Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil
Chapter 6: Dusk at Dawn
Roxas was very comfortable wherever he was. It was warm and soft, and he wished he could snuggle ever deeper into the pillow he rested on. That was when the memories before his unconsciousness flooded back into his mind, causing his eyes to shoot open as he sat up instantly. The blanket that covered him fell to the floor, but he paid it no mind as he glanced around his surroundings.
Roxas appeared to be on a three-seater couch in a living room he found unrecognizable, yet cozy. He still wore his Organization coat, but his shoes were taken off, and he looked around for them. As soon as he looked down, he found them right beside the couch, and hastily put them on, preferring to wear his shoes than not.
After one more sweep of the room, Roxas pondered how he got there to begin with. He had been sleeping on the couch, evident by the blanket and pillow, but who brought him there? When he thought about it, he knew it had to be Twilight. He couldn’t think of anybody else it could have been. That raised another question: Why had she given him a place to sleep? He may have saved her from those Nobodies, but he was still a stranger to her.
After that, he had a strange dream involving that girl. She looked like someone he knew long ago, but his memory was blank. It was like his heart knew what his mind didn’t. But how special was she to Roxas? Was she a good friend, or just someone he met on a single occasion? He couldn’t figure it out, and it made his head hurt.
Groaning, he swung his legs and placed them on the floor, pushing himself to his feet. He should thank Twilight for the hospitality nonetheless, and continue on his way. He still had to find Sora and figure out how and why he had returned to physical form. Before he could head towards a place to find her, he heard a small bark from behind the couch.
Curious, he leaned over the couch, putting his arms against the back for support, and peeked over it. On the other side, he saw a small purple dog, with green ears staring back at him with its own eyes. Strangely enough, the dog’s eyes were vaguely reptilian, though Roxas hardly noticed.
“Uh, hi there,” Roxas greeted with an awkward wave, “You wouldn't happen to know where Twilight is, would you?”
The dog barked again, and ran around the couch towards Roxas. He watched the dog do this as it ran up to his leg and rubbed his head against it affectionately. Roxas wasn’t sure why the dog was behaving that way, and it caused him to crouch down and pick it up. Holding it an arms distance away, he looked over the dog until he saw his tags.
Reading them, he muttered, “Spike… Is that your name?”
Another bark from the dog, and Roxas took it as a confirmation. Before Roxas could reply, he saw movement from the corner of his eye, and when he looked over, he saw a door opening. Twilight emerged from the door, closing it behind her quietly, and when she turned to face the room, her face lit up in recognition. “Oh, you’re awake,” she said, walking over to him.
Roxas shrugged, “I guess so.”
When Twilight was close enough, she took Spike away from Roxas, holding him close to her chest as she smiled. After seeing her hold Spike, Roxas figured he was holding him the wrong way, and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He wasn’t used to dealing with pets, and it showed quite plainly to Twilight.
“I never got a chance to thank you for saving me,” Twilight expressed, making Roxas smile. It felt good to be appreciated, especially when he wasn’t used to it to begin with.
“It’s no trouble,” he said with a shake of his head, “I’m just glad those Nobodies didn’t hurt you.”
“Are those what attacked me?” she asked, setting Spike on the ground, having a quizzical expression. “What are ‘Nobodies’?”
Roxas suddenly realized his mistake, his eyes widening as he tried to think of something to say. He knew it was important to keep worlds ignorant of each other, and he couldn’t believe he had let that slip. Despite how hard he thought, his mind was drawing blanks, and he began to sweat slightly.
“What’s the matter?” Twilight asked innocently raising a brow.
“Uh, well…” Roxas hesitated, turning his head to the side to avoid her gaze. Then, Twilight gasped, making Roxas glance back at her with confusion. He caught her looking at a clock, but he didn’t know why she would be worried about that.
“We’re going to be late!” she exclaimed, her hands clenched together. “No wonder you’re so uneasy!”
“Yeah,” Roxas chuckled sheepishly, “We’ll be late.”
What they were late for, Roxas had absolutely no idea.
“Before we go to school,” Twilight said, taking a step back as she looked over Roxas, a hand on her chin. “We need to get you some new clothes.”
Roxas took mild offense to that, “What’s wrong with the way I look?”
Twilight’s eyes widened as she waved her hands frantically in front of her. “N-Nothing!” she said loudly, “It’s just, well, what you’re wearing isn’t exactly… normal.”
