#confused!! whats an organization xiii??? huh??? whats a nobody???? HUH????

[silverselfshippingchaos]

ash and a.qua, as told by pokemon since I was digging up some old writing about them

[cybercore-creations]

To Love without a heart

"Axel, you infuriate me. Your recklessness, your defiance… they challenge everything I've come to accept. You make me question everything I've been."

Cw: None

In the twilight-hued corridors of The Castle That Never Was, tension was thick between two members of Organization XIII. Saix strode down the dimly lit hallway, his icy blue eyes narrowed in frustration. Axel leaned against a wall, a scowl etched on his face as he crossed his arms. The two Nobodies had been engaged in a heated argument that seemed to have no end in sight.

"You just don't get it, do you, Axel?" Saix's voice carried a sharp edge, his emotions seeping through the façade of stoicism he usually wore like armor.

Axel scoffed, pushing himself off the wall and stepping closer to Saix. "No, I get it just fine. You're all about following orders, no matter how ridiculous they are."

Saix's nostrils flared, a flash of anger momentarily replacing his usually controlled demeanor. "Unlike you, I don't let my personal feelings interfere with my duty."

"Oh, really?" Axel's voice dripped with sarcasm. "And what about that one time you let Xion escape, huh? That seemed pretty personal to me."

Saix's hands clenched into fists at his sides, his knuckles turning white. "You know nothing about that situation, Axel. It was more complicated than you could ever understand."

Axel took a step forward, his face inches from Saix's. "And what's so complicated about you always following Xemnas' orders without question?"

The tension in the air was palpable, the animosity between the two Nobodies reaching its breaking point. But in the midst of the anger and frustration, something unexpected happened. Saix's icy blue eyes softened, a conflicted emotion flickering within them. He hesitated, his breath catching for a moment before he spoke again, his voice quieter, tinged with vulnerability. "You think it's easy for me? To always follow orders, to suppress my own desires?"

Axel's brow furrowed in confusion, the fiery rage in his eyes giving way to surprise. "What are you talking about?"

Saix's gaze dropped for a moment, his hands relaxing from their clenched position. When he looked up again, his eyes held a mixture of trepidation and sincerity. "Axel, you infuriate me. Your recklessness, your defiance… they challenge everything I've come to accept. You make me question everything I've been."

Axel's expression softened, a glimmer of understanding replacing his anger. "Saix…"

Saix took a deep breath, his shoulders tensing as he bared his emotions, something he had never allowed himself to do before. "I've always followed orders, Axel. Always followed Xemnas' vision without hesitation. But then you came along, and suddenly there's this part of me that wants to break free from those chains."

Axel's gaze held a mixture of surprise and empathy. "Saix, I didn't know…"

Saix shook his head, his silver hair falling slightly over his forehead. "Of course, you didn't. I've kept these feelings buried for so long."

The confession hung in the air, the corridor suddenly feeling smaller as the weight of Saix's words settled between them. Axel's eyes widened, his surprise evident, but he didn't react with his usual sarcasm. Instead, he took a step closer, his expression shifting to something more genuine. "Saix, I… I didn't expect that."

Saix's breath caught, uncertainty clouding his eyes. "I know it's complicated. I know we're Nobodies, emotions and all that. But I can't ignore what I feel."

Axel's lips twitched into a small, thoughtful smile. "You know, you could've just bought me sea-salt ice cream like a regular guy."

Despite the tension, a flicker of amusement danced in Saix's eyes. "I thought I'd try something a little more dramatic."

Axel chuckled, and for a moment, the weight of their argument seemed to fade. "You definitely succeeded on that front."

Saix let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, a small smile gracing his lips. "So, where do we go from here, Axel?"

Axel's smile grew warmer as he reached out and placed a hand on Saix's arm. "How about we start by not arguing all the time?"

Saix nodded, his gaze locked with Axel's. "That sounds like a good place to start."

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Legend of Hana Part 54

Warnings: More angst

Rating: SFW

At the World That Never Was, Axel was walking down the streets toward the castle and Pluto the dog was following him. Pluto walked down an alley, expecting to find Axel but he wasn’t there. Suddenly a dark corridor opened up and Pluto rushed into it, knowing that it was Riku. 

                                                         ☽✧☽✧

Axel had arrived at the castle and walked up the many stairs to the laundry room. 

“No one is here yet...” he said. He looked in the laundry room and found a brand new jacket to replace his ripped one. “Even though I don’t know who it belongs to, I’ll just take it.” 

He put it on and it fit perfectly. 

“Okay. The size after applying heat to it just fits,” he said. He spotted something in the corner of the room and found a camera pointing in his direction. 

“Don’t tell me this is a closed-circuit camera? This place has become an uncomfortable one to live in,” he said. “Oh, is it because of me?” 

The washing machine blew up and the alarms sounded. He panicked and rushed out of the room. 

The camera at 15-7L has received damage. Unfortunately there is an unknown trespasser. Please reinforce the security nearby. 

“Even this old home has these things, and the response is so fast,” Axel said as he ran away. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a group of Nobodies surrounding him. He summoned his chakrams and fought his way through them and made his escape. 

                                                         ☽✧☽✧

In Where Nothing Gathers, Organization XIII and Anti-Roxy were discussing what had happened. 

“My spare clothes went missing!” Demyx said, making Anti-Roxy laugh.

“I say, Axel’s lucky that he didn’t take Xaldin’s clothes instead,” she said. 

“The situation with Axel...shall I take care of it?” Saïx asked. “I know what his next move is.” 

“Okay,” Xemnas said. “I’ll leave this to you, Saïx.” 

                                                         ☽✧☽✧

On the beach of Destiny Islands, Kairi looked at the water, thinking about Sora and of he was okay. 

“Sora. I’m waiting for your reply...still waiting...” she said as the soft waves crashed against the beach. “I...cannot just always wait like this.” 

“You’re right,” someone said. Kairi looked over to see Axel walk out of a dark corridor. “If you’ve got a dream, don’t wait. It’s one of life’s little rules. Got it memorized?” 

“...Who are you?” Kairi asked. 

“I’m Axel. Someone who Sora trusts, Kairi.” Axel held out his hand for her to take and a group of Dusks surrounded Kairi to make sure she didn’t escape. “Return to Sora’s side. We’re quite alike in a way or another. Both of us want to meet an important friend.” 

Kairi fought her way through the Dusks and made her escape, not making Axel happy. 

“Okay? Aren’t they just like friends?” he asked. 

“Friends...?! Friends won’t do this kind of thing!” Kairi said. 

“This kind of thing? Have you mistaken something? Don’t be afraid, they aren’t bad guys. Just that sometimes they might forget things.” Suddenly, Pluto pinned Axel to the ground and nother dark corridor opened behind Kairi. 

“Yikes! What is this?” she asked. Pluto barked and ran inside the corridor. “Eh, do I go in there too? Wait for me.” 

Before she left, she made a funny face at Axel and entered the corridor. She and Pluto walked through the corridor and before Kairi exited it, she spotted a person in a black cloak.

Riku...?

Kairi arrived at the mansion in Twilight Town where Hayner, Pence, and Olette huddled around her. Chia and Nightmare woke Kairi up by giving her multiple kisses. She woke up to see the triplets and was confused. 

“Are you okay?” Hayner asked. Pluto ran over to Kairi and gave her a few kisses. 

“...Huh...where am I?” 

“You’re in our house. I’m Olette.” 

“I’m Pence and this is...” 

“Hayner. Uwah! Stop, that tickles!” Hayner giggled as Pluto was giving him kisses. Chia climbed into Kairi’s lap and she smiled. 

“And who are you?” she asked. 

“This is Chia. She belongs to our sister,” Olette said. 

“And this big guy here is Nightmare. Our guard dog,” Pence said as he gave Nightmare some well deserved belly rubs. 

“My name is Kairi. And I’m looking for my friends.” 

                                                         ☽✧☽✧

Yui stood on her balcony, looking at Kingdom Hearts and thought about the times she ran into Riku. She wanted to deny her feelings for him but found that she couldn’t. Even from that kiss to set her free from Junko, she couldn’t deny her feelings. She sensed someone behind her and found Anti-Roxy walk up to her.

“What do you want?” Yui asked. 

“A little bird told me that you got saved by a kiss. Honestly, it’s so pathetic,” Anti-Roxy said.

“So? Naminé would’ve done the same for you.” 

“Oh please. We’re half Nobodies. We shouldn’t be feeling anything.” 

“I know you don’t mean that. C’mon Roxy. Please fight against the despair that’s controlling you and help me save dad before it’s too late. Think about Naminé.” Roxy summoned her pistoleer and aimed it at Yui. 

“Like I said, we shouldn’t be feeling anything,” Roxy said. Yui snapped and summoned her own pistoleer.

“WE MAY BE TWINS BUT YOU’RE NOT ME! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’VE BEEN FEELING!” she shouted and charged at Roxy. The twins fought with such vigor. Bullets flying everywhere, tears falling down Yui’s face, and Roxy trying to bring Yui back into despair. Yui realized that if she continued fighting Roxy, then she’ll end up back in despair. She backed away and ran for the door but Roxy said something that stung. Stung bad. 

“Are you seriously leaving your sister like this? After all we’ve been through?” she asked. 

“If you’re gonna be like this, then I’m not sure I want you as my sister,” Yui said. Hearing those words leave her mouth, made Roxy question if she’s truly herself or not. Yui rushed out of the room and out of the castle, sobbing. She ran and she ran until she bumped into someone. Someone that she never thought she’d see.

“Riku...” 

[xae-in-a-coat]

Xaje(Z-Age): The Poetic Murderer

Yours truly made a Kingdom Hearts/Organization XIII Sona recently & finally decided to post about him here due to the fact that he somehow managed to develop an everlasting fear of people stealing his hard earned brain-work over night. Anyway, just take these small scrap doodles & angst ridden quotes I created earlier. None of this really counts as attention-worthy in my eyes, believe me, I am well aware of the fact at this point, but it’s solely for the sake of me not losing my mind over the possibility of my ideas being stolen anytime soon(plus, truth be told, I’ve actually grown quite fond of this miniscule scheme we artists call “character design”). Now, where were we? Ah yes, my quotes & in-game dialogue:

“Shadows can’t appear without light nor can stars shine without the darkness. In conclusion, our worlds require both one & the other in order to exist within a state of tranquil harmony. Perhaps we should start encountering that terribly desirable goal by changing your uneducated perspective.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“You blinded light dwellers would never understand, you believe that the world is filled with happiness & success, that even in the darkest of times there’ll always be that last sliver of hope worth holding onto, that all of your feeblest dreams will one day come true. Well you’re wrong. The world is nothing more than darkness in itself, and we’re living proof of that. Us Nobodies were once like you, foolish, ignorant, weak, we clung to those same beliefs that you now spout and look where it’s landed us. An endless, inescapable abyss of nothingness in which we gather & begrudgingly call a home. Welcome to The Castle That Never Was.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“Do I cause you to question the English language itself? Good. Confusion is the mind’s greatest weakness after all. Along with curiosity of course, but I’ll gladly settle for either of the two.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“Allow me to put a quick end to this poorly written story of yours. It’s plot is becoming terselessly bland & ever so flavorless, these pages could endanger the less prepared minds of vain readers, & besides, not even the characters seem to know what they’re doing anymore.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“Thank you, but no. I prefer to eat in private. Being here amongst the presence of all your beautiful faces is causing me to feel deeply self loathsome, or for the less educated, gross.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“Yeah, I study gems. Nothing crazy though, mainly just a load of Google searches & me being pretentious, heh. Anyway, what was that really cool thing you were doing with that giant key just now?”

-𝙹𝚊𝚎

“I’m a poet, just living out my life & writing my own stories I guess. Not like anyone else would bother reading them anyway.”

-𝙹𝚊𝚎

“Hey uh- Is that a pen? Cause I kinda need one right now. Crazy bunch of ideas just flooded my pea sized brain. Wouldn’t wanna forget them right? A mind-full of words now could turn into a completely full fledged story later, who knows.”

-𝙹𝚊𝚎

“Blueberries, literature, & dreams. These are the few things I’ve stayed alive for. Yup, fourteen years of being a hopeless idiot & disappointing everyone I come by.”

-𝙹𝚊𝚎

“But why do we hate darkness even though we’re literally surrounded by it every night!? I thought you Keyblade idiots knew better, I thought you were better! Heh, guess I was wrong… Note to self: Never put your trust in anybody EVER AGAIN! BECAUSE THIS UNIVERSE IS NOTHING MORE THAN A FILTHY BREEDING POT FULL OF EVEN FILTHIER BACKSTABBERS!-”

-𝙹𝚊𝚎

“Unfortunately enough, it seems that I’ve run out of stories to tell… Heh, I should’ve realized this moment was going to come for me sooner or later. A writer’s charm only lasts so long before it fades, just as a pen will eventually run out of ink, or an uncharted idea will eventually be forgotten. Yet again, that bothersome light you use to fight us is no different when compared to those few simpleminded examples. Expiable, inconsistent, just like the hearts you so proudly hold.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“Why must inspiration always come to me at the worst of times?- Ugh, I suppose that new writing prompt of mine will just have to wait for later, you on the other hand, shall be dealt with now.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“Your specialty should be renewed into a weapon of some sort. Coming naturally to you in times of need, refined, retrained, & unlike what it was before. Here, take my trusty Fountain Pen for example: From normal size to weaponized! It’s quite fun actually, not that I have a heart to garner the enjoyment of course, but still, one cannot deny when one has alas discovered the thing they endearingly call ‘a hobby.’”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

“The beings I once called ‘family’ were nothing more than burdensome unaccepting hate speakers, & surely enough, they still are. It was because of them that I ended my miserable self & landed here, fractured, incomplete, but more relieved than I can ever recall being whilst I still garnered a heart from within. Yes yes, it may not be the most apparent thing to you newcomers, but being a Nobody has its perks, especially if you willingly chose to be one.”

-𝚇𝚊𝚓𝚎

Now for an unanimated cutscene of two characters conversing through the unprofessional script put together by yours truly:

Xaje: We’re nothing more than a stain on the pristinely white pages of your world, an unwanted drop of ink that was never meant to exist in the first place, a thing you unaccepting light dwellers would call ‘a mistake.’ Still we roam freely, collecting the negative reputation you’ve forcefully written us to have. Ever spreading, ever growing, never stopping till we’ve met our untimely ends. Perhaps you & I aren’t so different after all, P/N.

Protagonist: Shut it, I’m nothing like you!

Xaje: Hm, don’t be so foolish light dweller, our respective roles as heroes & well… Antiheroes, will always set us apart of course, but in the end we both want what’s best for this dreaded empire, don’t we? deny it not any further P/N, we’re one in the same, you’re simply far too blinded by the light to see truth when it’s clearly there. Well, if I can’t persuade you now, perhaps I’ll try again another time, good day.

Protagonist: Huh?! Hey, come back! QUIT RUNNING AWAY FROM ME YOU COWARD!

Xaje: You see what I mean, foolish, ignorant, weak. Are baseless insults & vile acts of bullying really your only powers? Tsk tsk tsk, how very sad indeed.

Protagonist: SHUT UP!

Xaje: Till we meet again dearest light dweller, be sure to keep that precious little heart of yours safe whilst we’re apart, won’t you? I find that it can be quite fragile at times.

Protagonist: I SAID BE QUIET!- Aaannnd he’s gone… AGAIN!

-𝙵𝚒𝚗

Progress shots:

[hawkinsindiana]

i should go

ALMOST PARADISE: PART TWO - CHAPTER FOURTEEN OF FIFTEEN

pairing: steve harrington x henderson!reader

word count: 2.5k

a/n: these are scary and confusing times. so here ya go. i hope everyone’s staying safe and healthy, i love you all <3

masterlist

You don’t know why you thought things were going to get better. You should’ve known better; you’ve never been able to catch a break, even before all of this happened.

The dreams have been getting worse, and more frequent; now, they’re about the kids too. You’ll be back in those tunnels, the ones crawling with vines, and their voices will bounce against the walls. They’re calling out, desperately crying for you to help them, but they’re never found. 

It feels like you run in circles for hours on end, throat going hoarse from screaming their names until you wake, pebbles of sweat dripping from your brow and body frozen in terror. 

Those seem to scare you more - the ones about them. Because it’s your duty to protect them, and you’ve come so close to failing so many times. 

Those ones never let you sleep; you’re left to lie there until morning, fear bubbling inside that something’s happened while you were asleep, thinking they’re gone now and there’s nothing you could’ve done.

Your brother hears it every time. When your careful footsteps approach his door at those ungodly hours, and the door creaks open just a touch so you can quiet your restless mind; Dustin’s always there, safe and sound underneath the sheets, Tews tucked against his feet.

You’ve done that six times now - he figures he should ask what that’s about. Maybe he’ll bring it up to Steve, see if the older boy knows anything. 

But with the town buzzing with holiday cheer, they’ve barely seen you around. Extra shifts at Radio Shack have filled your schedule as the people of Hawkins flock downtown for gifts, especially now that Bob’s no longer there for his usual hours. 

Dustin thinks you should take a break while you’re off from school. He can tell that it’s exhausting when you come home and don’t have the energy to return Steve’s call, but you always have the same answer:

“I need to keep myself busy anyways.”

And Steve - he understands the circumstances. But that doesn’t make it hurt less when Dustin has to deflect and apologize on your behalf.

God, you hope it’s not too much on him-

Your mother snaps you from your trance, tapping the phone against your arm before placing it in your hand, “It’s for you.”

You hadn’t even heard it ring. You don’t know how long you’ve been standing here, shoulder pressed to the wall and eyes focused on the evening news.

You answer it with a sigh, “Yeah?” A perky voice flows easily through the receiver, unfazed by your delivery.

“Hey, it’s Stacy, from the dance committee? We’ve got an emergency over here.”

Mike and Lucas thought it might be a good idea for you to help organize and plan the Snow Ball. Since the group of middle schoolers would be attending this year, they wanted your help to ensure that it was the best one thrown yet. You weren’t so keen on the idea, until you remembered how lame it was a few years back when you went.

“I don’t have to come down there, do I? I thought we took care of everything last night.”

The girl nervously laughs on the other end; you can hear the music from the gym echoing in the room. It almost makes it hard to listen.

“Turns out we need three more bottles of soda. Simon only got five. Since you’re the only one with a car-”

“Yeah, of course,” You interrupt, “I’ll grab some and bring it over. Be there in a jif.”

After ending the call, you grab your cash off the counter on your way to the bathroom. 

“Hey Dustin, I gotta bolt. Can you find-” 

You’re greeted with the sight of your brother, putting the finishing touches on his look for the night - a can of Farrah Fawcett hairspray in one hand. You can’t help the laugh that bursts from you. 

“What, Mom buy you that?”

His head snaps to you in an instant, cheeks turning bright red as you lean your weight against the doorframe. The product’s out of sight immediately afterwards, quickly shoved behind his back, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Dustin swallows harshly at your squinting eyes, arms folding over your chest as you study him. You decide not to ask.

“Uh huh.”

A few tense, silent moments pass as he waits for you to comment further; he hates that smirk on your face, “Did you, uh, need something?”

You clear your throat, shifting on your feet before replying, “Yeah I gotta get to the school now, can you find another ride? Maybe Mrs. Wheeler can come take you?”

Dustin’s expression grows confused, “What are you talking about? I already have a ride.”

Your brow raises in surprise, “You do.”

He shrugs, “Yeah, Steve’s takin’ me.”

And then it clicks; your grin grows. 

“Oh… okay. I’ll see you afterwards then,” You go to grab the door on your way out, but not before adding something else with a wink.

“Don’t worry,” You say, “I won’t tell anyone. And keep this open a touch, yeah? I’d hate for you to suffocate on the fumes.”

—

The gym’s loud and filled with prepubescent teenagers. You can’t wait to get out of here, back to the comforting security of your home.

That feeling intensifies when you lock eyes with who’s standing behind the punch bowl; you already feel yourself retracting inwards before a conversation even begins.

“I didn’t realize you were coming tonight,” Nancy speaks first, letting a small smile spread over her face as you approach the beverage station. 

She seems so much lighter, so much happier since you last saw her. You’re glad that she’s been able to finally move on, even if it is at Steve’s expense. Nobody deserves to be trapped in a relationship they don’t want to be in; you can’t blame her for that. You just wish it hadn’t happened the way it did.

“Oh, I’m not,” You answer, gesturing to the liters of soda you carry in your arms; they’ve started to grow tired from the weight, “I’m just dropping these off.”

Nancy’s expression drops a touch as you place the bottles on the bleachers behind her, “I figured you’d be bringing your brother.”

You brush the condensation off onto your jeans, “No, uh, Steve did that already.”

Confusion is evident as she grows speechless, turning back to face you; the expression she has on her face is enough to explain her emotions - that doesn’t seem like something he’d do.

You laugh at her, “Yeah, I know. Trust me, no one’s more shocked than I am.”

Nancy shakes her head in awe as your back straightens, and she chews on her lip as she debates bringing it up. She decides to.

“Remember when we came to this thing?”

Your eyes move to see her, leaning back against the table, knuckles turning white as she grips the edge. A scoff escapes your mouth as you nod, “How could I forget? Jimmy Hawthorne spilled punch all over my dress twenty minutes in.”

Nancy laughs at the memory, remembering the priceless look on his face as you threatened him, right in the middle of the dance floor, “God, it took my mom all night to get that stain out.”

The silence between you that follows her comment isn’t… uncomfortable. If anything, it’s another step in the right direction. But you still chose to retreat; it’s almost too much, seeing her look at you like that again.

“I guess I’ll see you around, Nance,” You mutter before moving past her, jingling the car keys in between your fingers. All she musters back in response is a wave as she’s swarmed by an incoming gaggle of girls.

The cold air invigorates you as you exit the school building; you don’t know how much longer you could’ve been cooped up in there, surrounded by all the memories. And as you’re making your way to your mother’s car, that’s when you spot him.

“What the hell are you doin’ here?” You raise your voice while you approach, arms crossing over your chest. Steve’s attention is brought up to see you, walking across the parking lot, a lazy smile growing over your rosy cheeks.

“I could ask you the same thing, Henderson,” The corner of Steve’s mouth quirks up as your brow raises at his response, “I asked you first.”

He sighs before running the hem of his sweater between his fingers, “Oh, I figured I should stick around just in case. You never know...”

You snort lightly after Steve allows his sentence to trail off, “Jesus, you’re starting to sound like me. I’m supposed to be the protective one.”

“There are worse things to be,” Steve’s focus is gentle as he watches you come to his side; he’s appreciating every single little detail about this moment. 

The snow is just right - there’s enough of it to create a picturesque scene around you. The muffled love ballads that echo from the school make him feel warm in his chest - he thinks about you when he hears them. The streetlights illuminate your face enough for him to notice when the bridge of your nose scrunches at his words, “Aw, I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“The kids,” You nudge Steve before your gaze drifts to him; your heart skips when you catch him already peering your way, “They’re making you soft, Steven.”

Steve’s grin spreads wider as your laugh fills the space between, rolling his eyes as he falsely acts annoyed by your observation, “Great, just what I need.”

“Oh, also,” Your tone makes him meet your mischievous look, and it ignites a bit of anxiety in him, “Farrah Fawcett, really? You thought I wouldn’t figure that one out?”

Steve grows shocked by your deduction in record time, further spurring on your joy; it almost counter-balances his embarrassment.

“Relax, your secret’s safe with me,” You say, and Steve just shakes his head, “You and your brother are so dead if anyone finds out.”

You bring your fingers to your lips, faking to lock them before throwing the invisible key over your shoulder. And then it hits him - he hasn’t seen you since that night, after the funeral. That night where you almost kissed him.

”Why aren’t you in your car?” 

Your words catch him off guard, and he simply shrugs in response, “The snow’s nice, dontcha think?”

“I guess, but Christ, aren’t you cold?” You ask Steve as you shiver and pull your hooded sweatshirt tighter against your frame. 

He inhales before going to answer, but he decides that his words aren’t enough. His arm gets extended outwards before he gestures for you to move closer, “Come on, get over here.”

You feel your heart beat in your throat as a misty breath expels itself from you and into the night sky. It’s almost like the air gets thicker the closer you get to Steve, but you can’t stop yourself from tucking your body into his side. 

His arm drapes heavily over your shoulder as soon as you’ve settled, and you decide to pull him closer with the limb that would’ve gotten trapped between you. Steve emits a light laugh at the feeling of your arm wrapping around his middle, tugging him in further; you both relish in the heat that emanates from the other.

A few silent moments pass - neither of you has the courage to comment, even though both of your minds are running wild with what to say. 

Steve shifts beside you, adjusting his feet against the parking lot pavement. The action prompts you to spin your focus in his direction and you freeze as he does the same - his eyes landing on your gentle expression.

Seeing Steve look at you like that makes you feel like you’re floating - the admiration in his eyes is enough to silence any doubts you had about… well, whatever this is. Your heart thuds against your ribs when he somehow inches even closer and you tighten your hold on him after he does so, hand curling around the material of his sweater. 

