//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Reunion // Story: Kingdom Hearts: Friendship's Turmoil // by Superdale33 //------------------------------// Kingdom Hearts: Friendship’s Turmoil Chapter 17: Reunion No matter how many times Sora shook his head, he couldn’t clear the fog out of his mind. Everything was just so fuzzy, from the moment he went to Valor Form to the position he found himself on his hands and knees. He remembered having similar occurrences in his travels, but it still didn’t explain why it happened in the first place. His ears picked up on movement as someone made their way over to him. And when two pairs of shoes came into his vision, Sora looked up, seeing Roxas stand above him. He didn’t look very happy, glaring hard at Sora with his arms crossed, though he didn’t know why. With a deep sigh, Roxas put his hand out, his face softening a little. Accepting the offer, Sora gripped his hand and Roxas helped him back onto his feet. “Thanks,” Sora said with a nod, but Roxas walked past him without a word, and Sora watched him as me made his way over to the girls. Seeing them, Sora leaned back in shock, looking at each girl in turn. All of them were looking at him, all having fear, but there were layers of anger laced in as well. Scanning the rest of the room, Sora saw that it was still empty, and that Young Xehanort was gone. On the plus side, Riku and Lea were still there, showing that they weren’t taken away again. It did present relief for Sora, but the looks he was getting from the girls prevented a celebration. Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, “Did I miss something?” “You mean you don’t remember?” Rarity snapped, her fear being replaced with fury, furrowing her brow. She was walking towards Sora as she continued, her voice raising, “How you turned into some Heartless monster, or how you fought Riku with that form, or…” She had reached Sora at that point, whose eyes were wide in shock at those accusations. Rarity looked him straight in the eye, her face tensing up as she stared at him. “Or how much you scared all of us,” she finished, tearing her gaze away from him. “Turn into a Heartless?” Sora repeated, tilting his head. “Yeah!” Rainbow confirmed with a nod, rubbing both of her arms for comfort. Sora had never seen her so distraught; she was trying to look tough, but she was clearly faking it, as fear gripped her heart. “Me and AJ were all set for you to go Valor Form with you. And when you changed, we disappeared too!” Applejack, who was sitting on the ground alongside Fluttershy and Twilight, shivered, bringing her legs up to her chin as she hugged them. “It was so cold,” she whispered, looking at her boots, “So dark. I… I didn’t know when it’d end. I thought I’d stay there forever.” “Y-Yeah,” Rainbow said as she faced Applejack, her voice cracking, “It was like all of our happiness was gone.” Sora felt an immense guilt weigh on his heart. To have Applejack and Rainbow go through something like that tore him apart. And it was his fault too. “All I remember,” Sora said, unable to meet anyone’s gazes, “Is going into Valor Form, then blacking out. Then I end up on the floor.” “That’s all?” Roxas questioned, with an idle gesture, raising his brow. A nod from Sora made him hum to himself in thought. A whimper came from Fluttershy, making Sora turn to her and really noticing her reaction. She was hiding behind Applejack slightly, her eyes solely on Sora. That look hit Sora the hardest, showing absolute terror in them. Her hair hid most of her face from view, but with what Sora could see, she didn’t want to speak with him. Sora reached a hand out, “Fluttershy…” She whimpered, shifting her head behind Applejack, who gave a worried look back at her. Sora didn’t push to communicate with her, knowing he had messed up big time. Sagging his shoulders with a sigh, Sora thought about his change into a Heartless, wanting to know more of the details. “Is there anything you can tell me about my… change?” he asked, somewhat desperately. He needed to learn about this different form, and why no one had told him about it before. He really didn’t want to change into it again. For everyone’s sake. Roxas stepped towards Sora, standing in front of him. “It definitely knew what was going on,” Roxas said, gazing straight into Sora’s eyes, “It wasn’t mindless. In fact, I think there was still a piece of you in there.” Staring off into space, Sora thought about that fact. If there was some of him in his heartless form, then he wouldn’t hurt his friends if it happened again. Injuring Roxas or the girls would be the last thing