FicWad

Disclaimer: I own Kingdom Hearts! ...No, literally. Do I own any of the characters in it? Chya, right. That's a big, fat no. But, while we're taking about owning things, I own Mizu and the three sprites (Shima, Kiri, and Yama).

TTvTT I'd thought I'd lost this before the summer, but apparently I had a back-up, but I didn't look for it in case I was heartbroken. So, yeah, coming to you MUCH sooner had I lost the chapter. Praise be to the angels!

- b - e - g - i - n - s -

Sentinel Trinity
Sora

Sora liked how all the keychains in his collection chimed against one another, in the sway of his movements. The lamp and the lionhead sounded the best out of the possible two-chain combinations, when they collided against each other. A light melody, the lead in the play of musical motion. Staring roles, the hero and heroine.

...Or not. Perhaps one was the villain, and their constant chiming were the cries of their war, the chocobo behind the lionhead, and the rose along side the lamp. But if their supporters were the ones behind them, the lamp had the bigger army, as the ace of hearts, the pumpkin, the shell, the feather, the butterfly, the mousehead, the yellow star, the spellbook, and the lightning-struck coin completely overwhelmed the paopu fruit, the black wing, and the dark crown.

But the lionhead, the dark crown, the paopu fruit, the chocobo, and the black wing were more powerful than the others when combined. And so, their oppositions would be a standoff. Sora idly fingered the charm in his grasp, not taking his eyes off its strung brothers.

The pressured heart thought them all silly. And the snowflake, the keychain currently attached to his keyblade, agreed with the pressured heart. Because the pressured heart was the strongest of all, and the snowflake was the most level-headed.

Sora grinned to himself, albeit bitterly. He was too old for making stories out of inanimate objects, but here he was, doing just that. Waging a war with them in his mind, by simply gazing at them, their natural motions feeding his tale. But there was no one to tell it to, who would enjoy like he would.

Yama would listen to him because not only was he obliged to, but the fae liked to humor him, even when he didn't understand. Donald would merely scoff at Sora's childishness, and would then go into a spiel about his nephews. And Goofy, while he might enjoy it, wouldn't absorb the full potential the story generated.

Distantly, the sound of Goofy rummaging through the ice-chest, humming a nonsensical tune, tipped at his ears, over the rumble of the Gummi-ship's engines and the stageplay of his keychains. It reminded him suddenly how Sora didn't like keeping Goofy and Donald away from the Magic Kingdom. They had families, a king, duties to perform. What happened if....

"Sora!"

The squawk of a calling forced Sora to sit up instantly, and lean forward to stick his head into the cockpit. "Huh, what? What's wrong?"

Donald stared at him impatiently, and pointed out the floating continent through the viewscreen. "We're coming to Halloween Town."

Sora's face lit up, and he beamed excitedly. "Think it's done this time?"

Donald half-lid his eyes with a huff. "Who knows. But it better be; we're not coming this way for a while."

"Oh well. Plan for me pit stop, /mon capitaine/! I'm goin' ashore!"

Maybe it was the French, or maybe it was the navel reference, but Donald was suddenly Not There, a distant glaze in his eyes and a light smile on his face. Sora frowned, and excused himself loudly, jarring Donald from his thoughts as he left. Down the tight corridor to the hatch, he passed Goofy, a large chicken leg clutched in his mouth, and one armful of various edibles tucked in the crook of his elbow. He smiled around the poultry, coupling it with a muffled, trademark 'hee-yuck'. "W'are yah go'n, So'a?"

"Halloween Town, to see Dr. Finkelstein."

The biped canine beamed guilelessly. "Hav'vun!"

"I will!"

- c - u - t -

At the entrance to the square, Sora idly shifted the mask on his forehead. Even with the knowledge of what this World represented, he didn't understand why he was automatically born with a costume upon entering it. After all, couldn't he be a Keyblade Master for Halloween too? But despite it all, the zombie outfit was comfortable and probably shouldn't complain. It -was- all for fun.

I wonder what Riku and Kairi's costumes would be here.

Yama was tucked inside Sora's breast pocket, shaking like an autumn leaf in the wind. This was the Compass's first time to the eccentric town of ghosts and demons, and he obviously didn't feel any love for its ghastly appearance. Sora didn't blame him.


Dr. Finkelstein's laboratory was nothing short of a hop, skip, and a jump away from the main entrance, and Sora skirted around the wandering oddities this place called its residents. The troupe was playing its off-key requests beside the entrance to the graveyard, the younger ghouls racing around the toxic water fountain, shrieking like the resurrected dead, and cackling witches sailed through the full-moon night over the twisted spirals and turrets.

