A/N: Sora is my spirit animal.
Rates and comments are really appreciated. These take a lot of time and energy to write and I love hearing from you guys (and also knowing all the work is worth it~) :3
SO. I finally played KH BBS 0.2 – A Fragmentary Passage. DuuuUUUuude. If you haven't, you're missing out. So. Many. Feels. I want to talk about it endlessly because holy SHIT Aqua just might be the best character in this whole series. Also the animation is beautiful.
(It even kinda confirms the plot I've been doing for the Trio [heck maybe even Vanitas too, since Ven's wearing his outfit in the intro~] so YAY for not being totally off-base :D)
Okay done ranting, shutting up now~<3
<♥>
"So, where do you think we're gonna go?" Sora asks after making a beeline for you. "Maybe we'll see some pirates!"
"Port Royal's already taken," Roxas responds before you can as he raises a hand to create a portal. Sora pouts silently, and you smile as you gently pat his back. "Just call when you're done. I'll get there as soon as I can," Roxas adds, nodding to the two of you before creating his own portal.
"Let's go!" Sora exclaims, grabbing your hand in his as he hauls you inside the portal.
Your feet just barely manage to keep up with his, and you hope he doesn't rip your arm out of its socket as he runs head-first into the portal. The darkness closes around you, but Sora keeps your hand firmly grasped in his own. The feeling brings a smile to your face and fills you with a warmth you haven't felt in ages.
Finally the darkness dissipates, revealing the Third District of Traverse Town. Sora groans.
"This is where Roxas sent us? There's nowhere to explore," he complains with a huff.
"I can think of one place to explore," you respond.
He shoots you a confused look, and you wordlessly point up. Storm clouds are gathered in the sky. Or at least, what looks like storm clouds. The longer you stare at them, the more you realize whatever is up there is moving around and clearly alive.
"Heartless?" Sora guesses, glancing over at you.
"Yeah. They're waiting," you note.
A pit of apprehension grows in your stomach as he tugs you along, hurrying up the staircase.
"Guess we gotta find that Keyhole then," Sora comments.
"Where do you think it is?" you ask, squeezing his hand as you jump in shock at the loud clap of thunder above.
"You okay?"
Sora's question has you tearing your gaze from the looming darkness threatening the skies to instead look up at him. His bright blue eyes are practically shining, a reassuring smile on his face as he watches you. It's enough to make your heart stop racing and a hint of a grin to grow.
"Yeah," you reply with a nod, squeezing his hand once more.
"You got this! You've been training so much, and now we get to save a world together!" Sora exclaims, raising his free arm up in the air as his grin grows.
"Yeah, I finally get to see you in action," you realize with a small laugh.
"Lucky you," he teases with a wink as he lowers his face closer to yours. "Now, about that Keyhole..."
He hums under his breath, snapping his fingers before pointing up to the top of the largest building in the Second District.
"Aha! That's how I summoned the Keyhole last time," Sora remembers, smacking his forehead for being so forgetful as he pulls you down the alley and towards it. "Wow, that was five years ago," he adds with a chuckle.
"Time flies when you're having... fun..."
You trail off, coming to a stop as the two of you exit the alley. All that's standing untarnished is the large building Sora had pointed out; the rest of the district has been decimated. Buildings lie in smoldering heaps and ashes, as if a fire tore through the town and destroyed everything in sight. It's completely silent, with not so much as a breeze in the air. You and Sora simultaneously release the other's hand, unable to believe your eyes.
"A-Are we too late?" you stammer, staring in horror at the rubble.
"No... No, the world is still standing," Sora points out, marching towards the building. He glances back at you. "Mind giving us a lift?"
You're confused for a moment until you realize he wants you to fly both of you to the top of the bell tower. It's hardly surprising – you swear he'd make his primary mode of transportation clinging onto you as you putt around using a wind spell if he could. You walk over to him with a small smile on your face, extending a hand towards him.
"Hold on tight," you tell him before pointing your free hand at the ground.
Your glove glows gray as you're shot up into the air, a little slower than normal since you're hauling Sora's extra body weight with you as well. The two of you tumble rather ungracefully to your feet as you land at the narrow platform standing at the top of the tower. From such a high distance you're able to see most of the world. It's almost all been destroyed, save for a few buildings here and there. Your heart lurches for all of the poor citizens, especially Donna and the puppies.
"And it should be... yup, here it is!" Sora exclaims excitedly, marching into a crack in the wall where a large bell hangs.