Sora would do, if he could even go that far. He closed his eyes, knowing that not going into that form again was the best bet. “It came out when you tried going into your Valor From,” Rarity said, glancing at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, “So perhaps it’s best… that Sora never use it again.” “What!?” Rainbow shouted, some of her old self coming back as she faced Rarity incredulously. She made her way over to her as she spoke, “Sora kicked major butt when he used it! There’s no way-” “Okay,” Sora agreed, making Rainbow freeze, turning to him as everyone else did the same. Sora still had his eyes closed with his arms crossed, “I don’t know anything about this form. Just because it didn’t hurt my friends, doesn’t mean it won’t later on.” Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but instead, let out a sigh as she faced the floor. Sora saw this, and walked over to Rainbow. Standing before her, Sora reached out and put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. Rainbow didn’t react to it, but Sora didn’t mind. “And…” Sora said, continuing on with his argument, “I don’t want you or Applejack to go through that experience again.” Applejack smiled weakly at Sora’s concern. Despite Sora becoming a Heartless monster before, she knew that he was still the same Sora. However, a glance back to Fluttershy showed she was still traumatised by the incident, since she wouldn’t even look Sora’s way. Applejack had to feel sorry for her and Sora. They both looked like they were going to become closer, but that form seemed to have driven them apart. Releasing a sigh, Applejack pushed herself to her feet, albeit shakily. Afterwhich, she gave a broad smile as she tipped her hat at Sora. “Thank ya kindly, Sora,” she said, before she found herself contemplating, “But why did ya turn into that form in the first place? And if it happened before, why didn’t your friends feel the same way we did?” Sora crossed his arms again as he looked between Applejack and Rainbow, seeing their uneasy expressions. He had to think back to the last time he had used Valor Form, against Vanitas and Riku. It was similar to this one, where he drew the power of their bravery to transform. “The magic of friendship,” Sora muttered. “What was that, darling?” Rarity asked, the others equally as confused. “Well,” Sora said, knowing he would have to start at the beginning, “You know how Roxas is, I mean, was my Nobody?” Everyone nodded, even Roxas, though he had to wonder where Sora was going with this. Seeing the general agreement, Sora continued, “Well, for Roxas to form… I had to turn into a Heartless first.” There was no cries of anguish, no shouts of surprise, just stunned silence. Roxas turned away from the group, going into his own thoughts. Nobody really took notice as Pinkie asked an appropriate question. “How did you turn into a…?” Pinkie asked, unable to finish as she shuddered. She couldn’t imagine Sora as a Heartless, even the version she saw resembled him. But to have a plain Heartless that used to be Sora... It made Pinkie terrified just considering it. “I sacrificed myself to help a friend,” Sora revealed, tilting his head up as he remembered back. How cold and lonely it was, falling into the darkness. Perhaps he already knew how Applejack and Rainbow felt when he changed. “If Kairi hadn't saved me, I don’t know what would have happened.” Fluttershy turned her head ever so slightly at the name. She remembered Kairi to be one of Sora’s best friends, and it made her wonder if she knew about how Sora would change that way. In some ways, she felt angry that she probably didn’t know, just like the six of them didn’t until a few minutes ago. But another part of her felt sad that Sora had to live with a piece of darkness inside of him, waiting to come out when he needed power the most. “Did Donald or Goofy ever bring it up when you changed into that Heartless?” Roxas asked at last, twisting his torso to look back at the group. Sora shook his head as a response, “Then it probably only affects the girls.” “Right,” Sora said slowly, coming to the same conclusion. He faced the girls, feeling his finality coming forth, gripping his hands into fists. “I think the reason Applejack and Rainbow felt how they did when I changed, was because they're a part of the magic of friendship.” “But why would they feel like they're falling into darkness?” Twilight spoke up from the ground, wincing as she clutched her head with a hand. Spike sat next to her, nuzzling her side. “If they’re part of the magic of friendship like you said, Sora, wouldn’t they resist becoming a part