yep we'll see how the group meets back up and who may have gotten stronger by that time... Lots going on though in the meantime. It's a despair-filled continent, but this chapter reminds that Awul wasn't some paradise either. Glad you enjoyed the recent updates, and hope you liked the new one too!
Espada-001 chapter 144 . Aug 26
I'm sorry about any stuff I might have spoiled for you.
Now that we are getting to the capital of magic there so many powerful magic characters I would love to see make an appearance!
Märchen Awakens Romance Omega
Märchen Awakens Romance
UQ Holder
Negima! Magister Negi Magi
I wonder who sold Megumin the "Mind Stone" of all things! It doesn't even fall under her field of magic! Although I guess either way it would still work as a great battery/focus for her magic.
Right now I'm wondering how desperately the salesman was trying to sell one of the most powerful items on Nexus. Because that's probably a good indicator to how far off a certain purple titan is.
Well I'll be looking forward to reading your next chapter as always! Until then I hope you have a good day!
It's all good. I did well noticing spoilers in what I was reading and managed to skip sentences to avoid it. Unfortunately... I don't recognize any of those properties. I looked them up but haven't seen them and don't know enough that I doubt those are going to appear in here. MAR seems cool and I might try watching a few episodes of that tonight. Actually, I think I will. :) Thanks for that. Haha, as for who sold Megumin the mind stone we may never know (because I don't lol). I imagined the mind stone in Loki's scepter and that seemed to focus his power, so like that. Happy it got you excited to see, and hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Thanks for the review. And as always, thanks everyone for reading, faving, following, and reviewing to this story. 'Til next time!