Fan Fiction ❯ Black Orchid ❯ Blood and a Meeting ( Chapter 14 )

Wistfully: ahn…Areh? Arerereh? Oh, readers. Yeah, pit stop in Traverse Town, and a check up with anyone of importance. I'm tired, so not much to say. I still don't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts, though I own Arc, Orchid, all her keyblades (kinda), Eriks, Elias, and a slew of most of the bad guys I'm about to introduce. Anyways, it advertisement time: Nekodoshi, Hislight, Aliasfan, Tako Hana and Ravenz2008 all have interesting KH related stuff posted. Nekodoshi's is a long and extremely well-written story called Nakineiri Itami, Hislight has a poem collection, and so does her twin Aliasfan, who also has a fanfic, of which I happily await the update of. Tako Hana has My Candy Filled Adventure, A Sora Story, which is a hilarious random comedy, which unlike most random comedies, is actually really well written. Ravenz2008 has a good story, A Path to Adventure. I think I'm advertising that one since I said something about cheap advertisement when I say Hislight's review there. But it's a good story. Anyways, R&R. Reviews make me happy. Next Chapter: The Preliminaries!

Wow, I ended up saying a lot anyway.

{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!} {!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}{!}

"Oh, blue eyes…"

No response.

"Stonehenge."

Nothing.

"Mop-top."

Slight twitching, but no other response.

"Fine," she sighed, leaning forwards onto him and wrapping her arms around him from behind the couch. He continued to just sit there, making no response as she leaned her head on his shoulder and let her legs slide out from under herself, leaving her arms around him the only thing keeping her from sliding to the floor. "Arc."

"You can be really annoying, you know that?" he said flatly, still staring aimlessly forwards, his shades covering his eyes. Then he added, "Rikku."

"Meanie," she pouted. This elicited a small smile from Arc as he turned to face her, his sunglasses sliding down his nose to where they normally rested.

"So, did you want to talk," he asked grinning smugly, "or did you just feel like bothering me?"

"Your birthday's coming up."

"So?"

"You," she said as she got up and let go of him, "are going to be twenty!"

"So?"

This wasn't the reaction she wanted.

"We're gonna hafta throw you a party!"

"Ah. You just wanted an excuse to throw a party and wanted to warn me."

"That's not it!"

The door to the Red Room opened before they could get physically violent.

"And…Third District is clean!" yelled Yuffie as she came in, followed by Zell, Orchid, and Montblanc.

"Yeah, shouldn't need a serious sweep like that for at least a week," said Zell, rubbing his knuckles.

They settled around the room, Zell going to talk with Arc, and Rikku automatically gravitating to Yuffie. Orchid looked around as Montblanc flopped onto a couch and closed his eyes.

"I wonder where Sora is," she thought aloud, swinging Bramblebite around idly. Although the Vorpal Blade enhanced her magic, Bramblebite was stronger and she wanted that for the simple Heartless around Traverse Town.

"Him?" replied Arc. "I think he was patrolling outside, in Second District, with Cid."

"Thanks," said Orchid, and left quietly with no one noticing.

_*_

"Cid, where's Sora?" she asked, standing in the Second District Square. The hedgehog haired man just shook his spiky beard.

"No idea," he said, idly polishing his judge sword from where he sat on the fountain's edge. "Said he'd clear out the alleyway. When he didn't come back out here, I assumed he'd gone to the hotel."

"He's not there," she sighed.

"Huh. Hope he didn't do anything stupid," said Cid, not looking up.

"Well, thanks. I'll check the alleyway."

_*_

She walked into the alley. It was peaceful and quiet, rather than foreboding like it was most of the time. She took as a sign that Sora had been through and cleared out the Heartless. Getting to the end of the alley, she spotted and opening in the wall in the waterway. Curious, she ran inside, not really worrying about the gloom.

She should have. She soon found herself swimming in the cold water. She also once more found herself thanking her years spent outdoors with the boys instead of far from water with the girls. Wanting to avoid getting chilled, she quickly swam forwards towards a hole of faint light.

She came out in a faintly luminous cavern, one side dominated by a stone shore. On it stood Sora. He was staring at a wall that showed a starry night sky and hadn't noticed Orchid, even when she got out of the water.

"So, why are you here?" she asked, startling him. He turned quickly, then seeing it was her, the older boy laughed sheepishly and rubbed his head.

"Just…thinking," he replied, smiling slightly. But it was a sad smile.

"'Bout what?" Orchid asked, blue eyes full of innocent curiosity.

"Her…" he said vaguely, looking away again. They stood in silence for a while. "I just wish I could do something."

"Sora…" she started.

"I just feel so useless!" he said, frustrated. "I want to help, but I keep feeling like I'm a burden. I had defeated them before, but now…now, it's pathetic," he continued, his fists clenched tightly, spiky brown hair trembling. "I can't do anything."

"That's not true," Orchid said, trying to calm him down.

"But it is!" he yelled, turning back to her. She could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "I couldn't save her then, and I can't now! Riku was right."

He turned back away from her.

"People don't change with time. Being older just means you've had more time to make more mistakes."

His frustration spent, his legs just folded up underneath him, and he sat down roughly, his body slumping forward, head down. Orchid walked up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder causing him to look up.

"Sora, you can't give up," she said. "Hope is what connects you and Kairi. If you let go now… Just never give up. Always keep your light burning bright."

