//------------------------------// // Attacks // Story: Kingdom Hearts: A New World, A New Way // by gfr091702 //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Attacks "So let me get this straight." Juniper said, leaning forward in her seat, as she and Twilight started to calm down from shock. "You're from another world - not the Pokemon World - and found yourself stranded in this one after using a forbidden power to save your friend from dying." "Not really forbidden, just risky." Sora said with a shrug. "... but yeah." "The reason you had to do this was because you and your friends finished defeating some guy who wanted to start a war and remake reality how he saw fit." The Beheeyem continued. "But before you defeated him, he killed Kairi, which was why you had to use this power in the first place." "Yup." Sora nodded, leaning back in his seat and putting his hands behind his head casually. "I'm… having a little difficulty believing this." Juniper admitted. "I'm not calling you a liar, Sora, it's just a lot to take in." "...Key…" Sora froze, his body tensing up from the distorted voice. Twilight took notice of this. "Sora?" "Did you hear that?" Sora asked them, looking around. "Hear what?" Juniper asked. "That voice." Sora said apprehensively. His eyes began to dart around as he felt a dark presence, a presence he had hoped wouldn't appear in a world like this. The way Sora looked around frantically was creeping the professor and the alicorn next to him out. "What voice? Sora, what are you talking about?" Twilight asked him, concerned. She had no idea why Sora was reacting like this, but she suddenly felt the air grow a bit colder. Then it rang out, louder this time. "Where... are you?" "That one!" Sora exclaimed, and Twilight could hear it too this time. "What is that?" she asked. The three of them suddenly heard screams. (Play Kingdom Hearts No Time to Think) "Help!" "Monsters!" "Where did they come from?!" "Oh no…" Sora said aghast. "Please don't tell me…" Sora muttered to himself, but knew it had to be true. "Monsters?" Twilight asked, as the three made it outside. She eventually got her answer as the three were suddenly surrounded by small, but creepy, little creatures with glowing yellow eyes and black antennae. They had creeped up on them when they had lost focus, and now made their presence known. They slowly started to advance on the duo, crouched and poised to strike. (End Kingdom Hearts No Time to Think) (Play Kingdom Hearts Night of Fate) "What the-?" Twilight was taken aback by their appearance as the three were now back to back. "Heartless…" Sora growled. "Huh? 'Heartless'? Are these…?" Juniper asked him. "No time to explain," the boy said as he summoned the Kingdom Key in his right hand. Its guard was gold with a black hilt. A blue piece connected the guard with the shaft, which was silver with teeth that outlined a crown shape. Hanging off guard was a chain ending with an emblem of three circles forming what seemed to be a head with two large ears. "They're dangerous in a swarm. Don't let them get near your heart!" "Okay!" Juniper blocked a swipe from another Shadow with Protect before whacking it to the floor. She ducked as another lunged at her, missing and swiping at nothing but thin air. Sora sliced two more in half, before turning around and knocking the Shadow that had jumped over Twilight off balance, before whacking it into a wall with his Keyblade. Seeing their other fellows easily dispatched by the duo, the remaining Shadows literally disappeared into the shadows. "What were those creatures?" Twilight asked Sora. He could tell that she was shaken up by the sudden ambush. Anybody would be, considering the nature of these black monsters of darkness. "Sora… have you seen these things before?" "Like I said," Sora replied with a serious tone, "They're Heartless… creatures created from the darkness of people's hearts." "Hearts… like in the physical hearts that pump blood through our body?" Twilight asked confused, glancing towards Sora's Keyblade, "That doesn't make any-" "Not the physical heart." Sora corrected, "I mean like our essence. It's a manifestation of what makes us who we are… an inner self…? Sorry, it's hard to explain…". Sora had a hard time explaining it to her. She herself was confused even more by his explanation, but it was slightly reduced by what he said next, "Think of it like our emotions. When I mean darkness, I mean our negative emotions, like anger and hate, or sadness. It's connected to our emotions, basically. I dunno how else to explain it." "Tell us later, then. We need to go and find help." Juniper replied, "There's got to be Pokemon Rangers nearby. Maybe we can-" "No." Sora interrupted her, "I'm going to go and fight those things." "But Sora, you can't!” Twilight protested. "You don't understand." he replied, gripping the Keyblade firmly, "These monsters are dangerous! I've seen what they can do… Their sole drive is to take the hearts of other people, and when they do, those people will lose their hearts, and become one of them! I saw it happen before on my island, I can't let that happen here! Not while I have the power to help!" Twilight and Juniper were surprised by Sora's conviction and drive, more so by the fact that Sora had seen these things before and knew what they could do. "I'm going to do what I can." Sora said, snapping them out of their thoughts, "Go and evacuate while you still can." "No." Her response surprised the hero of light, as she continued, "I am one of the four Princesses of Equestria. It is my duty to keep ponies and Pokemon away from danger. I'm coming too." Sora had to blink frequently to process her words, then nodded. "Okay. Let's go and do what we can, then." He turned and was about to run towards the screams for help, before Juniper stopped him. "Sora… regarding the Heartless…" Twilight looked uncomfortable as she was saying this, "Are they…?". Sora looked down, understanding what she was asking, and nodded silently. "I see…" Twilight sighed, confirming her suspicions, "Let's go." "Right." Sora nodded again, before the three rushed towards the screams. It was already a harrowing sight, with some fires burning along several buildings. To make matters worse, more of those shadowy monsters were attacking other citizens trying to run away from them. A few unlucky victims had those shadows rip into their chest and pull out a glowing red heart, shattering it and causing the victims' forms to fade, distort, and eventually reform into more Heartless that began to scurry around. "So… this is what you meant…" Twilight replied in horror as she saw a Soldier Heartless rip out the heart of another victim. Sora could see that the sight creeped his new friend out, and he put a hand on her shoulder, despite him being shorter, to reassure her. "It's okay. I was afraid too the first time I saw them appear on the island. Let's focus on saving these people. I'll divert the Heartless's attention away from the civilians. You two get them to safety while I keep them distracted. If they come after you, then make sure they don't get your heart." "Understood." She said as Sora crouched down, concentrated, and summoned blue energy around his body. Looking relieved for a second, Sora then blitzed towards the Heartless with Keyblade in hand. "Leave them alone!" Sora cried out, kicking a Soldier Heartless off