Disclaimer: Characters, locations, whatever else, all belongs to Square and Disney. I own nothing! Apart from this story, I suppose.
Stare Into The Abyss – Chapter Twenty-FiveMaking sure he was the last aboard, Sora took a seat on the train, ready for the long journey back to Hollow Bastion. As Kaze and Namine joined him, he was disappointed to see Riku distance himself, sitting further away from them. He watched his friend for a moment, before turning to look out the window as the vehicle finally began moving.
Shouldn't he go and speak to Riku? Tell him that it didn't matter, that he was there to help him and that he still trusted him? But that was the problem, wasn't it? He didn't trust him. How could he?
"Are you alright?"
Glancing up at Namine, he forced a weary smile. "I'm fine."
"You should try and get some sleep, Sora." Kaze yawned as he sank back into his seat. "I know I am. You've worn me out."
Raising an eyebrow, Sora grinned. "I worn you out?"
Namine laughed softly. "I think you both deserve a break when we get to Hollow Bastion."
A break… That would have been nice, but there was still too much left for him to do. So many other worlds that he had a responsibility to take care of, and then there was this 'Door to the Light' that he was supposed to open. Finding that would have to be his next priority, but where to even start?
How long would it be, before he could finally go back home?
He resigned himself to watching the scenery pass by outside. There was no point in worrying over what he still had to do right now. Instead, shouldn't he be looking forward to seeing everyone again?
Glancing around, he wondered what his friends would want to do next. He'd promised to take Kaze with him to show him the other worlds, and he was glad that he'd be coming along, but what about Riku? Would he even stay with him? And that left Namine…
Lifting his head to look at her, Sora felt a twinge of regret. They'd been in such a hurry to leave; they hadn't even asked her if she wanted to come with them. Wouldn't she rather go back to her own home?
"Namine?"
"What's the matter, Sora?"
"If you want us to, me and Kaze can take you back home once we get the chance." He'd meant the offer to be a friendly one, but as he noticed the sadness that flickered across her eyes he wished he hadn't said anything.
"I don't have anywhere to go." She smiled, despite the pained expression. "I guess the closest thing I have left to a home would be Castle Oblivion… And I don't want to go back there."
"You can stay with us for as long as you like!" Sora assured her. His enthusiasm faded as he considered his own words. Just how long would they want to stay with him for? He'd caused so much trouble for them both already… "Do you think Kaze would have rather stayed at Twilight Town?"
He was surprised to hear Namine giggling at his question. "You'd have to tie him up to stop him from following you!" She titled her head at him. "Stop worrying so much Sora! He's glad he found you; he'll stick by your side. And not because he feels that he has to either!"
Nodding, Sora's eyes gaze drifted to the other side of the carriage. I guess that just leaves Riku…
"You should go and talk to him."
Standing up in a silent agreement with Namine's suggestion, he wandered over to join his friend. "Riku?"
"He's still there. I can hear him. He's laughing, Sora…"
"What was he trying to do?" Sora could hear the coldness in his own voice. He couldn't hide it. Couldn't hide that lingering doubt...
"I don't know."
Riku's reply seemed to be automatic. It only served to make him more suspicious. "Riku…"
"I don't know, Sora." His eyes narrowed as he stared at him. "You don't believe me, do you? I'm telling you the truth. I don't know."
"You knew about what would happen to Axel…"
"Because he told me! He made sure to tell me all about that in detail." Riku turned away again, focusing on the landscape outside. "He didn't think Axel would actually go ahead with that, but he sure enjoyed it when you did that to him…"
"He asked me to do it!" Sora pointed out, feeling the need to defend himself.
"He had no idea just what it was he was asking." He laughed, bitterly. "It's fitting for him though, I suppose…"
"…What is?"
"Purgatory, Sora. That's what it is, some kind of twisted purgatory. All that just for a chance to see his past memories, and now that's all he's going to be seeing."
Shaking his head, Sora quickly switched the subject. He didn't want to think about what had happened to Axel because of what he'd done. "What will you do, when we arrive?"
A faint smirk crossed Riku's face. "You don't want me to stick around?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Your 'Door to the Light' – You're going to look for that, right? I can help you."
"You know where it is?"
"Maybe…"
"Riku!"
"Or maybe I know what it is and have a good idea where you may find it."
"…Go on."
"Be patient, Sora. I'll tell you more when we get to Hollow Bastion."
Sora groaned, growing impatient. "Why can't you tell me now?"
Riku's smirk widened as he diverted his attention back to the window, apparently bringing their conversation to an end.