You want to pull your gaze away from him, because fuck it’s getting to be too much; the way he feels by you side, the way you slid into him to protect yourself from the chilly December evening, the way that neither of you can find any words to describe how you’re feeling.

But then it clicks inside your brains. And maybe, you think, nothing needs to be said at all.

You lean in first, and it doesn’t take Steve much longer to react and do the same. He grows surprised when you pause, mere millimeters away from meeting your lips, brow creasing as your nose brushes his.

Even though you’ve been craving this very moment for about a year, you can’t shake the thought that hovers like a cloud over your psyche. This changes everything. There’s no going back if you continue down this road - it almost makes you afraid, no matter how much you’ve wanted things to be different.

It dissipates quickly, as Steve doesn’t give you much time to ponder; he takes the leap. His lips are pressed to yours. And it’s just like the first time you fell for him - every doubt you’ve ever had about Steve vanishes instantly. 

The kiss is so soft and so filled with emotion that you feel like you could cry. His presence is overwhelming your senses and you melt against his palm that slides up your jaw, past where the bruises faded. 

You can’t process when your fingers begin to card through his hair, pulling him closer to you because you’re desperate to let him feel everything that’s been churning inside for over a year. You’re still so in love with him that when he finally pulls away, you feel like he took a piece of you with him.

The music starts to fade and your little bubble along with it; you struggle to find something to say. 

You don’t know how long you’ve waited to be able to do that. None of your daydreams could have ever compared to this; you’re almost lost in the moment. All of that heartache, all of that pain - it’s finally been released.

Neither of you knows what to do.

But then Steve clears his throat, his thoughts jumbled inside his head because holy shit - he wasn’t expecting it to feel like that. 

The silence afterwards is deafening. Your breaths fan against the other’s rose tinted cheeks, still barely inches apart. 

“I should uh,” You mutter, fingers trailing down his arms, slowly pulling yourself away from his warmth. You’re suddenly overwhelmed with far too many emotions, all of which you can’t even begin to decipher while standing here in front of him. 

Steve grips your hands in his as you lean back; he knows what you’re going to say, but God, he wishes that you didn’t have to.

“I should go,” You finish. It shatters his heart a bit to hear you say it, but he only nods. 

“Yeah,” He manages, “I’m sure your mom wants you back.”

You swallow harshly before your touch leaves him completely. Steve can still feel where your fingers were pressed on his palms - it lingers as you turn to leave, and begin your walk to your car.

—

taglist: @stevebabey / @mrs-skywalker / @hannarudick / @crazycookiecrumbles / @hellisateenageheather / @alewifex / @l0ve-0f-my-life / @naomiiiiiiiiiii04 / @daddystevee / @thecaptainsgingersnap / @let-the-imaginationflow / @asianravenpuff / @im-a-stranger-thing​ / @mikariell95​ / @pilunb​ / @harringtherin​ / @royalestrellas​ / @ultrunning​ / @buggs177 / @poutfull​ / @yoheyyosup​ / @duchessdaisybat​ / @janieavalos / @sassisaluxury​ / @beththebubbly​ / @i-bitch-you-bitch​ / @captainstilinskis​ / @juliebean247​ / @im-nada / @whatabeautifulsurrender​ / @rexorangecouny​ / @pass-me-jeez-it / @ahoy-scoops-troop / @halefirewarrior​ / @jointhehunt67 / @wallacetdog​ / @ketchuplukehemmo​ / @m-a-r-i-n-t-p / @fangirl485 / @emmegirl827 / @lookalivesunshine-x​ / @elite4cekalyma​ / @marjoherbo​ / @just-my-fandom / @idumpyourgrass​ / @alafolieee​ / @mochminnie​ / @phantomalchemist​ / @dustyblueboo​ / @alonewolfsblog​ / @ggclarissa​ / @hufflepuffing-all-day-long​ / @bippityboppitybabe​

if you wanna be added to the taglist, just lemme know!

[bigdrchief]

Comet’s Melody (Kingdom Hearts/Ducktales)

Idea popped up in my head, needed to write it down.

Roxas sighed as he tasted the ice cream, the salty flavor failing to uplift his feelings.

He was preparing for a new mission for Organization XIII, this time to Agrabah to plant some sort of device. However, he managed to get some time to himself by claiming that he was coming to Twilight Town to “train”.

In reality, he was contemplating on whether or not he should leave the organization.

The idea seemed far-fetched at first: they were the closest he had to a family, especially with his friends Axel and Xion. However, the lack of information being told, combined with the unclear motives behind Xion, was beginning to get to him.

Was there a point working for the organization anymore? It feels more like a prison than a place he could live in now…

Roxas sighed, feeling ‘discontent’ about not telling Axel or Xion about his “training”, but this was something he needed to think about for himself.

As he sat at the clock tower, contemplating his choices, he noticed a shooting star in the distance.

Huh, he thought to himself. Didn’t think stars would fall in the daytime… I think somebody once said that you could make wishes on them… If so, then I wish for a sign on what to do, something to show why I’m here, why I’m so special to the Organization...

He closed his eyes and prayed, and he opened them to find the star slowly heading to the forest. Eyes wide he quickly stands up and watches as the star lands near the old manor on the outskirts of Twilight Town…

...The same place that he had woken up before, at least he had the feeling that was where the Organization had found him.

“What the heck…?”

Questions surged through his mind as he tried to figure out what had just happened. WIth nothing better to do, he decided to go investigate the ‘star’.

At least he’ll be able to take his mind off the Organization for a while…

Getting there was easy, as having to run around all across various places helped with improving his stamina. Passing by various flyers and posters, he managed to reach the entrance of the woods and quickly entered it.

As he moved throughout the forest, there was the occasional Heartless grazing around, but he was able to quickly take care of any that attacked him with his Oathkeeper.

After a while, he finally managed to reach the old manor, gasping out of breath.

As he was catching his breath, the ‘star’ landed at the front of the gates of the wall, a bright glow quickly filling the area. Roxas quickly closed his eyes, averting himself from blindness, before opening as the light faded.

His eyes widened as he saw, laying down in front of the manor, was some sort of white-feathered avian humanoid.

The figure wore some sort of brown aviator’s clothing, with a brown pilot’s helmet and faded  blue scarf, alongside some beige shorts.

While aware of how ‘out there’ people’s appearances can be due to how different each world is, he couldn’t really recall encountering any bird-like people before. Wait…

As he attempted to remember if he had seen such individuals before, the duck person groaned, reminding Roxas that despite the lack of impact, somebody had just crashed onto the ground.

“Are you alright?” he asks as he quickly makes his way to person, helping her stand by.

As he did, however, he made eye contact with her, bright blue to cyan. What stared back at him was emptiness, an all too familiar emptiness, one that he needed to determine quickly.

“Uh, do you remember anything?”

The duck blinked, and as she dusted herself off slowly, crinkles spread across her forehead as she slowly blinked.

“I… don’t...” she said dully.

A Nobody. The duck was a new Nobody.

What else could explain the emptiness of her eyes, something that he often saw faintly in the other Organization members, a sign of their own literal emptiness.

Suddenly he was glad that he had chosen to be alone. He had no idea how Axel would have acted, regardless of his feelings on the matter, and he certainly didn’t trust any other Organization member to have been more gentle with the woman.

...Except for Xion.

“Uh, do you remember your name?” Roxas asked.

“My name…?” she said softly, rubbing her fingers across her shorts. “...It’s Della...I think...”

Della, right. He had no idea how to do this actually. Was he supposed to give her a new name, considering she was a Nobody? It was essentially how the Organization leader named him, and he certainly didn’t like how much his name was connected to Sora.

...On the other hand, he didn’t really know how you go about naming Nobodies. Naming yourself with an X seemed to be how Nobodies were expected to be named. Besides, he could at the very least have the petty claim of giving Nobody a name, like the Organization’s leader. Take that!

“Well, do you mind a new name?” Roxas asked, getting flustered when Della turned towards him in confusion. “N-Not that your old name is bad, but you’re a, uh, Nobody, and Nobodies who retained their selves tend to have names with Xs in them.”

Yeah, this was probably a bad idea.

Still, he was pleasantly surprised when she nodded, though that could also be a result of her still being dazed. Axel had claimed that he was like a zombie when he had first joined the Organization, so it was likely that she was in a similar state as well.

“Right, so I was thinking… Uh...”

He tapped his head as he attempted to figure out a cool name to give her, before finally having an eureka after sounding out the syllables in his head of one combination of letters.

“Oh, how about Xellda? Will that work for you?”

Yeah, it wasn’t all that original, but it sounded cool!

“...It sounds cool.” Xellda said, smiling at the name.

“Right!”

With that out of the way, Roxas knew that he had to confront the Emblem Heartless in the room: the fact that she was a Nobody who was aware of herself.

If the Organization ever found out about her, he was certain that they would kill her on the spot. They were obsessed with keeping to 13 members, and with how little they seem to view of Xion, it was possible that they might execute her too.

It was only speculation, of course, but the fact that the empty seats remained empty seemed to be proof of this in his eyes anyway.

“Okay, so─?” As Roxas was about to talk, he quickly stumbled over his words as he realized that he had no idea just how conscious Xellda was at the moment.

If she was a zombie like he was when he first appeared, then it was likely that she may stare at a wall for hours or something if not left with something to do! And staring at walls would do no good if the Organization ever found out about her.

“Hey, would you like to hear a joke?”

Xellda blinked, some uncertainty creeping in. “Uh… sure.”

It was probably pretty foolish, but he couldn’t really think of any other way to get her to express her feelings realistically.

“Okay, so uh, what is the favorite letter of the ocean? It’s B!─ wait no, that’s for flowers and pollen, I meant C!” Roxas quickly stammered out as he messed up a joke he had heard from the locals of Twilight Town. “I C─!, No, just C!”

As he messed up the quite easy joke, the corners of the duck’s bill slowly turned up, a feeling of Deja vu arising in her, slowly leaking out as a small chuckle. Soon the chuckle turned into small laughter at the ridiculousness of the event, stunning Roxas a bit. Soon, however, he also began laughing at the quite hilarious event.

It reminded him a lot of what things were like before everything that had happened, and it was nice to not have to worry about his and Xion’s existence so much.

Once the laughter died down, Xellda’s face settled in a more neutral and confused expression as Roxas finally settled on a plan.

“Okay, so I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Roxas, a Nobody like you.”

“A Nobody...?”

“People who have a strong enough will to survive their heart being lost. That’s the general explanation, anyway. I’m a part of an organization known as Organization XIII, which mainly consists of high-ranking Nobodies. They wear cloaks like these,” he says as he pulls at the fabric of his robes, “which helps to protect them from the darkness. I’m not sure what will happen if they find out about you, and I don’t want to know. So I need you to trust me, okay?”

“Trust you…?”

“Yeah, you probably don’t want to, considering I’m a stranger and all.” Roxas sighed as he thought back to Axel. “...Even if you don’t, I’ll still do my best to help you. Right now, you actually remind me of myself actually.”

“...Okay.”

Roxas blinked. “Wait, you’re saying you’ll trust me then?”

When the duck nodded, Roxas sighed, wondering why getting Axel to explain himself couldn’t be this easy. “Okay, the plan is simple. I have no choice but to go back to the Organization, so while I’m gone, you should hide out in Twilight Town outside of the woods. There’s a path you can take there.”

As he says this, he points towards the forest outside the manor. “I’ll be gone for a few days, so I’m thinking that after a week, we should meet up at the top of the clocktower of Twilight Town. Before then, you should try and blend into town, maybe help out the people there.”

He paused, recalling a certain flyer he had passed earlier. “If you come to the tower and I’m not there, then you’ll need a permanent place to stay at. There’s an open inn inside the town, so if you need a place to stay, you should stay there… Is this plan alright with you?”

Xellda nodded, clearly satisfied.

“Good! I, uh, need to go back now, but I can help take you to-”

“No thanks.”

“Huh?” Roxas exclaimed.

“No thanks. I don’t know… why, but I want to try and get to this town myself.”

“Oh… okay then! If you’re sure, then I guess I’ll be going then. See ya!” Roxas began to run off in the distance, taking the time to wave back as he entered the forest.

A minute after Roxas had run off into the forest, Xellda made her way forward, compelled by some feeling inside of her that she had difficulty understanding.

She didn’t know what was going on, only what the boy Roxas had told her, and the faint memory that lay in her head.

The feeling of needing to return home because of something important… Why? Why did she need to return home so desperately?

If possible, she needed to figure out who she was, who ‘Della’ was, or else this feeling becomes suffocating?

Still, why did it feel so lifeless? Why does her heart feel so…

...

...Empty…?

[strelightzia]

One Sky [Ch. 1: Land]

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Rating: G

Word Count: 1819

Pairings: RokuNami, RikuNami, RepliNami (see tags)

Summary: Now that Namine has a body again, she has a lot to learn about her new life, herself, and the world.

Read on AO3

Namine had never asked to be given a body, but nobody had asked how she felt about it first.

She’d opened her eyes in Ansem’s lab, realizing that she had eyes to open; she looked down at her hands, her legs, touched her hair and her face. She had a body again. A replica body, at least. The scientists told her that she was one hundred percent human now, or as close as possible to one hundred percent as they could get. The important part was that she was free.

She had sat in silence for most of the ride, but now she looked over at the boy in the driver’s seat of the gummiship that was currently speeding them through the Ocean Between. “...Riku?”

“Yeah?” He didn’t take his eyes off his driving, swerving the ship deftly around an asteroid.

“Where are we going?”

“To Twilight Town. Ansem the Wise wanted you to have the Old Mansion.”

“Me?”

“He said it was a small way to apologize for everything, giving you a home.” Riku looked over at her. “Unless you wanted to go somewhere else?”

Somewhere else? She had nowhere else. The idea of a home was a concept she had never entertained. 

“Twilight Town is fine.”

“I’m glad to hear that, since we’re almost there.” Riku tilted his head at the windshield and smiled. “You want to take a look?”

As Namine peeked over his shoulder, the clouds ahead of them were parting to reveal Twilight Town in all its golden glory. From the sky, the buildings were no bigger than matchboxes. Even the clock tower looked like a toy. Despite this, Namine could see familiar places and familiar streets as they descended: the Sunset Terrace, the tram lines, Station Heights. The sights made her chest feel tight, as if something was squeezing her heart.

It made no sense. Namine had only ever visited the virtual Twilight Town; in the real world, she had spent all her time in the mansion as she restored Sora’s memories with DiZ and Riku. She had never known the real Twilight Town, so why did seeing it make her ache like this? The thought was confusing and uncomfortable. She stepped back from the window, not wanting to see anymore.

Riku steered the gummiship over the town and past the woods, finally touching down in a familiar clearing in front of a familiar gate. He helped Namine down from the ship, then turned back to close the door while Namine stood at the gate and looked up. In the sunset light, the shadows of the iron bars fell across her face. Beyond the bars sat the mansion.

It was just as she remembered, as inexorably alone as it had been the last time she’d seen it. 

The sound of Riku coming up behind her made her jump. “If you’re set with everything, I’m going to head back to–“

“Wait!” Namine reached out suddenly, pulling Riku’s sleeve. She hadn’t meant to do it, but her body had moved on its own. She cast a look back over her shoulder at the mansion and turned away just as quickly. 

She opened her mouth, trying to tell him she was scared, that she didn’t want him to leave just yet, but the right words weren’t coming out of her mouth. 

“No...I don’t…” Her breathing was quickening, her hands shaking. She didn’t understand why her body was reacting like this but she couldn’t stop it. 

Riku looked down at her. His eyes softened with what looked like understanding. “Come here with me for a minute.” He gently removed her hand from his jacket and led her towards the woods. As they moved away from the mansion, Namine felt herself calming down.

The feeling of sunlight was strange and familiar to her at the same time, a disorienting sense of deja vu. It was the same with the feeling of the wind in her hair, the sound of her footsteps, the sensation of taking a deep breath of air. It all felt lovely, but wrong. She had existed for so long as nothing but a heart, she had forgotten how it felt to be human. 

If she had ever been one, that is.

Riku directed her to a sunlight patch of grass and made her sit. He sat down next to her and looked at her with concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I hate this place,” said Namine softly. “I never thought I would come back here.”

Riku’s eyes widened slightly, then narrowed as he pressed his lips together. “I’m sorry, Namine. I never thought–I didn’t realize how you might feel about this. We should have talked it over more before bringing you here.”

“No, it’s ok. I understand. And I’m not mad at Ansem. He was just trying to do the right thing. I don’t hate it completely. It’s not the mansion. 

It’s just...” Namine paused, trying to find the right words and settling on one. “...Complicated.”

Riku chuckled softly at that. “That’s for sure.”

"I spent so long being alone, and then being used, but I never really thought it was wrong. I just woke up one day in Castle Oblivion, with no concept of who I was or why I was there. I didn't know anything about the world. When that's all you've known, you'll cling to anything that gives your existence meaning. But that's just what life is for people like me. For Nobodies. 

When Sora went to sleep and Ansem–DiZ–brought him to Twilight Town, I was so excited at first. Leaving Castle Oblivion felt like my life was starting over again. But it wasn’t. I was still doing what other people were telling me to do. I couldn’t go anywhere or do what I wanted. I was still a prisoner. And in the end, the last time I was at this mansion...” Namine didn’t have to continue. She and Riku both knew how it had ended, with DiZ dragging her away in a corridor of darkness even as Roxas was reaching for her.

“Even then, I didn't think much of it until I returned to Kairi's heart. I felt through her heart how she loved everybody around her so purely, and felt how that love was returned. It made me realize...I didn't know what that was like. Until I met Sora, I didn't know what it was like to have someone care for me. Well, Sora and one other..."

Namine's voice trailed off as the memory of another boy surfaced. A face she'd only known for a short time, but still tugged at her heart whenever she thought of him. 

“Your replica…”

Riku turned his face away. “He’s gone.”

Namine let out a breath. “I thought so.” Disappointed, but not surprised. 

“Namine…I didn’t want to tell you, but...the reason he’s gone…” Namine had never heard Riku sound so hesitant before. “The truth is, he had a chance to take a body for himself. But he gave it up for you. He said you needed it more.”

It was difficult to keep her face blank at that, so she turned her head away. 

“I think he was happy with that though,” Riku continued. “It was his choice.”

His choice, huh? Namine laughed sadly. “Of course it was. I guess he never thought about my choices.” She leaned back and looked up at the canopy of rustling leaves overhead. “I wanted to see him again, just once. Just to say thank you.” Dust motes were dancing in the shafts of warm afternoon sunlight that slanted through the branches. “And to say ‘I’m sorry.’”

“I’m sure he knows.”

Namine shook her head and smiled, her eyes closed against the sunlight. “Maybe he does. But it’s not the same as if I’d said it to him, right? Maybe it’s selfish of me, but I wanted to say it properly. I wanted to look into his eyes and know that he heard me, and see that he’d forgiven me for what I did.” Her voice trailed off as she opened her eyes again. The sunlight was dazzling. She was suddenly aware, with a startling sharpness, of every blade of grass brushing against her skin, the crisp bite of the breeze on her neck, and rush of forest sounds that was swelling all around her.

“I don’t know why I’m here, Riku.”

The forest fell silent.

“I don’t think any of us do,” said Riku, leaning back on his hands. “When I was a kid on the Destiny Islands, I was convinced that I was meant for a life of adventure. I wanted nothing more than to leave that tiny island, and see all the other worlds for myself.” He laughed ruefully. “I certainly got my wish. But I also wonder sometimes if just spending those years on that quiet island with Sora and Kairi, having fun together and growing up...might not have been so bad either.” His bright green eyes met her own with a reassuring smile. “None of us know what we’re doing here, Namine. Too often we wish for what we don’t have, only to realize we never wanted it once we get it. We’re all messed up in one way or another. But that doesn’t mean you have to let that get in the way of being happy.”

Namine hid the smile that twisted her lips. It had been a long time since she thought she was allowed to be happy, but Riku had said it so matter-of-factly that it almost made her want to laugh. She didn’t know if she believed him yet, but knew that he meant it sincerely, so she didn’t argue. She simply leaned back and closed her eyes again, letting the sunlight soak into her skin. 

“It certainly is a beautiful day.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Riku walked her back to the mansion. Namine put a hand on the gate. The metal was warm to the touch, radiating the heat of the afternoon sun. Ahead of her, the mansion sat still and cavernous and empty. She turned back to look at Riku. 

“What will I do tomorrow?”

Riku smiled. “That’s up to you.” 

But without Organization XIII, without DiZ, without Sora...who was she? Namine didn’t have an answer. In the light of the setting sun, all she knew was that she dreaded the moment she went inside and shut the gate behind her. Alone again, and this time, utterly without purpose.

Darkness might have been preferable.

But they hadn’t given her that choice. And now that she was here, Namine had to admit that deep in her heart, she knew darkness was never what she would have wanted. She had been resigned to her fate, but had never wanted it. In this world without darkness though, everything was different. This was her life starting over, and this time she was free.

Namine took a deep breath, and opened the gate.

[nadziejastar]

Imo Kingdom Hearts could have been a lot different if Disney was never involved or if it was it's entire own francise with no crossover with FF or Disney, imo that would have been great. Since KH1, the Disney-worlds had barely to no connection or revelance to the main-plot anymore, Sora just travels to the worlds because he can, in KH1 there was more at stake in those worlds too, now they just feel like filler, as much as SE has tried up untill KH3.

Well, “Quadratum” means “Square”. It’s possible that Nomura wants to move away from Disney worlds and focus more on Square worlds. Although I like the Disney worlds, and think they help give the series a unique identity, I can understand that Disney is a is large, powerful, greedy corporation. And Nomura’s relationship with them has changed over time.

It’s telling that instead of coming up with a new plot that gives us a good reason to travel to the Disney worlds again (the real ones, not data worlds, memory worlds, dream worlds, etc.) he’s sending Sora and Riku off to a new alternate dimension based on Versus XIII—a Square property. It may indicate that he’s tired of Disney worlds and they will be getting less focus from now on.

KH1

As the series has gone on, the implementation of the Disney worlds has become worse and worse as Nomura has struggled to come up with reasons to travel to them. I think you’re right that KH1 did the best with incorporating the worlds into the plot. Sora was trying to seal all the Keyholes, giving him a good reason to be in each one. He was looking for Riku and Kairi, which was a more personal goal. And then you had the seven princesses and the villain alliance. And each world contributed to the overall theme of the story.

KH CoM

Pinocchio: Gee, Riku, don’t you have a Jiminy like I do? He’s my conscience. He’s taught me all kinds of important stuff. Maybe you just need somebody to show you what’s right and wrong.

Jiminy: Sure. You can’t shoulder all your problems alone, ya know. You must have somebody–a friend you can talk to?

In CoM, the Disney worlds were pure filler. Only existed for gameplay. On Sora’s side, the story within them was almost the exact same as it was in KH1. Even on Riku’s side, the Disney worlds were pointless. For instance, the whole Monstro level in KH3D could have happened in Re:CoM, since it’s basically reliving Riku’s memories from KH1, but having him make a different choice that time.

KH2

Iago: I wanna be a good friend, like Genie, but I can't do anything to help you. What kind of a friend is that?

Sora: Oh, no---it's not like that, Iago. Friends don't have to "do" stuff. As long as you have fun hanging out together, that's all that matters.

In KH2, the worlds are a mix of new and old. But they’re not really important to the plot. Sora’s just looking for Riku and the King, they’re not there, you participate in the movie’s plot, then move onto the next one. All the actual story happens in Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, or TWTNW. Each world usually has a theme and a moral lesson, but it doesn’t always relate to Sora that much, so they feel filler-ish. In the second half, the organization appears in the worlds, which makes them a little more relevant to the story. But not much. They were still fun levels, though.

358/2 Days

Roxas had a good reason to go to the worlds, to collect hearts for the organization. I don’t mind if the Disney worlds aren’t directly plot-related, as long as there’s character development in them. I like that they took certain worlds from KH2 that felt like filler and expanded on the main theme of them, contributing to character development, particularly for Axel. For instance, in KH2′s Agrabah, the moral lesson was: best friends don’t have to be “useful”. This idea doesn’t have much to do with Sora, though, so it felt kinda pointless to his quest.

If you didn’t need me, then I no longer held meaning. However, reality is different. It wasn’t about whether I was needed or not. If I could just connect to others’ hearts, that would be enough.

But it was implied that this idea was very relevant to Axel’s memories of his past and his best friend. 

“Because they copied my powers, the Keyblade’s power, and then they didn’t need me anymore— is that it?” Roxas spat. 

He couldn’t bring himself to confirm it. 

“I guess you felt the same way, huh, Axel?” 

At those words, something wrenched in his chest, and he could hardly breathe. No, not me. I wasn’t thinking like that. I would never. “That’s not true. You—you’re my best friend.” The words spilled out of him.

The story of Days was all about how Roxas and Xion help Axel remember his past and what it felt like to have a best friend (an idea that connects to CoM). And the Disney worlds at least contributed to that idea in a meaningful way.

“Set in a circus and playing off the story of Pinocchio, a puppet with a heart, and the Nobodies who possess no heart, we planned for a sad episode with Roxas and Xion looking for hope for themselves”.