Roxas would have argued that no one had said it was out of the ordinary before, but this was a different world, and didn’t know what ordinary was here. So he held his tongue and gave a reluctant nod. “What do you suggest then?” he asked.
She thought for a moment, looking up at the ceiling before facing Roxas again. “Do you have any other clothing with you?” she asked, wanting to start with what he had.
Roxas’ first reaction would have been to say ‘no’, but when he thought about it, it did feel like he was wearing clothing underneath his coat. Ignoring that someone was watching, he gripped his coat and tore it off, revealing his old Twilight Town garments. He released his grip on his coat as he looked himself over, the memories in the simulator coming back to him. He wasn’t very fond of the clothing, but it was all he had besides his Organization coat.
“How long have you been wearing that?” Twilight asked, pointing at his clothes.
Roxas looked at her and said, “I really don’t know.”
Twilight would have continued with her questions if she wasn’t instantly reminded that they were going to be late. “We’ll talk more later,” she exclaimed grabbing Roxas forearm, “We have to get to school!”
Before Roxas knew it, he was practically being dragged out of the house by Twilight as she grabbed her bag in her other arm, heading out the door. Spike wasn’t far behind, following behind the two as he barked happily.
***
Sora was walking through the empty halls of Canterlot High once again, turning his gaze in every direction. His search to find at least one of his friends at the school wasn’t going so well. He figured it would be straightforward to find them, considering it was fairly easy the last few times, but at that moment, luck was not on his side. He was surprised at how early he had awoken, as he wasn’t much of a morning person. Though, he had forced himself up to see if he could catch one of his friends before the other students made it to the school.
“Fluttershy!” he called down the hallways. “Rarity! Rainbow?”
He stopped at an intersection in the hallway as he took a short break, crossing his arms as he looked both ways. “I gotta see if they know anything about the magic of friendship,” He said to himself, “If they’re linked to it, then I may be one step closer to my mission.”
“Oh, howdy, Sora!” a girl with a country voice said behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Sora saw a girl with a green and white shirt, a denim skirt, and brown boots. He also noticed that she had blonde hair in a ponytail, with a brown cowboy hat on her head.
“Hey,” Sora said back slowly, turning to face her fully. He didn’t recognize her, for he had never met her, but with depictions of apples on her clothing, there was only one true guess at her name. He rubbed his chin, “Applejack, right?”
She chuckled lightly, “That’s me!”
Sora smiled, glad to finally run into one of the six friends. One of his other friends must have told Applejack about him. He didn’t know her very well, but if she was anything like the other girls, then he could trust her. “Do you have a second?” he asked kindly, “There’s something really important I gotta ask.”
“Sure,” Applejack said, walking past him while still facing him, “Let’s walk and talk, I need ta see Rainbow before school starts.”
Nodding, Sora walked beside Applejack, wondering how to word his question. “So, care to elaborate about the dance and that monster everyone keeps mentioning?” he asked, putting his hands behind his head.
Applejack looked at Sora with surprise, shocked that he would bring something like that up so bluntly. She thought for a moment, as she hummed to herself, and Sora worried for a split second that he should have eased into the question. His worries were squandered when Applejack spoke. “It was a few weeks ago, I reckon,” she started, facing forward away from Sora, “Durin’ the Fall Formal. Sunset Shimmer put on the crown that was supposed ta be Twilight’s, and this magic show started.”
“Magic show?” Sora inquired with humor in his tone.
“You know,” Applejack sighed, giving him a look of both amusement and frustration. “A lotta lights and such. Anyway, Sunset turned into this monster. I can’t say exactly what it was, but it was pretty scary. She nearly destroyed us, but it was stopped by the power of friendship, or that’s what Twi said. Then… well, it was kinda fuzzy, but what I remember was that we were floatin’ and this magic chained between us and turned Sunset back to who she was.”
Sora remained silent, sorting out the new piece of information he was given. It all went back to Twilight in some way, whether it be involved with her friends or the special crown that turned Sunset into that monster. As far as he could figure, the best course of action would be to find her, and see if she had the magic of friendship his enemies were after.
Sora faced Applejack again with a genuine smile, “Thanks for telling me.”
“Ah, it was nothin’,” Applejack waved off, smiling herself as she turned to Sora.
“It wasn’t nothing,” Sora declared, his expression as honest as his words, “You helped a lot with that. And I really appreciate it.”