Sora rang the doorbell once all the excitement of being back began to wan, and no sooner could a cat yowl before the door opened itself, allowing admittance. Disregarding just how creepy that was, even for a supernatural place, Sora let himself in. "Yo, Doctor! You in??"

"Does a door open to a stranger when the home is empty?"

The brunette chuckled sheepish, and Finkelstein's motorized chair started down the spiraling staircase. "I guess not. But it's never too much to make sure."

"Hmph. So you've come to check up on progress?"

"I was hoping it was done, actually, since there aren't any plans to come out this way for some time."

Finkelstein rolled onto the ground floor, and halted himself at Sora's feet. The scientist wasn't above openly gauging Sora, and began his grumblings. "You hit a growth spurt, just as I predicted. Precise height, shape. Proper weight. Hmm, look stronger too."

With a laugh, Sora posed, flexing a bicep like a certain demi-god was prone to do. "Think so?"

"Bah, don't get cocky. Get me to the lab."

Sora rolled his eyes and maneuvered behind the chair to push the doctor forward. For a guy who liked doing things on his own, he was rather demanding for the occasional freebie ride.

Sally was in the laboratory, the product of Finkelstein's (and her) manual labor in her lap and a thread and needle in hand. The final touch-ups were being done, and Sora was again beside himself. Excited enough to forget that a tiny creature was inhabiting his pocket, who was now peaking out over the brim to observe the two strange creatures in their company.

His arrival was anticipated by Sally, and called him over once he had entered. Sora was happy to obliged, leaving the grotesque doctor to his own devices. Sally acted as if her son had come home, and Sora lavished in the attention. She reminded him of his mother back home.

Sora wouldn't tell himself that though. Thinking of Mom made him yearn for her cooking, her nagging about his room, her kisses before bedtime. Thinking of Mom made him homesick for the islands, Kairi and Riku, the Paopu tree, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka, and the plans to sail to new worlds that sparked a trip across time, space, and the cosmos. He wanted to go home.

Three years was a long time to be gone. Would Kairi tell his parents the truth? Or would they be led to believe he was lost at sea? Or maybe, a less likely possibility, that both he and Riku ran away from the islands. The possibilities were endless, but the ones able to be swallowed were sorely limited. They'd never believe a faerytale that Sora's on a magical quest to save the stars from falling.

Pity, how reality is so pessimistic.

"It's almost finished, I promise. A few more seams need to be stitched, and then it's all yours for the taking."

"After a proper examination of its properties when worn, I should think," Finkelstein interjected.

Sora rubbed his hands together. "This is completely awesome; I can't wait."

Dr. Finkelstein wheeled himself over, a pair of tongs in his tiny hands. "Meanwhile, I'd like a better look at the tiny creature hiding in your shirt." Clink clink clink, went the tongs.

Yama let off a shriek like nothing Sora had ever heard before, and the red fae was no longer in the pocket, but shooting around the ceiling, calling, "Is not for touch. Is not for touch!"

Sora cringed.

"Oho! A Compass!" Finkelstein adjusted his glasses, readily flowing the erratic streaks of glowing red. "You're still looking for your missing friends then."

"Well--" Crash went the flask Yama knocked over in his desperation to stay as far away from Finkelstein as possible, but given that Finkelstein hadn't moved an inch, it was needlessly wasted energy on Yama's part. "Yama!"

"Would you like a net?" Finkelstein purred in dark amusement.

Sora sighed; he had learned Yama, while not easily excited, had a cowardly streak in his nature. And that streak made his panic border on a hyper stage of survival: the fight or flight response in every creature. Yama never chose to fight, and instead hung back to let Sora and the King's entourage take care of the problem. While this was encouraged, as the faeries were delicate in nature, Yama's case felt extreme. "If you have a butterfly net, I'd much appreciate it."

"Sally! Fetch our guest what he needs."

- c - u - t -

Yama would not let Sora get too close to the goblin of a scientist. Once he was calmed in the confines of mesh, with his partner trying to sooth away his jitters, Yama stranded himself on the top of Sora's head. Said he wouldn't feel safe otherwise. ...Or at least, that's how Sora translated it.

It was finished, Finkelstein's pet project. And Sora was itching to get naked for it. Eight months of hard work, plus two more just to round up the source materials, and the several before that to perfect the method of extraction.