I would have preferred Prankster’s Paradise as a world, though, instead of, say, Halloween Town. It sounds like Roxas and Xion would have developed more in that world and it would have been more relevant to the story. Plus, it would have been new. But I think Days did a decent enough job with the Disney worlds. At least Roxas learned something new when he went to them, spurring on interesting discussions with Axel about friendship, love, the heart, etc.

KHBBS

Bagheera: It was bound to happen. Mowgli is where he belongs now.

Three new characters. In each world, the character learned something new and developed slightly. The worlds were mostly new, too. I don’t have a problem with BBS’s Disney worlds. I do wish they would have kept the Jungle Book worlds in, though.

“Riku… Do you think Nobodies have a home? Somewhere we belong?” Naminé wondered.

Having a home, somewhere to belong, was one of the main themes of the Xehanort Saga.

Master Xehanort: Darkness that you channeled.

Terra: No, I succumbed to it. Just like when I stole Princess Aurora’s heart of light. I can never return home now. I’m a failure.

Terra felt like a failure, and that he could never return home. And Aqua was tasked with bringing Ven home. This world could have been really good in BBS.

Coded

Mickey: Yen Sid… I think we’re finally close to figuring out where Ven’s heart is.

Here’s where things start going off the rails. In Coded, Disney worlds are yet again retreads of KH1, only this time they’re data instead of memories. The whole purpose of the plot was to explain why Mickey sent Sora, Riku, and Kairi that letter at the end of KH2. But you didn’t really need a whole game of travelling through virtual Disney worlds for that, especially involving convoluted ideas like data Namine implanting bug blocks in the journal or Jiminy’s Journal embodying itself as Riku (WTF?). You could have just added a scene into KH2FM+ like the above one from the manga. When Mickey saw the photo of Roxas, he recognized him as Ventus. Then he tells Master Yen Sid about it later, leading to Coded’s ending and him writing the letter. 

KHUX

Ephemer: The worlds we visit—the worlds of fairy tales—are nothing more than holograms. You know, projections. The light we collect there is actually this world’s light. To put it simply: There are lots of worlds, right? And they’re all connected by land. But it’s impossible to go around all of them. That’s why there’s a mechanism that projects those worlds here and allows us to collect Lux from faraway lands. I’m gathering information, trying to figure out how the whole thing works. My hunch is that the Book of Prophecies held by the Foretellers is what’s creating these holograms.

The Disney worlds were extremely boring to play through. More than any other KH game, they have scenes that are just copy/pasted straight from the movies. Your main character, since they are mute, has little involvement. They do not grow, change, or develop, after any of these worlds. They have nothing interesting to say and they can barely interact with anyone (Chirithy does it for you). 

And all, except for Wreck-It-Ralph, are just retreads of plots that we already experienced in other games. The worlds are digital holograms of the future generated from the Book of Prophecies. It’s all a VERY convoluted excuse to have you play through the same old plots from the Disney worlds. AGAIN. Only with a FAR less interesting main character. Since this was supposed to be just a F2P gacha with little story, it could have been excused. But since KHUX has become so important to the main story, it is inexcusable how poor of a game it is.

KH3D

Sora: I get it now. After this, Pinocchio and Jiminy’s world gets dragged into darkness, and they end up cast into the sea between worlds, along with Monstro. And then…they end up in Traverse Town, and the belly of the whale. That’s when we meet for real. It’s like Master Yen Sid said–I’m in the dream Pinocchio’s world is dreaming. And that world will never be right again until it wakes from sleep.

I don’t have any real issue with a game focusing on the mark of mastery exam, where Sora and Riku travel through Disney worlds. Riku develops along the way in a satisfying way. It’s the first time you actually go to new worlds as him. The test was for Sora and Riku to acquire the power of waking, so they had to go to dream worlds. Fantasia was perfect for this idea.

But the concept of Sleeping Worlds is convoluted and confusing. They’re dream versions of the worlds? Who is dreaming them? The Dandelions? They’re stuck in a time loop of the past? But visiting the Sleeping Worlds doesn’t rewrite the present. So, are they connected to the datascape? Again, it’s so convoluted, because there really is no reason that Sora and Riku would have to go on another adventure in the REAL world. Again, I would have preferred Prankster’s Paradise in Days. Pinocchio would be a human, it’d be set in the present timeline so no awkward dialogue, and Honest John and Gideon would be involved, giving it more of a plot.

KH3

The game’s worlds could have been okay if Sora wasn’t just wandering about aimlessly. And if they had developed the power of waking better. The power of waking is essentially the power to wake a sleeping heart by connecting with it. It’s the power of love, basically. Most of the Disney worlds are about love. And also, a member of the organization appears in each one.

Dark Road

In BBS, it’s revealed that Xehanort wants to open KH to create a new world. But in KH3, he wants to reset the world. How is this different?

Nomura: The most essential part is that he thinks the current world is a failure, and wants to remake it.

I’m interested to know why Xehanort came to think that way (that the world should be remade).

Nomura: Initially, I wanted to dive deeper into the naive, untainted Xehanort who we see playing chess in the next installment (before KH3 was made), but if I did that, the dark seeker arc wouldn’t have ended (lol), so I decided to shelve it for now.

Wonderland is the only Disney world that has had a plot so far. But this was still the most interesting usage of Wonderland in the series, IMO.

Envy (Latin, invidia): Invi Gluttony (Latin, gula): Gula Lust (Latin, luxuria): Luxu. Anger, or Wrath (Latin, ira): Ira Greed, or Avarice (Latin, avaritia): Ava Sloth, or Laziness (Latin, acedia): Aced

The Foretellers are named after the seven deadly sins.

Nomura: As I was writing the scenario for Kingdom Hearts Back Cover, I was careful so as to make each character look neither like a hero nor a villain, however in the end it seems that only Ava was received as a good girl (laughs). At any rate, if you think of the story progression as a gun, where Ava is the only one with the capacity to pull that gun’s trigger, I’m not so sure about how devoid of sin she really is…

I think there were a lot of parallels between the age of fairytales and the Book of Genesis.

Pride (Latin: superbia) is considered, on almost every list, the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins. Out of the seven, it is the most angelical, or demonic. It is also thought to be the source of the other capital sins.

The MoM is probably really Darkness, the original sin, Superbia. And Xehanort has his Keyblade, becoming his successor. Pride was his deadly sin. He could never admit that he lost to Eraqus at chess because of his pride. In the Bible, the source of sin was the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. After acquiring knowledge of good and evil, he developed a god complex. Pride is the ultimate sin, where all the other sins originate from.

I need only play the role of a fool desirous of the Keyblade’s power.

Luxu is lust and Braig lusted for Xehanort’s power (as Luxu probably did with the MoM). The story in Dark Road is actually interesting. Xehanort is a FAR more interesting protagonist that the Avatar in Union X. As a wielder in training, he actually has a good reason to travel the worlds, and develops as a character along the way. I think Dark Road deserved to be its own real KH game, released on the Vita or 3DS a long time ago. It’s a shame it’s only a mobile game.

Anger is manifested in the individual who spurns love and opts instead for fury. It is also known as Wrath.

Pride is excessive belief in one’s own abilities, that interferes with the individual’s recognition of the grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity.

Envy is the desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation.

Gluttony is an inordinate desire to consume more than that which one requires.

Lust is an inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body.

Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness.

Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.

The story of Dark Road will likely be Xehanort encountering the seven deadly sins as manifested in Disney villains and coming to the conclusion that the world is too corrupt and needs to be reset. That is actually a decent enough plot and good justification for travelling through the Disney worlds. It’d be cool if they added new worlds. Maybe like Pocahontas, and Governor Radcliffe could be Greed, etc.

[zdbztumble]

So About That Roxas…

Well, it’s that time - time to invite unholy disdain upon myself for my blasphemous views on fan favorite Roxas!

OK, that’s an exaggeration. I don’t know how unpopular what I’m about to say really is. And to make this perfectly clear up-front - I don’t dislike Roxas. I think he’s a fine character, and his (very) long prologue is one of the strongest parts of KH II. But I do find Roxas more valuable and compelling in how he relates to other characters, and in the fact that he is an aspect of Sora, than in his own right. All on his own, I don’t find Roxas to be particularly active or interesting.

And that isn’t a flaw. Given what Nobodies are (prior to DDD, at least), I would expect that from Roxas. Almost every member of Organization XIII isn’t terribly dynamic or dimensional on their own merits - their personalities are one-note (if that), which can be by turns tragic, obnoxious, or an effective foil for the protagonists. When Roxas draws jealousy from Hayner, general confusion from his friend group, some amount of pathos from Axel, mixed emotions from Riku and disdain from DiZ, and attraction from Namine, he’s a great example of the latter. I never find him obnoxious, and when he is on his own, there is a sense of tragedy with him. Because while Roxas may have agency, and does display a curiosity - almost an obsession, after a while - with gaining answers for the strange things happening to him, he’s ultimately empty. None of his joys, none of his curiosity - and not even his rages and despairs - last. He ends up defaulting, always, into a quiet, resigned, and hollow state, and he doesn’t seem happy about that. 

This is true of the Twilight Town prologue, at least. In the brief flashbacks we’re given in KH II, and at the beginning of the Sora/Roxas fight, a different Roxas appears. He’s still empty at the core, but his front to the world is crueler, dismissive even of the words of his supposed best friend Axel, and predatory. We learn later in the game that DiZ altered Roxas’s personality when he dropped him into the digital Twilight Town, and it’s not hard to see why. Even with the altered personality, the strongest display of feeling Roxas can manage is anger. It’s only when Roxas confronts Sora, accepts him as “a good other,” and fully rejoins with him, that Roxas appears genuinely happy and alive in KH II.

But I do have problems with how Roxas is used, in KH II and especially in 358/2 Days. To start with II - there are some pretty big missed opportunities. Roxas was a member of Organization XIII, presumably working toward their goals (to go just on what we see in KH II), and every member of the Organization who sees Sora recognizes Roxas within him. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have someone else do the same? If, when visiting one of the Disney worlds that Sora hasn’t been to before, there was a character who had a negative encounter with Roxas, and therefore fears Sora and the Keyblade?

The lack of any such scene speaks to a larger problem with Roxas in KH II: his limited relevance once the prologue ends. He does come up here and there throughout the play time, which I do appreciate, but he doesn’t really have an impact on Sora before their clash other than as a source of mild confusion. Sora’s reactions to being called by Roxas’s name never progress much past “huh? Cut that out!” and he has no real reaction to learning that his own Nobody was a member of Organization XIII. Had Roxas’s activities over the past year created a negative consequence that Sora had to deal with, that might have invited some internal conflict within Sora’s heart, culminating in a much more emotionally charged clash with Organizers like Xibar and Saix. Hell, even without such a scene, the knowledge that a part of him was a member of the bad guys could have, and should have, made Sora feel at least a little upset. That’s not to say that the absence of such a mini-arc is a dealbreaker for KH II; what we did get works well enough. But, much like Roxas himself, something seems to be missing.

A future game might have been able to address this issue...had it not been for 358/2 Days.

This isn’t a revisit of Days; I can’t very well revisit a game I only ever played the first few minutes of, years ago, before losing touch with the friend who had the DS card for it. You’ll get no views of the gameplay here. But I am familiar with Days; I’ve read the breakdowns, researched its writing, and watched the movie multiple times. And I gotta tell ya - I know the game has its fans, and it may have some strengths and concepts missing from other titles, but I really don’t care for its story. And that has a lot to do with how it mishandles Roxas.

I’ll start with a caveat - I am not the audience for Days. At no point while playing KH II did I ever want to know any more about Roxas or the Organization than that game saw fit to reveal. What we got was enough for them to work as the villains in that story, and that’s all I ever needed them to be. This was always going to be an easy title for me to skip, or at least not take any real interest in. But that’s a matter of taste. Plenty of people take more interest in the backstories of Roxas and the Organization than I do, and this was perfectly acceptable as a subject for a midquel game. But the execution, IMO, is a complete mess. It ignores or retcons several of the snippets we get about the Organization in KH II, to poor effect, and fails to expand on any of the villainous Organizers in a way that might turn them from one-note video game bosses and elements of a hive mind into fleshed-out characters. Axel is given several coats of whitewash, and his history with Saix lacks any resonance when Saix is left as such a hollow villain. There’s no playing alongside Disney characters in a game so given over to original KH lore, and that lore is rewritten in ways I don’t like. The trends of mystery for its own sake and teasing histories and future events at the expense of the story at hand continue, the same few points of lore and logistics are over-stressed, and the dialogue and voice acting just isn’t good (and can anyone tell me why they re-dubbed Christopher Lee in the HD movie version? I mean...it’s Christopher Lee!)

But as I said, the real problem is with Roxas. For a character meant to be the protagonist, Roxas cedes a lot of narrative real estate to new character Xion. Like Days itself, I know Xion has fans - ardent fans. I can’t argue with that, nor would I want to; you can like what you like, and I won’t assess and critique her as a character here. But all I can say about Xion is that, as a writer, she strikes me as redundant. A member of Organization XIII, unusually lacking in knowledge about their life beforehand, wielding the Keyblade, inducted into the Organization within this game, derived from Sora through unusual means, with a connection to Kairi and whose existence arrests Sora’s full restoration from the events of CoM; setting her character aside, Xion’s narrative function is exactly what Roxas’s was established to be by KH II.

One could say that the game makes a point of this, turning it into an orchestrated conflict between the two by Xemnas, but practically speaking, this means that Roxas spends a key chunk of the story displaced. He becomes a friend on the sidelines as the real meat of the story concerns a character who, from the very beginning, anyone who played KH II would know isn’t going to matter past this game. This ends up making Xion more important, and more interesting, than Roxas within Days itself. But almost everything that Xion goes through could have easily been given to him by dint of what we see in KH II. That Sora’s restoration is upset because his memories of Kairi are being absorbed into another being would have been especially appropriate for Roxas, since Kairi’s very name is always fractured in the restoration process during II’s prologue at first, and the process itself is at such a low number despite a year having passed until Roxas is in DiZ’s hands. Those character elements unique to Xion herself, and the conflict between her and Roxas engineered by Xemnas, aren’t enough to justify her presence in the larger KH story IMO, and end up confusing elements of the lore (replicas, memories, etc.) If she had been cut, and those aspects of her story relating to Sora’s restoration given to Roxas, the story and lore integrity would’ve been better for it.

But that wouldn’t have solved everything wrong with Roxas in Days. Let’s look back at what KH II shows us of a pre-DiZ Roxas again. A cold and predatory figure; the Dusks who first come for him in Twilight Town address him as their “liege,” implying that they served him the way other Nobodies serve the Organizers; the Organizers themselves seem to have been quite close to Roxas, taking his betrayal hard and referring to him as “brother.” And Organization XIII, as we see it in KH II vanilla, is a collective, with no real secret about its motives within the ranks - that motive being, in so many words, to let the remaining Heartless continue their genocide across the worlds just so that they can swoop in with the Keyblade, harvest the captive hearts, and offer them up to their Kingdom Hearts in a mad bid to gain hearts of their own.

So why is Roxas so innocent in Days?

That cold exterior, the flashes of temper - that’s not what we get from Roxas here. What we get is a blank slate who becomes a puppy as he strikes up a buddy-buddy relationship with Axel, and who later performs the same function for Xion. He talks about fighting the darkness and asks hopefully if he’s performing “good” deeds. His interactions with his friends show him to be cheerful and open. The Samurai are supposedly under his command, but that’s a detail relegated to the reports. His relationships with anyone in the Organization other than Axel and Xion don’t even warrant scenes in the movie, and nothing suggests that they would deem him “brother;” Saix and Xemnas regard him as no more than a tool . And even though he’s destroying Heartless with the Keyblade, and those hearts are becoming part of the Organization’s Kingdom Hearts...somehow this is a point he needs explained several times? And he and Xion openly doubt why they need hearts at all - a point presented as one to be sympathetic toward, despite everything from KH II and a good chunk of this very game stressing that it is in fact a problem that Nobodies lack hearts?

This is not what was indicated in KH II. What’s worse, it’s boring. A far more effective choice IMO would have been to let Roxas be villainous. Go the dark protagonist route; give us a cold hunter of a character, with the impulsive anger and fractured psyche Sora showed in CoM, fully aware of what the Organization is up to and the price that others will pay for it and still committed to the cause. Then, when the events of CoM play out in the background, and fragments of Sora’s memories find their way to Roxas (assuming we still cut Xion in this scenario), that’s the turning point. That’s when Roxas can doubt the Organization’s cause, when he can begin to question his lack of memories and his true identity, and betray the Organization by setting out to find Sora. Give him two separate fights with Riku, to justify the dialogue claiming such in KH II. Let him develop some awareness of Namine after he gets Sora’s memories; Namine’s dialogue in KH II indicates that they’ve never met before, but a connection at a distance could serve to give more substance to their relationship, and supply Namine with opportunities to develop as a character. Depict the scenes where she first comes into contact with DiZ and Riku, agrees to take on their help in restoring Sora’s memories, and feels conflicted about the moral gray area their harsh but necessary actions occupy. Let her be ultimately responsible for setting Riku on the right trail that ends up bringing Roxas into their hands.

Of course, one reason why they may have opted not to do this is because having a dark protagonist complicit in an evil scheme involving the deaths of countless people may have been difficult to pull off while still earning an E10 rating at most. And honestly, the story told by Days doesn’t strike me as  necessarily the best fit for a video game even as-is. They might have been better off with planning it as a proper movie from the get-go, instead of a string of cutscenes divorced from the gameplay as they ultimately presented it in the HD collections.

And another objection to this approach might have been that a villainous Roxas and morally ambiguous Namine might have been less “likable,” and therefore less usable in future titles. To that I say - so what? I didn’t want Roxas and Namine as characters in any titles past KH II anyway - not because they were bad characters, or because I didn’t like them, but because their stories concluded. Concluded on terms they chose, and were at peace with. It was tinged with a bittersweet quality, but they did get a “happy” ending. If a midquel story complicated their morality, that wouldn’t negate the events of KH II or the resolution they received; it would have created a journey to get them to that point, starting from a much darker place, and given more weight to the idea that it was necessary for them to rejoin with Sora and Kairi. I’d argue that would enrich what we see in KH II, whereas the actual route they took in titles like DDD and KH III disregards or undermines everything that made the ending of KH II work.

[spinji]

My Boyfriend Rates Organization XIII Members at 1AM

I woke up to this long line of messages on discord (these are copied verbatim). My boyfriend sporadically decided to look through all the organization members on the KH wiki and give his opinions. He knows little to nothing about Kingdom Hearts.

Xemnas

okay so right off im gonna say that xemnas is fuckin kylo ren says he has no emotions, clouded by anger am i joke to you oh wow it was his idea to add the X's what a fuggin nerd

Xigbar

xigbar....what a dumb name wAIT IS THAT SNAKE SNAKE??? SNAKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKE he speaks in a surfer accent eXCUSE ME hello fellow kids, aS IF we're moving the fuck on

Xaldin

xaldin,,,, le baldwin hes japanese thats...his schtick wow ew roxas tell me on this doll where he touched you love never lasts yeah duh u cant feel it

Vexen

oh ew ew this man looks like he owns a van oh hes an intellectual huh rick and morty its called "where nothing gathers" and they gather there wow real secret organisation u got there this man is just there so it isnt organisation 12

Lexaeus

wow thats a mouthful lexaeus like zeus? hes just nice thats kinda it he likes zexion...

Zexion

WHOA WHOA EDGELORD ALERT wow this guy is just pushy "HEY" "YOU GUYS WORKIN????" two members instantly cease their makeout session

Saix

saix oh excuse me Saïx "lunar diviner" i thought it said diver lmao i like his hair tho,,, OH OH hes the boring one! righhhhhht

Axel

alright i have to admit axel's facepaint looks super weird when zoomed out oh so he feels things but he shouldnt this bitch is fuCKING ELSA CONCEL DONT FEEL YOU FOOL also his pose makes him look like a jester

Demyx

wowwwwwwwwwww he looks like an ass called it hes the annoying one TVDSAHJDS XIGGY X-FACE WOW oh so hes just a beauty queen who dumps his shit on kids assssssssssshole

Luxord

yeah would you look at that its cliche card man luxford is literally just lord of minigames *luxord even tho that aint a name dAMMIT OH AND HE CONTRADICTS HIMSELF GREAT JUST WHAT KH NEEDS LMAO

Marluxia

oh oh hES CUTE

hes a tumblr cutie flowerboy with pink hair and graceful antics thats my fucking aesthetic THE SCYTHE IS NAMED GRACEFUL DAHLIA OH MY GODDDD

Larxene

larxene is like..............the token girl, rite? why she got bug attenae why she the textbook sadist one with a peppy persona why she also use knives,,,, they got a knife guy already i i dont like her

Roxas

hahaha i mean me nobody else hA annnnnnnnnnnnnd yup hes his own person with his own feelings wow thats fucked up this description aint very flattering but hes a good boy dont make him rest

Xion

OH OH NEVERMIND THERES ANOTHER GIRL okay so just looking at her is this bitch kairi or something?? she doesnt have the same vibe....... loooks a littttttle too "token kindness" for this gig like even roxas dont look this...... "purposely innocent little kid" OH WOULDNT YOU KNOW IT SHE MAKES NO SENSE "replica of roxas" WTF I KNEW IT SHE DIES FOR DRAMA FUCKIN KNEW IT oh yup comes back just to be sad is she like a secret member or something??? oh god she does look like kairi ik shes a backup but still this is trippy "appears to be sora" oh jOY MORE CONFUSING PLOT DEVICES

Rankings (best to worst)

I. It's Roxas, what'd you fuckin' expect? II. I reallllllllllly like Marluxia's design and voice. III. Axel, cause he got feelings. ):( IV. Larxene, who has so merit, now, even if her hair is frEaKy. V. God, all these guys are assholes...uhhhh, Zexion! Cause he need sum milk. VI. I'll take Xigbar even tho his Nort eye is dumb. VII. Xemnas, cause he's a good nerd, and he just needs a bit of a nap. Scoot off to bed, young man. Your mood swings are showing. VIII. Yup, it's Xaldin, and his compensation spears. IX. Saix, because no personality is better than a terrible one. X. Ehhhhmmm, Luxord? I guess? Good concept, but Yugioh edged him out... XI. Xion, I would've put her higher...but I just can't get past the principal being bad. She is copypasta. XII. Lexaeus... Name. Hard. To spell. Pretty...forgettable... Straight up dumb design... XIII. Vexen, yeah it surprises me too that he ain't at the bottom, but I got a bone to pick So stay in the Organisation useless science weirdo predator man, hope they background checked you... XIV. Duh duh duh duh! It's fuckin' Demyx the token asshat! He prolly smells like AXE, he's got a pompadour AND a mullet AND an undercut. And that's even more overcompensation than the other guy. Hit the curb, bitch boi.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[minijenn]

Keys to the Kingdom Chapter 10

Oy so here we go with a fuckin angst fest. I gotta say though that writing this chapter was a TON of fun, call me a sadist or whatever, but its been a while since i’ve been able to flex my angst muscles like this and I LOVED it. So yeah, enjoy lol: 

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/185166785244/keys-to-the-kingdom-chapter-9

***

Chapter 10: Sinister Whispers

Let me face, let me face, let me face my fears

As what had often become the case as of late, the Gummi Ship floated adrift in what felt, at least to its passengers, like a sea of indecision. The trio had taken their leave from Twilight Town quite some time ago, leaving what little current efforts they had to show for Roxas’ hopeful, eventual return in Hayner, Pence, and Olette’s equally devout hands. Still, despite the first few, small, yet promising leads they had uncovered, there was still a fair share of disappointment among the group as they set off for their next destination. Sora in particular was steeped in that disappointment as he sat at the ship’s helm, thinking of little else but Roxas and the earnest promise he had made to him. A promise that, by all accounts, he didn’t know when or how he’d actually end up fulfilling.

By and large it seemed as though both Donald and Goofy had picked up on their young companion’s worried listlessness as they simply let him ruminate in dissatisfied silence for quite some time. However, both of them were still mindful of their larger mission, a mission that they both mutually decided to remind Sora of as gently as they could.

“Uh… Sora?” Goofy ventured, leaning forward in his seat a bit. “Don’tcha think we should get goin’?”

“You know, to find the thirteen Keys?” Donald added, a hint of further insistence in his tone. “We really should get on that. You don’t want the Organization to get their hands on them first, do you?”

“No, of course I don’t,” Sora frowned back at the pair. “It’s just… I don’t know, it feels like we didn’t really do much of anything to help Roxas like we wanted to…”

“Aw, but we did!” Goofy reassured. “We got Hayner, Pence, and Olette to help us out, not to mention Ienzo lookin’ into the other Twilight Town for us.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sora nodded halfheartedly. “And it’s not like I’m not grateful for their help, but… I was just hoping we’d be able to figure something out sooner. Roxas shouldn’t have to wait any longer than he already has. He shouldn’t have to wait on me.”