Returning to his own seat, Sora collapsed in it, heaving a sigh.
"That went well," Namine commented.
"You were listening?"
"No, but you didn't end up getting into a fight with each other. That's a start, isn't it?"
"I suppose…"
Was that Riku… just been Riku? Toying with him, just like they used to? Should he take it as a reassuring trace of the Riku that he remembered?
Or was it something completely different?
He couldn't tell anymore.
Kaze couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. He felt…uneasy. Hollow Bastion -the world where, because of what Sora had done, he'd come into existence.
It was strange that he had never been there himself, and yet still had memories of the place. Even stranger that all those memories that belonged to Sora ended in the Grand Hall of the castle. That was where his own had begun, with him waking up in that dark world with nothing but splintered images of a past that wasn't his. From there, and crossing over into the Twilight Town that had served as his 'home', he'd felt nothing but confusion as he'd attempted piecing together those images.
Namine had been right – he was glad that he had found Sora. He'd been glad ever since the first time he'd saw him, sleeping in that pod back at Castle Oblivion. Glad to have finally understood everything, and glad to have finally met him…
If he had never known about Sora, would he have done the same thing as Axel? If he had been truly like them, with none of those memories and no knowledge of his other half, would he have been driven to do anything to know about his past? The answer scared him.
Yes… perhaps he would have.
Maybe Axel's choice wasn't such a crazy one.
The train finally pulled up at its destination, stirring Sora from a half sleep he'd settled himself into.
He eagerly piled out the doors as soon as they parted, Kaze following close behind him, with Namine at his side. Riku lingered behind them.
Kaze came to a stop, staring at the towering castle in the far distance. "That's where I was…born."
It wasn't a question, but Sora replied anyway. "That's right." He closed his eyes, re-calling the events of his first visit.
"Will you show me around the whole place, Sora?" Kaze asked after a moment.
"Sure!"
"I want to see where it was that I was…" he paused, before settling on a word, " …created. I want to see where it was that you were, when I first arrived in that other world."
Sora nodded, understanding. Of course it would be strange for Kaze to come here, why hadn't he realized that before?
They began moving towards the castle again and Sora gave a small grin. He'd have so much to tell Donald and Goofy, and what about Leon and the others? This was their home. Wouldn't they be surprised to see him? He was looking forward to seeing all their faces when he explained just who Kaze was.
Maybe now, once Riku had told him just what it was he knew, he could start to put an end to this. Maybe soon, he could finally go back home, back to Kairi…
He found himself hesitating briefly outside the doors to the castle as they arrived at them.
"Go ahead, Sora. What are you waiting for?"
What was he waiting for?
He pushed the doors aside and entered the familiar hall.
Finally…
A Final Note: I had soooo much trouble settling on how/where exactly to end this - I think ending it was the hardest thing to write out of everything! I suppose this was just intended to tie some little things up and of course set up some stuff for the sequel – I promise not to leave it too long before I put it up. I could probably have the first chapter up fast since I have all that in my head, but I'm going to plan out some things a little better beyond that first.
It will most likely be a bit more focused on Sora, and of course Kaze, however, don't worry, I'm sure Axel will turn up somewhere. ;) I'm not quite cruel enough to leave his side of things how they are. (Although, perhaps that was the original plan!)
Things that I had planned to use and ended up either not finding a way to fit them in, or changing my mind on, will probably end up included in the follow up – looking back at some of the somewhat earlier chapters, there are things that I had hinted at, but haven't covered. They're not points that I've forgotten about, it just got to the point where this grew beyond what I originally had in mind and I ended up shifting things around.
Thank you so much to everyone – all of you who read this, and of course, all my lovely reviewers! A special thanks to those of you who have stuck with it right from the start too, I've loved hearing from you all as this has evolved and I'm so grateful to see all the support for it you've shown!
And here we go for one last time! (Well, until the continuation anyway!)
sorastalker08:
Woo, I'm glad that last chapter didn't confuse, 'cause it
sure gave me a headache! XD
I suppose
it is sort of a happy ending (for now?) for Sora and Co! Thanks for
the update, by the way – a great chapter!
AloneInDespair: Hehe, no Axel-ness here, but it won't be the last we see/hear of him!
Saddened Soul: Oooh, have you checked the new trailer? We get to hear EM's (Japanese) voice! In extremely bad quality, but he sounded pretty awesome!
Ginger Ninja: Or perhaps, even crazier? XD And hopefully a sequel will be up soon-ish!