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[Fic] To Cast the Key
I rather suspect this was cooler in my head, and would work so much better with visuals, but here's the somewhat completed thing, anyway.
This just escaped being named "Destati" or "Succession of Keyblades". I'm not sure this title is better. XD
Title: To Cast the Key
Words: 1,606
Rating: PG
Pairing: SoRiKai
Summary: A Keyblade master may unite the worlds in peace, or sunder them in ruin; but in the end there is one thing they all must do.
The colored panels shone beneath his feet. His boots clacked faintly against the smooth surface as he slowly traversed the circle. The key, ever his faithful companion these many years, was warm in his hand. Soon, it would no longer answer his call; his heart weighed heavily at this knowledge. But this was as much his duty as the rest of it; he could no more turn away from this final task as he could have from the first time the Keyblade had come to him.
His predecessors' sleeping faces, etched in the glass beneath him, offered no advice but bore silent witness as his heart finally led him to the destined child, the one who would awaken to the burdens and the joys of the Keyblade wielder, the one child who -
No.
He hesitated, standing before the tiny images.
Surely it didn't work that way?
He tilted his head up, staring into the darkness as if the answer might be written there. His heart could not choose. It was impossible. What was he to do now?
Obey your heart. What must be done, must be.
The Keyblade wielder looked down again at the two boys, silver-haired and brown, standing side by side in the ring.
"I know not how this shall be played. My heart, I pray you have chosen rightly."
He reached out to take the boys' tiny hands, and laid them both on the Keyblade's hilt. Their eyes opened slowly, brilliant green and blue.
For the first time in the Keyblade's history, two wielders had been chosen. There could be no saying how that would turn out; but whatever happened now, it was on their shoulders alone.
The course of their destiny was up to them.
-
Sora dreamed of water.
He hadn't had this dream for years; the sensation of falling endlessly through cool, welcoming ocean was as strange as it was familiar. He felt lax and heavy as he fell, as the darkness grew deeper and the water around him ceased to feel wet...
His feet touched ground. He opened his eyes.
He was surrounded by a featureless vast darkness, just as he had dreamed back then. An eerie colored glow rose from beneath his feet, as expected, and he looked down. It looked like the window had changed again; the central element, where he vaguely remembered an image of a Princess, now seemed to be an ornate lock, with the Keyblade laid over it and a crown atop the design. And outside of that, there were.... faces. What seemed like hundreds of faces, eyes closed as if in sleep. Each one in their own small circle, arranged in concentric rings around the lock. Only about half of the small circles were filled; the rest were white and empty.
Sora found his own face, small and fifteen, sharing a circle with Riku and Roxas. He laughed nervously. After ten years, he'd thought nothing to do with the Keyblade could unsettle him again, and yet.
"What's going on this time?" he asked of the void.
The time has come. That which you have held must pass to new hands.
"That which I... the Keyblade?" Sora wondered; and then his hand tightened involuntarily around cool metal that hadn't been there a second ago. He didn't look down. He didn't have to.
Step forward once more. It is time.
Sora took in a soft breath and nodded to himself, taking a step forward.
Almost at once, light flared around the edges of the window. When it faded, a ring of children were hovering in the darkness. Sora stumbled back with a startled cry, whirling around to look at the smoky images.
Do not be afraid. Your heart will guide you. You are the one who will make this choice.
The children's images hovered serenely, eyes peacefully closed. Sora turned around slowly, studying each child in turn. They seemed to be of all different ages, with the youngest looking almost too small to be walking and the oldest appearing to be the same age he'd been back then. Sora's mouth tightened into a thin line.
"Okay. I bet these are all kids with strong hearts. So I just have to find the one that's best suited to the Keyblade, huh?"
There was no answer this time. Sora shrugged and walked to the edge.
The Keyblade warmed in his hand as he approached one of the children, a freckly red-haired boy. Curiously, he reached out to touch the boy's shoulder. As he did, however, the Keyblade suddenly became painfully chill, and something twisted uncomfortably in his chest. He withdrew his hand.