“Oh, well…” Applejack said, taken aback by his kindness, “You're welcome then, Sora.”
“So,” Sora said, hanging onto the word in a way to change the subject, though not by much. “Do you know where I can find Twilight?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied with a shrug, “She’s been in the Library lately, finishin’ up a project. I bet you’ll find her there.”
She then stopped abruptly, turning to Sora with a questioning gaze, “Why are ya so interested with what happened at the Fall Formal?”
Sora hesitated a moment, halting in his tracks as well. He brought his arms down and scratched his cheek sheepishly. He knew he couldn’t keep up his lie for long, and actually wanted to say what he was really in their world. He had already explained it to Fluttershy - or at least part of it - so what was holding him back?
Sora sighed, facing away from Applejack. “I’ll tell you everything,” he started, turning to her with a hardened expression. “With your friends. I’ll… explain everything.”
Applejack was surprised by his boldness, a bit flustered in a response. “I, uh, can’t wait then,” she said, unsure what to make of his attitude. “But what exactly are you going to explain?”
“You'll see,” Sora said, giving a quick wave and a smirk before running off, heading for the Library. He meant what he said; they had helped him a lot since he arrived at Canterlot High, and they deserved the truth. Even if it would come a bit late.
***
Roxas couldn’t remember the last time he had run so far, so fast. There may have been a few instances during his time with the Organization, but those memories were as hazy as the rest of his past. It didn’t help that Twilight was practically dragging him the whole time, his footing on the verge of tripping. He couldn’t even see where they were going, as he was too busy keeping himself balanced.
It wasn’t until Twilight slowed to a stop that Roxas bent down in exhaustion, resting his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. Roxas was a capable fighter, but he was still getting used to having a body again. “Was that… really necessary?” he asked in between breaths.
“Of course it was!” Twilight retorted as if it was a silly question, as Spike trotted up to him, his tongue hanging out comically as he took a seat on the ground. Glancing up at her, Roxas saw that she was hardly winded from their travel, and he wondered how many times she had been nearly late to begin with. Taking one last deep breath, Roxas stood back up as he looked at where they had arrived.
It was a school, fairly basic, though Roxas had nothing to compare it to. He may have been given the implication of a school in the simulated Twilight Town, but he truly had no memory of attending any school. The yard he stood in front of was bare of anybody at all, and the rising sun indicated they were far earlier than they needed to be. His staring caught the attention of Twilight who looked at him with a raised brow.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, putting a hand on Roxas’ shoulder and shaking him.
Stirred from his thoughts, Roxas faced Twilight, seeing her concern. He quickly put on a forced smile, shrugging off Twilight’s hand. “Just thinking,” he stated, looking at the building again. “I’ve never really been to a school before.”
“Never been to school?” Twilight questioned with curiosity, “What have you’ve been doing then?”
Roxas scratched his nose, a mischievous grin appearing on his face. “It’s a secret,” he answered rather honestly, causing Twilight to look at him exasperatedly.
“Fine, don’t tell me,” she said, walking away from him towards the entrance of the school. “But could you at least tell me about those monsters?”
Roxas’ smile sank to a frown as he grew worried. There was no way he would be able to persuade Twilight to drop the subject. She just didn’t seem like the type. Of course, he had never been good with lies either, from both inheriting it from Sora and lack of practice. Briskly walking to match Twilight’s speed, Roxas hesitated in a response, hoping that remaining silent would be a good enough answer for her.
“Well?” Twilight pushed, sounding impatient. Roxas shook his head, failing to come up with anything to say to her. The Nobodies had attacked her and nearly destroyed her, she had a right to know what they were, especially if they came after her again.
In the end, Roxas knew there was only one thing to say. With a hint of reluctance in his voice he said, “They’re-”
A loud crash reverberated through the earth, causing Twilight and Roxas to sway where they stood. Spike whimpered from the sudden quake, and hid behind Twilight’s legs, poking his head out frightfully. Roxas was already in high alert, quickly scanning the area for anything that had caused it. It wasn’t until he looked at the roof of the school that his jaw dropped. A very large Nobody, one that was taller than the building itself, was standing on the other side of the school. A Nobody that Roxas could recognize anywhere. A Twilight Thorn.