another civilian. He turned towards the citizen who looked at him with surprise. "Go, go! Get going!" Sora called to him, and the citizen nodded before running off. Sora looked at the number of Heartless on the field, and was relieved to find only Soldier and Shadow Heartless. Good. They haven't gotten a true foothold on this place yet, Sora thought, But regardless, I need to draw their attention and take them out fast! Without hesitation, Sora pointed the Keyblade to the sky, allowing it to glow to get the Heartless's attention. It worked. The Heartless's eyes flashed a dangerous yellow upon seeing the one weapon they feared, and lost interest in the other citizens. They started to advance onto the boy wielding the weapon, and Sora did the one thing he could do. He ran towards them, ready for battle. As Sora clashed with the Heartless, Twilight and Juniper and several other civilians were helping others who had been injured by the Heartless out of the fighting and destruction. "Are you alright?" Twilight approached an injured mare, looking at the claw marks on her side. They appeared to be pretty deep cuts, and Juniper winced as she saw the blood. "Can you move?" "No… I can't. It hurts too much…" the mare grimaced in pain. "Hang on!" They looked to where a small, light green Pokémon with several flowers surrounding it was running towards them. Its main body was an orange face with oval, light green eyes. On top of its head was a long, fluffy green crest that curls slightly over its face and extends backwards. A thin blue thread was attached to the back of its head and had several flowers attached to it. The flowers were white, purple, red, and yellow. "Is she okay?" she asked her. "No. She's hurt pretty bad," Juniper said. "Give me a second." the Pokemon put a hand on the wound, and a green aura came from her hand, making the wounds disappear. "Thank you…" the mare whispered. "No worries," the Pokemon coughed. Twilight looked at her concerned, but she waved it off. "I'll be fine. Let's get her to safety." "Got it. I'll cover you," Twilight looked to where a Soldier Heartless was running towards them. At least they were larger than those little shadow bugs. She delivered a kick to the Soldier to push it back while the young man helped the woman to safety. The Soldier tumbled a bit, before getting back up. It then spun around claws outstretched to throw Twilight off balance, but she narrowly dodged the attack before hitting it with a spell and sending it careening into a wall of a store, where it dissipated. She noticed that when it did, a pink heart floated out of its remains. A heart very similar to the ones the Heartless had pulled out of their victims. ‘Oh no… was that a person?’ she thought horrified. She brushed her thoughts aside as she heard someone tell her to duck. And duck she did, avoiding another Soldier that had targeted her. Before she or it could do anything, it went out in a blaze of glory, turning to dust and releasing the heart within. Shocked, she turned to see that Sora was the culprit, having cast Fire on the Soldier Heartless to keep it away from his friend. "Get going!" he called out to her and the others. "What about you?" Twilight asked him, "You're going to fight them by yourself?" "I don't have much of a choice. The Heartless's eyes are on me now. And in this way, they won't focus as much on you guys," he replied, glancing towards his Keyblade, before his face lit back up with determination, "If they show up again, tell the civilians to take cover and hold them off for as long as you can.” "...You won't be persuaded otherwise, huh?" she sighed, and the hero of light shook his head. "Okay… Then I won't stop you. Good luck, Sora." "Got it!" Sora saluted, before covering himself with blue energy and rushing off. As he ran, he saw more Heartless running about and causing trouble. There weren't many other civilians around running or being attacked, but the Heartless were still there, scavenging for survivors. Not only that, but Sora's earlier perception of the Heartless's hold on Ponyville was wrong: There appeared to be slightly stronger Heartless, like Neoshadows, Air, and High Soldiers roaming about. Not good. Upon noticing the Keyblade, the Heartless stopped their search, and hissed at Sora and the Keyblade, before lunging towards the swordsman. Without hesitation, Sora cut through them as quickly as he could, his thoughts on trying to save anyone that might be trapped. "Freeze!" he called out, launching an ice crystal from his hand. The Air Soldier tried to fly away, but it was too late as the shard of ice exploded into a larger ice crystal, freezing the Air Soldier in place before the crystal shattered. Sora used the opportunity to dispel the frozen Heartless with his blade, before landing on the ground. "So you have come…" He heard the voice again. This time, it was not distorted, but it gave chills down Sora's spine. He summoned his Keyblade, looking around, but seeing nothing. "So what if I have?" Sora called out, "Where are you supposed to be?" "Why would I need to answer that?" the voice replied, "So that you can strike me down like you did the others?" "Well… yeah." Sora was taken aback by the answer. "Hmph." the voice replied, "You're amusing." "Whaddya mean?" The voice remained silent, which Sora did not like at all. Before he could ask another question, the voice spoke again, "A pure heart to the end, aren't you, Key Bearer?" "So what? Got a problem with that?" Sora retorted. "No. Quite the opposite, actually." "Huh?" "It makes you careless, Key Bearer, and more prone to making stupid decisions. Haven't you noticed?" the voice replied, "Or are you that dense that you can't even tell that your own actions brought you to this place?" "I know what I did." Sora said, "I know that I was meant to fade due to breaking that taboo. But it's because of my friends that I'm still alive and kicking. Besides, who are you to judge me? Aren't you some sort of Heartless?" "Still so blind." the voice said, "One who knows nothing can understand nothing." Sora had heard those lines before. But this voice couldn't possibly be him. Riku had struck him down for good at the Keyblade Graveyard. "I know you're not Ansem. Spill the beans. Who are you, really?" There was silence, before the voice spoke a simple word. "...Darkness…" (Play Kingdom Hearts III Fragments of Sorrow) At that, Sora saw multiple shadows appear from the ground. Surrounding him now were several Shadows of various sizes, and even a few Neoshadows added into the bunch. Sora hadn't seen these large Shadows since Wonderland. This could be troublesome. A Mega Shadow lunged towards Sora, but the Keyblade wielder reacted in time, dodging its outstretched claws and whacking it away with his Keyblade. It tumbled to the ground, crushing a few of its smaller kin in the process, but got back up, angrier than ever. Sora wasn't fazed, though, and jumped as it tried to attack him again, bashing it in the head with his blade. The other Shadows lunged at him in the air, but Sora was ready for them. "Fire!" Sora released a torrent of flame around himself like a ring. Some of the Shadows reared back, but others weren't fast enough, and were burned or incinerated by the flames surrounding the Keyblade wielder, giving him some breathing room as he landed on the ground. He brought his Keyblade up to block a Neoshadow's outstretched claw, and delivered a kick to yet another Mega Shadow to knock it back, before turning his attention to the Neoshadow and cleaved it in half, dissipating it. