The Heartless, summoned by that Organization XIII guy, swarmed around them again. Donald and Goofy fought them back, but Sora only defended. What else could he do, now that he knew using the Keyblade on the Heartless was only going to help the Organization do whatever it was they were doing? That they were just re-enslaving all the hearts he freed from captivity?
What if everything he'd done - all of it - was for nothing? What am I supposed to do if I can't use the Keyblade?
Sora didn't have any answers, and wasn't likely to come up with any while Heartless were trying to bite his heart out.
#Imbeciles!# raged a voice in his head, recognizably Maleficent. Not actually killed by Nobodies, because of course she hadn't been. Darkness spread around Sora's feet, sticking to his shoes, sucking him down and shoving the Heartless back. #You can't be trusted to do anything!#
Darkness swallowed Sora - not for the first time, but it was just as unnerving.
And then, it was gone. He was face-down on a rocklike surface with the Keyblade still gripped tightly in one hand. Sora bounced back to his feet, ready to fight... empty space. He was on a road - a real one, not just a dirt path - surrounded by... desert. Not Agrabah, a world he wasn't familiar with. "...Huh. I guess help really does come from unexpected places. Right, Don-" Sora broke off, because it wasn't like Donald not to already be freaking out about Maleficent moving them somewhere else. Sora spun half-left, then half-right, then all the way around in a circle. "DONALD! GOOFY! HEY GUYS, WHERE ARE YOU?"
When his yell just echoed over the desert and his friends didn't respond, he frowned in confusion. "Okay. This is weird." And no, he didn't have a problem with talking to himself out loud. Why would that be a problem? "I wonder what Maleficent wants...."
Well, he wasn't going to find out or find his friends by just standing around! There was a road, it had to go somewhere. Sora followed it towards the building in the distance, which was... a hotel? In the middle of nowhere? Super weird, but also cool. A hotel meant people, maybe that was where Donald and Goofy had gone! To look friendlier, Sora dismissed the Keyblade and walked inside, straight towards the front desk.
"Welcome, Master Sora," said the guy (Sora might have used 'nondescript' if he was the type to use words like that) behind the desk. "You will be in room 174. Here is your key. Enjoy your stay." He passed over a keycard, then appeared to lose interest.
"That's okay, I'm not staying." Sora picked up the keycard anyway, out of force of habit. He was used to picking things up when they were offered to him. "But have you seen my friends? Donald or Goofy? Or Riku? Kairi?"
The desk guy 'woke up' briefly to bland out, "I have no reservations for or current guests by any of those names."
"...Oh." So what was the point here? No Heartless, no friends... hey, that was actually pretty clever! Sora perked up. Maleficent was a smart one, all right - and yeah, it helped her too, but if destroying Heartless with the Keyblade was a problem, stick the Keyblade where there were no Heartless for a while! It made sense! And... and probably Donald and Goofy were somewhere else and looking for him? Or something?
So I guess I am staying here for a while? "Um, okay. Thanks. I'm gonna look around!"
Sora - Assigned Threads
What if everything he'd done - all of it - was for nothing? What am I supposed to do if I can't use the Keyblade?
Sora didn't have any answers, and wasn't likely to come up with any while Heartless were trying to bite his heart out.
#Imbeciles!# raged a voice in his head, recognizably Maleficent. Not actually killed by Nobodies, because of course she hadn't been. Darkness spread around Sora's feet, sticking to his shoes, sucking him down and shoving the Heartless back. #You can't be trusted to do anything!#
Darkness swallowed Sora - not for the first time, but it was just as unnerving.
And then, it was gone. He was face-down on a rocklike surface with the Keyblade still gripped tightly in one hand. Sora bounced back to his feet, ready to fight... empty space. He was on a road - a real one, not just a dirt path - surrounded by... desert. Not Agrabah, a world he wasn't familiar with. "...Huh. I guess help really does come from unexpected places. Right, Don-" Sora broke off, because it wasn't like Donald not to already be freaking out about Maleficent moving them somewhere else. Sora spun half-left, then half-right, then all the way around in a circle. "DONALD! GOOFY! HEY GUYS, WHERE ARE YOU?"
When his yell just echoed over the desert and his friends didn't respond, he frowned in confusion. "Okay. This is weird." And no, he didn't have a problem with talking to himself out loud. Why would that be a problem? "I wonder what Maleficent wants...."
Well, he wasn't going to find out or find his friends by just standing around! There was a road, it had to go somewhere. Sora followed it towards the building in the distance, which was... a hotel? In the middle of nowhere? Super weird, but also cool. A hotel meant people, maybe that was where Donald and Goofy had gone! To look friendlier, Sora dismissed the Keyblade and walked inside, straight towards the front desk.
"Welcome, Master Sora," said the guy (Sora might have used 'nondescript' if he was the type to use words like that) behind the desk. "You will be in room 174. Here is your key. Enjoy your stay." He passed over a keycard, then appeared to lose interest.
"That's okay, I'm not staying." Sora picked up the keycard anyway, out of force of habit. He was used to picking things up when they were offered to him. "But have you seen my friends? Donald or Goofy? Or Riku? Kairi?"
The desk guy 'woke up' briefly to bland out, "I have no reservations for or current guests by any of those names."
"...Oh." So what was the point here? No Heartless, no friends... hey, that was actually pretty clever! Sora perked up. Maleficent was a smart one, all right - and yeah, it helped her too, but if destroying Heartless with the Keyblade was a problem, stick the Keyblade where there were no Heartless for a while! It made sense! And... and probably Donald and Goofy were somewhere else and looking for him? Or something?
So I guess I am staying here for a while? "Um, okay. Thanks. I'm gonna look around!"