It still looked the way it did when Roxas had fought one. From what he could see, it still had its pointed shoulders and four long, blue tentacles wrapped around its neck, moving around like they had minds of their own. Why a Nobody of this caliber was here was unknown to Roxas. After all, Twilight was with him, and the Nobody wasn’t near them at all. What could it be after, and who sent it to begin with?
“W-What is that?” Twilight asked shakily, pointing a finger at the gargantuan monster.
“That would be a Nobody,” Roxas explained rather calmly, glaring at the monster, “I need to take it out before it hurts someone.”
“You mean with those giant keys you have?” Twilight asked hesitantly, still in the dark about his weapons.
Roxas gave a small nod, and sprinted straight for the school, ignoring his aching muscles as his drive to take out the Nobody fueled his mind. Twilight was startled that Roxas would run head first towards the large Nobody, and wondered if he would hurt himself because of his selflessness. Eventually, she chased after him, with Spike following behind with less enthusiasm.
***
The soccer field had more activity than Fluttershy thought there would be, though not by much. Rainbow had invited herself, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to come see her practice. More for having all of them together than boosting Rainbow’s ego. Fluttershy wasn’t too surprised that Twilight hadn’t joined them, though she was growing very worried for her; it wasn’t like her to miss a friendly get together. Applejack hadn’t arrived either, though she probably was held up with something.
It was nice chatting with everyone as Rainbow practiced with the soccer ball. The thoughts of Sora and his mission to slay Heartless was still at the front of her mind, but she tried to avoid them the best she could. Struggle as she may, her friends were able to see that something was on her mind, and Rarity had a better guess as to what then Pinkie did.
“Something on your mind, dear?” she asked, causing Fluttershy to shake out of her stupor. She had been so deep in thought that she had forgotten that she had her friends around.
“Oh, uh, just… Sora,” she answered, surprisingly honest, dipping her head low.
“Do you fancy him?” Rarity asked slyly,causing a small blush to appear on Fluttershy’s cheeks.
“That wasn’t-” Fluttershy tried to say, facing away from Rarity. “I mean, it doesn’t-”
“Fluttershy has a crush!?” Pinkie exclaimed, catching Rainbow’s attention as she stopped her practice. “She hasn’t had a crush since… ever!”
“But I’m not saying that-” Fluttershy said before being interrupted.
“Fluttershy has a crush?” Rainbow asked, walking over while holding the soccer ball. “With who?”
At that moment, the doors at the school burst open, and Applejack walked out briskly, waving a hand over to them. “Sorry I’m late,” she apologized with a sigh, “Just helpin’ someone out.”
“It’s fine,” Rarity waved off as Applejack gathered around with everyone else. “We were just taking about Fluttershy’s crush!”
“A crush?” Applejack asked, “With who?”
“I was just thinking-” Fluttershy started.
“Sora,” Rarity said dreamily.
“Hey,” Applejack recognized with a smile, “I just saw him. Said he had something to tell us.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened, she knew that Sora was going to tell them about the Heartless and his keyblade. She wondered what brought him to reveal the truth, but couldn’t think on it for long before Pinkie gasped sharply.
“He’s going to tell us that he likes Fluttershy!” she said with a wide smile, nearly leaping for joy.
“I don’t think that-” Fluttershy said, almost drowning in their words.
“How romantic!” Rarity swooned, and as the friends talked excitedly with each other Fluttershy got up and walked a few meters away. They were jumping to conclusions and hardly listening to her. It wouldn’t be the first time this happened, but this time it was far too personal to simply drop. She wasn’t even sure if she felt that way about Sora!
“How did I get mysef into this situation?” she asked herself, taking a seat away from the girls. She placed her head in her hands as her elbows rested on her lap as she simply watched the sky. That was when she caught sight of grayish thorns twisting and disappearing in the air. She had seen nothing like it, not even from the Heartless that Sora had described to her.
Then, out of no where, a monster appeared, the thorns disappearing entirely as the behemoth landed on the ground, causing a large boom to shake the stands. The four others stopped in their chatting to see what caused it, standing up from their seats as they gazed upon the large monster.
They were all stricken by fear, unable to react in any way. Fluttershy was both terrified and confused; it looked nothing like a Heartless, so what was it? As it stood there motionless, the monster finally moved, turning its head in Fluttershy’s direction, as soon as it did, Fluttershy could only do one thing.
Scream.