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his back. The Mega Shadow had come back for more, and had slashed its claws at him from behind before he could react in time. Snarling, Sora turned around and slashed the Mega Shadow, cutting it in two. Ignoring the pain currently burning on his back, he decided to test to see if he could cast another spell. He raised his Keyblade up to the sky, yellow electricity at the tip of it. "Thunder!" he called out, summoning a series of small lightning bolts from the sky and electrocuting the enemies around him, stunning them. This allowed Sora to get some distance between the Heartless, before pointing his blade and firing bullets of light towards them, eliminating them in their stunned state. Sora looked around, expecting more Heartless to come along, but as he turned around, he noticed his shadow had grown to an extremely large size. He jumped back, realizing what was about to happen. As he watched, his shadow emerged as a very large Heartless that Sora had encountered many times before. It, like the Neoshadows, took a humanoid shape. However, it lacked antennae, replaced with hair-like appendages that covered its face. It also had small wings on its back, but the most prominent feature was the large, heart-shaped void in its torso, which would make even the bravest of warriors shiver. This was the Heartless type Jiminy had dubbed the "Darkside.". The monster that had haunted Sora's dreams before he was thrown into this adventure. The one who had led the attack which had destroyed his beloved Destiny Islands. Except… there was something different about it. This Darkside appeared to have a more purplish tint, which was more prominent on its large hands, which were blood red at the tips of its fingers. The aura it gave out was also more intimidating and pressuring than normal Darksides. Sora took a step back, before gritting his teeth. For some reason, despite never facing it personally, he knew exactly what this was. A Dark Follower. A stronger variant of the Darkside. This had to be the Heartless's leader here in this world. He gripped his Keyblade hard and readied himself to face the oncoming darkness. "Come on!" Sora shouted, and the Dark Follower roared back in challenge. The Heartless clapped both fists together, rearing back and raising them up to the sky, ready to slam both onto the ground. Sora knew he had to dodge this by jumping, but even he was surprised when the Dark Follower's attack shook the land like a minor earthquake, and the shockwave was larger than he anticipated, though he barely made it over said wave before tumbling to the ground. Wasting no time, Sora blitzed towards the Dark Follower's vulnerable hands, and struck them multiple times before the Dark Follower brought them back up, forcing Sora to retreat as it exposed its empty core. Dark purple energy began forming at the center of its empty heart-shaped void as it began firing large blasts of dark energy, which all homed in on Sora. The Keyblade wielder timed his strikes and deflected each of them back towards the Dark Follower, which took the orbs without much issue. Not good. It's much faster and tougher than a normal Darkside, Sora thought, It's recovering from my attacks much more quickly! This is gonna take longer than I thought. Sora's train of thought crashed as he barely dodged an attempt by the Dark Follower to grab him. “Let's see if this still works!” Sora said, and his pupils dilated as he focused on each of the Dark Follower's hands and then to his head. “Now!” Sora jumped up, pointing his Keyblade in front of him, as powerful energy charged at the tip of it. If one looked closely enough, his clothes also appeared to change color as well. "Ragnarok!" Sora shouted, releasing the energy and firing 24 spinning energy bullets towards the Dark Follower. Eight bullets hit their respective targets and caused the Heartless to rear up and take a step back. The Dark Follower recovered, and raised its right arm, which pulsed with dark energy, before slamming it down to the ground, creating a pool of darkness from its hand. Sora was quick to take advantage and attacked the hand vigorously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shadows appearing from the pool of darkness the Dark Follower had created, and then, he decided to do something crazy. Without a second's hesitation, ignoring the Shadows, Sora leapt onto the Dark Follower's arm, and began running up the arm towards the face. Sora used his Flowmotion to speed up to dodge the other hand that had tried to grab him mid-flight, and charging up a massive amount of power, Sora let out a battle cry as he slammed the Keyblade, whose blade now glowed a bright yellow, into the Dark Follower's face. To say the least, an extremely powerful explosion of light was released upon impact, capable of blinding almost anybody had they been present. Sora leaped out of the smoke and landed on the ground, ready to continue the fight. The legs of the Dark Follower staggered back again from the impact, but not enough to send it to the ground. The Keyblade Wielder couldn't figure out how much damage that last attack had done, even after the smoke had cleared around the Darkside. But one thing was certain. It was infuriated by that last attack. It roared its fury to the heavens, so much that a dark aura began oozing out of the Heartless. Sora looked determined to take this thing down, and gripped his Keyblade to prepare for the upcoming storm. (End Kingdom Hearts III Fragments of Sorrow) But to his surprise, the Dark Follower relaxed, staring at the Keyblade Wielder before a pool of darkness surrounded it. Sora lowered his guard, confused, before he saw the giant Heartless descending down into it. ‘No… it's retreating?!’ Sora thought. "Get back here!" Sora shouted, rushing towards the Dark Follower as it slowly disappeared into the murky pool of darkness. Sora lunged toward the Heartless, aiming for the head in an attempt to end it… But his blade hit nothing but the ground. "No…" he cursed himself for being too slow. The Dark Follower had escaped. (Play Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Hunter in the Dark) He had no more time to think as the Heartless surrounding them suddenly started to run to a spot in front of him. The boy was initially confused, until they saw the Shadows start climbing atop one another, and Sora quickly realized what they were doing as they merged together, becoming a much stronger Heartless known as the Demon Tower. Sora had only briefly faced it in the Realm of Darkness when he had gone to rescue Riku and King Mickey in the Realm of Darkness, but he knew that if it grew into its stronger form, things would only escalate and get out of hand. A cry for help snapped Sora out of his stupor. He turned to see somebody stuck in the rubble. He couldn't make out their face, but he saw the Demon Tide's eyes glow red in response. Without hesitation, it ignored Sora and decided to feast upon the helpless innocent. Sora didn't know how it happened, what came over him, or where he got the strength to even move, but his body suddenly operated on its own to prevent the Heartless from getting to the