The specialized outfit, while not an exact copy of his own clothing, was a decent representation of their islander fashion back home. Except, Sora was sure, none of them were woven with the outer skins of Heartless and padded with Oogie Boogie's burlap shell. Coated on the inside in trace amounts of faerydust and protected with threaded Mithril outside, Finkelstein was sure it'd be a success. And so was Sora.

"You've already had your heart removed and transformed into a Heartless," noted Finkelstein, a year earlier. "While conscious Heartless will realize you've become untainted, it's that same taint in recurrence, despite your recovery, that should keep a Heartless' body from rejecting you as its wearer."

An armor, almost, made of materials meant to take a beating and come out unscathed, for the most part. An armor with special properties, Finkelstein claimed, like being undetectable from the lower forms of Heartless, to name one of a few.

And it fit perfectly, when Sora pulled it on, giving Finkelstein a point for predicting his final growth-spurt. The faerydust tickled some, as each and every grain made themselves acquainted with his flesh, but otherwise, it felt like the very clothing he started his adventure in. The ones kept undisturbed in a niche onboard the Gummi ship.

It didn't look half bad either. Sora spent several minutes admiring the outfit in a double-cracked mirror, looking at it from every angle he could imagine. He even went so far as to stare in the mirror from between his legs; Yama yelped at he fell from Sora's hair to the stone flooring.

But Sora knew, as he picked Yama up with an apologetic smile, that it'd be a worthless effort if it blocked the effects of the keyblade, or even blocked the keyblade itself. There was only one way to test it.

Sora wondered if Jack was up for some last minute Heartless purging.

- c - e - n - t - e - r -

"Aw Donald, you worry too much. Sora's gonna be fine."

Donald's scowl darkened. "Fine? Fine?! He's endangering himself and the keyblade by wearing that thing. I don't like it!"

Goofy cocked his head, and wore a rare, knowing half-smile. "You're just worried about Sora's safety. Ah-hyuck, it reminds me of all the times you used to chase your nephews around the courtyard garden; you were always worried they'd hurt themselves out in the hedgemaze."

"Phooey!"

But Goofy was a father; while not the most beneficial or responsible parent in the world, he was well-versed in the secrets of paternal love. And he could read Donald like an emotional book: he cared. "Come on, Donald, don't be so negertive."

Donald scowled. "'Negative'."

"That too." Goofy smiled a smile worth a million munny. "Sora's growing up; he has to start making his own decisions someday. This is just one of them."

"But he's risking his heart to a /suit of clothing/!" Donald squawked, outraged all over again. "It's the wrong decision!"

"Now Donald," Goofy chided. "People learn from their mistakes. It's part of the growing process. If Sora chose poorly, he'll be that much wiser the next time."

Donald wanted badly to hit his head into something hard and ungiving, because Goofy didn't get it! If the suit was dangerous, there would be no next time for Sora. But Donald could word it anyway he pleased; Goofy would grasp the reality of the situation. "Fiiiine," he falsely submitted, but no less visibly begrudged. "He'll be that much smarter the next time...."

- c - e - n - t - e - r -

"So....you won't be joining us for next Halloween?" Jack didn't even try to keep his disappointment to himself; he wouldn't be Jack if his emotions weren't broadcasted.

"I'm not sure. With the way things are going, we probably won't have time to spare anymore." Sora looked up at Jack with a sad smile. "The barriers are still filled with holes, and there are other worlds that still need to be locked, y'know? I'd never want to miss any day of Halloween otherwise."

"I understand," sighed Jack, and he did, much to his chagrin. "The importance of saving the universe does rather outweigh the celebration of a holiday, even the best one that ever was."

Jack's admission lifted Sora's spirit, even if it made his heart ache. Halloween -was- possibly one of the best holidays to ever exist, and it was sad that on a little world called Destiny Islands, October 31st had no holiday with such a name. It would have to be changed.

Just as they were about to enter the graveyard, however, a boney hand lay down on Sora's shoulder, stopping him short. For a skeleton with no eyes, Jack still managed to impressively display a range of expressions and right now, his was solemn.

"I'm always on your side, Sora," he confessed. "I want you to take this when you leave. Just in case you really can't make it back, alright?" And with that, removed the cat-faced broach from his collar and held it out for Sora to take. "A souvenir, if you wish."

A token, a good luck charm. The fact that it wasn't a keychain made the gift even greater somehow, because it was just that: a gift. Not a weapon, nothing magic. Sora took it with great appreciation.

And that was it.

- c - e - n - t - e - r -

Donald was about to have a fit. Again.