of your dark self?” “I don’t know,” Sora admitted, making Applejack and Rainbow glance at each other worriedly. “There’s still a lot we need to figure out.” Though no one was satisfied with that answer, they couldn’t argue his point. The light, the darkness, friendship; even after years hearing about them, Sora still couldn’t draw many conclusive explanations for most of it. It was like they wanted to remain a mystery. A low groan emanated behind Sora, causing him to whip around his eyes wide open. Riku stirred from his slumber, shifting back and forth as he lifted his hand up to his head. “Man,” Riku muttered, using his other hand to push himself up to a sitting position, “What happened?” No one answered, not even Sora. Seeing Riku wake up at last made Sora change his shock to excitement. He finally had his friend back. In all of his adventures, Sora always had an immense feeling of happiness when he found his best friend. Traverse Town, the World that Never Was, and in this world. No matter where Sora found him, he would always be glad to be reunited with him. “Riku!” Sora cheered, hurriedly making his way over to him. Riku blinked at the call of his name, and when he faced Sora, his friend had knelt beside him and assaulted him with a hug. For Sora, it was just like back at Yen Sid’s Tower, after Riku had fought off the Nightmare Armor. Even the bafflement on Riku’s face was similar. It was laughably uncanny, and Sora relished in it. “Sora?” Riku asked feebly, his body still recuperating from the battle as he sat motionless from the sudden affection. “It’s great to see you again!” Sora said joyfully, pulling away to get a good look at him. Riku was abashed as he failed to hide a smile from forming on his lips. He should have known Sora would behave like he did. He chuckled, eyeing Sora with warmth, “Good to see you too.” If it were possible, Sora’s smile grew bigger. Extending his hand, Sora offered his help, and Riku took it without hesitation, standing to his feet with a grimace. The pain still lingered from the battle, but he smiled through it. When he was at full height, Riku stretched his back, grunting a little before relaxing his posture. “What happened?” he questioned, his smile faltering as he recalled what he could. Another wave of pain passed through him, and he flinched, clutching his left arm. “And why do I hurt all over?” “You don’t remember?” Sora asked, tilting his head to the side. Riku shook his head, and Sora closed his eyes in thought. If he couldn’t remember, then that must mean the crystal was playing with his memory. Just another point to bring up with everyone. Not only that, but it would be interesting to know what Riku had done before he was captured. “Sora!” Pinkie called from behind him. Sora looked back at her as she jumped up and down, her own smile on her face. “Your Pinkie Promise!” “Oh, right,” Sora said, jumping up a little in remembrance. He grabbed Riku’s wrist and practically dragged him over to everyone else. Riku was surprised from the sudden movement, but didn’t berate Sora for it. A part of him was glad to be with Sora. After stopping, Sora let go of Riku as he waved at everyone to get their attention, even though they were already focused on them. “Everyone, this is Riku,” Sora said, gesturing towards him, as Riku gave an idle wave, “My best friend, and the best fighter you’ll ever meet!” (Stop music) Everyone gave their hellos, waving at him all the while. Riku grunted in acknowledgement, rolling his eyes slightly at Sora’s praise. He gazed around at the group around him, noticing that they were pretty battered up, though not in the physical sense. “Nice meeting friends of Sora’s,” he said, smiling again. His eyes landed on Roxas, who had his arms crossed, with an expression between gratitude and fury. Riku’s smile fell as he grew grim, narrowing his eyes at Roxas. Sora looked between the two of them, remembering what had transpired the last time the two had met face to face. He jumped between them, facing Riku as he held his hands out in front of him. “It’s okay, Riku,” he said, and Riku looked at him, wanting some answers. “If it wasn’t for Roxas, the girls would be in a lot more trouble.” Riku stared at Sora, as if he was considering it to be a lie. His eyes fell back to Roxas who glared right back. It was a stalemate that went on for several seconds, until Roxas sighed. “Look,” he said, putting a hand on his hip, “What’s in the past is in the past. We all had to do what we had to do.” Riku was still not convinced of that explanation, but Roxas wasn’t finished as he tilted his head