***
Roxas was already half way around the school when he heard the scream, picking up his pace more than before. He could hear Twilight behind him, but it hardly bothered him as he reached the corner, his eyes landing on the monstrosity that loomed over the group of girls on the bleachers. It was looking straight at one particular girl, however, who was cowering away from it.
Growling angrily, Roxas yelled, “Hey! Pick on someone your own size!”
Roxas kept his glare solely on the Twilight Thorn, which turned towards him as well. He could see the skin of the Nobody waver once its gaze fell on him, and Roxas made his way to the field to stand before the Nobody. He summoned his keyblades and twirled them in his hands, bracing himself for another fight.
The images of his last battle with a Twilight Thorn flashed in Roxas’ mind, causing him to smirk. “If I can beat you once, then I can beat you again,” Roxas remarked confidently, giving his keyblades another twirl as if to point out his extra weaponry.
Then, another crash behind Roxas made him flinch as the girls gasped in fright again. He really didn’t want to see what caused that noise, but he did so anyway, turning his body around dramatically. What stood in front of him was another Twilight Thorn, not so different from the one that stood right behind him.
Roxas slumped his shoulders as he sighed, “You gotta be kidding me.”
“Watch out!” A rainbow-haired girl shouted, causing Roxas to whip back around and jump out of the way, dodging out of the way of a fist slamming into the ground. He performed a quick roll and ended up on his feet, charging straight for the Thorn that first appeared. The Thorn cupped its hands together and slammed down on the ground. Roxas had dashed out of the way, and hopped onto the hands, running along its arms as he made his way to the head.
When he was within range, he prepared to swing, but was cut short when the other Thorn grasped him tightly and tossed him high into the air. He had remembered this move from his past, and was ready to do an air dodge like before. Unfortunately, he couldn’t predict that the other Thorn would meet him preemptively in the air. Before Roxas could do anything, the Thorn swung its arm down, smashing it into Roxas as he landed on the ground, hard.
“Roxas!” Twilight cried from the sidelines, having already ran around the battle to join her friends.
Roxas lied there for a second, his breathing amplified, before pushing himself to his feet with his keyblades. “That all you got?” he questioned, putting one keyblade on his shoulder as he threw his other arm out. “I’m just getting started.”
He was only putting up a facade as he was running plans through his head. It would be difficult to fight two Twilight Thorns at once, considering they were already nimble by themselves. Unexpectedly, the two Thorns were flying circles around him, their bodies stretched to make it look like a seamless circle had encompassed him.
Roxas tried to keep his eyes open for an attack, but they were moving so fast that he wasn’t sure that he would be able to catch it in time. His thoughts brought truth as a fist shot out of the circle hitting his front briefly before retracting. The hit only made him stumble, but he was still injured from the strike. Then another fist came out, and Roxas was ready for it as he jumped over the fist, only to be struck by another, sending him to the ground. He quickly got to his feet, and was able to strike away another fist with a keyblade, and another, and another.
Soon, a flurry of fists was coming his way, as he tried desperately to knock them all back. He was thankful that he had two blades, and couldn’t imagine deflecting these attacks with a single weapon. The Thorns stopped their attacks suddenly and broke off from their flying circle, and instead went into the air. They hovered there for a split second before stacking each of their fists into a column and swung down. Roxas eyes widened, knowing he was unable to get out of the way in time, and instead brought his keyblades up in an attempt to block the attack.
It worked, to an extent. When the force of the attack made contact with his keyblades, Roxas’ legs nearly buckled as he gasped out from the pain from his arms and legs. The Thorns moved their hands out of the way to observe their work, only to find Roxas barely standing on his feet.
Roxas was swaying back and forth, holding his keyblades loosely in his hands. He never expected this fight to be so difficult, but he had to hold on. He had to fight them off. If those Nobodies were after Twilight again, he knew he had to do whatever it took to defend her. He wasn’t going to let someone be taken out by these monsters.
Suddenly, someone slashed through the knee of one of the Thorns causing it to tip forward and fall to a knee. In that same brief moment, another slash was made across the other Thorn, which fell onto its back by the force.
Roxas could have seen who it was that helped him out, but his vision was a bit blurry as he tried to keep himself awake. He heard someone land by his side as Roxas looked over, still feeling tipsy. He shook his head as he regained his visibility, only to find…
“I don’t know how you got here,” Sora quipped, extracting a potion from a pocket as he gave a smile, his keyblade firmly in his hand, “But it looks like you could use a hand.”