Donald and Goofy shared a concern look at this, both of them knowing just how important this matter was to Sora. It was no secret that the Keybearer often felt the need to take the weight of the worlds onto his shoulders, especially when it came to helping those in need. And given just how personal the connection between Sora and his Nobody was, it only made sense that he would take his self-imposed mission to bring Roxas back as seriously as he was.

For as much of a loss for comforting words as the captain and the magician were, fortunately the encouragement Sora clearly needed at the moment came from another source instead. “You know, Sora,” Jiminy began, hopping up onto the Keybearer’s shoulder. “Just because we didn’t find that much out in Twilight Town doesn’t mean we might not find any other clues somewhere else!”

“That’s right,” Goofy said as Donald nodded his agreement. “We still got a whole bunch of worlds we to explore while we look for the Keys.”

“And maybe we’ll find something that could help us help Roxas along the way too!” Donald added just as fervently.

“Yeah, maybe…” Sora sighed, knowing that this wasn’t as clear-cut of a solution as he would have liked. Still, he knew just as well as the others that their mission to find the thirteen Keys was a high priority, so much so that the fate of all the worlds practically depended on it. Which meant that as much as he hated to put it off any further than he already had, saving Roxas would just have to wait. “Well, I guess we’re not really getting any closer to those Keys by just sitting here, huh?” At this, he stood, summoning his Keyblade and aiming it forward, towards the vast expanse of open space ahead of them. “Look out worlds, here we come!”

Despite this bold proclamation, nothing really seemed to happen. The usual burst of light that converged around the Kingdom Key’s tip was nowhere to be found; no shimmering gateways leading to any sort of uncharted world materialized among the many surrounding stars. All the same, Sora maintained his focus on his weapon for just a moment longer, hoping this was some sort of odd fluke, only for the lack of any response to remain a disappointing constant. “Aw, come on, seriously?” he huffed in annoyance, drawing his Keyblade back in so he could properly inspect it. “What’s going on with this thing late…ly…?” Sora trailed off, raising a confused eyebrow as he stole a second glance down at his Keyblade. Etched into its otherwise pristine silver surface was what appeared to be a small, yet, dark crack, a marring mark of uneven damage he was sure he’d never seen before. As far as he knew, there were few things in any world that were strong and powerful enough to damage a Keyblade in such a way, much less anything he’d encountered in battle recently. So what, then, could have created a mark as clear and cutting as this?

“Er… what if you’re having a hard time opening up a gate since none of us really know where to look first?” Goofy guessed evenly, neither him nor Donald able to see the rather damming crack in Sora’s Keyblade.

“Figures you wouldn’t know where we’re supposed to be going, as usual…” the magician remarked, sending the Keybearer a critical glance as he crossed his arms.

“How am I supposed to in the first place?” Sora retorted, quickly letting his Keyblade disappear in a meager attempt to distract himself from the troubling damage it had apparently sustained. “It wasn’t like Master Yen Sid gave us a map and said ‘go here, here, and here, and you’ll find all of the Keys’! Honestly, I wish he had done that,” he sighed, flopping back down into his seat. “It would have made our job way easier here.”

“Well, if what I jotted down in the journal is right,” Jiminy noted, scrolling through his records on their new home: the Gummiphone. “Master Yen Sid said that each of the Keys is connected to “the feelings of the heart”. It is a clue, but then again, I suppose it’s not a very clear one, is it?”

“You can say that again…” Sora shook his head, thoroughly disgruntled. “These Keys could be anywhere and we don’t know where to even start looking for them! Heck, for all we know, the Organization could already have half of them by now, maybe more!” He paused for a moment, staring out at the seemingly endless array of stars before them, each of them a world that could have very well contained just one of the mere thirteen Keys that they wanted, needed to find before it was too late. “Everyone’s counting on us to get those Keys. So what are we going to do if we can’t even find one of them to begin with?”

As much as neither Donald, Goofy, nor Jiminy alike wanted to admit it, what Sora had just purposed was indeed a very real possibility, and a very alarming one at that. There was every chance that, with their greater numbers as exponential dark powers, the still relatively unknown members of Organization XIII could very well already be beating them to the punch when it came to finding the Keys they were all equally vying to find. And all the while, the four of them could just as well be leagues behind, with no leads, no hints, no hope of protecting the worlds and the very Keys to Kingdom Hearts itself as they had been tasked to do.

It was a grim reality, to be sure. A reality that the three of them refused to accept, especially this early on into their fledgling quest. “Aw, phooey!” Donald suddenly snapped in firm resilience. “Don’t tell us you’re giving up this soon, Sora!”

“W-what? I’m not giving up!” Sora protested, flustered by the very thought. “I’m just saying this whole thing is already turning out to be a lot harder than we thought it would be and-”

“And so what?” Goofy interupted just as insistently. “We’ve done a lot of hard things before: deafeatin’ the Heartless, savin’ the worlds, the list goes on! How’s finding a bunch of silly ol’ Keys any worse than that?”

“I’m not saying it is!” Sora argued back, openly frustrated by this point. “But how are we supposed to find those Keys in the first place if I can’t even do something as easy as summon a gate to another world?!”

“Well…” Jiminy interjected somewhat hesitantly. “What if the reason why you seem to be having so much trouble has to do with you losin’ your strength?”

“But if that’s true, then how was I able to get us to Herc’s world before?” Sora countered with a fretful frown. He was half tempted to summon his Keyblade once more, speculating that perhaps the unexplainable damage done to it factored into this problem more than anything else. However, before he could even reach his hand out to do so, Goofy spoke up to propose an alternate theory instead.

“It could always be somethin’ really simple,” the captain suggested. “Like, just for example, ya could just be worn out from everything that’s happened since we set out.”

“…What?” Sora asked flatly, confused.

“Oh yeah!” Donald sent the Keybearer a disapproving look. “Sora, when was the last time you actually rested up? You know, like you’re supposed to?”

“Uh… w-well… there was the end of my exam when I was-”

“After that!” the magician fussed hotly.

“Um… I think it was… hm….” Sora trailed off, unable to really recall the last time he had taken a genuine break since they’d set out for Olympus. And given all of the harrowing happenings they’d been through both there and in Twilight Town, he couldn’t deny that he did feel tired at least on some level, though nowhere near to the point that mere exhaustion alone could be hindering him this much. Or at least, that’s what he thought.

“That’s it!” Donald concluded sharply. “This ship isn’t going anywhere until you’ve gotten all the rest you need to get it moving again!”

“What?!” Sora exclaimed, baffled as he met the magician’s stern glare. “Oh come on, Donald! You can’t just tell me to go to bed like I’m some little kid!”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you’d stop acting like one!” Donald shot back. “You need to start taking better care of yourself!”

“Hey, I take care of myself just fine!” Sora argued just as crossly. “Don’t I, Goofy?”

“Uh… well, garwsh, Sora, you know I’d usually say yes, but…” Goofy frowned worriedly. “After everything that happened back in Twilight Town what with you seein’ Roxas’ memories ‘n all, it might not be such a bad idea for you to get a lil’ shut-eye before we really start lookin’ for the Keys.”

“Aw, really? You too?” Sora huffed, disappointed. “Well, you can both forget it. We need to find those Keys and we can’t afford to waste time just because you guys think I need to rest. Besides, I’m not even ti-” The Keybearer suddenly cut himself off with a long, blatant yawn, one that he couldn’t have tried to hide or suppress even if he wanted to. A long beat of silence followed, with Donald and Goofy sending him equal knowing, expectant looks that were finally, inevitably enough to get Sora to cave. “Ugh, fine…” he grumbled, standing up. “I guess I’ll go take a nap or something…”

“Aw, now, Sora, don’t be like that,” Goofy chastised patiently as the Keybearer began trudging towards the lower deck door.

“You’ll thank us later when you’re well-rested and actually ready to explore the words,” Donald concluded, crossing his arms with a satisfied smirk.

“Sure, I will…” Sora deadpanned, both embarrassed and defeated as he left the cockpit. The Gummi Ship was already small and compact to begin with, yet surprisingly enough its lower sleeping quarters were rather spacious, complete with three comfy hammocks that the trio readily took to after most of their more tiring escapades. The Keybearer flopped down into his usual spot with an annoyed huff, not really bothering to settle in or get comfortable since he had no real intentions of sleeping to begin with.

“I don’t know what they’re so worried about…” he muttered to himself discontentedly as he positioned his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. “Just because I lost my strength doesn’t mean they have to act like I can’t do anything anymore.” Sora paused, his bitterness all too quickly fading into apprehension as he reached a hand up to summon his Keyblade. “Then again…” he trailed off, fixing his gaze on the solitary scar marring the Kingdom Key in such a foul, mysterious way. Slowly, carefully, he trailed a light finger along the deep, jagged crack, still wondering where it had come from in the first place, and if it could possibly get any worse from here.

Of course, those were wonderings Sora had no answer to himself, but he did know of someone who might. After all, as far as he’d heard, Riku’s old Keyblade had been all but destroyed in his and Mickey’s most recent visit to the Realm of Darkness. So certainly, if anyone would know about Keyblade damage, it’d be him.

So Sora quickly sat up, pulling the Gummiphone out of his pocket. While he was still getting used to how the device worked, fortunately Jiminy had already taken the liberty of showing him how to use it to make calls just about anywhere among the worlds. It was a feature he hadn’t really had much of a chance to use yet, but the Keybearer figured that there’d be no better candidate to try it out on than Riku.

A few awkward, somewhat uncertain taps later and Sora instantly perked up the moment he heard ringing on the other end of the line. The thought of simply talking to Riku, even from a distance like this, was more than enough to excite him, even despite the somewhat worrisome topic he wanted to ask him about. However, instead of receiving any such answer, or even a conversation in general, Sora was ultimately met with a simple, disappointing message from the Gummiphone instead: “Call failed.”

“Aw, come on…” Sora sighed, lying back down in clear disappointment, until the chimed in with another brief instruction.

“Leave a message?”

“Wait, you can leave messages on this thing too!?” Sora darted upright, amazed as he looked to the phone once more. It seemed to be recording him, likely for the sake of being delivered to Riku himself sometime later on, the Keybearer quickly, excitedly realized. “Oh! Hi, Riku! I… guess you missed me? Probably ‘cause you and the king are super busy trying to help Master Aqua, which—I know, I know, is really important and I shouldn’t be distracting you from it, but…” Sora hesitated, glancing down at his Keyblade and the disconcerting scratch torn across it briefly. Once again, that same sort of bizarre dread he had felt when him and Riku had parted ways panged upon his heart. Dread that, someway or another, directed him away from the very reason he had tried to make this call in the first place. “B-but… I just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing, s-so… so yeah. Call me back whenever you can, ok? I… I’ll talk to you later.” He stopped short one final time, wanting to say so much more but simply not finding the words as he brought his message to its succinct, unsatisfying close. “B-bye!”

The very moment he finally hung the unsuccessful call up, Sora let out a loud, frustrated groan, shielding his eyes with his arm as he let the Gummiphone fall by the wayside and his Keyblade disappear. He knew, he knew he had promised Riku that he’d be the first to know if anything was wrong or awry, a promise that Sora wanted to honor, one that he knew he’d do well to keep. Clearly, something was wrong here, his Keyblade alone was proof enough of that, and while he had no real idea how to address that anomaly with either Donald or Goofy, a strong part of him believed that Riku, more than anyone else really, would understand, would be able to do something to help. And yet, for whatever reason, it was is if the very thought of admitting to his longtime best friend that he was dealing with something that was beyond both his comprehension and control was far more difficult than any Heartless or Nobody he had ever had to face.

At the same time, Sora found himself falling even deeper into his restless guilt upon realizing that, in his message he’d also failed to mention anything that had happened in Twilight Town. Between the onslaught of his Nobody’s memories being thrust upon him and the discouraging words from both Ansem and Xemnas, there would have been plenty to tell Riku about for sure. And yet, the more the Keybearer thought on it, the better off he probably was not speaking to that later encounter in particular. After all, Sora figured, certainly the last thing Riku needed with all of the other pressures he was facing, was to worry over the very low likelihood that all of his hard work in saving him from Xehanort’s schemes had been for nothing in the end.

A very low likelihood… but still a likelihood all the same.

Sora took in a sharp breath at this, quickly shaking the troubling thought out of his mind. As he had told Donald and Goofy, he was confident that all of Ansem and Xemans’ talk of him being their thirteenth vessel was nothing more than a part of the seemingly endless string of lies the Organization was known for. A crafty, perhaps even clever tactic to try and make him doubt both himself and his mission, but one that the Keybearer refused to let get the better of him. Certainly, there was no way in any of the worlds that such a thing could possibly be true. If it was, then he would know, he’d be able to feel it… wouldn’t he?

But then there was the voice, the vicious pull against his heart pairing with it to captivate and control him against his will. The pall of darkness framed by the deepest of rage that had fallen over him in Olympus, darkness he had only barely stumbled his way out of. The dark, almost sinister crack running through the surface of his once strong, sturdy, and steady Keyblade, a place where such a gnarling mark should have never even been. Was there a chance that all of those things were connected somehow? Or worse yet, was there a chance that they were all pointing towards the frightening possibility, however small, that it was all somehow true after all?

Sora let out a deep, somewhat uneven sigh as he closed his eyes, trying his hardest to block out such a dark, downright horrifying notion out of his mind, only to—of course—think of nothing else. Ansem’s ominous, almost threatening claim in particular practically seemed to ring through his thoughts in a constant, chilling loop:

“You can feel it, can’t you?”

The problem was, he could feel it at that moment: that gripping, almost unbearable agony slicing through his heart, his very being like a flame-seared knife.

“Already the darkness has started to take a hold upon your heart.”

Unfortunately, that was a fact he couldn’t really argue against, if the horrific incident in Olympus was anything to go off of.

“And through that darkness, soon you will find yourself helpless to resist the master’s call to join our ranks as the vessel you are destined to be.”

Destined. Pushed. Forced. Forced into something he wanted no parts of, into something he had always done everything in his power to oppose and fight against with every ounce of strength he had. If those claims were somehow correct, then that was the future that awaited him, the fate that he would be forcefully, mercilessly thrust into, whether he wanted it or not. Which was why every single fiber of his being hoped against the warning signs, resolved to look past whatever they might mean for the exact opposite: that his heart would remain his own and stay far out of the devastating, destructive reach of the twisted man who had already ruined so many lives and still stood to ruin so many more.

Including his own.

***

Perfect sunsets were practically a constant on the Destiny Islands, and this one was no exception. The sun-kissed sands and shimmering sea were sights that Sora, Riku, and Kairi were all too used to by now. Yet as spectacularly beautiful as they always were, more often than not, the trio had found themselves mutually longing to see what lay beyond their simple island home. To venture to other worlds, experience all they had to offer, to voyage anywhere and everywhere, together through it all. And with the near-completion of their humble raft, what had once only been a distant, daunting dream was soon about to at long last, become a reality.

“So, Kairi’s home is out there somewhere, right?” Sora asked, going back to their unfinished conversation from earlier.

“Could be,” Riku said, positioned against the paopu tree. “We’ll never know by staying here.”

“But how far could a raft take us?” Sora wondered, leaning forward slightly.

“Who knows? If we have to, we’ll think of something else.”

“So suppose you do get to another world,” Kairi cut in, curious. “What would you do there?”

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it.” Riku kept his sights on the endless sea stretching before them as he spoke. “It’s just… I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?”

“I don’t know,” Sora concluded, casually reclining back on his spot on the tree.

“Exactly,” Riku nodded, assured of his theory. “That’s why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won’t change a thing. It’s the same old stuff. So let’s go.”

A bout of long silence filled in between the trio after this, permeated only by the predictably-timed, gently-crashing surf as it washed onto the nearby shore. Indeed, there seemed to be so much more outside of the boundaries of the world they had always known, so much to do, so much to see, and so little time for it all. Still, the door to it whatever might be out there stood large and looming before them. All they had to do was open it and find out what whatever might be waiting on the other side.

“This world…” Sore spoke up, moved by a sudden, compulsory thought. His tone was quiet, calm, yet laced with a strange sort of disdain as he sat up, the golden glow from the blazing sunset seeming to take over his eyes altogether. “It’s just… too small…”

He flinched in surprise the very moment the words left his mouth. Never, ever before, had such a strange, almost alarming thought crossed his mind before, even regardless of their upcoming journey to leave that world behind. The Destiny Islands were his home, the place where everything and everyone he cared about and ever had cared about all resided. But for the briefest of moments, some bitter, unwelcome part of him felt trapped within them, as if they were a prison, a cage. And yet, for as foreign and downright frightening as that feeling had been, what was even more disconcerting yet was that both Riku and Kairi seemed to agree with him.

“You’re right…” Kairi said, her voice oddly hollow, lacking the usual bright warmth Sora always knew it to carry. He quickly glanced over at her, her eyes concealed in shadows cast by the darkening sunset as a small, unreadable smile began to creep across her lips. “It is…”

“It always has been…” Riku added just as ominously, facing away from the pair beside him altogether just as the sun finally sank below the horizon altogether. “It’s about time you finally realized that, Sora…”

“W-what?” Sora asked tightly, though he received no response from either of his friends. Instead, their silence was quickly filled in as the gentle ocean breeze picked up into a gale force wind almost instantly. Sora half slipped, half fell off the paopu tree as the once warm and rosy sky was tossed into inexplicable darkness, the sea taking on the same inky shade as the play island began to split apart at the seems behind them. Against the sudden tumult of the world itself violently coming undone all around them, Sora naturally panicked, something that neither Riku nor Kairi seemed to share as they remained as still and strangely calm as ever.

“R-Riku!” he gasped, barely able to even hear himself amidst the whipping winds. “Something’s wrong! We need to-” Sora stopped short, shocked as he only barely skimmed Riku’s arm in an attempt to grab it, only for his best friend to vanish away into the nothingness overtaking the islands as a whole, as if he had never even been there at all.

Sora barely even had a chance to respond to this outside of a huge rush of unspoken grief as he quickly turned to Kairi, reaching to grab her hand to try and save her from the same horrific fate. “Kairi, I-I don’t know what’s-” He froze, the first hints of tears starting to well up in his eyes the moment he felt Kairi’s unmoving hand fade out of his. And sure enough, in seconds, just like Riku, just like everything else he knew and loved, she was gone.

He didn’t even notice as what little was left of the island followed suit. In fact, he barely even noticed as the ground gave way underneath him, sending him into a free fall into the endless darkness that remained in its wake. Overwhelmed with anguish over his lost home, his lost friends as he was, the incredible pain that jarred through every single part of his body barely even seemed to register as he finally struck the unknown glass surface down below. And for what seemed like ages, that’s exactly where he lay, completely unmoving, his chest heaving with sobs that would come over all everything that had been torn away from him in one single, devastating sweep.

“Giving up already? Come on, Sora, I thought you were stronger than that.”

“R-Riku?!” Sora bolted upright, the brightest burst of hope breaking through the pounding pain as he searched the darkness surrounding him for any signs of life. The colorful glass beneath him had been broken by his heavy impact, to the point that whatever design had been etched into its surface all but unrecognizable thanks to the heavy cracks marring it. Still, none of that mattered to Sora the moment he spotted a single figure, clad in a familiar black cloak, standing out upon the scattered shards afar in the distance. “Riku!”

In an instant, Sora was back on his feet, running to bridge the gap between himself and who he assumed, who he desperately hoped was his seemingly lost friend. If it really was Riku, then there was no doubt that between the two of them, they’d be able to find Kairi and restore the islands. Together, they’d be able to restore the ruined, broken pieces of their peaceful lives once and for all.

It almost sounded too good to be true. And of course, that’s exactly what it was.

“Riku!” Sora couldn’t suppress a relieved smile as he finally reached the cloaked figure, not hesitating to reach a hand up towards him. “I can’t believe I found-”

As soon as the cloak figure even slightly turned to face him, the Keybearer instantly drew his hand away from him, as if he had touched the hottest of fires instead. And by all accounts, he might as well have, considering who really was standing before him now: Young Xehanort.

“Well? Go on,” he said calmly, knowingly as Sora stumbled back with a frightened gasp. “I’d be very interested to know what exactly is it that you think you’ve found.”

The Keybearer’s breath hitched at this,  eclipsed by the same sort of fear that he had known in the final moments of his last encounter with this sinister foe, right before he had been lost to a cold, dark slumber that had been meant to condemn him to an equally cold, dark fate. Even so, the thought of someone like Young Xehanort especially seeing that sort of deep, unshakable fear was one that Sora refused to accept. Which was why he forced himself to snap into a state of determined resistance, a Keyblade appearing in his hands as he took up a warning defensive stance against his enemy.

“That’s none of your business,” Sora retorted sharply, tightening his grip on his Keyblade. “Now, leave me alone already! I already told Ansem and Xemnas that whatever plans you have about me becoming your vessel aren’t going to work, so get lost!”

The younger master smirked at this, as if amused by the Keybearer’s brazen, earnest show of defiance. “I have a better idea,” he said, extending a hand out as darkness began to converge around it. “Why don’t you?”

As the burst of darkness escaped from Young Xehanort’s reach, Sora couldn’t help but instinctively flinch away from it, believing himself to be its target. However, that didn’t seem to be the case, for when he opened his eyes, he found that the shattered stain glass and the inky blackness surrounding it gone, but instead, replaced by a vast, white, opulent chamber instead. He was somehow positioned in the center of this hall, Young Xehanort still standing apace from him, both of them surrounded by an unbroken circle of thirteen towering thrones of varying heights. The disconcerting setting rung familiar with Sora in a way he couldn’t quite place, but even so, he kept his guard up against his foe all the same, wary of any other odd tricks he might have up his sleeve.

“I see that there’s still so little you actually understand,” Young Xehanort began, his tone as even and icy as ever. “But worry not. As soon as you come to take your rightful place among our ranks, everything will at last become perfectly clear.”

“Like that’s ever gonna happen,” Sora countered with a relentless glare. “How many times do I have to you? I’ll never be one of your vessels, no matter how much you think you can force me into it!”

Of all things, Young Xehanort let out a small, almost mocking chuckle at this as he shook his head. “Oh, Sora, I’m not forcing you into anything,” he said quite condescendingly. “The hidden darkness residing in the depths of your own heart has always been there. All we’re doing is tapping into that darkness to claim it, and you, as our own. And if any sort of foolish doubts remain in your mind, then simply take a look at your Keyblade for a glimpse of the truth.”

“My Keyblade?” Sora raised a confused eyebrow, having not paid his weapon any attention in this encounter until now. However, when he actually did spare a cursory glance down at it, he quickly wished he hadn’t. For instead of the Kingdom Key he was always used to seeing, the Keyblade in his hands now was of dark, almost demonic design, sharp and twisted in just about every way, from its knife-like edges, to its bold, sinister etchings, to the chilling, singular blue eye resting near its tip. Alarmed by its very appearance alone, Sora was quick to dismiss the weapon in the hopes of actually summoning his own this time, only for the very same black blade to show up in his grasp once again. “W-what is this?!”

“Proof,” Young Xehanort answered, disappearing only to reappear in one of the several surrounding high thrones. “Proof that you cannot escape your fate, regardless of how you might aspire to try. Slow and steady as your fall may be, you will still fall all the same. And when you do, we’ll all be waiting.”

At this, the every single one of the other thrones in the room filled up as well, each by a different member of Organization XIII, all of their faces were concealed by the shadows of the dark hoods they were wearing. All of them, save for Young Xehanort and the figure who had just arrived from the shadows at his spot on the tallest throne of them all: Master Xehanort himself.

The Keybearer only had the briefest of chances to glance up at the elderly master before the ominous Keyblade was more or less forced out of his hands by the overwhelming agony that shot through his heart like a flame-tipped arrow. He instantly collapsed to his hands and knees, unable to do much else, even let out the pressing cry of pain that was practically begging to be released from his throat. From his lofty throne, Xehanort simply smirked down at the display of suffering before him, sadistically satisfied that it was happening to begin with. Sora, however, wasn’t about to let him have that satisfaction at his expense for too long, even despite the anguish still pervading just about every single one of his senses.

“N-no…” the Keybearer gasped, pressing a hand against his aching heart as he forced his weak voice to be as loud as he could manage. “No, I… y-you won’t… I… I can’t be-”

“You are,” the elderly master finally spoke up. “Deep down, certainly, you already know that you are, despite your pathetic attempts at convincing yourself of the contrary. There is no point in trying to delude yourself any further; accept what awaits you and rid yourself of your unending sorrow once and for all.”

Though he knew he was already treading on incredibly dangerous ground, Sora let out a scoff at this, finally working up the energy and the nerve to glare up at the distant master. “I-I… I can handle a little pain just fine, b-believe me.”

“The ‘pain’ your own foolish resistance is bringing you wasn’t what I meant,” Xehanort shook his head, still wearing that sinister smirk all the while. “What I speak of is the great burden you’ve been forced to bear through no choice of your own. The weight of the worlds on your shoulders, the fates of so many lost souls all depending on your success alone…. All such momentous, cumbersome responsibilities for a boy as young and innocent as yourself, responsibilities that, by all accounts, shouldn’t solely fall to you in the first place. Out of anything else, that’s certainly something you can’t deny, can you, Sora?”