down. “I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same for Axel,” he whispered, “And I might not be here today if it wasn’t for you.” Riku gave a stiff nod, and Roxas returned it. Sora had no idea if they would start something, but the girls were far worse, seeing as they had no clue what they were talking about. Seeing that nothing bad was happening, Sora lowered his arms, giving another cheery smile. It was contagious as Riku couldn’t help but smile as well. Rarity cleared her throat, catching everyone’s attention in the quiet atmosphere. She took it in stride as she stood up straight, gesturing over to Riku. “Now then,” she said faintly, “Since you were introduced, it can only be fair if we did the same!” Rainbow rushed forward, unintentionally brushing by Rarity, who glowered at her. When Rainbow was at the front, standing out from her group of friends, she jabbed a thumb onto her chest boastfully. “The name’s Rainbow Dash,” she announced with a grin. Riku smirked at that, since the girl reminded him of Sora in a way. Of course, he wouldn’t say that out loud. Wanting her revenge, Rarity pushed by Rainbow, though much more forcefully. Rainbow took a few steps back, crossing her arms as she glared at Rarity. “As for me,” Rarity said, still holding herself in high regard, “I am Rarity.” “Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie introduced herself loudly from where she stood, startling her other friends. Riku had to scratch his previous assumption with Rainbow Dash; Pinkie was more like Sora. Or perhaps both of their personalities made up Sora. It was an interesting train of thought. Twilight glanced at Riku, giving a forceful smile as she nodded in his direction. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she said. Riku gave a nod back, and as he turned away, he kept his eyes on her, noting that she was suddenly somber, like something heavy was on her mind. It was an interesting attitude, one that made Riku ponder if she were hiding something. He’d have to investigate later. “F-Fluttershy,” a girl spoke up from beside Twilight, hiding slightly behind the other girls. Her name gave away her behavior, so Riku didn’t pry, and simply gave a wave of his own. It was followed with a small smile from Fluttershy, showing her appreciation of his gentle demeanor. Riku was somewhat glad of that. Applejack gave a simple wave, not showing herself off in some fashion like the others had. As a matter of fact, as Riku examined her, he found her clothing much more different than the other girls. The hat, the denim skirt, the boots; it all lead to one conclusion. “Howdy,” Applejack greeted with a smile, despite looking dreadfully tired, “I’m Applejack.” Riku had to stare at her a moment longer, more so than the other girls. Applejack was unlike anyone else he had met, mostly in her appearance. It was something that interested Riku considerably. “Hey, Riku?” Sora asked, waving a hand in front of his face, “You still there?” Riku shook out of his thoughts, noticing that his actions had caused Applejack to bring her hat down a bit to hide her face. She averted her eyes as well, keeping her hands close to her stomach in a sort of protective stance. Riku blinked when he realized he was the one responsible for her discomfort, tearing his gaze away. “Sorry,” he mumbled, though only Sora caught it. Rainbow gave him a questionable look, glancing over to Applejack. She didn’t know what exactly had happened, but she didn’t feel like finding out. After all, there were more important matters to discuss. “So…” Rainbow spoke up, not wanting to change the subject to a much more serious and bitter topic. “What’s up with that crystal, huh?” To everyone, it sounded like the beginning of a bad joke. However, it did give everyone a chance to think about it. Riku glanced to each person, completely lost. “What crystal?” he asked. “It was the one that turned you against us,” Twilight explained, still holding her head, “Sora had to fight you because of it.” Riku didn’t like that one bit. It was already bad enough he had to fight Sora when he was conscious, and hearing that it had happened again made him angry with himself. Why did it always come to fighting his best friend? “You guys might need to explain some more of this crystal to me,” Riku announced, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Applejack grunted, “We should probably tell ya what’s been goin’ down around here too.” “What about Axel?” Roxas put in, looking over to his friend, “He’d want to know too.” “Axel?” Riku questioned, facing the prone figure on the ground, “You mean Lea? How’d he get here?” Rainbow