"...Okay. It's not you. Sorry, kid."
The Keyblade warmed again as he walked away. Sora began to slowly traverse the circle, reaching gently towards each child in turn and allowing the Keyblade to judge. He soon found there was a remarkable depth of expression there; sometimes the blade would hesitate a while before chilling, or its texture would suddenly feel wrong. One child that hadn't felt right to Sora even as he approached evoked a reaction from the Keyblade that felt like icicles stabbing into his palm. Wincing, he hurried on.
He hadn't been quite sure how he'd know when he found the right one. By the time he'd traced the circle twice over, avoiding those the Keyblade had clearly rejected, it was starting to worry him. The answer was not much longer in coming, however; the Keyblade suddenly felt weightless, as warm and light as holding a sunbeam, and he felt his heart warm in agreement. His footsteps stopped, and he looked down at the one the Keyblade had chosen.
The little girl hovered innocently, unaware as yet of her new destiny. Wispy black bangs concealed much of her round face; the rest was tied back in a bushy ponytail. Sora smiled to himself, unsurprised. She'd seemed like a likely candidate when he'd first passed her.
Have you chosen?
"Yes," Sora said softly, and reached out to take the little girl's hand. She couldn't have been any older than ten; Sora hoped she'd at least get a few more years before she was called. He'd been older than she was, and now he wondered if even that hadn't been too young. The Keyblade was lighter than a feather as he twirled it in his hand and held it out, blade up, and gave the girl's hand a friendly squeeze.
"I hope whatever you need to do happens in my time," he said, smiling. "I'd like to meet you someday."
And with that, he placed the girl's hand on the hilt. Her eyes opened, pale goldish-brown and bright, and that was all Sora had a chance to see before he was plummeting again, water rushing all around him.
-
"Hey, look who's up! Good morning, sleepyhead."
Sora squinted in the light streaming from the kitchen window, and gave a tired smile. Kairi's voice was always nice to hear first thing in the morning. Or any time, really.
"Morn'n," he mumbled, plodding into the room and rubbing at his eyes. "'d I miss breakfast?"
"There's still some bacon on the counter," Kairi said, taking his shoulders and steering him gently in that direction. "You did miss Riku's scrambled eggs, though."
That woke him up. "What? Aww..."
Riku laughed from the living room, and came back in to lean against the doorway. "I can make some more if you want. It's not like they're difficult or anything."
Sora, already crunching on a slice of bacon, looked up wide-eyed at Riku and made a pleading noise.
Rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, Riku opened the refrigerator door and got the eggs out. "Geez, no need for the heavy artillery. I'll make you some."
Swallowing, Sora grinned apologetically. "Thanks, Riku."
"Mmhmm." Turning on the heat, Riku cracked an egg over the skillet. "You slept like a log this morning, you know that?"
"We couldn't wake you up for anything," Kairi agreed. "You must've been tired last night."
"I was just having a weird dream," Sora said quietly, reaching for more bacon.
"About what?" Riku asked absentmindedly, rummaging in the spice cabinet for his seemingly random assortment of seasonings as he prodded at the eggs.
Sora closed his eyes. It was already a little fuzzy; the window, and the children, the Keyblade light as air and a little girl's eyes...
The Keyblade belonged to that little girl now. There was something gone from him now, and without it the key would never answer to him again. It had all been passed to that little girl. He couldn't help feeling a little sad. What he had been, and what that girl would someday be, now he, Sora, was no longer.
"Sora?"
He looked up. Riku was glancing quizzically over his shoulder at him, and Kairi was wearing the look of fond exasperation she so often did when dealing with her boys in the morning.
Sora grinned.
"Tell you after I eat," he said, popping another slice of bacon into his mouth.
Riku rolled his eyes again and turned back to his cooking, and Kairi shook her head, smiling faintly. Sora felt something in his heart settle.
There was no way to tell what the little girl might endure, what course she would follow or what her ending would be; all Sora could know was that she was a girl with a strong heart, and worthy of the Keyblade. Anything else was beyond his knowledge, and out of his hands.
All the same...