He grabs onto the rope, pausing as your gloved hand grabs it as well. His blue eyes dart over to you, immediately grinning at the smile on your face.
"Together?" you offer.
He still has a smile as he leans down, pressing his lips against the top of your head in a rare moment of solitary comfort.
"Always," he agrees with a nod before both of you give the rope a hard tug.
The bell rings loudly, echoing over the desolate and destroyed land like the depressed call of a world long lost. A noise like stone being dragged over concrete suddenly booms through the district. Your head snaps up, peering out over the edge of the tower and staring across the district. A fountain you had never paid much attention to, just under the remains of the Hotel, is now filled with flames, its backdrop a red mural.
"Um..."
"Just two more times!" Sora tells you quickly, noticing your apprehension.
"So that's supposed to happen?" you ask as both of you give the rope another tug.
"Mhm!"
Sure enough, once the bell finishes ringing the fountain glows with shimmering multicolored lights. The mural spins slowly, changing to a painting of butterflies. Random, you think, but cute nonetheless. One final tug, and you and Sora step back and out of the hidden room. You both stand at the edge of the tower, staring down at the mural. The painting dissolves like a wave of water, revealing a bright purple Keyhole.
"Ahh, memories," Sora muses, slinging an arm around your shoulders as he pulls you against him.
"Shouldn't you be sealing it?" you point out.
"Don't ruin the moment, [Name]."
He lets out a laugh as you roll your eyes, though you're quickly cut off by a screeching noise that cuts through the otherwise eerily silent night.
"Alright, maybe you're right," Sora agrees, slowly dropping his arm from you.
You swiftly grab his wrist, leaping off the tower and towards the ground. A burst of air slows your fall, and both of you land softly below. Another screech rings through the district before the large wooden doors leading to the First District are blown off their handles and sent careening to the floor. A large purple Heartless that looks like a knight marches out, its sights locked on Sora.
"Geez, it's still here...?" he mutters to himself with a sigh before summoning his Keyblade. "I'll take care of this. Can you keep everything else under control?"
"Huh?" you ask with a confused tilt of your head.
He points his Keyblade up, and you follow it as you tilt your head back. The swirling cluster of Heartless above are charging through the sky, straight for the two of you. How could you have even missed it?
"I'm on it," you agree with a nod, glancing over at Sora. "I can't hold them off for long though..."
Sora grins, resting a hand on the side of your face as he leans down and brushes his lips against yours in a light kiss.
"You're stronger than you think, [Name]. Go get 'em," he tells you with a glance up at the sky.
"You too," you reply, watching as he turns on his heel and runs off towards the waiting Heartless.
The smile is soon gone as you turn your attention to the approaching hoard. You hold your palms out towards the ground, shooting up into the air like a rocket as you dart towards the Heartless above. The air is brisk with a cold chill as it hits your skin, only amplified as you race through the sky. A small group of flying Heartless you've never come across before whiz in your direction, so you hold out a hand and blast forth a wave of fire. They're engulfed in flame, disintegrating into black specs before they hit the ground.
Your pride only last for a moment as you're almost immediately hit on the back of the head, knocking you off balance and sending you falling down towards the ground. You quickly recover, summoning another wind spell as you push yourself up and try to find your attacker (or attackers). A flash of black races past you, and you quickly turn just in time to see a cluster of at least 20 Heartless soaring towards Sora, who's engaged in battle below.
"Damn it," you curse under your breath, racing as fast as you can so you can reach him first.
You manage to beat them, turning around and raising your hands in front of you. You close your eyes, summoning all the strength you can as you force a stream of ice from your palms. Once your energy is depleted you slump forward a bit, somehow able to stay floating in the air despite your sheer exhaustion. You glance up, your eyes widening at the ice barrier you created that now surrounds half of the district like a blockade.
"No way..." you murmur, taking in the sight.
Even with some of the strange things you've witnessed in the past few years, this one ranks as one of the strangest. Not because it's particularly odd, or weird... no, because it's entirely your own. For once, you get to save someone. Even with Heartless raining down upon the ice, trying to break and claw their way in, a small smile grows on your face as your heart swells with delight.
You glance over your shoulder, watching Sora for a moment as he ducks and weaves under attacks thrown at him by the giant Heartless. They're in their own world, completely unaware of your actions.