bystander. He finds himself between the individual and the Heartless, as he rears his blade back and stabs the Tide in front of them, Keyblade glowing in light. It was working. The Tide was being repelled by Sora's light, but it left him in a terrible situation. He couldn't move from his spot to help the innocent out, or he'd risk getting both of them consumed by the darkness. It was a stalemate, and the one who gave out first would be the one to fall. And with his predicament and his condition, it seemed like Sora would be the lucky guy to take that title. Well… lucky would be pushing it way too hard. But he wasn't planning on giving up. “Help!" he heard the figure shout out. The voice was feminine, but she must've seen something that spooked her out. Sora looked back to see who he was trying to save. It was a bipedal, humanoid Pokémon whose body resembles a flowing gown. Most of its body was white, but its hair, arms, and the underside of its gown were green. Its hair curled over its face and down the sides of its head. Behind its red eyes are short spikes, resembling a masquerade mask. It had long arms with three fingers on each hand and slender white legs. A red, fin-like horn extended from its chest, and a shorter, more rounded horn extended from the back. A band of green on its chest extends to the center of the front horn and connects to its sleeve-like arms. Sora felt a wave of pain in his body. He realized that the Demon Tide had decided to put more force into its attack, and Sora was taking the full force of it. "Don't worry, ma'am!" he shouted, "It's gonna be okay!". He put more power into his defense, but even that was failing as he felt himself being pushed back. "I can't… I won't… I won't fail everybody a second time! I refuse to let you consume my friends and this world!" Sora shouted, trying his very best to ignore the pain he was feeling, trying his best to keep his light shining bright to protect the ones he cared about. "SORA!" he heard people screaming his name in horror as he felt the pain escalate further. He couldn't see it, but the darkness was starting to eat at him, ripping through him and tearing him apart, just like it had with Riku and Roxas during their final stand when the Guardians fell. And it was scaring his friends by the second, seeing their newest, and probably kindest, friend being consumed by the darkness he was protecting them from. Sora was starting to feel the pain now. It was unbearable, but he grit his teeth and kept pushing, despite the impossible odds. But he felt it. His body was being torn apart. Was this what Riku and Roxas felt in their final moments back then in that cursed timeline? He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable doom… But suddenly, he felt two hands placed onto his back and weapon arm, supporting him. Startled, Sora turned back to see a scared but determined Twilight, supporting him. Suddenly, Sora felt slightly stronger, and found more drive to push back. Though he felt that Twilight might die with him, Sora decided to keep pushing, reinvigorated by Twilight’s resolve and filled with hope to save him from an end like this. To his surprise, Korrina, Lucario, Applejack, and Juniper also came up to help support their friends, each of them supporting Sora in some way. "Guys!" Sora said in surprise, as they all looked at him with determination. "We're not leaving you to fight this thing by yourself." Juniper declared, "I don't care what you've got with these things, at least let us help!" "You saved us before. So let us save you!" Twilight replied bravely. Sora found himself laughing a bit, before grinning. "Yeah… You're right!" Sora focused his attention on the Tide trying to overpower him, and pushed. "Hold on!" he cried out as he took a step forward, trying to push back the Tide while every single muscle in his body screamed in pain. The others wore pained but determined expressions as well, and Sora could see the darkness eating away at them as well. "Come on… come on!" Sora grunted, pushing with every bit of strength he could muster. The Tide remained persistent, pushing Sora and his friends back a bit. "No…!" Sora remained determined, and let out a long but defiant yell to try and push back against it with all his power… Then everything went white. (End Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Hunter in the Dark) When Sora opened his eyes, he found himself in a white void. Frantically, he looked around, wondering where his friends were. "Twilight! Applejack! Anyone?!" he called out. Nothing. No response. Not even an echo. "Oh no… did I…?" Sora thought aloud in horror, "No… it can't be…" Had he failed? Were he and his friends now dead? Had the Heartless actually overpowered him? "No…" Sora thought sadly, "I… I messed up…" Of course he did. He was by himself. There was no way he would have defeated that Demon Tide without help. He couldn't find the strength to yell out in grief. He just let the tears fall. It was over. He'd lost. He'd failed them. Not just his new friends… but the ones he'd left behind. "Everyone… I'm… I'm so sorry…" (Play: KH3 Re:Mind Soundtrack - Link to All - Second - Connect the Keyholes) "Sora ain't gonna go anywhere!" A familiar voice made Sora jump. He looked around, but couldn't see where the voice came from. It seemed to come from everywhere. He heard yet another voice. "You'd betray your king?" "Not in your life!" Sora looked around again, but still found nothing, as Goofy's voice continued to speak and echo throughout the void, "But I'm not gonna betray Sora either! He's become one of my best buds after all we've been through together. It would be wrong to leave him just because of the King's orders!" Sora knew this memory. It was when Riku had taken the Keyblade from Sora at Hollow Bastion, and when he was about to kill him when Sora had chosen to delve deeper into that world, Goofy had protected Sora, deciding to go against King Mickey's orders to follow the one who held the Keyblade. "See ya later, Donald! Could you tell the King I'm really sorry?" "Hold on, Goofy! We'll tell him together!" a raspy but discernible voice answered back through the void. Donald… Sora thought. Why were these memories coming to him now? "Well… You know… all for one and one for all." Donald's voice said. "I guess you're stuck with us, Sora." Goofy's voice concluded. Then he heard his own voice, younger and higher, "Thanks a lot, Donald… Goofy," Sora couldn't help but chuckle at the memory as he wiped away his tears. Donald and Goofy had chosen their friendship over Sora over their loyalty to Mickey, and this only further solidified their bond. They had been his traveling companions, from start to finish, whether Sora saw it or not. He missed them dearly, and he wouldn't deny it. He only wished he could see them one last time. So it only further surprised Sora when he heard a very dorky, but very familiar voice speak up. "Gawsh, Sora... what's up with that face?" Sora looked up to see the source of the voice. It was too good to be true. Standing in front of him were a very bizarre duo. An anthropomorphic duck and dog wearing outfits to match Sora's were smiling at him, but their eyes showed concern. "Donald…" Sora said in shock, looking from one to the other, "Goofy…" He admitted that tears were threatening to fall from his eyes yet again. His own traveling companions were