Even if they never met, Sora hoped - fervently - that she could end up as well as he had.
This just escaped being named "Destati" or "Succession of Keyblades". I'm not sure this title is better. XD
Title: To Cast the Key
Words: 1,606
Rating: PG
Pairing: SoRiKai
Summary: A Keyblade master may unite the worlds in peace, or sunder them in ruin; but in the end there is one thing they all must do.
The colored panels shone beneath his feet. His boots clacked faintly against the smooth surface as he slowly traversed the circle. The key, ever his faithful companion these many years, was warm in his hand. Soon, it would no longer answer his call; his heart weighed heavily at this knowledge. But this was as much his duty as the rest of it; he could no more turn away from this final task as he could have from the first time the Keyblade had come to him.
His predecessors' sleeping faces, etched in the glass beneath him, offered no advice but bore silent witness as his heart finally led him to the destined child, the one who would awaken to the burdens and the joys of the Keyblade wielder, the one child who -
No.
He hesitated, standing before the tiny images.
Surely it didn't work that way?
He tilted his head up, staring into the darkness as if the answer might be written there. His heart could not choose. It was impossible. What was he to do now?
Obey your heart. What must be done, must be.
The Keyblade wielder looked down again at the two boys, silver-haired and brown, standing side by side in the ring.
"I know not how this shall be played. My heart, I pray you have chosen rightly."
He reached out to take the boys' tiny hands, and laid them both on the Keyblade's hilt. Their eyes opened slowly, brilliant green and blue.
For the first time in the Keyblade's history, two wielders had been chosen. There could be no saying how that would turn out; but whatever happened now, it was on their shoulders alone.
The course of their destiny was up to them.
Sora dreamed of water.
He hadn't had this dream for years; the sensation of falling endlessly through cool, welcoming ocean was as strange as it was familiar. He felt lax and heavy as he fell, as the darkness grew deeper and the water around him ceased to feel wet...
His feet touched ground. He opened his eyes.
He was surrounded by a featureless vast darkness, just as he had dreamed back then. An eerie colored glow rose from beneath his feet, as expected, and he looked down. It looked like the window had changed again; the central element, where he vaguely remembered an image of a Princess, now seemed to be an ornate lock, with the Keyblade laid over it and a crown atop the design. And outside of that, there were.... faces. What seemed like hundreds of faces, eyes closed as if in sleep. Each one in their own small circle, arranged in concentric rings around the lock. Only about half of the small circles were filled; the rest were white and empty.
Sora found his own face, small and fifteen, sharing a circle with Riku and Roxas. He laughed nervously. After ten years, he'd thought nothing to do with the Keyblade could unsettle him again, and yet.
"What's going on this time?" he asked of the void.
The time has come. That which you have held must pass to new hands.
"That which I... the Keyblade?" Sora wondered; and then his hand tightened involuntarily around cool metal that hadn't been there a second ago. He didn't look down. He didn't have to.
Step forward once more. It is time.
Sora took in a soft breath and nodded to himself, taking a step forward.
Almost at once, light flared around the edges of the window. When it faded, a ring of children were hovering in the darkness. Sora stumbled back with a startled cry, whirling around to look at the smoky images.
Do not be afraid. Your heart will guide you. You are the one who will make this choice.
The children's images hovered serenely, eyes peacefully closed. Sora turned around slowly, studying each child in turn. They seemed to be of all different ages, with the youngest looking almost too small to be walking and the oldest appearing to be the same age he'd been back then. Sora's mouth tightened into a thin line.
"Okay. I bet these are all kids with strong hearts. So I just have to find the one that's best suited to the Keyblade, huh?"
There was no answer this time. Sora shrugged and walked to the edge.
The Keyblade warmed in his hand as he approached one of the children, a freckly red-haired boy. Curiously, he reached out to touch the boy's shoulder. As he did, however, the Keyblade suddenly became painfully chill, and something twisted uncomfortably in his chest. He withdrew his hand.
"...Okay. It's not you. Sorry, kid."