Roxas couldn’t stop a wide grin from emerging as he chuckled quietly, “About time you showed up.”
***
“Oh, come on!” Sora shouted in the Library, scratching the top of his head. He had been searching every nook and cranny for Twilight, as Applejack had suggested, but he couldn’t find anyone at all. He really did wake up too early.
Sighing, Sora took a seat on the ground, “The first time I get something about my mission and I can’t find the one person I need to talk to. I wonder what Donald and Goofy would do.”
That’s when he felt a vibration in the ground as the school shook, causing Sora to glance around in puzzlement. “Was that an earthquake?” he asked aloud, standing back on his feet. When he did, he waited for something else to happen, and a couple seconds later, he felt another quake that lasted just as long as the one before.
Something didn’t feel right to Sora, but he didn’t know if he should investigate. It really could have been an earthquake, and he was simply over thinking it. But if it wasn’t, and it truly was something dangerous, then he needed to find it, and fast.
“Sora,” a feminine voice in his head said, causing him to flinch, “Roxas needs help.”
“Who’s there?” he asked, glancing around and wondering if it was someone spying on him. “And what about Roxas?”
The voice was very familiar to Sora, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He may have run into this person before, but only for a moment. And when he thought about it, she kind of sounded like Kairi. “Roxas is at the back of the school,” the voice explained hastily, “He’s in trouble, hurry.”
Her voice was desperate, and Sora knew he couldn’t waste any more time. “Right,” he said, and charged out of the Library, sprinting down the hallways for a way out of the school. He didn’t know why Roxas was in this world, or who was telling him this information, but he knew he had to help his former Nobody. After all, he had his own heart, right?
***
Sora finally found the exit of the school, and burst outside, scanning over the field that presented itself to him. He was instantly met with two large Nobodies that he had never seen before, both identical to the last detail. He also saw Roxas, staggering where he stood, and knew he must have been fighting them for a while.
Sora’s jaw dropped, his mind reeling over the fact that Roxas was there, really there. He snapped his attention to the six girls on the other side of the field, standing next to the stands. They were the friends that he had made over the last two days, and he knew that they were in trouble too. Sora glared at the Nobodies defiantly as he grew angry at these monsters for hurting his friends. It didn’t really matter how Roxas appeared, they had to take out these Nobodies first and foremost.
Sora ran straight for the first one on his right, his keyblade appearing in his hands. He jumped and slashed through its knee, and then pushed off its leg to launch himself over to the other Nobody. With the added momentum, Sora was not only able to slash through the chest of the other Nobody, but also knock it back. When Sora made the cut, he again pushed himself off of the Nobody, sending him flying into the air.
After doing a flip, Sora landed easily next to the hurt Roxas, who had Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands; the two weapons he used when he fought against Sora.
Despite the situation, Sora gave a small smile as he extracted a potion from his pocket with his free hand. “I don’t know how you got here,” he quipped, “But it looks like you could use a hand.”
Roxas gave a small chuckle, “About time you showed up.”
“Why wouldn't I?” Sora responded, throwing the potion into the air. It teleported over Roxas and dispersed its green healing magic, rejuvenating Roxas as he took a deep breath of relief.
“That feels better,” he commented, rolling his shoulders. The two Nobodies, at that point, had picked themselves up, preparing to attack the two keybladers. Sora and Roxas got into a fighting stance, back to back, as they each faced a different Nobody.
“We have to work together on this,” Sora said firmly.
Roxas grunted, “You got it.”
Momentarily, Sora and Roxas turned to each other and bumped wrists together before they each charged towards a different Twilight Thorn.
Sora threw his keyblade at the Nobody as he ran, lodging it into the chest of the Nobody, though it didn’t react to it. The Thorn threw back its hands and struck the ground, but Sora leapt out of the way, and bounced off each arm to arrive back to his keyblade.
Meanwhile, Roxas had done the same, throwing both of his keyblades into the Thorn as he dodged its attacks and meeting back with his weapons again. The two looked to each other and gave a quick nod. Swiftly, Sora clutched his keyblade and tore it out, as did Roxas with his keyblades. Then, the two pushed off each Nobody like a rocket towards the school. With their inertia, they were made contact with the wall and ran along it towards each other.