sighed, “This is going to take a while.” Roxas never took his eyes away from Lea, wanting his friend to wake up. It had been so long since they had spoken face to face. Roxas couldn’t even remember the last time they had ice cream together, just the two of them. He had to wonder if they would still have been friends if Roxas had remembered him back in the fake Twilight Town, when they had to fight each other. Would Roxas had gone back with him? Would things have been just like they were before? Considering Xemnas was involved, Roxas was afraid to think that far. “Jeez,” the voice of Lea said, making Roxas jump out of his thoughts as he gazed at his stirring friend. He was pushing himself up, a hand on his head. “Did anyone get the number on that truck?” Since he was facing away from the group, Lea couldn’t see exactly who he was with. As he pushed himself to his feet, he rubbed his head tenderly. “Ah, now I have a headache,” he stated, before giving a dry chuckle, “What else could happen?” This was it. Roxas’ best friend was standing only a few meters away. He didn’t know what to say. What do people say when they’ve been gone for so long? Roxas raised a hand toward Lea, his mouth becoming dry. The others remained quiet, letting Roxas have his moment. “Axel?” Roxas called, finding his voice was much quieter than he intended. Lea froze, his coat jerking a bit from his movement. Looking closer, Roxas could tell he was shaking a bit. “For the last time,” Lea exclaimed in annoyance, turning around, “My name is-” He cut himself off as he looked at Roxas. His whole body was still as the two stared at each other. Lea’s breathing was ragged, and his shoulders sagged as well. He swallowed a moment and refused to blink. “R-Roxas?” he questioned, taking a few steps forward. “Is that really you?” A smile grew on Roxas. Seeing his friend again, after all they had been through… Roxas didn’t think he would ever get the opportunity. “Yeah,” Roxas said with a nod, “It’s me.” Lea didn’t say a word, his mouth hanging open a bit as he slowly walked up to Roxas. Their eyes never left each others, and as Lea got closer, he closed his mouth, his face tensing up. After a few seconds, Lea stood before Roxas. Since he was taller, Lea had to look down to Roxas, and Roxas up to him. During all this time, Lea never smiled once. It made Roxas falter a bit, afraid he had done something wrong. “Do you remember?” Lea said, his voice cracking ever so slightly, “When we last talked together, as true friends, back in the World That Never Was?” Roxas tilted his head to the side, unable to remember that particular memory. He understood why Lea would refer to themselves specifically as true friends. The last time they had met, they had fought each other, and as Sora had demonstrated in his memories, friends should never have to fight like that. However, the time Lea was referring to wasn’t exactly clear. “You were about to turn against the Organization,” Lea went on, “and you said no one would miss you…” The hard expression Lea had was breaking up, as his softer side came into view. His teeth were clenched, and his eyes wavered as he rushed over to Roxas wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “Well,” Lea continued, his breaths shaky, “I did.” Roxas didn’t know what to say, especially when he remembered what Lea was talking about. The day Roxas was about to challenge Xemnas, but had confronted Riku instead. How he had lost, and was forced into a simulation as he merged with Sora. Lea was right; it really was the last time they had met as friends. “Axel…” Roxas said, unsure on exactly what to say. He couldn’t just apologize, like it was an accident, but what else was there? Lea chuckled, making Roxas even more confused. Pulling away, Lea showed his tear stricken face, as well as a smile. “Come on, Roxas,” Lea teased playfully, “It’s Lea now.” He brought his hand up to the side of his head, tapping a finger to it. “Got it memorized?” he said. A tear fell from Roxas’ eye, his frown growing back to a large smile. “Lea,” he repeated, not finding another word to say. Just saying his name, his real name, gave Roxas a grand feeling of reunion in his heart. He had his best friend back. Lea brought a hand to his face, rubbing his cheek a bit before looking at it. Upon seeing the wet spots on his glove, his eyes widened before turning away, hastily wiping the rest of his face. Afterwards, he brought his hand down, but kept his face away from Roxas. “Man, I’m a mess,” he said, more as a joke than anything else, and Roxas took it as such. “No more than usual,” Roxas quipped, making Lea face