The Keyblade warmed again as he walked away. Sora began to slowly traverse the circle, reaching gently towards each child in turn and allowing the Keyblade to judge. He soon found there was a remarkable depth of expression there; sometimes the blade would hesitate a while before chilling, or its texture would suddenly feel wrong. One child that hadn't felt right to Sora even as he approached evoked a reaction from the Keyblade that felt like icicles stabbing into his palm. Wincing, he hurried on.
He hadn't been quite sure how he'd know when he found the right one. By the time he'd traced the circle twice over, avoiding those the Keyblade had clearly rejected, it was starting to worry him. The answer was not much longer in coming, however; the Keyblade suddenly felt weightless, as warm and light as holding a sunbeam, and he felt his heart warm in agreement. His footsteps stopped, and he looked down at the one the Keyblade had chosen.
The little girl hovered innocently, unaware as yet of her new destiny. Wispy black bangs concealed much of her round face; the rest was tied back in a bushy ponytail. Sora smiled to himself, unsurprised. She'd seemed like a likely candidate when he'd first passed her.
Have you chosen?
"Yes," Sora said softly, and reached out to take the little girl's hand. She couldn't have been any older than ten; Sora hoped she'd at least get a few more years before she was called. He'd been older than she was, and now he wondered if even that hadn't been too young. The Keyblade was lighter than a feather as he twirled it in his hand and held it out, blade up, and gave the girl's hand a friendly squeeze.
"I hope whatever you need to do happens in my time," he said, smiling. "I'd like to meet you someday."
And with that, he placed the girl's hand on the hilt. Her eyes opened, pale goldish-brown and bright, and that was all Sora had a chance to see before he was plummeting again, water rushing all around him.
"Hey, look who's up! Good morning, sleepyhead."
Sora squinted in the light streaming from the kitchen window, and gave a tired smile. Kairi's voice was always nice to hear first thing in the morning. Or any time, really.
"Morn'n," he mumbled, plodding into the room and rubbing at his eyes. "'d I miss breakfast?"
"There's still some bacon on the counter," Kairi said, taking his shoulders and steering him gently in that direction. "You did miss Riku's scrambled eggs, though."
That woke him up. "What? Aww..."
Riku laughed from the living room, and came back in to lean against the doorway. "I can make some more if you want. It's not like they're difficult or anything."
Sora, already crunching on a slice of bacon, looked up wide-eyed at Riku and made a pleading noise.
Rolling his eyes exaggeratedly, Riku opened the refrigerator door and got the eggs out. "Geez, no need for the heavy artillery. I'll make you some."
Swallowing, Sora grinned apologetically. "Thanks, Riku."
"Mmhmm." Turning on the heat, Riku cracked an egg over the skillet. "You slept like a log this morning, you know that?"
"We couldn't wake you up for anything," Kairi agreed. "You must've been tired last night."
"I was just having a weird dream," Sora said quietly, reaching for more bacon.
"About what?" Riku asked absentmindedly, rummaging in the spice cabinet for his seemingly random assortment of seasonings as he prodded at the eggs.
Sora closed his eyes. It was already a little fuzzy; the window, and the children, the Keyblade light as air and a little girl's eyes...
The Keyblade belonged to that little girl now. There was something gone from him now, and without it the key would never answer to him again. It had all been passed to that little girl. He couldn't help feeling a little sad. What he had been, and what that girl would someday be, now he, Sora, was no longer.
"Sora?"
He looked up. Riku was glancing quizzically over his shoulder at him, and Kairi was wearing the look of fond exasperation she so often did when dealing with her boys in the morning.
Sora grinned.
"Tell you after I eat," he said, popping another slice of bacon into his mouth.
Riku rolled his eyes again and turned back to his cooking, and Kairi shook her head, smiling faintly. Sora felt something in his heart settle.
There was no way to tell what the little girl might endure, what course she would follow or what her ending would be; all Sora could know was that she was a girl with a strong heart, and worthy of the Keyblade. Anything else was beyond his knowledge, and out of his hands.
All the same...
Even if they never met, Sora hoped - fervently - that she could end up as well as he had.