They only gave glance at each other in a sign of acknowledgement before focusing back in their run. When they got to a certain point, they pushed off of the schools and cut through the opposite Nobody that they had initially fought against, staggering both of them.
As the two keybladers simultaneously landed on the ground, beside the stricken Nobodies, they built up power in their keyblades as they brought them back for a very powerful attack. When the power was at its peak, the two keybladers swung their keyblades horizontally, sending a powerful wave to land on the Nobodies, sending both tumbling to the ground.
“Roxas!” Sora called with a wave, gaining his attention.
Seeing it, Roxas knew exactly what Sora had in mind, “On it!”
As Roxas rushed towards him, Sora had his keyblade disappear as he cupped his hands together, waiting for Roxas. When he was close enough, Roxas hopped onto Sora’s hands, and with each others might, sent Roxas high into the sky. Afterwards, Sora jumped up to meet him. Readying himself, Roxas had his keyblades disappear as well, just as Sora re-summoned his own keyblade. They caught each other’s hands just as their momentum was gone, then Roxas twisted his body around while holding on to Sora, and whipped the other straight towards the fallen Nobody.
Sora was heading towards it like a bullet, his keyblade at his side as he waited for the right moment to strike. When he felt like he was close enough, Sora did a quick flip as he twirled the keyblade to wielded it underhanded, and stabbed the Nobody as he landed. The force was so immense that the Nobody dispersed into nothingness as soon as the keyblade made contact.
Roxas landed beside Sora as the two exchanged a high five before focusing on the other Nobody, Roxas summoning his keyblades again. The Thorn was already standing up, unfazed by its comrades death. It tilted its head at the two keybladers before turning to face the girls, who flinched from its blank stare.
It quickly slinked over, not really taking a step as it dragged its feet, and reached over with a hand. It was so fast that the girls didn't have time to react, and the Nobody caught hold of Fluttershy who gasped, whimpering as she struggled in its hold. Sora gaped at the scene, wondering how a Nobody would be smart enough to take someone hostage. He shook that thought out, choosing to keep his mind on what was happening.
“Its got Fluttershy!” Sora stated plainly as Roxas narrowed his eyes.
“We have to be careful, Sora,” Roxas warned, knowing it would be difficult with the Nobody holding an innocent.
“Yeah,” Sora said slowly, “And I may have an idea. Follow my lead.”
Sora raised his keyblade as he ran for the Nobody, which sent out a plethora of thorn-like strings. Roxas watched as Sora reversal-ed the strings, gliding around them easily as he made his way to the head. Roxas face lit up as he figured out Sora’s train of thought, giving a small mischievous smile as he ran after the Nobody as well, charging up his keyblades. He only wondered who would catch Fluttershy when the Nobody was defeated.
Sora had made his way over the Thorn’s head, waiting for Roxas to do the next move. On cue, Roxas had his keyblades charged up and ready to strike, sprinting over to the immobile Nobody. When he felt like he was close enough, Roxas tossed his keyblades over to Sora, who hopped onto the Nobody and pushed himself over to the keyblades. Lining himself up, Sora kicked each keyblade swiftly as they both passed through the Nobody and lodged into the ground behind it, which staggered from the dual attack.
Then, as a final move, Roxas slide underneath the disoriented Nobody’s legs, retrieving his keyblades as they were still charged up. In the blink of an eye, Roxas swung his keyblades in an ‘X’ fashion, suddenly appearing in front of the Nobody again. Nobody made a move except for Sora’s falling form, and when he stuck the landing, the Nobody disintegrated to grayish magic, relinquishing his hold on Fluttershy.
She screamed as she plummeted to the ground, but Sora was fast enough to spring into action, sprinting over to where Fluttershy would fall. At the last second, Sora leapt forward, twisted himself in the air, and caught Fluttershy in his lap he slid along the ground for a while, Fluttershy holding tightly.
When they finally came to a halt, Sora breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he was able to destroy both Nobodies and save his friends. Letting go of Fluttershy, he made to get up, only to find that she was still clutching to Sora, causing him to blush a bit.
“Uh, Fluttershy,” he said, “You can let go now.”
She opened her eyes slowly to find herself safe and sound, and flinched when she realized what she was doing. Hastily, she let go of Sora, standing to her feet as she looked away in embarrassment.