him with a huff. “That’s a fine howdy-do,” Lea said sarcastically, putting his hands on his sides as the both of them laughed. Bringing an arm around Roxas’ neck, Lea brought him close as he used his other arm to give him a noogie. “Glad to have you back, buddy.” Roxas pretended to struggle, laughing some more as they both had a moment with each other. Roxas wouldn’t have it any other way. Axel was back, Lea was back. And as far as Roxas was concerned, he was going to keep it that way. Sora watched their reunion, the scene reminding him of Riku and himself. As he put his hands behind his head, Sora glanced over to Riku, who had his arms crossed, having a faint smile. Sora could tell he was feeling the same way; glad to see two friends just enjoying each others company. In the end, that’s all that mattered: Friendship. *** After everyone was introduced to Lea, and vice versa, Sora and Roxas filled in Riku and Lea about what had been going on in the world. As they were doing that, the girls stepped off to the side, going into their own discussion. “They seem mighty friendly,” Applejack said, adjusting her hat. Rarity nodded in agreement, “I believe it’s safe to assume that any friend of Sora’s are always going to be friendly.” “And those are the best kind of friends!” Pinkie cheered, making everyone else chuckle. Fluttershy didn’t, however, catching the attention of the other girls. They were all genuinely sorry for her, unsure what to say after what happened with Sora. It was a troubling topic, and though Sora did mean well, they could only hope it didn’t happen again. Rarity gave a sly glance back to Riku, a smile on her lips. “Riku is pretty handsome, isn’t he?” she asked, changing the subject. Rubbing her forehead, Rainbow groaned as she eyed Rarity. “Of course you would jump to looks, wouldn’t you?” she said with annoyance. The other girls only shied away, not wanting to take part in a tender conversation like that. Rarity just laughed at their reactions, causing the rest to look back with confusion. “I was merely teasing, girls,” she said, before narrowing her eyes with a smile, “Or am I?” “Ah, romance, showmance,” Applejack waved off, growing irritated, “I can see y’all getting into it, but for me, it’s just as hectic as washin’ a pig in the mud.” Rarity grimaced, “What an… interesting choice of words.” As Applejack chuckled at Rarity’s expense, Rainbow rubbed her chin in thought. She recalled Applejack asking about romance herself before the appearance of the Organization. Why did she suddenly have a change of heart? Rainbow would have to talk with Rarity about it later, though it wasn’t a discussion Rainbow was going to look forward to. “Vexen and Zexion?” they heard Lea say as they all faced the four boys. They could see how puzzled Lea was, and the girls listened to what was going on. “Yep,” Roxas nodded, crossing his arms, “It was definitely them. I could recognize them anywhere.” Lea shook his head, closing his eyes as he did. “But that doesn’t make sense,” he said, a hand scratching the top of his head, “They became their full selves again like me back in Radiant Garden. There’s no way they could be here, let alone awake.” “Are they sleeping?” Sora questioned, and Lea nodded in response. “So, if these are two imposters, then why are they going around calling themselves Vexen and Zexion?” “Sounds familiar, right, Sora?” Riku asked, his head bowed down. Sora had to release a sigh, remembering back on his first adventure when he discovered the Ansem he had defeated wasn’t really Ansem. In a way, it was pretty similar, but this time, they had no idea who these two could be. “I wonder...” Riku muttered, before facing the other three, “Do you think the reason the real Vexen and Zexion are asleep is because of these imposters?” “Their names are Even and Ienzo,” Lea corrected, tapping the side of his head, “Get it memorized. As for your little theory, there’s no way to prove they’re related besides knowing that they’re similar.” “Then, since we have to wait to find out,” Sora said, putting a fist into his hand, “Why don’t we talk about the crystal?” “The one that controlled us?” Lea asked skeptically, before giving a fake laugh, “Yeah, that’ll go well. We’re just as lost about that as anything else.” “You don’t remember a thing?” Roxas questioned. Riku shook his head, “Just what happened before we were controlled, but even then, it’s still pretty fuzzy. The last thing I remember was being ambushed by the Organization.” Tilting the head to his side, Sora looked at Riku intensely. Afterwards, he leaned towards him, making Riku jerk back. A few seconds