The Keybearer finally stilled at this, his harsh expression dissolving away into several other emotions at once: confusion, worry, fear, and sadness, all as he realized that no, he really couldn’t deny any of what the elderly master had just said. From the very moment he had first been torn from his island and his friends, his once-normal life had become a rapid, aggressive whirlwind, one that never seemed to stop and let him revel in his victories, however small they might sometimes be, along the way. And stuck in the middle of that whirlwind, there he was, tasked with—no, expected to dive headfirst into constant danger in the hopes of completing a mission so momentous and so important that the worlds themselves would fall into sure destruction and devastation if he failed it. These were odds that he had faced before, but the stakes always seemed to grow higher and heavier, to the point that he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to struggle under the weight of it all before it crushed him completely.

“Fortunately for you, however,” Xehanort interjected, not giving Sora much of a chance to answer at all. “Very soon those immense burdens will no longer be yours to carry. For once you submit to your proper role as my thirteenth vessel… then shall your heart finally, truly be set free.”

Whatever small seeds of doubt the elderly master might have sowed were quickly ripped away when Sora heard this. Instead, his former resilience returned tenfold as he forced himself beyond the crippling agony, staggering to stand and stare Xehanort down with every ounce of defiance he had left to give. “Y-you really think that’s what freedom is?” the Keybearer challenged boldly. “Taking people’s hearts away from them and using them as your own? Because if you ask me, that sounds like the exact opposite of freedom, and just in case you still haven’t gotten the picture already, its something I don’t want any part of!”

Xehanort’s near-constant smile finally fell somewhat into a disapproving scowl at this outburst, though even so, he hardly seemed moved by it as he simply shook his head. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t make this easy for us, Sora,” he began, closing his eyes thoughtfully. “Then again, I suppose that’s what will make this all the more… interesting. For as difficult as this lengthy process might be for us, it will be infinitely more agonizing for you.”

The once-dulled pain came rushing right back into the Keybearer’s heart at full force as the elderly master clenched his gloved hand tightly, immense darkness swirling around it all the while. This time, however, he wasn’t granted the luxury of being able to fall, but instead was stuck standing, as if he had been frozen in place so he could be forced to listen to whatever Xehanort had to say next.

“You may say that you do not want to become a vessel for my heart,” the elderly master suddenly vanished from his towering throne, only to reappear on the platform below, directly in front of his unmoving victim. “But I’m afraid you have no choice. For you see, Sora… your heart already belongs to me.”

Xehanort’s almost mocking sneer returned in full force at this, especially as he pointed a finger out towards Sora, or more specifically, his heart. As frozen and stiff as he was, the Keybearer couldn’t see that the result of this was practically instantaneous. A dark sort of glow bloomed over his heart, which spread to cover his hands and a good portion of his arms, painting them a sinister shadowy shade. The usual chestnut brown color his hair was known to have was quickly overtaken by a spotless snowy white, and his eyes, normally as blue as the depths of the oceans themselves, took on the same sort of haunting, hollow gold that filled Xehanort’s own. But even if Sora wasn’t completely cognizant of these horrific transformations, what he was aware of was the relentless, blinding, absolutely unbearable anguish essentially strangling his heart, splitting out from there to every other part of his body so intensely that he was genuinely shocked that he was still even conscious amidst it at all.

“Feel free to try and run and hide all you’d like,” Xehanort continued, walking towards the Keybearer with an intentionally slow pace as he took in the look of absolute agony and terror clearly showing on his face with cool, calm confidence. “Continue to lie to your companions, your friends, even yourself that you’re safe and sound and not slipping into the darkness you’re already standing knee-deep in. But know that there is no world you can go to where you can escape from me. There is nothing, nothing you can do to free yourself from your final fate.”

By now, tears had finally started to well up in Sora’s now-yellow eyes, his heart and mind both begging for any sort of release, a plea that he wasn’t even permitted to voice aloud thanks to the unyielding hold the elderly master had over him. Try as he had to not show any sort of fear in front of his foe, he was largely unable to do anything else now. The mere thought of this wicked, merciless man ripping away all sense of autonomy away from him, forcing him to follow his treacherous, ruinous commands, tearing him and his heart away from everything he knew and loved and wanted to protect, was so horrific and devastating that he couldn’t even begin to bear it. In fact, the very notion, a notion that seemed all too real here and now, was so awful and horrifying that he felt as though the weight of everything he stood to lose was quickly starting to crush him. And the worst part of it all, was that Xehanort was absolutely right; there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“What a great irony it is that the so-called ‘hero’ of the Keyblade who restored light to countless worlds time and time again will ultimately become the key that will send them all into everlasting darkness once and for all,” Xehanort mused evenly as he continued to approach the agonized Keybearer. “For when the time comes that you have fully submitted to my power, then not only shall you be the one to deliver to me the thirteen Keys to the Kingdom, but through you, I shall lay claim to the very heart of all worlds itself: Kingdom Hearts!”

Upon hearing the absolutely horrendous plans the elderly master had in store for him, Sora wanted to scream, struggle, fight, do anything at all to save himself and literally everyone and everything else from such a gruesome fate. And yet, just as before, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t resist, he couldn’t do a single thing to keep Xehanort from getting exactly what he wanted. He was trapped, in so many different, terrible ways he couldn’t even begin to list them all if he tried.

“And since you’re already here, I see no point in delaying the inevitable any further,” The elderly master had finally reached the Keybearer, and had slowly begun extending a hand towards him to finally claim his heart once and for all. The most Sora could do was let out a small, strained, pleading sob, one that Xehanort clearly heard, but hardly cared for as he continued to make his sadistic approach. “Surrender your heart now to me, my thirteenth and final vessel, and open the door to the source of all light, darkness, and life itself!”

As the elderly master came within mere inches of skimming his heart, Sora was overcome by so much sheer, raw, pain that he almost thought it might end up killing him then and there. Which, all things considered, very well might have been a better fate for him than what Xehanort had in mind. And he was just about ready to submit himself to just as despicable of an end before something that was nothing short of a miracle happened.

Just as it seemed as though Xehanort had completely reached the Keybearer’s agonized heart, the entire white room was engulfed in the brightest of light. So intense was its radiance that it seemed to banish every speck of darkness in its path, from the observing, unknown members of Organization XIII sitting high upon their surrounding thrones, to even Master Xehanort himself. Sora felt control of his movements return to him in a full force wave, finally allowing him to fall to his knees and try to recover from the still-panging pain pulling on his heart, though thankfully it was finally starting to fade somewhat. He hadn’t the faintest idea as to what was going on, though he was aptly amazed upon taking a glance up to see that the light that had rescued him had condensed itself down into three vaguely human silhouettes. They stood between the Keybearer and a large, writing mass of immense, unimaginable darkness, though even so, they seemed to be guarding him from it, never letting its vicious tendrils touch him, despite its most aggressive efforts.

Amidst his own exhaustion and confusion, Sora didn’t know what to make of any of this, though his dumbfounded shock only grew tenfold as the practically blinding glow surrounding one of the three figures finally dulled a bit, making their identity instantly clear.

“R-Roxas?!” Sora gasped, recognizing his Nobody even from behind without a moment’s doubt.

Roxas smiled as he glanced back at his other, his manner strong and sturdy and confident in every place where Sora’s currently wasn’t. “Look sharp!” he encouraged, intentionally calling back to one of their few, all too brief encounters in the past.

“I-I… I don’t understand,” Sora shook his head, aptly baffled to the point that he didn’t even notice that his hair, eyes, and hands had all returned to normal. “How… how are you… w-what are you doi-”

“Its ok,” Roxas interjected, still calm even despite the swirling shadows behind him. “You don’t have to understand. All you need to know is that you’re safe. We’re not about to let him take over, are we?”

By now, the other two figures alongside Roxas had cleared somewhat, though Sora couldn’t make out much of their features outside of the fact that one of them seemed to be a girl around their age, while the other looked conspicuously like his Nobody. They both smiled and nodded warmly in response to the question Roxas posed, and though he turned towards the Keybearer for a similar answer, he was largely hard pressed to give one at a moment like this.

“Roxas, I-I… I’m sorry,” Sora began, going off on another tangent entirely. “I don’t know what’s going on, b-but I want you to—no, I need you to know that I’m gonna find a way to get you out of my heart. I-I don’t care what I have to do, I will do it. I promise.”

Roxas’ smile finally faded at this, concern and surprise washing over his features instead, almost as if he hadn’t expected such an earnest, resolved vow from his other. He paused, glancing back at the darkness he was helping to hold back, then to the two unknown figures flanking him, before finally looking back to Sora himself with a solemn, serious sort of expression. “Sora…” Roxas said with what almost sounded like a sad sigh. “I… t-thank you, but… you don’t have to do that.”

“What are you talking about?” Sora asked, compelled by the recollection of all of the memories his Nobody had shared with him, directly or not. “Of course I do! Y-you deserve to be free and with your friends and-”

“And so do you,” Roxas countered, glancing away. “Which is why, at least for now, I need to stay here. All three of us do.”

“W-what…?” was all the Keybearer could manage as tears started to well up in his eyes.

“You kept us safe, Sora,” the dark-haired girl said with a smile, her eyes still largely concealed as she turned to him slightly.

“You gave us a second chance when we needed it most,” the other boy added, his voice sounding almost identical to Roxas’ though they weren’t quite the same.

“You protected our hearts inside of your own,” Roxas finished, his soft, thankful smile returning. He extended a hand out to Sora, clearly with the intent of helping him up, though the gesture seemed to imply so much more. “Now let us return the favor. I know you’ll find a way to save us someday, but right now, we’re going to do everything we can to save you.”

The distant darkness finally seemed to wither and fade away at this proclamation, as if repulsed by such a powerful promise. Yet even despite this, Sora was far from satisfied by what it really meant. “B-but Roxas, I-I-”

“It’s like I told you before, Sora,” Roxas continued, his tone bittersweet as he once again implored his other to take his hand. “It has to be you. Which is why it’s time for you to wake up. Are you ready?”

Instantly, Sora understood the many layers behind this question, knowing exactly what Roxas was asking if he was ready for: to begin his search for the thirteen Keys, to find a way to bring the guardians of light together, to face the darkness that had somehow found a way to pervade even his own heart. These were all great feats that, before, the Keybearer hadn’t felt entirely prepared for. But with his Nobody in his heart and his friends standing by his side, for perhaps the first time, he felt as though he really could pull it all off after all.

“Y-yes,” Sora said as firmly as he could, finally taking Roxas’ hand. “I’m ready.”

“Good,” Roxas’ smile grew at this and the two figures standing at his sides took on the same supportive look as light converged around all three of them once again. “Then I’ll see you soon,” The immense glow began to overtake Sora as well, blinding him from everything but the warm, pure, healing warmth welling up inside his chest as both other and Nobody reaffirmed their separate vows one final time.

“I promise.”

***

Sora awoke with a start, darting up on his hammock so quickly that he almost fell out of it entirely. His heart was racing, his breathing short and his brow covered in a cold sweat as he tried to regather his lost bearings. As frantic as his initial waking seconds were, he hadn’t even noticed that both Donald and Goofy were in the sleeping quarters as well. Both of them more or less toppled over on top of each other thanks to the scare their young companion’s sudden awakening had given them. And as caught up in recovering from everything he’d just been through as he was, Sora didn’t pay either of them much mind until they finally spoke up to garnish his attention.

“S-Sora?” Donald began first, his former frustration replaced with deep, genuine concern. “Are… are you ok?”

“Huh?” Sora drew in a sharp breath as he turned towards the pair. Briefly, he took a look around, finally realizing that he was back in the Gummi Ship, no signs of Xehanort and the Organization, or Roxas and his two unknown companions in sight. “W-was…. Was all of that just… just a dream…?”

“Must’ve been a nightmare from the looks of it,” Goofy noted with a fretful frown. “And a pretty bad one too. We came down here to check on you ‘cause we heard ya yelling and kickin’ around, even from all the way upstairs.”

“And then when we made it down here, we couldn’t get you to wake up!” Donald added just as intently. He paused for a beat, sighing before looking to the Keybearer with a rare sense of gentle earnestly. “Listen, Sora. We know you’ve had plenty of nightmares during our adventures before….”

“And you know we’ve never hounded ya to tell us about ‘em unless you were good and ready to,” Goofy added patiently.

“But this time, we need to know,” the magician continued, his tone calm yet stern all the same. “What kind of nightmare did you just have that was so bad you woke up from it crying?”

“Crying?” Sora repeated, confused. “I’m not-” He stopped short as he skimmed his fingers right below his eye, feeling the warm wetness of undeniably fresh fallen tears there. “Oh,” was all he said, surprised by just how heavy his supposed nightmare had hit him emotionally.

“So… w-what happened?” Goofy asked cautiously. “Is it anything we can help with?”

At first, Sora said nothing, still worn and overwhelmed by about a thousand different thoughts and feelings at once. His heart was free of the pain that had oppressed it in his dream, but even so, Xehanort’s horrific threats rung in his mind as loud and clear as ever. Before now, he had been secure in his doubts that he would end up becoming the Organization’s last missing vessel; but now, after everything he’d heard and seen and experienced, his doubts were starting to fall towards the exact opposite end of the spectrum instead. Was there indeed a chance that it was all true, that he really was starting the long fall into inescapable darkness, right into Xehanort’s hands after all? The evidence pointing towards it—the incident in Olympus, the events unfolded in Twilight Town, the mysterious damage sustained to his Keyblade, even the ominous, alarming dream he had just been pulled out of—certainly seemed to be stacking up against his favor. But even if it was true—which he was starting to realize, it very well could be—that was a defeat he wasn’t quite ready to admit yet, nor would he ever be. Doing so would only let Xehanort gain an easy win, and after his brief, harrowing encounter with the elderly master—real or not—that was something Sora refused to let happen.

“I… I don’t think so,” Sora finally responded to Goofy’s question, honest with this first point, though he quickly resorted to another convenient lie as he continued. After all, if this was a battle he really had to fight after all, the last thing he wanted was to drag his friends along into it with him. After all, Roxas had already decided to take this immense struggle up for him, a fact that the Keybearer reminded himself of all too painfully well. “I-it was just… I-I guess I was still worried about what might happen if we don’t find all of the Keys in time, so my dream—nightmare—was about… that.”

Both the captain and the magician’s expressions went stark with fear upon hearing this, both of them sharing the same sort of unspoken dread of that terrifying possibility as well. “Do… do you wanna… talk about it anymore?” Goofy asked apprehensively.

“Not really,” Sora responded truthfully, letting out a long sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “It was kind of… a lot, if you know what I mean.”

Thankfully, both Donald and Goofy seemed to understand this implication, for neither of them pressed him any further on the matter. It was with a small pang of guilt that Sora realized he might have fooled both of them too well, but it was a necessary deception all the same. Even if he wanted to tell them about what he feared was starting to befall him, he had no idea where to even start, or how they might react. And besides, it wasn’t really like they had too much time to focus on what could still very well have been an unfounded fear altogether. They still had a supremely mission that they’d yet to even set out on, after all.

“So are you finally rested up and ready to go?” Donald asked, eyeing the Keybearer skeptically as he finally got up out of his hammock.

“Yep,” Sora affirmed with a genuine smile as he recalled the much-needed encouragement that had capped off what had otherwise been a miserable nightmare. Encouragement from Roxas himself, and the question that once again, now prompted him to action: “Are you ready?” “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good,” the magician huffed impatiently while the captain let out a small chuckle, both of them following their young companion back upstairs to the cockpit. “Then let’s actually start this mission for real this time!”

“I’m way ahead of you,” Sora nodded with a wide grin. Reaching a hand towards the stars outside, he summoned his Keyblade, choosing to ignore the dark crack somewhere on its surface. Regardless of whatever sort of hold or power Xehanort and the Organization believed they had over him, Sora was determined to not go down without the most intense fight he could muster against them. With so much at stake—the Keys, the worlds, his friends most of all—he had plenty worth fighting for. And he was sure that, with all of those things he cared so much about combined to inspire him, to push him forward and keep his heart strong and secure, then there was no way he would let himself fall.

“I’ll see you soon,” Roxas had said, a promise that Sora chose to believe with all his heart. A promise brimming with hope and comfort that someday, everything would finally be as it should, that all of the wrongs caused by Xehanort and his followers would at long last, be set right. And as far as the Keybearer was concerned, there was no better time to start righting those wrongs, then right here and now.

“Yeah,” he whispered to himself, pointing his Keyblade forward. A bright, familiar light surrounded its tip this time, bursting out beyond the ship’s cockpit and out into the vast expanse of space. There, it expanded, growing and glowing as it created exactly what the trio needed to move forward: a gate. Donald and Goofy cheered over this long-awaited progress, but Sora simply smiled as he took the reigns of the Gummi Ship’s controls, boldly, confidently steering towards whatever world awaited them in the first step of the daunting, daring adventure before them. “See you soon.”

Next:

[destiny-weaver]

Sora's one of my favorite characters. Not my all time favorite, sadly (blame the fact that I'm a sucker for redemption arcs), but still one of my favorites. I particularly like the theory that he's a stepford smiler, because that fits his personality SO WELL! It explains so much about how he asks. I mean, bear in mind, the only time he allows himself to show emotional vulnerability is when he thinks nobody's around, and he always puts his emotions second to everyone else's.

Huh :lc It’s an interesting theory, and I can definitely see where you’re coming from, but I don’t think his happiness is all a lie.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but throughout 3D Sora is essentially alone in the Mark of Mastery Exam, and he doesn’t really show the same level of emotional vulnerability that he shows in KH1 or KH2. The most he shows is confusion at what’s going on (just like the rest of us) and he only cries towards Xion because of Roxas’ influence.

What I believe is going on here is that he uses the defense mechanism “reaction formation”, which is basically the process of trading unacceptable impulses (in his case being sad, anxious, disappointed in himself, etc) for their opposite (being happy or acting as if he’s totally fine).

 In KH1 he’s more open to showing his negative emotions, which is a pretty rational response to things given he was separated from his best friends and his home is essentially gone. He was unsure that he was going to see his friends again and he didn’t know how Donald and Goofy could be so optimistic about seeing their King again when they had no leads. 

In KH2, you know Sora wants to go find Riku and then go home. That’s it. But he has to go on another journey because he’s the chosen one key. He has his moments where he’s upset, where he wonders if he’ll ever go back home and then just rubs it off as a joke. Where he believed it was his fault Kairi got kidnapped again and was worried that Riku was on Org XIII’s side. The only time he truly deals with all those emotions is when he breaks down in TWTNW. Basically, the only time he really deals with all of it is when he’s at his breaking point and there’s literally no way he can make a joke out of it.

I see Sora’s breakdown as a reaction to his apprehension towards whether or not Riku was 1) alive and 2) with the Organization, the helplessness and shame he had towards not being able to 1) come back to the islands like he promised to Kairi and 2) being unable to prevent her kidnapping or even get her out even after he begged on his knees to see her (which had a whole lot of significance but I’m not gonna get into that). To find Kairi safe and there, we already saw how overjoyed he was when he saw her, he left his guard open in the middle of a battle between heartless. To find Riku looking like Ansem SOD of all people, to find him alive and on his side after being MIA for the majority of the game was his breaking point.

TLDR: I think Sora can be genuinely happy. While I do think him not dealing with his negative emotions and just giving a cheerful facade most of the time is something he does, I don’t think it’s all a lie. He does show moments of vulnerability when he’s around Donald and Goofy, so it’s not like he totally keeps it secret.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 39

Warnings: it’s pretty obvious by now

Rating: SFW

A girl with black and silver hair was playing with her sister with the same hair color in a beautiful garden. The girls were laughing as they chased each other around. A woman was watching them play and saw the time.

“Yui! Roxy! Time to head home!” she said. 

“Aww, do we have to?” Roxy asked. 

“Yes. Your father is expecting us back.” 

“Okay.” Yui and Roxy ran over to their mother and headed back to the castle. On their way back, they stopped at a small shop so that their mother could pick up some flowers. As they were walking back to the castle, a giant Heartless had appeared. 

“Get behind me, girls,” their mother said. Yui and Roxy hid behind their mother as she summoned her weapon. She fought the Heartless but it stabbed her before she could attack. 

“MOMMY!” Yui and Roxy yelled. Their mother fell to the ground, blood coming out of her. The Heartless walked away and they ran over to their mother. 

“Mommy! Wake up!” Yui said. 

“Come on, mommy! Please wake up!” Roxy said. A Dark Corridor opened up and their father walked out of it.

“Daddy, help!” Yui said. Their father ran over to them and placed their mother on his lap.

“What happened?” he asked. 

“A-a giant monster came and attacked us,” Roxy sobbed. Their father quickly grabbed a potion and used it on their mother but it didn’t work. 

“No...” he said. 

“Is she...?” Yui asked. 

“I’m afraid so.” The girls sobbed and hugged their father. A few weeks later, there was a funeral for their mother. Everyone had attended. Their father, their uncles, and their aunts. After the funeral, their father locked himself in his office. The girls looked at the closed door, wanting to go in. 