“Oh, sorry, Sora,” she apologized right away, “I didn’t mean to-”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sora said, jumping to his feet with a broad smile, “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
Fluttershy smiled very slightly as she nodded in thanks, and then came the other friends. As soon as everyone was within range of Sora, they bombarded him with questions, and he found himself unable to say anything at all. He looked between each girl, baffled by the many words being spoken as he tried to figure out how to at least get a breath of air. Meanwhile, Roxas stood a ways away, chuckling at Sora’s attention as he put a hand on his hips.
“Glad that’s over,” he remarked to himself.
“Oh, and it was just getting good,” somebody unfamiliar whined, causing Roxas to recoil as he glanced around for the origin. The girls had stopped from hassling Sora, also wondering who had spoken. Roxas didn’t need to look far, for when his eyes looked to the roof, he found his culprit.
Two figures, clad in the old Organization black coats, stood there, looking down upon them like unrightful kings. Spike was giving his opinion of the two by barking non-stop as Sora and the girls saw them as well. Sora Walked over to Roxas and stood by his side, each giving a glare at the two figures. Anger was coursing through both their veins, though more so in Roxas.
“Are you working with Xehanort?” Sora questioned, pointing a finger at them.
The taller one gave a very despicable laugh that only annoyed the two keybladers. “Xehanort?” he asked back with humor in his voice, “Please, we have a more personal venture in this world.”
“Then who are you?” Roxas shot out.
“You mean you don’t remember?” he said acting like he was hurt, “How disappointing.”
In an instant, the tall figure threw back his hood, revealing long pale blonde hair with a wicked smile on his face that creeped out
everyone that saw him. Sora tilted his head to the side as he didn’t recognize him, but Roxas knew right away.
“Vexen!” he shouted, throwing his arm out.
“Yes, that’s right,” Vexen drawled, “And what about you, Sora? Ring any bells?”
“Who are you again?” Sora asked, causing Vexen’s jaw to drop in sheer shock. He shook his head as he gave a loud growl.
“How can you not remember me!?” he shouted angrily, “We fought each other in Castle Oblivion!”
“Castle… Oblivion?” Sora repeated blankly, looking to Roxas for help.
Seeing his lost attitude, Roxas simply said, “I’ll fill you in with what I know later.”
Nodding, Sora faced Vexen again with the same glare, “What do you want, Vexen?”
Taking a deep breath to quench his anger, Vexen’s smile returned in full as he gestured to the girls. “I just want to perform experiments on the magic of friendship like any other scientist. Is that so bad?”
The girls all shivered, not wanting to know what he meant by experiments. “You leave them alone!” Roxas yelled.
Vexen grunted, “Like that’ll stop me. With the Nobodies at my command, I doubt you two will be much of an obstacle for long.”
“What have I said about underestimating our opponents?” the other hooded figure scolded, “It shall lead to your downfall.”
Vexen turned to him with a judging gaze, “And why haven’t you paid your respects to the keybladers, Zexion?”
The figure looked off to the side, “To keep my identity a secret, you imbecile. But… I suppose it does not matter now.”
The figure pulled back his hood much slower than Vexen did, showing a man with purple hair that covered the right side of his face. “I am curious as to why Sora has forgotten you,” Zexion commented, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“We can think on that later,” Vexen waved off, “We have work to do, especially after those two keybladers destroyed our top Nobodies.”
“Agreed,” Zexion nodded, and the two were enveloped with a dark portal.
“Wait!” Sora shouted, but it was too late, as the Vexen and Zexion disappeared from view. Sora stomped a foot in frustration, “We lost them.”
Roxas looked to Sora, his expression serious. “They’ll show themselves eventually,” Roxas stated, “And when they do, we take ‘em out.”
Sora smirked as he nodded, but then really looked over Roxas leaning in slightly. Roxas backed away, holding his hands up. “How did you get back anyway, Roxas?” Sora asked.
Roxas sighed as he shook his head, “I have no idea. And if you don’t know, then its something we have to figure out.”
Sora didn’t respond, thinking back to the voice from his dreams. It said to expect more from his heart. Was this what it meant? And the female that spoke to him only fifteen minutes ago, how did she know Roxas was here? Whoever it was, it just showed that there was still much to figure out.
“Can someone please tell us what the hay is going on?” Rainbow asked in exasperation as the six walked over to Sora and Roxas. The two looked to each other, staring as they cracked up a bit. They sure had a lot of explaining to do. After all, they felt like they deserved to know at that point.