passed before Sora cracked a smile. “So, they got the jump on you, huh?” he asked with a smirk. Seeing his meaning, Riku relaxed before shaking his head in amusement. “Laugh it up, Sora,” he snapped playfully, before going serious. “But what concerns me is how it was made. What could make something like that?” A memory flashed across Rarity’s eyes, making her shiver. Holding that crystal was the worst experience she had ever endured, and she was glad it was gone for good. “I might have a idea about that crystal,” she piped up, and all eyes landed on her. She was unfazed, but did lose some of her steel from remembering the crystal. Giving a shaky sigh, she calmed herself down as much as she could. “When Spike was able to get that evil boy to drop the crystal, I was able to grab it. But when I did… it hurt so much…” “Y-Yeah,” Pinkie Pie continued for Rarity, who was very grateful for it. Pinkie stepped forward to Rarity, throwing an arm around her for comfort. Rarity accepted the gesture, looking away from everyone else. “She was lying on the ground, hurting. I was able to get the crystal away from her before kicking it over to Roxas. For Roxas, it explained why the crystal had simply slid into the fiery ring that contained Roxas and Lea. “So,” he said, looking to Rarity, “What was your idea about the crystal, Rarity?” Rarity hesitated a moment, clamping her eyes shut. “I think…” she said, swallowing, “It tears away our friendship.” Everyone was shocked by those words. The girls talked over one another in worry, while the boys were silent. It wasn’t that they were concerned, but that they didn’t know what to say about Rarity’s thoughts. “The crystal did change you two,” Sora said, pointing to Lea and Riku, “Do you think it could have made the thought of friendship… disappear?” “Possibly,” Riku replied quietly. He didn’t like that one bit, especially after what he and Sora had gone through. Riku cherished his friendship with Sora, just as much as Sora did for him. And to have those thoughts simply vanish like they never existed made Riku mad that Sora had to go through that. “And because we’re part of the magic of friendship,” Rarity continued, making Riku sigh sorrowfully. There was more? “I think it may have been trying to corrupt it or something.” “Landsakes…” Applejack whispered, terrified at that thought. If Rarity had held it longer than she did, who knew what could have happened. The darkness in the crystal might have spread to the other girls, and could have destroyed the magic of friendship. They never even considered how fragile the magic really was. “Maybe that’s why the boy left,” Pinkie added, “He thought the crystal would be all he needed.” Rarity shook her head, breaking the half hug from Pinkie as she stroked her hair. It was a nervous tick, both to keep her beauty and to relieve stress. “The boy said something about having collected enough data.” “Data for what?” Sora asked, but no one answered, and instead just glanced to one another, like someone else would know the answer. Twilight herself just stared at her feet, her thoughts going back to when the boy had grabbed her arm. The hundreds images that had appeared before her eyes… she still couldn’t remember half of them. And the boy had called her a princess as well. He might have been playing with her, but there was something in those images that said otherwise. Something about a crown. Twilight wanted to voice her concern, but the boy’s words still plagued her, how he had stated that her friends were lying to her. If he was right about her being a princess, then what if he was right about the honesty of her friends? She didn’t want to think they would lie to her, but the thoughts persisted. For the time being, she was going to keep quiet about what the boy had done. She just hoped it didn’t come back to bite her later. “Alright,” Rainbow said stomping a foot as she furrowed her brow, “So, do any of you guys mind telling us about who that guy was? I’m guessing he was part of the Organization, right?” “Oh boy,” Lea sighed, sagging his body, “This could take awhile.” *** Master Xehanort sat upon his throne as he always did. With the rest of the Organization members away, doing his bidding, he had no reason to leave the sanctuary of his seat. Add the ability of time travel, and Xehanort could execute his goals in little time, and with little effort. He reminisced about all of his previous failures, and how pitiful they were compared to the plan he had implemented against the magic of friendship. This time, he would swiftly eliminate his adversaries. The sound of a Corridor of Darkness