Sora grimaced uneasily, just watching the duck's color go from white on a steady incline up the raging-red ladder. Always comical, but never when he was looking at you personally. The black outfit was already doing wonders for his protection; Sora hadn't blown up yet.

But much to his utter shock, Donald merely huffed, threw himself back into the pilot's seat, and shrilled, "Sit down and buckle up! That asteroid field always gives us trouble."

Goofy smiled encouragingly at Sora, his pride in Donald's restraint obvious. Sora returned it, and hopped into his seat behind Donald. Because it was one small step for them, one giant leap for Donald's temper.

But more importantly, the keyblade responded to him. Despite what he wore, it manifested like being draped in the skins of light and darkness had no revelence to its use. It could still feel the heart underneath, and that was, indeed, a small victory toward Sora's mission.

And to have both the keyblade and Donald still on his side after this? It made Sora feel like the best person in the world, because even after doing something so unquestionable, his friends still stuck by him. Everything was all right.

- c - u - t -

Sora dreamed that night.

He dreamed of home, where the ocean was made of honey and the boats made of uncut branches. Riku was trying to sow a dress for Selphie on the docks, and Tidus and Kairi were fighting over a puppy found in the middle of the road. Mom was baking on the porch, because the house had no walls, and she smiled and waved at Sora. Dad was talking to Riku's mom over the fence, and it looked like they were kissing while they spoke. Yuffie suddenly came streaming down the road, calling Tidus a liar for saying she could have those shoes. And Wakka was reading a newspaper in a chair on a lamppost, much older than them, complaining it was fish season in a thicker East Island accent instead of his usual South Island accent.

Except down the street, something short was walking/waddling/sliming toward the chaos. Like a blue, jelly blob, with purple and orange swirls in its very misshapened body. And as it walked passed Sora, it said, "Make a detour. Give the town one more day. You'll be happier then."

But a Shadow-type Heartless came and swallowed the blob with a very comical mouth. It belched loudly and rudely and scuttled off in the direction the jelly blob had been going in the first place, tripping over a fleeing Tidus and Yuffie pounced him good.

Sora woke up to a pudgy ceiling staring down on him and grit in his eye. It was a familiar ritual when one slept inside a gummi ship, flat on their back; Sora yawned, stretched, and almost rolled over to go back to sleep. Until he remembered the jelly blob.

"Make a detour," he muttered. "To where, anyway?"

"Is something say, Sky-borne?"

Wearily, Sora turned his head to squint at the faint red figure standing on his shoulder. "Nnt'n," he disconfirmed. "Just talking to myself. Just had a dream, that's all."

"Is the dream why are you here not?"

Curse the fae for being so backwards. Sora sighed. "Say that again?"

Yama sat himself on the cusp of Sora's shoulder and took a moment of his time before barely managing to reiterate, "Is not...a dream...unn...why Legend hero Sora here?"

Oh. That made much more sense. "Yes Yama, I had a strange dream before I became the Keyblade Master." Sora yawned and closed his eyes again. "But this was just a normal dream; it didn't feel real, you know? I mean everyone dreams at night, right? Not all dreams mean something."

When the red faery didn't answer, Sora partially opened his eyes. "Yama?"

Except Yama was staring back, and with the little light haloing his body, Sora could just make out the sad expression on his face, and how the tips of his ears seen to droop just a little. "Is Apology to you, Legend hero Sora. Is say too afraid, but... Is when we dream, we are dead."

Sora had a feeling Yama wasn't talking about other people. "You mean...Compasses only dream when they die?"

Yama nodded as he bowed his head. "Is understand of human-like dreams, happens in sleep. Is when fae die, forever fae dream."

Sora's tiredness was accompanied by a rather painful ache in his heart. It seemed ironic how a faery would only dream in its death, but it had to be a very lonely sleep, if all they did was slumber in the emptiness of the mind. But, he managed some sort of smile; no telling what it looked like when he was about ready to fall asleep again. "Then I promise you, Yama. I won't let you dream while you're mine, okay?"

Yama beamed happily, tainted only by sad joy. "Is Yama trusting Legend hero Sora. Is Legend hero Sora kind."

And Sora fell back asleep, continuing to dream in the living world.

- e - n - d - i - n - g -

A/N: Yes, the outfit Sora's now wearing is the same as KH2!Sora's (with just a few more red accents on it). With different origins, obviously. So I don't have to go the distance in describing it; it's impossible to describe his clothing anyway. It's like trying to describe Rufus Shinra's uniform white trench coat and undercoat thing, without giving someone the idea he's wearing too many clothes (and many of his fans would agree he is already; take it off!).