standing right in front of him. "How…?" The two simply smiled at him, and Sora could only guess why. "Sora," Donald began, "Seriously, what's with that frown? It's not like you to feel down in the dumps." "I…" Sora said, but the words stuck in his throat. Too many emotions were threatening to release from his heart. "I don't know… I can't do this on my own… I'm not ready to go yet… What am I supposed to do?" "Sora. You can't give up here. We're all looking and waiting for you to come back home." Donald persisted, and added reluctantly, "We can't just leave you to fade like that. What kind of friends would we be?" "Whaddya mean?" Sora asked weakly, "I…" "Come on, Sora." Goofy chuckled, "You should know that you're never alone, even when we're apart. Our hearts are always connected to one another, dontcha remember? You're not kicking the bucket just like that. That's not the Sora we all know and love." "And we made a promise," Donald continued, "We promised that we would protect each other, no matter what." "Right… we did," Sora said, remembering that little promise they had made at the end of their first adventure, "We'd always fight together, even when we're apart." "Exactly." Goofy replied, "So turn that frown upside down, Sora. You can do this, because not just your friends are there with you, we're right there with you too!" Goofy pointed to his chest, "Now get back up and show that Heartless you're better!" "But… how?" Donald smirked, "Ever heard the phrase, 'on your left?'" As the duck said this, they became brilliant spheres of blue and green light, spiraling towards Sora, to his surprise, before his vision went white once more. (Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance Link to All) Sora found himself back in reality, with him and his friends still trying to hold back the Demon Tide. With new resolve, he forced himself to push against it, but the Demon Tide still proved much stronger. Sora was about to be pushed back, but he felt a pair of hands on his right and left shoulders. Startled, he turned to see a very surprising, but welcoming sight. Donald and Goofy were there behind him, supporting him along with the others as he clashed with the Tide. Mari and the others seemed surprised too. They were actually there! But that wasn't the only surprise. They were… glowing? "C'mon, Sora! Give it all you've got!" Goofy called out, snapping Sora out of his stupor. "Show him who's boss!" Donald shouted. Sora was stunned, more so by the fact that they were actually here, talking to him and helping him. "Guys…" Sora said, before cracking a grin, "Yeah! Here we go!" He turned his head back to the Demon Tide. Ignoring the pain in his arms, he swung his Keyblade at the Tide, repelling it and catching the Heartless off guard, sending it careening backwards. Without hesitation, Sora aimed the blade with two hands towards the staggered Heartless, and with Donald, Goofy, and the rest of his new friends supporting him, he fired a beam of light consisting of red, blue, and green beams spiraling around a central yellow beam towards the Demon Tide, pushing it back and dealing significant damage to it. From that damage, the Tide was forced to back off, crashing into a nearby building. Sora panted heavily as he slumped to the ground on his rear. That last attack had taken a lot out of him. "Curaga!" he heard Donald say, and he suddenly felt rejuvenated again. A green aura surrounded Sora as he felt his wounds being healed by Donald's healing spell. He looked at the duck in surprise, who simply smirked at him. "Don't expect to see me do that for you too often." "Donald… Goofy… you're here! You're actually here!" Sora said with joy as he jumped to his feet. He couldn't believe it. They'd found him! "But… Why are you guys all glowing and sparkly? Didja get some new clothes or something?" "We'll talk about it later, Sora." Goofy told him, "Cuz I don't think that Heartless is down for the count just yet." Sora hated to admit it, but the Captain of Mickey's Royal Knights was right. The Demon Tide was quickly recovering, but still remained stationary near the building it had crashed in. And boy, did it look pissed off. (Play Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance Link to All) "Great." Sora sighed, "All that for what?" "Don't worry, Sora. We're gonna take it down together!" Goofy said, summoning his Knight's Shield, "No way we're gonna be beaten by some Heartless threatening the worlds, not now or ever!" "Let's get it!" Donald declared, summoning his Mage's Staff. Sora had a cheeky grin on his face, happy that his friends were here to support him again. He didn't care if there were people watching. It was time to teach this Heartless a lesson. He gripped his Keyblade and got into his fighting stance. (Play: Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Wave of Darkness I) "Bring it on!" Sora challenged, and the Demon Tide began to violently swing about in response, spinning around and around the area that they were in. He heard yelps of surprise behind him as Sora turned to see everyone else sent flying back from the force of the swirling tide. Sora realized it had created a dark barrier to prevent others from coming in, appearing as a translucent black dome. "Oh no! Sora!" he heard Lucario yell. He turned back to the Symbol of Peace, who looked seriously concerned about Sora's condition. He had managed to save the woman Sora had protected, and she was on his back. Sora noticed he was steaming, but he wasn't concerned about that. Twilight and the others also had that same look, but were at a safer distance from the building and the barrier. The Hero of Light only gave out a smile. "Don't worry, Lucario!" he grinned confidently, "We've got this!" "Here goes nothing!" Goofy shouted. The Demon Tide had stopped spinning around and had turned its attention to the trinity that was Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The three of them got ready to face off, and without warning, the Heartless charged towards them. "Get clear!" Sora shouted, and the three of them jumped away from the Tide's assault. Goofy reacted fast afterwards and threw his shield at the Tide, missing its core, but managing to eliminate several Shadows which made up the monstrous Heartless before the shield returned to the captain. The Demon Tide reared back and began to make another round, the eyes of the Shadows glowing red. It tried to ram Sora again, but the Hero of Light easily jumped into the air to avoid it, before landing on the ground. "Blizzaga!" Donald fired a large shard of ice towards the Tide, making impact with the core and causing it to stop for a brief second, before the Tide shook off the frost and the crystal before retreating to the sky, now hovering above the spiky haired swordsman and his friends. Sora was currently running as the Demon Tide continued its assault. It was still focusing on him. Good. It was underestimating what Donald and Goofy could do. They themselves were running in different directions to flank the Heartless should it try anything. Sora watched as the Heartless spun around and around as it sent out Shadows towards the Keyblade wielder, who used Flowmotion to dodge and weave around each and every one of them as they scampered towards him, attempting to slash and swipe at him to no avail. He was surprised. He felt lighter than he did when he