He looked up at her. And then he smiled. A real smile.

He was just getting up when it happened.

Blood of the old harvest, given to strengthen the new.

The voice from eternity.

"Did you..?" asked Orchid.

"Yeah…" Sora murmured.

"What did it mean?" Orchid wondered aloud. Before, she always knew what it meant, but this time it was just senseless words.

Sora held out his right hand, and there was a shimmering light. In his hand, Bramblebite appeared, much to Orchid's surprise. Then, as if in a daze, he took the glove off of his other hand and ran his hand over the curved back thorns at the end of the keyblade. A long, red cut opened on his hand, and the blood dripped down the twisted rivulets formed by the dried brown branches that made up the haft as he held the end of it.

"What are you-" she started, but was cut off suddenly.

A light shone from within the blade. It grew until it engulfed the whole cavern, blinding Orchid, then faded. When she looked, Sora was standing there, holding the keyblade. But it wasn't Bramblebite anymore. The haft was now a vitalized green, and two curving, thin leaves had replaced the thorny hand guard. A three-sectioned leaf had replaced the thorn blade. The keyblade pulsed with vibrant life.

"Vineguard," she breathed softly as he handed her the blade. They stood there for a moment, then the spell of it all wore off.

"Ow!" Sora exclaimed, waving around his bleeding hand. Orchid quickly grabbed the flailing limb and used Cure on it, sealing the cut. "Why did I do all that?"

"Because it seemed like it needed to happen?" asked Orchid as he retrieved his glove and put it back on. She carefully ran her hand over the leaves that had become the blade, and was surprised to find they were sturdy and razor sharp too.

"Yeah," he said turning back to her. He smiled his regular, wide, open grin. "Anyways, thanks for talking to me. You're right."

"Anytime," said Orchid. "Let's go back to the Hotel, before anyone starts to worry."

"Yeah, they tend to do that, huh?" laughed Sora. They both smiled and walked off.

_*_*_*_

The figures gathered around the table, the gloom obscuring their faces, so that only their silhouettes and most prominent features could be seen.

"Ah, it's good be back in the old fortress of doom," said a highly dramatized and sarcastic voice. It belonged to a tall person, slightly illuminated by the blue flames on his head that substituted for hair. His glaring yellow eyes roved lazily around the hall as he stood around in his black toga.

"How can you be so jovial when you're the only one of your peers who's still alive to say that?" asked another voice, this one silky and refined. It belonged to a gaunt and elegant form, with long white hair barely illuminated in the faint light.

"Because he's," said another voice, this one higher and more wheedling, as its thin yet tightly muscled owner disappeared, "happy to be just that," the figure finished as it reappeared on top of a large mass.

"…" was the uttered silence from what he stood on. The monstrous hulk reached up, only to find the one atop him had gone to the far side of the table again.

"Enough of your tricks," growled another figure. This one was a heavily built man, his long hair sticking straight back wildly. He wore almost a whole bear, sans anything beneath its hide, and wielded a large wooden mace. He appeared to be the second largest of the five there, the largest being the hulking, ape-like figure that had so far made no comments. The next was the figure with the blue flames, followed by the cackling figure that had been reprimanded. Lastly was the graceful figure with white hair.

The madly annoying man was about to make a retort when a door opened. They all turned to see a black clothed figure enter. He wore half a mask.

"Master Elias," uttered the druidic man with the mace.

"My lord," said the white haired man softly.

"Oh, that shmuck," was all that came from the one wreathed in blue flame.

"I see you have all arrived," said Elias. "It disappoints me that the Bandersnatch in Wonderland fell. I leave it to you, my officers, to succeed where it failed."

They were quiet at the ominous implied threat in what he said. They did not dare to fail.

"How goes your apprenticeship, my lord?" asked the mace-armed figure.

"It goes well. He learns quickly," replied Elias. He turned to the white haired figure. "And how goes the turning of the other two?"

No emotion passed over the pale face. "They still resist. They are wasting precious time."

"We have all the time in the world," assured Elias. "And when they do turn, they shall be worth every second and more." He turned to the figure in blue flames. "They head towards your world of origin, O Lord of the Dead. Dispose of them."

"Sure thing, boss," he said, pointing his index fingers at Elias, thumbs extended.

"I have other matters to attend to. You are dismissed."

And with that, Elias walked back through the door he had entered in. The cackling figure danced and pirouetted randomly down a hallway, followed by the hulking sapient figure. The flaming figure glided down another hallway, as the bear-clothed man strode down ahead of him. The white haired figure left last, followed by the sound of clicking gears. Hollow Bastion was occupied once more.

_*_*_*_

It wasn't real physical pain. He knew this because, if it was, he would've become numb to it long before. In a way, he had been numbed by it. He couldn't remember a time without the pain.

Give in.

One thing he hadn't forgotten was this: that he would never do that. Never. Never.

He repeated this to himself, even as he screamed. And for a moment, he doubted.

For a moment, Riku almost lost hope.

_*_*_*_

Empty.

He was lost. It was as if he had spent whole lifetimes wandering. He had wandered here, with no light, no dark, no cold, no heat. No feeling. Even pain would be welcome now. Anything to prove to him that he really existed.

Give in.

That was all there was. It gave him purpose; his purpose was to resist it. But when you have nothing, almost anything seems good.

Leon had become like his home: Hollow.