Suddenly, a sickening 'crunch' rings through your ears. Your gaze darts up, staring in horror at the cracking ice starting to form above your head. You fly towards it, pressing a hand against the barrier and shooting out more ice, doing your best to heal the weakening blockade. Another 'crack' echoes on the opposite side of the wall, and with a sigh you hurry over there to do the same.
It feels like each second another fracture forms, further weakening your ice shield. With a snapping crunch a Heartless breaks through, hurling itself right towards Sora. Panicking, you keep a hand on the ice to re-form the broken hole as you release a fireball towards the Heartless. Just as before, it's engulfed in flames, disappearing into nothingness as black specks fall to the ground. Finally realizing what's going on Sora glances up at you, his blue eyes slightly narrowed.
"I'm good," you tell him with a quick nod, turning your attention to the barrier with a frown.
You float closer to the ground, closing your eyes as you release another burst of ice. Your body is close to collapsing from using so much magic, but you know there's no way you could kill the hundreds of Heartless fighting to get through the barrier on your own. Your solution isn't perfect, but it seems to be working.
Slowly you open your eyes, smiling when you see the ice is noticeably thicker and sturdier than before. Hoping that can save you at least a few minutes, you turn around and sail down to Sora. He's panting, obviously exhausted as he swings his Keyblade right into the arm of the Heartless. It's missing both of its legs and one arm, only its torso, head, and one arm remaining.
Without thinking you charge forward, a burst of lightning surrounding you as you hit the Heartless right in the middle of its torso, sending it flying into what's left of the building behind it. Its arm detaches from its body and clatters down at Sora's feet. In one long slice of his Keyblade, he sends it bursting into black specks.
The head and torso shake uncontrollably, its movements stunted from the electricity surging through it from your attack. You shakily push yourself to your feet, ready for another charge, when Sora suddenly jumps past you, embedding his Keyblade smack in the middle of its remaining body, where its head meets its torso. With one last shudder the Heartless falls to the ground, its body sinking into a swirling vortex of darkness.
You laugh a bit in relief, watching as Sora leans his head back and closes his eyes as he takes a second to catch his breath. The sound of cracking ice has you immediately sobering up as you snap your head up, staring back at the barrier.
"No –!"
Before you can get the word out of your mouth a stream of Heartless pour through. You grit your teeth, surrounding your body with flames as you leap up into the air, shooting towards them as you pull your sword from its sheath attached to your hip. Your blade slices through their bodies, taking out as many as you can as Sora scrambles towards the waiting Keyhole. Thankfully, you only have to take out a few before a blindly bright light bursts through the district. You pause, looking down at Sora just as he lowers his Keyblade before glancing up above you. All of the Heartless are gone, leaving behind a badly battered barrier.
"All done?" you ask as you lower yourself to the ground.
"All done!" Sora agrees, the Keyblade disappearing from his hand as he walks towards you. "Look at you. A real ice queen."
He nods up to the ice blockade with a grin as you laugh tiredly.
"Just happy to serve as your back-up," you tell him with a smile, sheathing your sword before he pulls you into a hug.
Both of you are panting and look like you're ready to fall on your faces. Yet you can't stop smiling, watching as the city starts to slowly rebuild itself, that which fell into darkness returning. The hotel pops back to life, the lights fully on inside, and you grin before burying your face into Sora's neck. His skin is so warm, like that of an awaiting bed after a long, horrible day.
"Haha, that tickles!" he laughs as you release a sigh, your breath brushing against his skin.
"Sorry," you mutter, stifling a yawn as you pull back to stare up at him. "Guess we should head back, huh?"
"Yup," he agrees, keeping an arm around your shoulders as he starts to lead you away from the sealed Keyhole and towards the First District.
"I'm hungry," you complain as your stomach loudly rumbles.
"Should we get some dessert?" he asks you with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
You giggle lightly, coming to a stop as you grab onto the front of his shirt and pull him down so his lips are pressed against yours. He immediately returns the kiss, his fingers lightly running through your hair as he holds you close against him.
"Sure, Sor," you mumble against his lips, pecking him once on the cheek before the two of you take off once more down the cobbled street.
There's a certain café that just happens to sell delicious pastries that's just waiting for you in the First District... Roxas surely won't mind waiting a bit to pick you guys up. After all, it's not every day you're able to find alone time to just relax. And you're not about to waste it.
[♥]
I kinda hate this ending but oh well Sora is still adorable and I gave you guys some dessert so yay~
NEXT: Sir Grumpypants Strife