first came here, but decided to focus on that later, as he narrowly dodged another swipe from an incoming Shadow. They didn't stop coming, but Sora wasn't worried. "Donald!" he called out. "Okay!" was the duck's reply, and he raised his staff high in the air, summoning large bolts of lighting to rain down on the Shadows from above, eliminating them in an instant. The Demon Tide wasn't done, as it burrowed itself into the ground through a portal of darkness. Sora knew instantly that it was still targeting him, and he didn't have to look down to expect an attack from below. He rolled out of the way as the Tide appeared out of the ground where he once was mere seconds ago, before burrowing itself into the ground again. "Sora!" he heard Goofy cry out, "Bombardier!", and Sora nodded back, understanding the implication. As Mari and the others watched, Sora leapt on top of Goofy's shield, before Goofy launched himself and his friend into the air. Their eyes were focused on the portal of darkness appearing in front of them. The Demon Tide was now aiming for Donald, and the mage knew that. Nodding to the two, Donald rolled away as the Tide began to resurface. Sora grabbed hold of his hand, spinning him around. "Go get 'em!" Sora shouted as he flung Goofy towards the emerging Heartless, with his shield in front of him and braced for impact. To the surprise of everyone present except the ones fighting, Goofy made impact and actually pushed the Tide's core down due to the force of which he was thrown, slamming said core into the ground and creating a massive shockwave. It was all but dead, as the Demon Tide angrily pushed Goofy off of it, taking to the skies yet again. Sora knew it wasn't gonna go down easily, having dealt with the Demon Tide twice before. The best option was to hit it with an extremely powerful attack, stronger than the beam of light Sora, Donald, and Goofy had launched at the Tide moments before. "Donald!" he called out to his friend, "What's the strongest spell you can cast?" "Zettaflare!" Donald shouted back, "But it's a very risky move! I can't use it here!" "Then take it down a couple of levels! Use something slightly weaker so you don't push yourself too hard. Charge up the attack and fire when I tell you!" Sora shouted. He knew what Zettaflare could do, having seen Donald use it before against Terra-Xehanort to great effect. But that was before Sora changed history's course, so Donald had no memory of using it, because technically, that never happened. Sora didn't mind, though, as the attack itself was a double-edged sword, leaving Donald unconscious and easy prey for the Heartless. Sora turned to Goofy, "Goofy! Help me distract it!" "Aye, aye!" Goofy replied, and the two rushed towards the Heartless, and it, in turn, charged towards them. Sora and Goofy swung their weapons to knock the Heartless back. "I have an idea!" Sora called out, "Let's do Cosmo Boost, but this time, throw me!" Goofy nodded, as Sora straightened himself like a soldier at attention. The Captain of the Royal Knights then grabbed Sora and held him like a machine gun, aiming towards the Core of the Demon Tide. "Ready? Aim…" Goofy called out, as Sora pointed his Keyblade upwards. "FIRE!" Goofy threw Sora with all he had, and Sora rocketed towards the Heartless at breakneck speed. Quick to react, Sora stabbed the Keyblade into the Demon Tide's core, managing to right himself and send the Heartless into a frenzy. Sora grabbed a foothold on the core, and struggled as he tried to steer it towards the direction of Donald. The mage was charging up a spell, with a special glyph around him. Sora and the Tide swung this way and that, Sora trying to control it while the Tide tried to shake it off. Eventually, Sora won the struggle and gained control, and managed to steer it towards Donald's line of fire. "Alright, Donald! Let em have it!" Sora shouted, getting his body behind the Tide's core. "TERAFLARE!" Donald roared as he let his spell fly. A literal blast of flame came out of his staff and hit the Demon Tide's core with great effect. It shrieked as the powerful spell made contact with it. Sora felt the heat around him, but with the Tide's core acting as a shield, he was hardly affected by this spell. It was nothing compared to Zettaflare, but the attack was still very effective. Remind me never to make Donald this mad when we talk… he thought to himself. He's literally shaken out of his thoughts when the Demon Tide suddenly started to shake and angrily threw Sora off of itself, but the Keyblade Wielder landed on his feet. He goes over to Donald, who looks exhausted. "Ether for your thoughts?" Sora asked, offering said item to Donald, who smirked and took it. "Maybe," Donald said as he popped it into his mouth. "Did that do it?" Sora wondered out loud as he saw only the Tide's core and not the trail behind it. Suddenly, it began to furiously spin around. (Play Kingdom Hearts Wave of Darkness II) "Uh oh! Something's wrong!" Goofy looked shocked and worried. "Look out!" Donald yelped. Indeed, something was definitely wrong. The Demon Tide then suddenly plunged itself down into the road below, leaving a pool of darkness in its wake. Sora realized what it was about to do, and from their faces, so did Donald and Goofy. The Demon Tide's core resurfaced once again, but this time, it was surrounded by a tornado of Shadows. It was now more deadlier than before, and Sora could feel it. It let out a threatening roar, nearly blowing them back. Immediately, the Demon Tide suddenly rush towards them. "Run for it!" he shouted to Donald and Goofy, and the three of them sprinted off and barely escaped from the tornado as it missed and hit the side of the barrier, sending benches and streetlights flying as a result, before turning around and gave chase to the three heroes. "Sora! Donald!" Goofy called out, "Trinity Guard!" "Got it!" Sora and Donald called out. The three of them spun around to face the oncoming foe, Goofy with shield out in front, and Sora and Donald behind as support. The Tide tried to rush them, but instead of absorbing them into the storm, it found itself repelled by a powerful barrier conjured by the three's combined willpower. The Tide reared back and tried a different approach, launching Shadows from itself to try and overwhelm the trio, but the barrier held, and the Shadows bounced off it. "Chaaaaarrrrge!" Goofy shouted as the three made a sprint to ram through the legion of Shadows launched at them, dispelling them all with one charge. "How'd ya like that?" Sora taunted the Tide. It responded by trying to attack the trio yet again. It rushed towards them with the intent to kill. "Firaga!" Donald shouted, launching a blast of flame towards the Heartless, destroying the Shadows and exposing an opening which Sora and Goofy jumped into, Donald following close behind. "Time for some magic!" Donald shouted, and Sora knew what to do. "Let's do this, Donald!" He declared as the two stood back to back within the swarm. "Flare Force!" the duo shouted, spinning about and launching rockets which homed onto the core and exploded all around it. Sora then felt enough power stockpiled as he finished working with Donald to launch those fireworks. "Here we go!" Sora shouted as white energy coursed through him and exploded around him, forcing the Demon Tide to rear back in pain. When the light subsided, Sora's