echoed through the white room, and Xehanort glanced down to his younger self. A cold smile grew on his lips as he rested back against his seat. “Ah,” he said with a nod, “You have returned. And with good news, I should hope.” Young Xehanort remained unmoving, as if he was contemplating something. “The mission…” he said monotonically, “was a complete success.” Xehanort’s smile grew even wider, expecting nothing less. The favorable outcome of his small task would lay the foundation of their true objective. It was only a matter of time. “Please,” Master Xehanort asked with small wave of his hand, “elaborate.” “As you wish,” Young Xehanort replied, his posture never wavering, “First off, I can confirm that one of the bearers of the magic of friendship is directly related to it. She has no idea of the power she holds. It is in our great interest to use this advantage.” Xehanort gave a slow nod as Young Xehanort continued, pacing to the right, “Another thing I have learned is that the magic of friendship is elusive. If we outright eliminate the bearers, the magic will simply flee into six other worthy bodies. If we desire to completely eradicate this magic, I suggest a bit of insight to our approach.” Xehanort was growing pleased, much more so than any of his other subordinates could deliver. This information was invaluable, and with it, Xehanort could easily see a victory in his future. They just needed to play their cards right. “Adding to that,” Young Xehanort said, pacing to his left, “The magic of friendship is fragile. One bearer could hardly hold the crystal Xemnas had created. And as per your instruction, I left the crystal behind, allowing it to be destroyed.” Young Xehanort paused a moment before looking back to Master Xehanort. “Pray tell, why did you order to leave it in the hands of our enemies?” Master Xehanort chuckled darkly, leaning forward with his wicked smile, “The bearers of light believe they have more on their side, and though it will prove difficult in our future endeavours, giving them back their two friends will cloud their abilities. In the end, it shall be our winning grace.” Doubting that very much, Young Xehanort remained quiet, not wanting to voice his complaint. Instead, Master Xehanort spoke up, causing Young Xehanort to focus on him. “And what of my theory concerning Sora,” he asked, leaning forward slightly in anticipation, “Surely you must have picked up on something.” “Yes,” Young Xehanort answered, facing his master fully, “And you were correct, Sora does harbor an inner darkness. A darkness that can escape his heart and overtake him. He has little control over it, but this darkness still encompasses Sora’s motives.” Satisfied, Master Xehanort nodded, resting back in his seat. He would have to come up with something to adjust to this specific knowledge. If this form Sora becomes is as unpredictable as he believed, then there were many possibilities that would need to be considered. “Finally,” Young Xehanort said, making Master Xehanort shelf the thought, “There was someone else. He was neither with the key bearers, nor with us. It is another imposter, such as Vexen and Zexion are. However, this one is different. He had assisted the key bearers, but by only making my presence known, and nothing more. I know not his intentions, but…” “Do not worry about a simple distraction such as this person,” Master Xehanort interrupted with an idle wave of his hand, “Ignore him as much as the other warring parties that have interfered. They will detract the key bearers away from us, allowing us to snuff them out when they least expect it.” Young Xehanort didn’t like how much he was left in the dark, figuratively speaking. It just showed how much Master Xehanort revealed of his plans. He didn’t even tell his own younger self what he had in store. Young Xehanort didn’t know how to feel about that. “Is that all?” Master Xehanort questioned, leaning an elbow on one of the armrests. Young Xehanort nodded in response, causing the grin on Xehanort to widen even further. “Excellent. Now, I want you to inform our other members to not intrude on the events that transpire in the world. I anticipate the other groups will make their move before hand, and I want to see how Sora and his friends handle it. It will be… educational.” “Of course,” Young Xehanort responded with a stiff nod before a Corridor of Darkness enveloped him. He disappeared, leaving Master Xehanort alone once again. He enjoyed the silence; it reminded him of times long past. For the moment, Master Xehanort could sit back and relish in his imminent triumph. He just had to be patient.