“Come on, little ones. Let’s give your father a minute,” one of their uncles said. The girls followed their uncle to the seating area and everyone did their best to make the girls smile again. 

~~~~

Yui looked at her locket that had a picture of her and her mother on it. She closed the locket and hid it in her pocket. 

“So, where do you think this Spirit is?” Roxy asked. 

“I don’t know. But I think we should start in Hollow Bastion. Father might head there to take care of the Keyblade wielder,” Yui said. The girls summoned their weapons and headed into Hollow Bastion.

The train rolled out into the open sky. Soon, the train pulled onto the base of a mysterious tower, emblazoned with moons and stars like the train. You, Sora, Donald, and Goofy left the train, which then disappeared, leaving only the tracks. Sora giggled nervously.

“There goes our ride...” he said. In the distance, there was someone standing at the doorway of the tower.

“What's goin' on?” Goofy asked. 

“I sent some of my lackeys inside to see if the master of this here tower's as big and tough as they say. Word is, he's a real powerful sorcerer. Which would make him the perfect bodyguard for me. See, it don't matter how tough he is---once he's a Heartless, he'll do as I say!” Pete said. 

“A Heartless?” Donald asked. 

“That's right. They're those things that come outta the darkness in folks' hearts. Why, with all those Heartless at her side, my dear friend Maleficent is gonna conquer everything! And since I got me a debt to pay, I'm goin' 'round to a bunch of different worlds and buildin' an army of Heartless, special for her. Why am I talkin' to you pipsqueaks anyway? Go on, scram! I'm behind schedule as it is.”

“You oughta find somethin' nicer to do,” Goofy said. 

“Says who?” Pete turned around and spotted you, Odile, Donald, Goofy, and Sora.

“Wha...AAAH! It's you!” he said. 

“Pete!” Donald and Goofy said. 

“What are you two nimrods doin' here!?”

“What are YOU doing here?” Donald asked. 

“You know him?” you asked. 

“We sure do! Pete's been causin' trouble for ages! His Majesty banished him to another dimension a long time ago. I wonder how he escaped,” Goofy said. Pete laughed.

“You wanna know how, eh? Well, Maleficent busted me out, that's how! And now your world---no, no, no, all the worlds---are gonna belong to yours truly. Cause Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em!” he said.

“Maleficent...huh,” Sora said. You and the trio giggled. Odile looked at you confused.

“What are you laughing at!? Why, Maleficent's power is so great---” Pete said.

“She's toast!” you said.

“Huh?”

“Sorry, but Maleficent can't help ya now,” Goofy said. 

“Whaddaya mean!?” Donald snickered. 

“You! So you're the ones that did it!” Pete said. 

“Well...we mighta had something to do with it,” Sora said. 

“Heartless squad! Round up!” Pete said, angrily. Some shadows came out of the ground. Sora conjured his Keyblade while you grabbed your and the two of you fought them.

“You just wait! Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the mighty Pete!” Pete said. 

“So, ‘mighty’ Pete, who lives in this tower, anyway?” you asked. 

“Oh, ya don't know, eh? Well, it's old Yen Sid. 'Course he's probably a Heartless by now!”

“Master Yen Sid lives here!?” Donald asked. He ran up the steps and into the tower.

“Yen Sid is the King's teacher!” Goofy said. 

“Wow. Sounds powerful!” Sora said. You, Sora and Goofy then ran up the stairs, leaving Pete and his dropped jaw hanging. The four of you ascended the stairs until you all reached the top floor, fighting Heartless along the way.

“Heartless, Heartless, Heartless! Things haven't changed one bit!” Donald said. 

“Well, it's a good thing we're on the job, then,” Goofy said. 

“So the worlds aren't at peace after all?” you asked. The four of you soon reached the Sorcerer's Loft where an old wizard was sitting at his desk. Donald and Goofy bowed to him.

“Master Yen Sid! It's an honor!” Donald said.

“Hey there!” Sora said. 

“Hi!” you said. Goofy and Donald were slightly shocked at you and Sora.

“Sora! (Y/N)! Show some respect!” Donald said. The wizard calmed Donald down.

“So, you are Sora and (Y/N). Now then, have you seen the King yet?” Yen Sid said. 

“Yes, we did, Master. But we didn't get a chance to talk to him,” Goofy said. 

“Yes...the King has been quite busy of late. Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you four falls upon my shoulders. You have a perilous journey ahead of you. You must be well prepared.” 

“You mean...we have to go on another quest? I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku, so we could go back to the islands,” Sora said. 

“And I’ve been wanting to find my parents and the history of my powers,” you said. 

“Yes. I know. However, everything in your journey, Sora adn (Y/N), is connected. Whether you will find your way home to the islands... Whether you will return alone or with your friend or finding your parents... And, whether or not the islands will still be there. And the key that connects them all is you.”

“We’re...the key?” Sora asked. Sora held out his hand and the Keyblade flashed into it. You grabbed your dagger and unsheathed it.

“Chosen wielder of the Keyblade and Spirit of Light! You are the key that will open the door to light,” Yen Sid said. You and Sora nodded. Yen Sid looked to Donald and Goofy who quickly stood up straight and nodded. Yen Sid waved a hand over the table and a thick book appeared. He made it float into the air and spun it towards you and Sora. It opened and landed at the edge of the table.

“This book contains valuable knowledge you will need for your journey. Study it carefully. Once you have finished, we will speak of the enemies you will surely confront,” Yen Sid said. You and Sora read the book from beginning to end. 

“But wait a sec---how come the Heartless are still running around?” Sora asked. 

“Your past endeavors did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness; make no mistake about that. However, the Heartless are darkness made real---and darkness lingers yet in every heart. The Heartless are fewer. But while darkness exists in a single heart, it will be difficult to eliminate them,” Yen Sid said. You and the trio sighed. Odile rubbed her cheek against yours in a comforting manner. 

“Gawrsh, that must mean...if everybody's heart was full of light, them Heartless'd go away!” Goofy said. Yen Sid nodded.

“Now it is time to speak of the enemies that you will encounter,” he said. Yen Sid waved a hand and an image of Donald appeared near the wall. The image then changed to a Shadow Heartless.

“If one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they too will become a Heartless. But you know this. The Heartless are always lurking and ever seeking to capture new hearts. Never let your guard down! Now then...” Yen Sid said. Yen Sid waved his hand again and an image of a Dusk Nobody appeared next to the Shadow.

“At times, if someone with a strong heart and will---be they evil or good---becomes a Heartless, the empty shell they leave behind begins to act with a will of its own,” he said. The Shadow image disappeared.

“An empty vessel whose heart has been stolen away... A soul that goes on even as its body fades from existence---for you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all. Nobodies may seem to have feelings, but this is a ruse---they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived!” Yen Sid said. 

“Nobodies... They don't exist...” you said. Two more images of Dusks appeared around you and Sora.

“Now then...the being you see before you is known as a Dusk. They are the most common form of Nobody. But there are others---some larger, some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant! On your journey, you will meet an alarming number of Dusks. They will all attempt to do you harm,” Yen Sid said. The images vanished.

“Still, they are nothing but empty shells, destined to return to the darkness. But---” Yen Sid waved his hand again and images of figures in black appear in the Dusks' place. You, Odile, Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked wary.

“The beings you see before you now are different. These powerful Nobodies have formed a group called Organization XIII. It commands the lesser Nobodies,” Yen Sid said.

“Organization XIII...” Sora said. He looked to you, Odile, Goofy, and Donald, but you shook your heads.

“While Heartless act on instinct, Nobodies function in a higher manner. They can think and plan. And it seems they are working towards a goal. What that goal is, we do not know. The King sensed the danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's Keyblade, and with it, closed the door. Now he's traveling from world to world, fighting the Heartless as he seeks the answer to the riddle of the Nobodies and Organization XIII,” Yen Sid said. The cloaked figures disappeared and Yui and Roxy appeared. They wore a beautiful outfit almost similar to yours.

“(Y/N), your goal is to show these girls the true power of a Spirit,” Yen Sid said. 

“There are other Spirit’s out there. I thought that I was the only one” you said. 

“Well, it seems that you are not the only one. Now, these girls are stronger than your dagger alone. What you need is a guardian.” 

“A guardian? What’s that?” 

“A guardian is an angel that helps and protects a Spirit. And it looks like you’re little friend is your guardian.” 

“Odile?” You and Odile looked at each other, shocked and confused. 

“Yes. What she needs is a little help,” Yen Sid said. He used his magic and she turned into a beautiful swan. She then disappeared into your dagger.

“Huh? Where did she go?” you asked. 

“She is safe in your dagger. When you feel like you need assistance, you may summon her and she shall help you,” Yen Sid said. You took out your dagger and saw a swan pattern engraved on the blade.

“Well, I guess we better go find the King first!” Sora said. 

“But where could he be?” Donald asked. 

“Well, we won't know 'til we look,” Goofy said. 

“Yeah. And the King must know where Riku is, 'cause the two of them were together in the realm of darkness when we closed the door. You know, after defeating Ansem,” you said. 

“So, before you go, you will need more suitable traveling clothes. Those look a bit too small for you,” Yen Sid said to you and Sora. Yen Sid motioned toward a door.

“Through there, you'll find three good fairies. If you ask, they'll create for you appropriate garments,” he said. 

“Gawrsh, you two, you sure are growing fast,” Goofy said. 

“Uh, I guess...” Sora said. You and Sora giggled nervously and pulled at your clothes. The four of you entered the Wardrobe. Three fairies, one red, one green, and one blue were chatting near the window.

“Me, you guys, Riku, and the King. I don't care who this Organization is or those girls or what it's planning. With the six of us---I mean, seven of us---there's nothing to worry about, right?” Sora said. 

“Yeah!” Donald said. 

“Well, look who's here, dears! Sora, (Y/N), Donald, and Goofy!” Flora said. 

“Ooh, if you're looking for clothes, you've come to the right place!” Merryweather.

“I'll do the designing,” Fauna said. Flora and Merryweather pulled you and Sora away from Goofy. Fauna sent out a spell which turned you and Sora's clothes green.

“Oh, that will never do,” Merryweather said. Merryweather flicked her wand and you and Sora's clothes turned blue.

“Now, now, dears,” Flora said. Flora turned you and Sora's clothes pink.

“But don't you like this better?” Fauna asked as she made you and Sora’s clothes green again.

“Hold on!” Flora said as she turned them pink again. By now, you and Sora were looking helpless.

“Are you certain?” Fauna asked as she changed them green again.

“Blue!” Merryweather said as she changed them to blue. The fairies exchanged more spells, making you and Sora's clothes continue changing colors. A raven watched from the window, squawked, and flew away. A green clothed Sora finally decided to break the feud.

“Aww, would you just decide?” he asked. The fairies gasped and then giggled. 

“All right, then. Together now, dears. And no more squabbling!” Flora said. All three fairies turned their spells on you and Sora at once, and his clothes turn black with red and gold bands while you had black dress with red covering it.

You smiled and twirled around, admiring the beautiful colors. 

“Oh, my!” Flora said.

“Ooh, it's lovely,” Fauna said.

“Oh, yes! He does look very dashing. And she definitely looks like a Spirit,” Merryweather said. Sora was fine with it, and the Keyblade appeared in his hand.

“Now, those aren't ordinary garments,” Flora said. 

“They have very special powers,” Fauna said. Flora magic up two glowing orbs which hovered in front of you and Sora.

“Take the orb, dears,” Fauna said. You and Sora grabbed for the orb and took it in.

“And watch what happens,” Merryweather said. Sora was struck with immense power. A light flashed and his clothes were suddenly red. You, Donald and Goofy looked in awe. Sora now was holding a second Keyblade in his left hand. You also felt an immense power and saw a bigger version of Odile behind you. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were amazed.

“Whoa!” Sora said. 

“Wow!” Donald said. 

“This journey's gonna be twice as difficult as your last,” Merryweather said. You and Sora sighed.

“Your garments also have other powers---but you will have to discover what they are as you continue on your journey,” Fauna said. Sora looked at both of his Keyblades while you petted Odile.

“Okay, We'll do my best. And thanks a lot!” you said.

“Oh, and there's something else for you---from Master Yen Sid,” Fauna said. 

“Oh boy!” Donald said. The four of you walked back into the hallway, where Yen Sid motioned them over to the window. A gummi ship rose into view.

“Hey! It's the Gummi Ship!” Donald said.

“So you guys ready to go?” Sora asked. You all nodded, then stood up straight in the wizard's presence.

“Now, now, just a moment,” Yen Sid said. The four of you relaxed a bit.

“Because of your previous endeavors, the worlds have returned to their original states. That means the pathways between them have disappeared,” Yen Sid said.

“How do we get around?” Goofy asked. 

“Do not fear. If what the King suspected proves true, the worlds have prepared new pathways along which you may travel. These pathways may be utilized by unlocking special gates. How these gates are opened, I'm afraid I do not know... However, the Keyblade will serve as your guide. When a beam of light radiates from the Keyblade, return to the Gummi Ship. Though the worlds may seem far apart and out of reach, they nonetheless remain connected by invisible ties. As do our hearts.”

“Our hearts are connected,” you said. 

“That is correct.”

“Got it!”

“But be warned. As you proceed... The Heartless and the Nobodies will be using their own paths: Corridors of darkness, to travel from world to world. They may be attempting to link these dark pathways to the gates between the worlds. Even those two girls.”

“Hey! That's not fair!” Donald said.

“Now then, that is all the information I can give to you. Go forth, (Y/N), Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Everyone is waiting.”

“Okay, let's get going!” Sora said. The four of you stood up straight again.

“Master Yen Sid!” Donald said. 

“We sure do appreciate the help,” Goofy said. Each of you gave the wizard a salute and ran down the corridor. Yen Sid disappeared in a whisk of light. In the Gummi Ship, you, Sora and company were hailed by Chip and Dale.

“Howdy, Sora and (Y/N)! How ya doin'?” Dale said. 

“It's your favorite Gummi engineers here, ready for duty: Chip...”

“...And Dale!”

“Happy flying!” The two of them said. You and Sora saw Hollow Bastion on the map.

“Only one?” you asked. 

“That's no good!” Donald said. 

“Wait! I think it's a world we know!” The four of you then headed off to Hollow Bastion.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Lost Princess Chapter 49

Warnings: same as the other chapter

Rating: SFW

Sora piloted the Gummi Ship back to Port Royal. A man with a black cloak entered Isla de Muerta and walked toward the large treasure chest full of medallions. Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked into the Rampart.

"That's coming from the port," Goofy said.

"Let's check it out," Sora said.

~Time Skip To Where We Meet Luxord~

"Pardon me, lads and lass, but your captain will have no monsters today. Thank ye. We're turning for home," Captain Jack said as he turned to leave.

"Just like that?" Elizabeth asked.

"Just like that!" Jack returned to the deck.

"Don't remember invitin' you," he said. There, a figure in a black cloak appeared. The treasure chest was beside him.

"So it was the Organization. We'll handle this!" Sora said. The figure held out a hand.

"The Darkness of men's hearts---drawn to these cursed medallions; and this Heartless---a veritable maelstrom of avarice:" he said. The large Grim Reaper Heartless appeared swinging his pendulum-like ax.

"I wonder, are they worthy to serve Organization XIII?" the figure asked.

"And you want an answer now?" Jack asked.

"Precisely!" The man disappeared, leaving them to fight the Heartless. After the battle on deck, it was knocked into the water.

"Oh, boy!" Donald said.

"Not over yet!" Sora said. The man had appeared again and was standing behind the treasure chest. He took off his hood, revealing his blond hair, and smirked.

"Throw him overboard!" Jack said.

"Aye aye!" Sora said.

"Parley!" Luxord said.

"'Scuse me?" Jack asked.

"Barley?” Goofy asked.

“It's a bit of a pirates' code. Anyone who invokes ‘parley’ must not be harmed 'til negotiations are complete.”

“This is no time for rules!” Sora said. 

“True. But as we're honorable pirates we should always stick to the Code.” Jack turned to Luxord. “All right, you. Out with it!”

“I surrender the chest with my humblest apologies,” Luxord said. 

“Rather accommodating of you, mate. And for that you want...?” 

“Just a few souvenirs...for the memories.” Luxord grabbed 4 medallions.

“Huh?” Jack asked. Luxord threw the medallions into the air and several Gambler Nobodies appeared and snatched them away.

“Oh, no! We can't stop the curse unless we got all the medallions!” Goofy said.

“Our friend's about to learn what it means to cross a pirate,” Jack said. 

“Oh?” Luxord asked. The Grim Reaper Heartless floated out of the water, cursed by the medallions. It swung it's axe and made a large wind current that blew Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jack onto the deck of the Interceptor.

“Fire!” Luxord said. The cannons on the Black Pearl let loose on the Interceptor. Will and Elizabeth ran out of the stateroom and watched as the Interceptor was destroyed. Luxord laughed evilly as the Black Pearl sailed on. Sora woke up in the Interceptor's Hold.

“You stole a medallion again?” he asked after he spotted Jack.

“Were I only that fortunate...” Jack said. 

“Fortunate?” Donald asked. 

“So, uh, how come you're all skeleton-y?” Goofy asked. 

“Perhaps I got a tough o' somethin' from that monster what attacked us. Yet, why's the skin restin' right on you three?”

“'Cause we're not greedy!” Donald said. Sora and Goofy looked at him. “What're you looking at?”

“That still doesn't solve the mystery,” Sora said. 

“We might be able to help.” The four of them looked over and saw Yui and Roxy sitting on a rock. 

“Roxy! Yui! Why are you here?!” Sora said as he summoned his Keyblade. 

“Relax, hero. We’re not here to fight,” Roxy said. Sora put his Keyblade away and looked at them confused.

“Huh?” he asked. 

“Turn around.” Sora turned around and saw...

“(Y/N)! You’re okay!” he said. He ran up to you and scooped you up in a hug. 

“How were you able to escape?” he asked. 

“I had help from them,” you said, pointing to the twins. Sora turned back around and looked at the twins.

“Thank you,” he said. 

“No problem. But that means that you have to help us,” Roxy said. 

“Huh?” 

“You might want to sit down for this,” you said. 

to be continued...

[nadziejastar]

Saïx: Xemnas. Is Kingdom Hearts ready?

Xemnas: Very soon.

Saïx: Then, I can end this charade?

Xemnas: Indeed.

Saïx: How I’ve waited to hear that.

Yeah Saïx definitely wasn’t loyal to Xemnas even after Axel left; he was only pretending to be. The fandom seemed to misunderstand both him and Axel on a very fundamental level. This is no doubt why KH3 felt like it could get away with misrepresenting them both so badly. Like Axel, everything about his character revolved around his past. Without that, he’s just a one-dimensional asshole for no reason.

Axel: Does it hurt, Naminé? Watching your two childhood friends fight all because of you? You have my sympathies. From the heart. But don’t waste your time. We Nobodies can never hope to be somebodies.

Which is basically how KH3 made him seem, even with the Subject X plot. No, he definitely wanted revenge on Xemnas. Saïx was loyal to Axel only. He may not have been able to feel friendship like Axel could, but he definitely felt trust and loyalty, due to his memories. He never had any other goal but to get his heart back and take over the organization with Axel. He genuinely trusted him.

“You don’t trust me?” Larxene slumped in mock disappointment. “I know when to let up. I’m not stupid enough to break my toys.” Speaking of trust… Axel still had no idea who the traitor was.

“Don’t forget. He’s the key. We’ll need him if we’re going to take over the Organization.” A smile played at the corners of his mouth as he laid the trap.

When he said “we,” he didn’t mean himself and Larxene. She might interpret it as “we,” the people in the room. But that didn’t mean he was lying.

And Axel was very loyal to him, too. It seems like the fandom really overlooked that aspect of his character. He wasn’t Saïx’s prisoner. Axel was desperate to save Isa. Going against Saïx broke his heart.

“Traitor,” Saïx had called him. But his betrayal of Organization XIII wasn’t exactly a recent development, Axel thought with a bitter laugh.

It had begun back in Castle Oblivion. When Marluxia and Larxene conspired to steal Sora’s memories, trying to take possession of him.

His “betrayal” started because Sora’s predicament reminded him of his and Isa’s past. I think Axel was aghast that someone purehearted like Sora could be turned into a human puppet. It brought back way too many memories for him.

Riku: Don’t bother. This puppet has lost his heart. He won’t wake up.

Hiro: He’s not a puppet! Baymax, he’s like my family. Please! Give me back my friend.

Saïx was a lot more interesting of a character before KH3, due to the fact that he was a vessel---a literal human puppet. But he didn’t even know it. There was so much they could have explored with that idea. 

Saïx: You cannot help your comrade. Xion will not wake up.

Roxas: That’s not the point! I should still be with her.

Saïx: What do you care? The creature is broken. Defective.

I think the story in the Toy Story and Big Hero 6 worlds shared a lot of the same ideas as Saïx’s backstory regarding puppets. Sora looked at the sunset and was thinking about how best friends will make up the difference when you’re not strong enough. And that’s what Axel said a best friend is. And Young Xehanort was experimenting on the toys and learned about creating vessels there.

A sudden realization struck Axel so forcefully that he sat up straight. What was it Saïx had said? Xion was defective… A failure not qualified to be counted among them…A chill went up his spine. No—that couldn’t be right.

I have to find proof, Axel thought firmly. This is all speculation. Just my own stupid mind wandering. I need facts. I need the truth about Xion…

The story strongly hinted that both Saïx and Axel had very personal reasons to hate puppets. Axel had a very powerful visceral reaction when he realized Xion was probably a Replica.

Saïx’s gaze was fixed on Axel. “Fine. You have permission to enter the room. I’ll send an underling with the key later.”

“Thanks, man. This’ll really help things go faster. Well then, that’s what I’ll be doing for my mission today.”

Saïx’s mouth twisted into a shape like a smile. “I wonder why you’re checking up on such trivial details, anyway?”

“…You’re right. Are you interested?”

“Do as you like,” said Saïx, as Axel fluttered his hands around, and he left that place.

If another Organization member had said the same thing, would Saïx have given his permission? Axel wondered, vaguely. Does Saïx still trust in me?

This is a conversation from the novel. It happened the day after Axel told Saïx to keep his mouth shut after he called Xion broken, and Axel suspected she might be a Replica. Axel felt uncomfortable when he came back from Castle Oblivion after most of the members got wiped out. Saïx wanted to get rid of anyone who was in the way. Axel was alarmed by that. Now given this fact, you’d think that Saïx would be in a position where he’d be struggling to earn Axel’s trust. But actually it was the other way around. Axel was always concerned with whether Saïx trusted him. And I thought that said a lot about their past.

Sora: Hiro, tell us. What should we do?

Hiro: Baymax means everything to me. But that chip isn’t who he is. I already made this mistake once before. Tadashi wouldn’t want there to be a Baymax that hurts people. Sora, he has to be stopped.

Hiro was put in a similar situation where Baymax started attacking people when he was corrupted.

Roxas no longer knew what to say to either of them. Why had Axel attacked Xion like that? He’d been for real. Serious enough that he almost seemed about to take her down for good. The thought made Roxas nervous. Axel wasn’t saying anything to him, either.

Axel really wanted Roxas to trust him, too, but he knew that would be impossible. He lied to Roxas, and attacked Xion, knowing she’d be destroyed. She was hurting Roxas, but he didn’t realize it.

“…Such a pain in the ass,” Axel muttered, the face of the person he should be informing of all this floating before him. 

It was so much fun back then. Why did it end up like this? The heart I remember sizzles with pain. Breaking a friendship was this painful, was it? I lost my heart, so I don’t really know.

Axel had been through Roxas’s situation before. You could tell by his actions, and the novel made it especially clear. He didn’t want Roxas to be in the position of having to fight Xion himself, because he was closer to her. Axel knew how that felt and wanted to spare him the pain of fighting his best friend.

Axel sighed heavily once more. “If that’s all, I’m off,” he said. Roxas hung his head again. His expression threw Axel into sudden uncertainty.

I just did what I thought was the best thing at the time. For Roxas, for Xion, for the Organization—and for Isa. But most of all for me.

He even said he was doing it for Isa.

Secret Report 4: Experiments of the Heart – Notes on Subject X, Excerpt 2

Secret Report 4 is obtained after clearing Battlegate 4 at Toy Box: Galaxy Toys / Kid Corral.

Subject's memories have not returned, and our conversations remain less than lucid. What fragments can be gleaned evoke a bygone world, like one out of fairy tales. As improbable as it seems, the question may not be where she has come from, but when. If she truly has crossed through time, the prospect of probing her heart is all the more compelling.

My pilot studies used a handful of subjects, but none possessed the fortitude to endure them. Ultimately, all suffered mental collapse. I knew it would be a heavy blow to lose a subject as unique as she. Upon discovering the tests I've been conducting, my master demanded that I cease my work immediately and destroy what research I have compiled. Worse still, he ordered the release of my remaining subjects. She is gone. Where is Subject X now? Has "wise" Master Ansem hidden her away? Whatever the case, I will not be deterred. I will take her place as the first subject in the grand experiment to come.—Xehanort

A few of the reports on Subject X, including this one, happened to be located in Galaxy Toys. Do I think it’s a coincidence? Nah. I don’t.

“…You planning to get in the way again?” said Saïx.

Axel kept his eyes averted. “In the way of what. Of who,” he asked.

“In the way of us. I trust you.”

Axel cracked a dry smile. “You say that exactly like you would if you had a heart.”

“My memories of the time I did have one are making it so, that’s all. If you get in the way any further, though, the memories I have since becoming a Nobody will overwrite them.”

“…That sounds like a threat.”

“It’s quite similar. Think good and hard about it,” Saïx said in closing, and walked away. Axel stood there, rooted to the spot.

On the day Roxas and Xion fought again, Saïx said he trusted Axel before he intervened. It seemed like that was something he had said before as a human. Axel really found it important that Saïx trusted him. Probably because it was important to Lea that Isa trusted him. The experiments probably involved making him feel doubt and distrust, like with Andy’s toys. 

“—Hey, why don’t the three of us go off somewhere?” Roxas said.

“Huh?” Xion stared at Roxas. Axel didn’t say a thing.

“If we did, then surely, we could be together always.”

If we stay in the Organization, then surely, we can’t be together always. Then, the three of us should go away somewhere.

“We don’t have any place to run.” Xion shook her head.

“I know,” he mumbled. “I was just thinking out loud.”

I think that Isa might have trusted Lea to end his life if he got out of control. He didn’t want to be turned into the organization’s puppet and he didn’t want to hurt Lea. They were almost forced to kill each other. And I think that’s why Saïx was genuinely confused that Axel kept getting in the way and sabotaging their plan. They both must have been aware that Saïx had more physical changes than other Nobodies. I always wondered how they felt about the fact that he had gold eyes and pointy ears like Xemnas and Xigbar.

“I don’t trust you,” Saïx replied flatly, the enormous Claymore in his hand.

“Trust? We don’t even have hearts,” said Axel with a twisted smile. “How can we trust anyone in the first place?”

Saïx really put his trust in Axel to help him go back to normal. And it really hurt Axel to hear that he didn’t trust him anymore, even after Saïx tried to kill him several times. I think it’s because Axel partially blamed himself. If he had listened to Isa, he wouldn’t be in his cursed condition.

"Vile traitor!” The great Claymore took shape at Saïx’s back.

Axel didn’t waste a second grabbing his chakrams. But his body was reluctant somehow.

I don’t want to disappear… But still, it wouldn’t be so bad if I did. Not here.

I definitely think the reason why Axel was so devoted to Saïx was because Isa wanted to sacrifice himself as a human. He was willing to disappear. Axel never wanted to kill Saïx.