outfit had changed, becoming darker, with tints of blue and yellow and red unlike his previous outfit. This was Sora's Second Form. Feeling lighter than ever, Sora began to blitz the Demon Tide, slashing at it with relative ease and practically moving faster than he did in his normal state. The Tide could barely keep up, and when it tried launching Shadows at the Guardian of Light, Sora simply repelled them with a spiral of magic. The Demon Tide had had enough. Sora saw the core recede into the earth and the Shadows surrounding it fan out and spin wildly. He looked to Donald and Goofy, nodding, and the three of them began to run away as the Tide began shooting out large spheres of Shadows which flew high into the air. Sora followed their movements with his eyes as they began to descend down on them as they ran. They missed, but they suddenly rose up again and again, making it harder to dodge them. "OWWWAAAHHH!" Goofy yelped as a sphere of shadows hit him and sent him flying. "Goofy!" Sora shouted and leaped to grab him, carrying him under his arm. "You alright?" "Look out!" Goofy said, as more of the spheres began to surface. Sora managed to escape most of them, dodging and swerving all around to avoid them, which appeared to be easier in Second Form. "Huh?" Sora said aloud as he saw darkness beginning to surface around him, Donald and Goofy, before he suddenly felt himself getting knocked into the air! "WHOOOAAA!" The three of them yelped as they were sent high into the sky, before Donald kept them afloat with Wind Magic. "You guys okay?" Sora asked, "We're pretty high up!" "100%, Sora!" Goofy yelled back. Without hesitation, Sora dived back down, Goofy following suit with his shield held in front of him, Donald hanging on to Goofy's midsection for dear life. The Demon Tide responded by launching more spheres of Shadows to intercept them. Sora twisted around left and right, whacking away any spheres in his way, while Goofy's shield dispelled them upon impact. Sora then saw the core, and an opportunity to strike. "Take this!" Sora declared, striking at the core from above with a downward stabbing strike, followed up by Goofy, who rammed head-first with his shield onto the core. The Tide was moving very slowly now, but it hadn't given up yet. In a last ditch effort, the Shadows surrounding the core managed to spin around rapidly, catching the trio off guard and sucking them into its tornado. "Sora!" his friends screamed out in horror as the Tide consumed their friend. Sora grunted as the Shadows tried to eat at him from all sides, but then he heard Donald and Goofy yell out to him. "Sora!" They shouted, "Trinity Limit!" Sora's eyes brighten, reinvigorated. "You're right! Let's go all out!" "Trinity Rocketeer!" The three of them got together, sending out their weapons into the air and gathered the Shadows around them, before sending out large amounts of fireworks to scatter the Shadows and keep them away. "Major Drive!" The three of them got together, with Donald in front, before launching yellow orbs of light towards the Shadows making the Tornado of the Demon Tide. The orbs eliminated them all one by one, until only the core remained. "Trinity Assault!" The three of them began an aerial barrage of attacks, hitting the core relentlessly, Sora using Ars Arcanum to great effect, before the three of them thrusted their weapons together, stabbing at the core and damaging it further. Sora twirled about and Donald and Goofy followed suit, standing together once more underneath the vulnerable and helpless core of the Demon Tide. "C'mon, Sora!" Donald shouted. "Don't give up!" Goofy encouraged him. Sora smiled, recalling everything he and his two best friends had gone through. Flashes of those memories crossed through his mind: their first meeting, their falling out and making up at Deep Jungle, their funniest mishaps, their dedication at Hollow Bastion, their determination at the end of worlds, and many more tender and heartwarming moments together passed through his mind. "Three half-pints together again…" He admitted it. He would've never made it this far without them. Donald… Goofy… Thanks for everything, Sora smiled fondly, before looking upwards and shouting, "Give me strength!" "ULTIMA!" The trio shouted, and they joined their weapons together, creating an orb of bright energy that began to dispel the Demon Tide. The Shadows making up the core roared out in pain as it tried to resist, but Sora wasn't planning on making it come back. With a yell, he took the lead on the attack, forcing the light upwards and into the Demon Tide's core. As the bystanders watched, the Demon Tide's core suddenly began to explode from the inside, rays of light appearing out of parts of it as Sora pushed the light orb further into the core. Explosions of light and darkness occurred around the Heartless as the Shadows within helplessly flailed about. Sora let out a final yell of triumph as everything and everyone present was blinded by a brilliant flash of light. When all subsided, Sora was out of his Second Form, his clothes reverting to normal as he collapsed on his back, completely spent. The Demon Tide was gone, and the barrier slowly disappeared. "Whew… can we… take a break?" Sora wheezed. "Come on, Sora. Up and at em!" he heard Donald say as he didn't feel as tired as he did before. Donald had cast Curaga on him again. "Geez… never knew you were the type to do that," Sora joked while still on the ground. "You know I saved it for something useful. And I did," Donald retorted playfully. "Har har." "Gawrsh, look at that, fellas…" Goofy said in awe. Sora and Donald followed his gaze and looked just as awed as he did. They saw sparkles of light from their final attack drift down like snow, making an almost magical atmosphere. Not only that, Sora saw hearts floating down and landing on the ground, taking form as ponies and Pokemon. The hearts lost to the Heartless were returning after their leader had been defeated. At least, the leader of this particular group, as the Dark Follower from earlier had escaped, but Sora did not wish to dwell on that now. "We did it…" Sora thought aloud as he saw people running to loved ones who they thought were lost, hugging them and letting their tears flow. "We saved everyone…" "Talk about a light show, Sora," Donald smirked. "Hey!" a voice snapped them out of their stupor. The three of them turned to see Twilight, Korrina, Lucario, Applejack, and Juniper run up to them, slightly injured and beaten up but otherwise okay. "Hey guys!" Sora called out, before being tackled to the ground by them, Twilight being the first one to him. "That was reckless… but very brave of you, Sora." Twilight gently scolded, astonished by Sora's display of power. "Thanks, guys," Sora smiled softly. "We thought we were gonna lose you there…" Korrina replied. "Yeah… why did you guys help, anyway?" Sora asked. "We're friends, Sora. It wouldn't be right to leave you like that. Our bodies just… moved," Twilight explained, "Friends shouldn't leave each other behind. They stick together, no matter what." "We're just glad you're safe, Sora," Juniper replied, "You did something good today." "Wow… thanks guys." Sora smiled. "By the way…." Korrina added, looking to Donald and Goofy, "Who are these two?" "Oh... right…" Sora said, laughing uneasily. How was he gonna explain this? He was about to clear his throat, ready to explain, before Goofy's voice stopped him. (Play Kingdom Heart III Chains to Bonds) "Gawrsh… It looks like we're about to run out of time." Sora looked to where Donald and Goofy were sparkling even more, to his surprise. "Wait… what are you talking about? Are you guys… not really here?" he felt his own voice shake as he said those words. The two shook their heads sadly. "We only came because your heart called out for help, and we heard it from our own. The moment your heart called, we answered right away, and used our connection with you to send a bit of our power to where you were. I'm sorry we couldn't explain earlier." Donald explained, "We may not be the real Donald and Goofy…" "But that doesn't mean we still care for you like them." Goofy smiled, "And don't you worry, Sora. Even if we don't know where you are right now, you can rest easy knowing that we're still looking out for ya," Sora felt like a truck had hit his gut. Here he thought he was reunited with his best friends again. In a sense, he was, but in another, not. He felt something go down his face. Ignoring everything else, he embraced the two constructs of his friends, and they returned the hug quickly. "Even if you aren't really them… I'm at least glad to have seen and fought with you guys again…" Sora sniffed, "I really miss you both… thank you... for coming to help." "We know, Sora," Goofy gave him a pat on the head, "Donald and me… we'll always have your back. Don't ever forget that." "I won't…" Sora softly said as he rested his head on his friends' shoulders, and they let him do so. He was shaking, but he held his tears in as best as he could. He was glad that Goofy and Donald were here, in some shape and form, even if it was for a limited time, and he focused on that to prevent himself from crying. His friends wanted to join in, but Mari and Hero stopped them as they knew this was a personal moment for Sora, the former wiping a tear away. "Alright, Sora. Enough moping about and start turning that frown upside down. This boat runs on happy faces," Donald replied smiling, but slightly annoyed, causing Sora to rub his eyes and let out a shaky laugh as he let go of his friends. "There he is. Welcome back," he chuckled. "Hey! What's that mean?" "Lighten up, Donald." Goofy said, turning to Sora, "Just remember… we're not going away anytime soon, Sora. Just keep us in there until we find you." Goofy pointed to Sora's heart, and Sora nodded, before wiping a tear to shake off the feelings of sadness, letting a grin escape his mouth. "Thanks a lot, you two." Sora said with emotion. Donald and Goofy began to glow brighter, almost obscuring their forms in light. It was time. The two looked at one another, nodding, and then placed their own hand into the center between the three, and eventually Sora joined in, knowing exactly what came next. "All for one…!" Donald and Goofy said in unison. "...And one for all." Sora finished, as he watched them disappear into particles of light, floating past him and away into the sky, "See ya later… Donald… Goofy…" (End Kingdom Heart III Chains to Bonds) He sighed, looking to where the particles disappeared to, before realizing that there was something in the hand that had been placed there during their cheer. Sora flipped his hand around, and saw one final surprise. It was a Heartbinder. It was pure white in color, except for the silver frame around the charm, but at the center were three hearts connected to one another through a yellow circle. One heart was red, another was blue, and the third was green. It took him a few seconds to realize what had happened, and he couldn't help but smile once again. Seems like they had left him one final gift before departing. They truly were fellow half-pints and friends. ‘Donald… Goofy… Thank you.’ Sora thought, holding the charm close to his head, before placing his new Heartbinder into his pocket. They would find him, he thought. It would take some time, but he now knew that they would find him... wherever he was. "Sora…" he heard Twilight say, as he looked back to his friends here, "Who were they?" "They were… my two closest friends," Sora smiled, "Donald and Goofy. I… owe a lot to them. They're part of the reason why I'm here today." It was clear from the emotion in his voice that this was a topic he couldn't explain outright, and his friends chose not to pry any further, as it felt just as personal as the Heartless did, but in a good way. "I wish I could explain it all right now, but…" Sora began, before Juniper shushed him. "It's okay. We know," "Thanks for that guys…" he smiled. Suddenly, he heard sirens which caused him to look away, seeing a couple of police cars and officers running towards him with guns pointed at him. "Freeze! Drop your weapon!" Sora looked at the authorities calmly. Inside, he was a little scared, but knew that he did what he thought was right. He didn't care about the law anymore. Not in the situation he was put in. He did his duty as a Keyblade wielder and a Guardian of Light. If he had done nothing, the Heartless would've consumed more and more hearts. Twilight moved to try and intercept the authorities, but Sora raised a hand to stop her. He shook his head. He didn't want her involved in his mess. This was something that he had to deal with himself. "It's okay," Sora assured her, "I need to do this." Deliberately, he let go of his Keyblade, letting it drop and clatter to the ground, where it vanished. He slowly put his hands up. "Don't worry." Sora replied to the officers, "I'll come quietly. I know you’re confused, and I'll accept whatever punishment you think is right for me. I promise I'll explain everything once we're in a more private location. Just keep my friends out of this." The sincerity and honesty of his voice made many of the officers want to lower their weapons out of respect, but they still trained them on him as the boy began to move. Sora simply walked towards the closest one and presented his wrists to him. "Please put the chains around my arm, sir. I won't try to hurt you." Sora said in the same sincere voice. Hesitating, the officer reached for the restraints, and put them on his wrists, restraining his arms from moving, and locking the restraints. Sora smiled softly, "There we go," He could've easily summoned the Keyblade to release the restraints, but he knew that it would only make things worse than they already were. His eyes showed no evil intent as he stared at the officers around him. "I appreciate your cooperativeness, boy, but you still have a lot to answer for. We'll take you to the station." The officer replied, having gained some respect for the young boy in front of him. Despite what he did, he was still human, and was even willing to accept the punishments for it. Not many ponies in this day of age could do that. "I know." was all Sora said, and he walked towards the officer's car, with said person leading him with a hand on his shoulder. He looked back one last time to Twilight and her friends. He gave them all a reassuring smile, before he entered the car and was driven off. "Sora…" Twilight whispered sadly as the Hero of Light was driven away. She worried for the safety of her friend, as did the others. They did not know how Sora would be punished, but after what he did to save them all today, they all hoped his sentence would be a light one.