“But it’s too late!” he yelled, and let out his power in a burst. Axel’s power was the power of fire. He surrounded himself and Roxas with a blaze. Can I destroy Roxas? Probably not. But I know what I can’t do. Xemnas and Saïx probably knew that as well. However…Disappearing from here together, going somewhere - I can probably do that.

I think the only way Lea could agree to destroy Isa was if he ended himself immediately afterwards. I think that they promised each other to meet again in the next life. To Axel, “going somewhere” didn’t mean running away, like Roxas and Xion meant. It meant disappearing together. And that’s why Axel seemed so sad when they brought it up. 

“Axel…” The hostility disappeared from Roxas’ eyes. There was no more fighting spirit, left in that Roxas. Here - there was nothing he could do but disappear. “…if you get reborn, let’s meet again,” he said, smiling just a little as he said those words, and Roxas nodded silently. “Yeah, I’ll be waiting.” Roxas answering seriously was somehow strange, and Axel laughed.

Even in KH3, Lea didn’t have a whole lot of fighting spirit. The fight with Saïx wasn’t supposed to be about “clobbering” him. It was supposed to be SAD and TRAGIC. Lea didn’t want to kill Isa and that nearly cost him his life.

Wasabi: So…did we stop him?

Hiro: Safety mode kicks in if he’s put under too much stress, so he’s probably just in stasis. We’ll have to destroy the chip if we want to be certain.

Honey Lemon: But…are you sure?

Fred: Yeah, dude…you don’t need to go that far.

Go Go: Maybe we can find another way.

Hiro: It’s the right thing to do. Tadashi would’ve done the same thing.

Sora: But Hiro…isn’t that Baymax’s heart?

Hiro: It’s okay. Baymax is here. I…should be the one.

Baymax’s safety mode sounds a lot like Saïx’s berserk state, which kicks in under severe stress. After entering it, Isa probably went into stasis for extended periods of time, too. I imagine it would have been very similar to Xion’s deep sleep.

“That’s enough.” Saïx turned his head, giving Axel a sidelong look over his shoulder. “Traitor.” Axel scowled darkly.

“I’m going. You know, don’t you, that you won’t stop me except by force? And even if you tried, you would fail.” Saïx went on his way. Memories informed him that he hated this kind of thing.

I think Lea must have come very, very close to doing what Isa asked of him after he “broke” again, which is maybe why Axel was very offended when he dismissively called her “broken” .

“It’s the best thing for everyone,” said Xion.

Everyone? Everyone, who? For us? Or…for someone else?

“How do you know that?” Axel demanded. “Everyone thinks they’re right…”

“This is right,” Xion said firmly. “It’s better this way.”

Axel hated that argument. Nothing was better any which way. All it came down to was what you wanted to do and what you didn’t. He’d learned that lesson back when he had a heart.

“So it’s better for you to disappear?” he protested. Because she would—they both knew it. No more Xion.

But he just couldn’t bring himself to end his best friend. Maybe it was the “right” thing to do, but he didn’t want to do it.

“Don’t you understand, Axel? I can’t keep existing like this!”

“Yes, you can! There’s gotta be a way!”

He tried to save Isa anyways, even going against his wishes. And that’s why in KH3, when Lea said he was even dragging Saïx home, he replied that his tear marks were gone, which he needed to stop himself from crying.

[minijenn]

Keys to the Kingdom Chapter 8

Yayyyy! Back to workin on my baby and of course I come out of the gate with an angstfest chapter like this. I am SUPER proud of it of course, as it is pretty original and pretty plot relevant I must say (even if not a TON happens in it but sometimes that’s ok.) So I won’t keep you from it any longer. Enjoy!

Previous: https://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/184403091549/keys-to-the-kingdom-chapter-7

Chapter 8: Lazy Afternoon Streets

Taste, what a bittersweet, All my, all my life

Sora stared down at the small, yet surprisingly complex device—properly known as a Gummiphone—he held in his hand, his thoughts filled with all of the many points that had been brought up in the call that had just come to an end. The discovery of the Gummiphone itself, which had been packed away into the new set of clothes the Keybearer was now wearing, had effectively been the gateway to a whole host of pertinent information for the otherwise momentarily directionless trio.

First was the introduction to the phone from Chip and Dale, with the pair of engineers detailing its various functions and features that would no doubt make it a very useful tool in the trio’s upcoming search for the thirteen Keys. From there, however, the call had been intercepted by Ienzo, an apparent former member of Organization XIII who had then gone by the name of Zexion. Neither Sora, Donald, nor Goofy recognized him, despite Ienzo’s claims of them meeting once before. Still, the researcher had made sure to assure them that, regardless of his former ties to the Organization, he, and the few other former members working alongside him, wished to offer whatever help they could to their side instead now. Naturally, the trio was somewhat suspicious, maybe even a bit distrustful of their motives. But if someone like Axel could turn away from the Organization and try to set their past wrongs right by aiding the cause of light, who was to say that Ienzo and his friends couldn’t as well?

Furthermore, the information and research Ienzo had provided them with was quite intriguing indeed. It was a revelation that Sora had largely already known: the idea that his heart wasn’t entirely his own. After all, he was already fully aware that Roxas, or at least whatever remained of him, resided far within its depths and that he had for quite some time now. But even so, the reminder of this fact had sent the Keybearer’s mind reeling with a myriad of thoughts and feelings concerning his Nobody. His Nobody, whom he had never really gotten a chance to know or befriend, but had always wanted to. His Nobody, who, by all accounts, couldn’t even exist as his own person so long as their hearts were tied and tethered together as tightly as they currently were.

And it was those thoughts that lingered the most persistently in Sora’s head even after the call concluded and Donald and Goofy still remained by his side in the immediate aftermath of it. Only a small beat of silence permeated the Gummi Ship’s cockpit as the phone’s screen turned black, though Sora was quick to fill it as he voiced his newfound devout resolve to his companions. “I have to find a way to help Roxas,” he said, not glancing up as he spoke much more sternly than he usually did. “The others are following Aqua’s heart, so I’ll follow Roxas’ heart!”

“Well, gawrsh, Sora, ya know we’re up for anything ya wanna do,” Goofy said with a small, if not somewhat befuddled smile. “But aren’t we supposed’ta be lookin’ for them Keys?”

“We can look for them on the way!” Sora insisted brightly and he meant it. After all, looking for the Keys was their primary mission, and an incredibly important one for the sake and safety of practically every world in existence. But for Sora, saving his lost Nobody, figuring out a way to let Roxas be every bit as real and alive as he was, was almost every bit as important as claiming each and every one of the thirteen Keys was. “What do you guys say?”

“You heard Goofy,” Donald concluded with a knowing smirk. “We’re with you for anything you wanna do!”

“That’s right,” Goofy agreed as Jiminy also readily nodded from his spot on the armrest of Sora’s seat. “Trust the guidance that your heart gives ya, Sora. That’s what Master Yen Sid said.”

“So, where to?” Donald asked, eager.

Sora briefly smiled between his companions, more than happy to know that he had their support on this endeavor. And while he wasn’t entirely sure, he liked to believe that Roxas would also be quite thankful for their help too. “Oh, that’s easy!” he grinned, standing as he swiftly summoned his Keyblade and aimed it towards the vast expanse of stars before them. It was as if he could feel Roxas’ heart stirring within his own, telling him exactly where he wanted and needed to go. And Sora knew beyond any doubts that he owed it to his Nobody to follow that call to wherever it might lead. “To Twilight Town!”

The top clock tower provided the very best view of Twilight Town by far. The structure rose so high above the sunset soaked city streets and buildings that it gave a perfect prospective of just above everything below it. Which was why it was no wonder that the group had long since singled that lofty perch out as their favorite spot to unwind and relax at the end of their usual lazy, carefree summer days. This particular evening was one such example, likely one of the last chances they’d get to come up here as the summer vacation was soon set to come to its expected end.

Hayner, Pence, Olette, and Roxas all swung their legs out over the edge of the tower as they sat and enjoyed their sea salt ice cream, all four of them trying to ignore the unanimous sense of disappointment their shared in their missed trip to the beach. Even so, the evening was warm and peaceful and quiet, enough to set all of them at ease. Well, most of them.

Roxas was the only one of the group who hadn’t touched his ice cream since they’d climbed to the top of the tower. He usually enjoyed the sweet yet salty treat immensely but today his thoughts were elsewhere, awash in worry and confusion over the strange, practically unexplainable events of the past few days alone. The bizarre white creatures, the hooded thief who had made off with their hard-earned beach munny, his persistent dreams of that brown-haired boy he didn’t know but who seemed so very familiar; all of these things just had to be connected. But as to how, Roxas hadn’t the faintest idea.

“It’s melting.” Olette’s voice broke him out of his swirling thoughts. Sure enough, his ice cream was dripping, though he hardly cared as he glanced over at his friends, seeing that they were enjoying their own treats in peaceful silence. As if they believed nothing in the world was wrong at all when something clearly was.

“…Sorry…” Roxas muttered, still rather guilty that he had ended up ruining their long-sought after day at the beach.

“Cheer up already!” Hayner urged in his usual blunt way.

“That was definitely weird though…” Pence noted, referring to the thief none of them had seen save for Roxas.

“Strange…” Olette agreed with a nod.

“You said it,” Roxas sighed absently as he looked out at the impressive expanse before him. He closed his eyes for a moment, finally taking a bite out of his ice cream. It had indeed started to melt a little, but it was still just as delicious as it ever was, even if the flavor almost seemed bittersweet in a way that he couldn’t quite place.

“Its been awhile since we’ve all hung out like this, huh?” he asked with something of a small, sad smile.

“Well, we’ve all had our share of drama lately,” Axel shrugged, narrowly skirting around what all three of them were surely thinking. “By the way, I just remembered,” her turned slightly towards the pair sitting alongside him. “Did you know you should be checking your ice cream sticks?”

“Really?” ____ asked, leaning forward slightly.

“Yeah,” Axel glanced down at his own half-eaten bar. “Once you finish your ice cream, see if the stick says WINNER.” He took another bite of his own treat, only to find a blank stick below it. “…Not that I’ve ever seen one myself.”

“So… what happens if you win?” Roxas asked, curious.

“I’ll tell ya… that’s… a good question.”

“What, you don’t know?”

“Well, its gotta be something nifty if you’re a WINNER, right?”

“Hm… I guess…”

Hearing the amusing banter between the pair was easily enough to elicit a light, fond chuckle out of ____, who soon broke into the conversation as she glanced out towards the sinking sun before them. “Wow…” she said, aptly amazed by the view. “The sun’s beautiful today…” Roxas and Axel joined her in admiring the bright, yet fading glow, a sense of contentment mingled with hints of longing settling upon all three of them as they took it in. “I’ve seen a lot of sunsets, but today’s puts them all to shame,” ____ noted warmly, yet sadly, almost as if she knew something the other two didn’t. Which, as they’d eventually come to find out, she most certainly did. “If only things could stay like this forever…”

“Say…” Roxas spoke up, filled with a sudden, impulsive idea inspired by what ____ had just said. “What if we all just… took off?”

“What?” ____ asked, confused as Axel also raised an eyebrow at him.

“If we ran, I bet we could always be together,” Roxas smiled, hoping that such a plan could somehow work, as lofty and impossible as it might have seemed.

“But… we have nowhere to run…” ____ shook her head.

“…Yeah…” Roxas sighed, realizing that such a dream was far too good to ever really be true. “I guess you’re right…”

“What’s important isn’t that we hang out with each other every day,” Axel interjected, his expression unreadable as he stared out at the sunset.

“As long as we keep each other in our thoughts, we’ll never be apart, right?” ____  finished, her tone sweet and hopeful. “We’ve got it memorized, Axel.”  

“Good,” Axel nodded, finally smiling, if only slightly.

“I’ll have these moments memorized for a long time…” ____ said softly, almost to herself. “Forever…”

“Me too,” Roxas agreed, as if it was a vow to both of his best friends. A vow to hold onto all of the warmth and happiness these simple moments they shared together contained for as long as he possibly could and perhaps even after that. “Forever…”

“Hey, Roxas?”

“Roxas?”

“Ro_as?”

“Sora?

“Sora!”

“Huh?” Sora flinched, blinking rapidly as he snapped back into the present at Donald’s impatient call. Slightly disoriented, the Keybearer glanced back towards the clock tower, remembering that they had just arrived in Twilight Town, though he couldn’t really recall much immediately after that. That is, save for the coupled memories he had just somehow seen.

“You’ve been starin’ up at the tower for an awfully long time now…” Goofy noted with clear concern. “Did ya see somethin’ up there?”

“W-well, yeah! I saw-” Sora stopped short as he finally looked away from the tower only to glance down at his own hands instead. And when he did, he was quite shocked to find they were clad in a pair of familiar black gloves, his arms covered by the telltale long sleeves of a dark Organization cloak. He nearly started at this until he happened to catch sight of his reflection in one of the nearby shop windows, only to find that it wasn’t his reflection at all.

It was Roxas’.

“Sora?” Goofy stepped in front of his view of the window, still clearly worried as Donald shared his concern. “Are you ok?”

Sora didn’t answer right away, instead holding his hand up once again only to find that it was his once more. His reflection, however, still wasn’t, as he briefly leaned over to look past Goofy to look at it, only to find Roxas still staring back at him instead of himself.

“Y-yeah…” the Keybearer breathed, somewhat unsteady as he shook his head and took a small step back. He gasped, startled as he backed into another building, still seeing Roxas reflecting in the glass in place of himself, mirroring every bit of confusion he currently felt. “I… I’m fine,” he lied, knowing that this wasn’t fine, that something was wrong, that he had no idea what was happening to him or why or how to make it all stop or—

“You don’t look fine,” Donald spoke up, sending Sora a rather suspicious look. And indeed, he didn’t as his usually tanned skin had paled considerably, his forehead covered in a thin sheen of noticeable sweat as he pressed up against the side of side of the building, breathing heavily all the while. Rare was it for either Donald or Goofy to see Sora in such a rattled, shaken, almost frightened state, especially in a moment of relative calm such as this, but whatever the reasoning behind it was, it was clear he had no intentions of revealing it.

“W-well, I am fine,” he insisted as firmly as he could, even if his voice still wavered as he said it. “I’m fine,” he said again, trying to convince himself this time as he properly stood, refusing to so much as glance at any reflective surface as he tried his best to press on ahead.

Of course, neither Donald nor Goofy were entirely convinced, but they both knew better than to press Sora any further on something like this. And sure enough, for the most part he seemed to be bouncing back just fine from whatever had happened to him as he led the way down market street towards the tram common, with the pair soon deciding to join in step behind him.

“Gawrsh,” Goofy said in a somewhat haphazard attempt at changing the subject. “You know, we forgot to fill Master Yen Sid on everything else that happened in Olympus. Should we go back?”

“What, you mean about Maleficent and Xigbar?” Sora asked, more than glad to discuss something, anything else.

“And about what really happened when those Heartless attacked at the temple!” Donald huffed, sending the Keybearer a critical glare. “Which we were about to tell him until you stopped us and made us lie to him about it!”

“It wasn’t a lie!” Sora retorted, though he was quick to recant as the magician’s disapproving scowl deepened. “O-ok, maybe it sort of was. But that doesn’t matter! What happened back there really isn’t as big of a deal as you guys like to think it is.”

“Well, shucks, call me crazy, but you nearly losin’ yourself to darkness does kinda seem like a big deal to us, Sora…” Goofy frowned, his tone nowhere near as harsh as Donald’s, though there was still a sense of admonishment to it.

“I-it was an accident, ok?!” Sora said rather defensively. “And neither of you have anything else to worry about because I’m not going to let it happen again. Which is why we don’t have to tell Master Yen Sid o-or Riku, or anyone else about it, ok? Heck, same goes for all the other stuff that happened in Olympus. The others already have enough on their plates as it is. Why go stressing them out? The three of us know how to handle a couple of old adversaries, right?”

“Hm… yeah, I guess…” Donald hesitantly agreed.

“But doesn’t that thing Pete said bother ya?” Goofy asked thoughtfully.

“About the black box?” the magician chimed in.

“Come on, we’re talking about Pete here,” Sora deadpanned, casually hanging his hands behind his head. “That means its probably no big deal.”

“I don’t know…” Donald said, still clearly apprehensive. “Maybe we should-”

“Oh cool!” Sora suddenly interupted as the trio stepped into the town’s open market, with the usual trolley slowly making its rounds throughout it. “The trams are still here!”

“Sora, it hasn’t been that long since the last time we were here,” the magician pointed out as the Keybearer excitedly ran on ahead a bit.

“Well, it feels like it has,” Sora noted, glancing back at his companions.

“Maybe you’re feelin’ what Roxas feels ‘cause he misses home,” Goofy suggested.

Sora stilled at this, instantly realizing that this could not only easily be true, but could possibly explain the strange sights and feelings he had been experiencing ever since they arrived in Twilight Town. Briefly, he looked down towards a small puddle of water on the ground beside him, and as he caught another glimpse of Roxas’ reflection in place of his own, his heart suddenly ached with what was undeniably a pang of genuine homesickness. With a desire to be a part of the world that was filled with memories he treasured so dearly once more.

“I-I… I saw Roxas in the sleeping worlds, actually…” Sora said to his companions, knowing that this would be much easier to explain to them than what was happening to him now. Largely since he had no idea how to explain any of it himself. “It was like…” he trailed off briefly, fully setting his sights on his Nobody’s reflection and wishing that it was more than just that alone. “It was like I was seeing into his heart for the very first time…” Of course, he omitted the fact that he was practically feeling exactly the same at that very moment as he had during his brief encounter with Roxas in the sleeping worlds. Sad, hopeful, remorseful, and most of all, absolutely overwhelmed by memories and feelings that he knew weren’t his own, but he still knew were precious and important all the same.

He had seen Roxas’ memories then and he was seeing them now. Perhaps being in a place like Twilight Town, where Roxas had spent so much time and had so many connections to, was stirring them up within his heart or perhaps it was something else altogether, but all the same, Sora knew that was the best explanation he could think of. On one hand, it was a reassuring sign, one that could possibly lead them to some sort of clues on how to help Roxas, the very thing they had come here to do. But on the other hand, Sora couldn’t deny that it all still unnerved him. In a way, it felt like he was walking around in someone else’s shoes, even if they were still very much his own. Each and every glance he saw of Roxas’ reflection filling in place of where his own should be was like a grim, urgent, almost painful reminder that his heart wasn’t entirely his own, that Roxas was still trapped inside of it, that he needed to find a way to save him and why hadn’t he saved him yet, why was it taking so long, why was Roxas apparently not allowed to be his own person when Sora was and why had this not bothered him this much until now?

Sora took in a tight, shuddering breath in an attempt to silence this racing, almost frantic train of thought as he placed a hand against both his head and his heart. He quickly turned around to face his companions, throwing on a quick, fake smile to set them at ease as he voiced an innocent enough assumption. “So… if Roxas feels something, then that means we must be in the right place.” Donald and Goofy nodded their solid agreement with this theory, helping to set Sora at ease, even as he looked down at his Nobody’s reflection once again. “Don’t worry, Roxas,” he said, hoping to assure not only Roxas (if he could even hear him at all), but himself as well. “I’m gonna find you. I promise.”

“Do you seek our liege?”

That voice, unidentifiable, yet undeniable as it was, reverberated through his entire body, its stark familiarity resonated deeply at his core. Sora gasped, stumbling back as if the voice itself had physically struck him. Which honestly wouldn’t have been that surprising considering all of the other oddities he had been experiencing lately.

“What is it?” Donald asked, noticing Sora’s sudden shock just as much as Goofy had.

The Keybearer had only just managed to open his mouth to answer before an all-too familiar clamor filled the air behind him, heralding the arrival of a group of unmistakably dangerous creatures. “Nobodies!” Goofy exclaimed warningly as him and Donald quickly called upon their respective weapons. Likewise, Sora spun around to see a sizable horde of writhing, wriggling Dusks materialize out of the darkness as they so often did. And despite the fact that he was still rather disoriented and on edge as a whole, it didn’t take long for Sora to summon the Kingdom Key and fall in step in battle alongside his companions.

Dusks were a common, predictable type of foe, one that the trio was more than accustomed to dealing with by now. Which was why it fortunately didn’t take them too long to cut their way through the swath of Nobodies with few problems. All the same, throughout the fight, Sora couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off even more than he had originally thought, a feeling that he finally voiced almost as soon as the very last Dusk had been vanquished.

“What was that voice…?” he wondered largely to himself as the trio took a quick breather after the skirmish was through. “I know I heard it…”

“A voice?” Donald exchanged a confused glance with Goofy. “I didn’t hear any voice.”

“You sure it wasn’t the wind?” the captain asked with a fretful frown. “Or somethin’ else?”

“I’m… pretty sure…” Sora trailed off, quickly realizing that he wasn’t actually sure. In fact, he really hadn’t been sure of anything at all since they arrived here. But the one thing that he was certain of was that Roxas’ heart, however hidden away inside his own as it might have been, was indeed reacting to being back in Twilight Town. It was as if Roxas himself was showing him his faded memories, signaling him with his constant yet distant reflections, sending him a message that he regrettably, frustratingly, had no idea how to interpret. “What are you trying to tell me…?” Sora whispered so quietly that his concerned companions could barely hear him as he looked towards a nearby window bearing his reflection. Or rather, for Sora at least, Roxas’ reflection, which of course, only mimicked his own words right back at him, providing no answers, no clues, nothing.

Aptly bewildered and easily worried by the Keybearer’s odd behavior as they were, Donald and Goofy were more than poised to ask him about it. However, before they had a chance to, another peril was beginning to course its way through the market, with a familiar young trio trying their best to outrun its dangerous onslaught.

“Where’d they come from!?” Hayner shouted, leading the way as Pence and Olette trailed right behind him.

“L-let’s get the ice cream later!” Olette cried, narrowly dodging the attacking shadows trying to nip at her heels.

“What?” Pence shouted, trying to hear over the noisy din of the screeching creatures. “Hold up!”

Sure enough, the trio soon rounded the nearby corner, finally coming into Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s view as they fearfully fled from an unseen threat. “Hey! Hayner, Pence, Olette!” Sora called out to the trio in bright greeting, quite glad to see them. However, his excitement was quickly vanquished as soon as he spotted what they were running from: a thick swarm of Heartless, shadows darting through the thin streets and corridors by the hundreds, clustered together by sheer darkness alone.

“W-what is that?!” Goofy exclaimed, alarmed by such a terrifying congregation of monsters.

Likewise, the Twilight Town trio was equally horrified, though their dread was set to ease almost instantly as they happened to spot the group already prepping themselves for battle against the Heartless. “Heeey! Sora!” Hayner shouted, waving frantically to the Keybearer and not even bothering to stop as they all hurriedly rushed past him. “Hello! And Goodbye!”

“Go!” Sora called out after the group, summoning his Keyblade as they went to seek safety. “We’ve got this!”

Donald and Goofy also called upon their own weapons, all three of them watching with ready anticipation as the horde of Heartless raised itself high above them with the intent of crashing down upon them in full, violent force. Fortunately, the trio had the wits about them to dodge this heavy attack, scattering briefly before reconvening to strike the rampaging group of shadows at any open opportunity. Together, the creatures were certainly a formidable force, but a single strike to their impressive numbers proved effective in taking several of the weaker Heartless that composed them out at once. Working well between Donald’s faced-paced casting and Goofy’s tight wall of defensive blocking, Sora decisively cut straight through the swarm with his Keyblade, essentially cutting the entire force clean in half. With the horde as split as it currently was, the Keybearer and the magician tag-teamed on launching as many fire spells as they possibly could at the two remaining halves of the whole, whittling down the Heartless even more as the captain provided them with ample cover while taking out any lost stragglers. In the process, the struggling shadows got plenty of hits and scratches in against the trio as well, though they were easily ignored in favor of taking the marauding creatures out as quickly as they possibly could. And sure enough, that’s exactly what they did as they powered through and tore their way through the last large swath of Heartless that tried to ram into them, countering its rushing attack with a unified, well-timed strike of their own. Unable to keep itself together any longer, the horde quickly fell apart, the few remaining Heartless deciding to make their hasty retreat back into the shadows, lest they face further obliteration at the hands of Keybearer and his companions.

With the threat of the Heartless finally defeated, the scattered townsfolk quickly returned to the now-safe market, falling back into their usual commerce and business with tentative ease. Likewise, Hayner, Pence, and Olette soon filed out of their hiding spot, though they were all careful to take a close look around to make sure the shadows were truly gone as they properly met up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy.

“Nice fightin’!” Hayner grinned, playfully mimicking the Keybearer’s swings. “Thanks, Sora.”

“Hayner, Pence, Olette! It’s been ages!” Sora exclaimed warmly as he ran up to them.

“What?” Hayner raised an eyebrow. “It hasn’t been that long.”

“Ya see?” Donald pointed out, reminding Sora of what he could hardly forget. That Roxas’ feelings and thoughts were echoing so strongly here. Perhaps even stronger than his own thoughts and feelings were.

“Donald! Goofy! How are you?” Olette greeted the pair with a bright smile.

“Howdy there, Olette,” Goofy grinned back with a wave.

“We’re good,” Donald nodded heartily.

“So if you guys are here,” Pence cut in, curious as ever. “Does that mean weird stuff’s going down again?”

“You kidding, Pence?” Hayner asked, hands on his hips. “When have we ever seen a tornado of shadowy blobs before?! It’s not ‘weird’. Its unprecedented.”

“Hm… I guess it is,” Pence mused. “The creatures from the last time were bright white. These things must be new. Man, I can’t wait to get sluthin’ on them!”

“We’re already done with the school project, silly,” Olette interjected with a chuckle before she turned back to Sora. “Whatever’s going on, you wouldn’t be here unless you had a good reason.”

“Which is…?” Hayner asked, expectantly.

“Well, actually,” Sora began, a bit hesitantly, though he had no real idea where that hesitance was coming from. “We’re… looking for Roxas.”

The Twilight Town trio exchanged an intrigued, though ultimately uncertain look. “Roxas?” Olette asked, tilting her head.

“That’s funny…” Hayner said after a moment of thought. “I don’t know any Roxas, but the name sounds familiar.”

“Maybe we bumped into him somewhere,” Pence guessed with a shrug.

“Uh… that’s one way to put it…” Donald noted as him and Goofy exchanged a somewhat pitied frown. Likewise, Sora felt a beat of genuine sadness echo through his heart upon hearing that they didn’t remember him, barely even knew who he was, when he remembered them, recalled every bit of the time they had spent together, however fabricated and falsified as it might have been, as if it been the realest thing in all the worlds. It made sense that they wouldn’t, but even so, the truth of it still stung all the same.

“Actually,” Goofy spoke up, addressing the trio. “Roxas mighta been friends with another version of ya.” At this, the captain pulled a photo out of his pocket, one that they had received quite some time ago, but had made sure to hang onto ever since, and presented it to the group.

“This photograph…” Olette started softly as Hayner took the picture so they could further inspect it.

“Yeah, we’ve got the same one,” Pence agreed, pulling out their own copy of the photo. Sure enough, both images were almost exactly the same, depicting the three of them, posing in front of the gates to the old mansion. Familiar to be sure, though there was one key difference between them. Namely that Roxas was present and smiling right alongside the trio in one, and in the other, he was glaringly absent.

“Oh yeah!” Hayner exclaimed in sudden realization as he looked between both photos. “The other Twilight Town!”

“Its like one of those ‘spot the difference’ puzzles…” Pence noted, also glancing over the images a second time. “Except really easy.”

“I guess in that town, we’re friends with this ‘Roxas’ person,” Olette assumed and Sora had to practically resist the urge to nod insistently when she did.

“Sora, let us help you track Roxas down,” Hayner said as Pence and Olette chipped in their eager agreement.

“R-really?” Sora asked, surprised, but more than glad to hear it.

“Sure,” Hayner nodded as he looked down at the photo once more. “He seems like a pretty cool guy.”

“Yeah, he is,” the Keybearer smiled, his heart warmed in more ways than one by the group’s willingness to help someone they didn’t even really know. And while he wasn’t entirely sure, Sora couldn’t help but also think that Roxas himself was quite grateful for their aid when he caught yet another glimpse of his Nobody’s reflection, only to see it finally smiling back at him.

“Great, then let’s all go ask around town,” Pence suggested, largely since none of them really had any concrete leads so far. “If alternate-us knew Roxas, then maybe alternate-other folks did too.”

“Sora, maybe you three should go to the place in the photo,” Olette added, handing the first picture back over to Goofy. “It’s the old mansion. The three of us will cover places in town while you guys can look for clues over there.”

“Ok!” Sora nodded, more than ready and resolved to start piecing together some way to help Roxas. “Thanks. Oh! By the way, I almost forgot; I got this phone thingy that takes pictures!” He pulled the Gummiphone out of his pocket, remembering that Jiminy had detailed photography as one of its many, many functions, most of which he didn’t quite understand just yet, though fortunately using it to take pictures was an easy enough concept for him to grasp. “Wanna snap a quick photo while we’re all here?”

The others were all quick to hop on board this idea and in no time at all, they had all set up in a collective group pose near one of the market area’s wide brick walls. However, it only took a moment or so of them all holding said pose before Pence pointed out something the rest of them had happened to overlook. “Uh… wait. Who’s taking it?”

Of course, none of them had really considered such a small, yet important fact, so the decision was made just as simply: by drawing straws. The results ultimately landed Donald with the task, though he was rather set off by having to stand out of the photo, even as Goofy volunteered to step out alongside him. Even so, the magician fumbled around with the Gummiphone, grumbling angrily to himself all the while before finally making his frustrations quite known to the group posing before him. “Grr… why do I have to take it!?”

“Hey, tough luck,” Sora shrugged, keeping up his casual pose. “You drew the short straw.”

“It’s ok!” Goofy chuckled, working to diffuse his friend’s anger as he so often did. “I’m sittin’ outta the photo with ya, Donald.”

“Then you take the photograph!” Donald huffed, shoving the Gummiphone into the captain’s hands. Of course, Goofy agreed to do so much more easily than the magician had, even as Donald stomped over to join the others, striking a still-clearly petulant pose as he did.

“Everybody smile! A-hyuck!” Goofy grinned, holding up the phone to snap the photo. Despite the slight bickering beforehand, the actual process of taking the picture was quick and easy, and soon enough, the entire group was gathered around the Gummiphone, admitting the memento together.  

“Wow, that came out great!” Pence exclaimed as Hayner and Olette nodded their satisfied agreement.

“Gawrsh, ya know, it sorta reminds me of the other picture,” Goofy noted, briefly pulling out the photo featuring Roxas and the Twilight Town trio once more. The two photos, while quite different, were certainly comparable on some level, though Sora in particular could not deny the contrasting senses of both connectedness and longing as he looked between them both. Connectedness to the friends standing by his side right here and right now and a longing to be with the friends he was lost to and had lost once again. And strange as it might have been, the Keybearer felt oddly compelled to do something about them both.

“Hey, maybe once we do find Roxas, we could take another picture with all of us, together,” Sora suggested with a small, hopeful smile.

“Oh, yeah! It’ll be like both pictures combined!” Pence chimed in just as eagerly.

“I like the sound of that,” Olette nodded warmly.

“Sounds like a plan,” Hayner agreed. “But if we ever wanna take that picture, we gotta actually get Roxas here in the first place. So for now, we’d better start asking around. You guys start by checking the old mansion. We’ll catch up.”

“Got it,” Sora said, just as resolved as ever to do what he could to help Roxas out. The Twilight Town trio seemed to share that resolve, each of them carrying the same noble mission as they parted ways: to find a way to bring Roxas back to the life he should have had, the life he deserved, no matter what, or where, that way might be.

All throughout their relatively brief trip through Twilight Town, Sora found himself bombarded with even more of Roxas’ memories and emotions at practically every twist and turn along the way. His surprise and shock with the phenomenon had largely worn off by now, to the point that he had come to anticipate it, perhaps even appreciate it as it gave him deeper insight into the life and personality of his Nobody that he had only ever seen brief glimpses of before.

It was for that reason that he paid close attention to the scattered memories that filled the sunset streets, more or less ignoring Donald and Goofy’s casual conversation as he trailed behind them slightly. Sora knew he wanted to save Roxas; that was an understatement if anything. But the chance to get to know him better, even in a rather indirect way like this, then that was something he wasn’t about to pass up. True, it was still rather disconcerting to pass by mirrors and windows and not see his own reflection following alongside him, and he couldn’t deny the spark of unknown fear that ran through him whenever he happened to look down at his attire and catch a peek of Roxas’ black Organization cloak instead of his own new clothes. But for the most part, Sora did his best to ignore all that and focus on Roxas, his memories, and whatever message he might have been trying to communicate to him through them.

Passing through the rest of the tram common had allowed him glimpses into warm summer days, odd jobs meant to earn them munny for the beach, heading to the shop to buy ice cream after a long day of hectic missions. Even just passing by the sandlot showed him the Struggle, taking Seifer down a peg to claim the trophy and its gemstones they had all split up to share, Axel showing up to bring him back to the Organization he had willingly, angrily abandoned. But most of all was the clock tower, a place so special, where the three of them always came together at the end of every day to talk, laugh, and sometimes just think. It was where ice cream was enjoyed, sunsets were watched, secrets were shared, feelings hurt and friendships built and repaired. It was where they had always come back to, where they had connected the most. In a way, it almost felt more like home than anywhere else.

In just about every single memory of the clock tower that Roxas had to offer, Sora found that Axel was usually the most prominent face to appear. He had shown him the ‘icing on the cake’, had brought him out of the initial quiet revere of his early existence, had taught him about fun and friendship and all the feelings they’d supposedly never get to know as Nobodies. But just as reoccurring as Axel was in these memories, there was another figure, a girl, he presumed, though her face was always obscured completely by the shadows of her hood. She was also part of the Organization, her and Roxas its youngest, newest members, both of them capable of wielding a Keyblade. But no matter how many times she showed up within those memories, Sora was never, not even once, able to garnish her name. It was if it had been silence, wiped out, the only thing remaining of her being her voice alone, and even that was distant and faded compared to everything else within Roxas’ memories.

Still, every time she appeared, something deep and visceral stirred deep within his heart, in a way that felt decidedly different from the frequent slight pulls he felt from Roxas. Occasionally, he’d catch the briefest of flashes of her, the real her, her bright blue eyes, her raven black hair, her kind, playful smile. But they were all so quick and fleeting that they offered nothing really substantial about who she really was at all. For a moment, he almost thought he saw her standing in place of where he had grown used to seeing Roxas’ reflection instead of his own. But just like seemingly everything else about her, all too quickly she was gone, dimmed, faded.

Forgotten.

The barrage of memories finally started to slow down as the trio began carving out a path towards the mansion through the town’s underground conduit. Apparently, Roxas hadn’t spent too much time down here, or at least that’s what Sora assumed. The usual way to the woods had been sealed up since their last visit here, forcing them to wander through the mazelike sewers to get there. Despite the fact that he halfheartedly joined Goofy in laughing over Donald’s near constant-complaining about the smell, Sora’s mind was just about as far from the present moment as it could have possibly been. Instead, his sights were trained on the water they were walking through, Roxas’ reflection staring back at him through it, and the countless memories he had seen thus far. Admittedly, he was half tempted to tell his companions about what he had been experiencing, even though he knew he was the only one seeing and feeling it all. And ultimately, that exclusivity was exactly why he decided against telling them; after all, if Donald and Goofy were still awash with concern over his recent slip into darkness, then what would they possibly think about something as alarming and inexplicable as this?

Eventually, the trio did manage to make it out of the conduit and into the quiet, open forest that lay just on the other side of Twilight Town’s tall walls. Much like the town itself, the dusk-covered woods were calm and quiet and featured a path that directly to the mansion they were heading for. Like earlier, Donald and Goofy set out ahead first, and though Sora was set to follow them, the moment he took a single step forward into the woods, a new voice entirely suddenly echoed through his thoughts.

“Come…”

Sora briefly stopped at this, caught off guard by the sudden, almost aggressive pull on his heart, one that felt so different from the usual gentle tug he suspected had been coming from Roxas. For a moment, he wondered if this new, rather unwelcome spark of feeling was somehow coming from his Nobody’s scattered memories, until the strange voice itself confirmed that its words didn’t come from Roxas’ past. Instead, they were for him, here and now.

“Sora…” it spoke again, its indiscernible tone barely over a wavering whisper. Yet for as soft and deceptively gentle as it was, its beckoning sound carried an unnaturally commanding sway that, for one reason or another, Sora was completely helpless to resist falling under.

“Come join us…” it called and he did as it said, thoughtlessly following the persistent pull on his heart as it practically dragged him onward.  His hands had fallen slack at his sides as his steps remined slow yet steady, his expression empty and his eyes wide yet dull and unfocused as he stared straight ahead yet saw nothing at all. “Sora…” Each time it spoke his name, its intangible reigns of control seemed to tighten around him more and more, pushing away his own thoughts and feelings and replacing them with nothing but cold, quiet obedience. Everything other than the voice, the pull, and wherever they both were leading him faded away, including his own two companions as they continued on the path ahead, completely unaware that something was gravely wrong with the Keybearer behind them.

“So, do ya really think we’ll find any clues that could help us help Roxas at the mansion?” Goofy asked Donald with casual curiosity.

“Who knows?” the magician shrugged truthfully. After all, their entire stint here in Twilight Town on a whole was based largely on the mere speculation that it could led them to Roxas, though thus far, they’d yet to find anything resembling a concrete solution. “What do you think, Sora?”

The pair briefly glanced over their shoulders at their young ward, though almost as soon as they did, they were quick to stop short. Not only did Sora strangely not give them any sort of reply at all, but his stiff, distant manner was more than enough to garnish immediate concern from them both. “S-Sora?” Donald started, though he received no response as the Keybearer spared neither of them so much as a single glance, instead heeding only the voice and the voice alone.

“Darkness is calling out to your heart, Sora…” it said, its tone smooth and falsely comforting. “You must let it fill you so that you may become the vessel you are meant to be…” Unable to properly act on the voice’s command, Sora instead simply continued following its lead, incapable of doing or thinking anything else, even despite its sinister, ominous message. All the while, Donald and Goofy watched with mutual worry as he finally walked past them, completely lost to whatever trance he seemed to be under.

“Uh… Sora?” Goofy ventured apprehensively, hurrying to walk alongside the Keybearer as Donald did the same. “I-is somethin’ wrong?”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?!” Donald asked, slightly frustrated by Sora’s continued silence, which showed no signs of breaking anytime soon. “Normally we can’t get you to be quiet, but when we want you to talk, you won’t say a word! Figures…”

“Say, come to think of it… you’ve been sorta outta it ever since we got here…” Goofy mused rather fretfully. “I know you said you’re fine, but… are ya sure there isn’t something you’re not tellin’ us about?”

“Cause if there is, you know better than to keep it a secret from us!” Donald exclaimed crossly, though it was clear his scolding came from a place of immense caring. “So… spill it already! And snap out of whatever it is you’re staring at already! It’s creeping me out!”

Despite his companion’s earnest urgings, Sora still didn’t speak a single word, his gaze still fixated straight ahead as he continued walking, slowly as ever, through the woods ahead. Before, Donald and Goofy had only suspected something was off, but now there was no doubt. To confirm their developing worries even more, Goofy tentatively reached a hand out, placing it firmly on Sora’s shoulder in a somewhat meager attempt at halting him, only for the Keybearer to completely ignore the gesture and easily pull right out of his grip. In his continued frustration, Donald was more direct in his approach, grabbing Sora by the hand and planting himself steady in the hopes that would finally be enough to stop him in his tracks. Of course, it wasn’t as the Keybearer simply pulled his otherwise motionless hand away, knocking Donald back onto his tailfeathers and setting him off even more than he already was.

“What’s going on?!” the magician shouted hotly as Goofy hurried to help him up. For a moment, the two continued watching Sora, his back turned to them as he listened only to the voice that seemed to whisper all around him, though it always seemed its loudest and most important when it echoed from within the depths of his own heart.

“You know what it is you must do, Sora…” it assured as softly, deceptively as ever as its tight, almost painful pull practically forced his heart forward. “And if you do not yet, then soon you will. You are the thirteenth, the last, but most important piece of them all…”

“For without you, the Kingdom cannot come…”

Donald and Goofy were just about to make another attempt at breaking through to Sora, though they were immediately halted as a large, varied group of Nobodies materialized among the trees straight ahead of them. A shared startled shout instantly rose from the pair as they summoned their weapons and prepared for the oncoming fray, though they stopped short when they noticed that Sora was making no such effort to do the same. Instead, he merely continued walking, his blank, empty manner still unchanged, even despite the danger he was heading straight towards.

“Sora, look out!” Donald warned, taking the liberty of firing off an ice spell to knock back a Dusk that managed to skirt too close to the Keybearer. Despite this, Sora didn’t so much as even flinch, still not calling upon his Keyblade or making any attempt at all to defend himself, much to Donald and Goofy’s mutual alarm.

“What’s the matter with him?!” the magician exclaimed, gripping his staff tightly as he fended off another Nobody from afar.

“Garwsh, I don’t know, but l-look!” Goofy pointed to the horde of Nobodies just as Sora reached them. For the briefest of moments, it seemed as though the creatures were more than set to attack the defenseless Keybearer, and yet, right before they could all rush towards him at once, they stopped. In fact, they even seemed to slither back, away from Sora as he passed through them, as if he wasn’t even aware of their presence at all.

“T-they’re… not attacking him?” Donald wondered, beyond baffled at this point. Likewise, Goofy was also quite confused, his shield raised as he stepped forward a bit to test if the Nobodies really were standing down for some reason. However, the creatures were quick to snap back into their usual aggressive ways upon turning their attention away from the Keybearer and back towards the captain and the magician. The pair gasped fearfully as the entire horde rushed for them, completely ignoring Sora, who did the same to them as he continued following the still unseen, still unknown pull on his heart all the while.

“Sora, snap out of it already!” Donald shouted past the Nobodies amidst casting spells at them left and right, even though he could already feel his energy draining quickly from the sudden barrage. “We need your help over here!”

“Y-yeah, please!” Goofy essentially pleaded, looking past the Nobodies to the Keybearer as he continued walking away from them silently. “Like we said before, we’re a team! Which means we all gotta stick together, no matter what, Sora!”

Unbeknownst to either of the pair, Sora’s otherwise steady pace finally slowed somewhat upon hearing this pertinent reminder, one that nearly worked in returning some of his lost lucidity before the voice and the pull both worked together to quickly snatch it away from him once more. “Sora, you must come…” it urged with a newfound hint of hostility in its still quiet tone. “Follow the call as it leads you towards the darkness… and then, at long last can your heart truly be set free…”

He scarcely even understood or even really heard whatever disturbing promises the voice was offering him; in fact, the only thing he was allowed to know was that he had to heed its call, no matter where or why it might be leading him. And with each forcibly guided step he took, the further away he got from his endangered companions as they struggled to break past the line of persistent Nobodies before them if only to reach him before it was too late.

“Sora!” Donald shouted desperately as he frantically casted heal after a particularly nasty cut from a Dusk.

“Sora!” Goofy echoed just as tightly, trying his best to ward off the trio of Nobodies pressing hard against his shield.

“Sora!” the voice shouted for the first time, its pull snapping heavily, agonizingly upon his heart with all of its malice, hatred, darkness, trapping him, taking everything away from him and leaving nothing behind at all, until-

“Sora!”

“R-Roxas?!” Sora gasped, finally stopping dead in his tracks upon hearing his Nobody’s unmistakable, strangely warning call from nowhere and everywhere all at once. Instantly, his senses and autonomy rushed back to him in full force, finally allowing him to think and see and feel the unknown, absolute anguish flooding his heart completely out of nowhere. The pain and shock of it was almost enough to send him collapsing to his knees, but instead, he only barely managed to haphazardly summon his Keyblade, digging its tip into the ground so he could lean against it for support. His vision was spinning as he stared at the ground, breathless as he tried to piece together exactly what was happening. And yet, try as he might to recall something more, the only things he could remember from the past several moments alone was a voice that said nothing his memories held onto now and the thankfully fading pain that still lightly pulling against his heart, vying for control it no longer held over him anymore.

Sora was all too quickly broken out of his confused, racing thoughts upon hearing a round of frightened, strained cries behind him. Startled, the Keybearer turned to see Donald and Goofy, still heavily beset by a crowd of Nobodies that showed no signs of thinning out any time soon, despite their best, if not futile efforts to oust them. And even though his chest was still aching from the resounding pain, Sora didn’t hesitate to finally join his companions in the ongoing fray.

Needless to say that both the captain and the magician were more than relieved to see the Keybearer suddenly cut through the wall of Nobodies forcing them back. The Keyblade’s initial swift swing was more than enough to take out several of the Dusks at least, though Sora didn’t stop there as he also cut down several of the outliers of the group. Even amidst the ongoing battle, Donald prepared himself to angrily call Sora out for his earlier unresponsiveness, though Goofy was quick to quell his anger for the time being, allowing their young companion to steadily wipe out the rest of the Nobodies while they took a much-needed breather.

Of course, that didn’t mean that after the fight was over, everything was so easily forgotten. For just as soon as Sora finished dispatching the last Dusk, both Donald and Goofy practically pounced on him with their barrage of countless questions and concerns.

“What happened with you?!” Donald demanded first, stomping his foot down petulantly. “We get attacked and you just walk away?! Are you nuts!?”

“I-I… I didn’t… I wasn’t-” Sora stammered, not knowing how to even explain what had just happened himself.

“Are you ok, Sora?” Goofy asked with much calmer worry, placing a comforting hand on the Keybearer’s shoulder. “Is there somethin’ ya maybe need to tell us about?”

“No. No ‘maybes’,” Donald interjected firmly before Sora could even get a word in edgewise. “There is something you aren’t telling us about and it needs to stop! Something’s been up with you ever since we got here and you need to explain it, right now!”

“I… I don’t know, I-” Sora cut himself off, shaking his head as he reeled to frantically find a comprehendible answer that made any sort of sense. But that was exactly the problem; whatever had just happened to him made no sense whatsoever, and he was especially hard pressed to figure out some way, any way to put it all into words. So instead, he decided to go with a much simpler, much more safer route instead. “I-I’ve been seeing Roxas’ memories!” he exclaimed sharply, his hands clenched in tight fists at his sides as he blurted it out. It was only really half the truth though, since he was fairly certain that whatever trance he had just been trapped in had nothing to do with the deepening connection he had been feeling to his Nobody since they had arrived.

“Whaaaaa?!” Donald and Goofy both asked in instantly intrigued unison upon hearing this.

“What do you mean, ‘seeing his memories’?” the magician asked somewhat suspiciously.

“I mean… I’ve been seeing his memories,” Sora shrugged, unsure of how else to put it. “All over town, I’ve just… its just…” He sighed, somewhat frustrated at how difficult this was to communicate when it was still so strange to him as well. “Its almost like his memories are just… lying around everywhere and they keep coming to me from all over. A-and its not just that! I keep seeing him in my reflection too. I know this all might sound kinda crazy, but… I think he might be trying to tell me something.”

“Golly, like what?” Goofy asked, fascinated by this new development.

“I… don’t know…” Sora admitted, crossing his arms. “B-but whatever it is, I feel like it could help us save Roxas somehow! Or at least I hope it could…” he muttered that last part, not entirely certain of that fact himself. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his Nobody was indeed trying to get some sort of message across to him through his scattered memories. It was figuring out exactly what that message was that was going to be the hard part.

“So is that why you just spaced out on us like that?” Donald asked, still somewhat cross over the matter. “Because you were seeing one of his memories?”

“Y-yes!” Sora exclaimed, largely without thinking. Another lie, yes, but it was much easier than the alternative was: actually trying to figure out the truth behind the dark, whispering voice he’d just as rather forget. “Yes, that’s… exactly what that was.”

“Well, it musta been a pretty important memory if ya were so caught up in it like you were,” Goofy noted. “What was it about?”

“It was about…” Sora began, trying to come up with yet another convenient lie, despite the fact that each one he told to the pair was filling him with more and more pressing guilt. He wasn’t a fan of lying to anything begin with, but to withhold the truth from Donald and Goofy, his two trusted companions and some of his closest friends, was practically unthinkable. Which was why he was half tempted to actually change his tune and tell them the truth in whatever way he could. And yet just shy of him making the choice to do so, he stopped, halted by anxiety or dread or something else altogether, and fronted another quick fabrication instead. “I-it was about Roxas going to the same mansion we’re headed to! W-which means we’re probably on the right track, so we might as well get going there instead of standing around here, right?”

Donald and Goofy exchanged a somewhat dubious glance at this, but ultimately they both seemed to accept it, much to Sora’s mingled relief and guilt. “If you say so…” the magician mused before turning back to the Keybearer, wagging a warning, chastising finger. “But next time something like that starts happening to you, you’d better tell us! You had us worried sick!”

“Yeah, Sora, you don’t have to hide anything from the two of us!” Goofy chimed in warmly. “Specially not somethin’ like this. Even if it sounds like it might be a doozy, you know we’ll always be here to help ya with whatever it might be!”

“Y-yeah…” Sora smiled halfheartedly, rubbing his arm as he looked away from the pair, almost as if he was ashamed to make eye contact with them, which, admittedly, he was. “I know…”

“Now come on!” Donald urged somewhat impatiently as he led on. “Let’s get to that mansion before anything else can go wrong!”

Goofy chuckled his agreement to this as he followed after the magician, Sora falling in line not too far behind them. With the scrutiny of his companions finally off him, the Keybearer took another moment to think back on the disconcerting, if not downright horrifying events that had just unfolded. Indeed, the pain within his heart had mostly subsided, though it still thumped with the constant tug he had felt since arriving in Twilight Town, one that he knew came from Roxas and not from some other unknown, unwanted external force. But whatever had ensnared his heart in that moment had been a far cry from the comforting familiarity of his Nobody. It had been cold, uncaring, unquestionably agonizing as it stilled and silenced every single part of him into obeying whatever it was it had to say, forcefully dragging him towards an unknown fate all the while.

He couldn’t even begin to guess who’s voice it might have been or how it had managed to engulf him in such tight control to begin with, but all the same, it frightened him. To think that this unknown, no doubt malicious force had the power to take such quick and steady sway over his body, his mind, his heart so easily was more than enough to set Sora on edge as he feared losing himself to its demanding pull all over again.

But then he remembered who had been the one to break him out of its hold: Roxas. Sora had no idea how, but his Nobody’s call had been able to do something to set him free, to wake him up from whatever spell he had been put under. Whatever Roxas had done from within the depths of his heart, it had saved him. And that was a favor that Sora wasn’t about to let go unpaid.

And yet for as strong as his resolve to help his Nobody still was, the Keybearer couldn’t help but shudder as his thoughts turned back to that mysterious voice one last time. This time, he focused less on the leeching pull it had forced upon his heart and more on the words it had spoken. He wasn’t able to remember much of them other than its near constant beckoning for him to follow it. But out of every other dimmed, faded, forgotten statement it had said, there was one thing had remained, one claim that still sent his mind practically spinning in confusion and worry each and every time he thought about it and whatever it might possibly mean, if it even meant anything at all:

“For without you, the Kingdom cannot come…”

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