Vesper's Heroes

Still no ideas for an ending. I would ask people to offer some but that would mean giving away future plot points and I want to keep those a surprise. There is another esper used in this chapter called Bahamut. But everyone should know what a dragon looks like.

Love to AkuRokulove and Jediempress again for giving me reviews. According to the stats, other people are reading this but they haven’t added in their two cents yet. Maybe you people are waiting for this to be totally done?

Fair warning, I’m going to reload chapters in a different order when I finish up with Sora’s side of the story. Things just aren’t flowing quiet right with the back and forth. And since I have so much more planned for Riku, the Sora chapters will be loaded first and then the Riku chapters.

So have a Sora chapter while I get this all sorted out.

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Thank the gods for conveniently placed treasure. The boy allowed himself a grin as he found an unopened chest near the final bend. It held quite a bit actually but it was what he needed: a few high potions, a couple ethers and an elixir. All were carefully placed in pouches and pockets where he hoped they wouldn’t be broken in battle as his cloak took their place in the treasure chest. He felt the earth shudder again as Tritoch continued to moved around. The screams had stopped almost as soon as Sora entered the new set of tunnels.

Either he got bored or he knows I’m here. Neither thought was reassuring in the least. A bored Vesper tended to be more violent. Knowing he was here meant that he lost the element of surprise and could expect an attack as soon as he came into view. Taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, he stepped forward.

Sora entered the cavern, watching the Heartless Tritoch flail within its confines. The moogles had done their job well and sealed every exit that it would have been able to take advantage. Even the one that Sora had just used was still far too small for the boss to escape from.

And there was that video game reference again. Sora nearly laughed at himself for using it but it really did fit. Kind of funny since I haven’t played video games in over two years. His ghost of amusement vanished when the esper focused on him at last. It opened its beak and let out a bust of flame this time, trying to scorch the keyblade master as he dove for cover.

“Guess that means game on,” he muttered, summoning only Oblivion. Emerging from the other side of the rock he had taken shelter behind he, he began to run in a wide arc, using Reflega to guard his flank. Tritoch blasted again, switching to ice this time. Sora’s Reflega spell held but not for long, breaking and exposing his legs to the tail end of the blast.

With a swallowed scream he rolled behind an upturned mining cart, casting a hasty Curaga on himself to stop the spreading numbness. Damn that hurt! He cast it a second time for good measure before rising, wincing as pain still plagued him. This fight’s barely even started and all ready I’m losing. He swallowed down on of his high potions to erase the remaining pain as he moved to a crouch. Shaking his head free of lingering doubts he tightened his grip on Oblivion and emerged once again.

Fire plagued him once more, licking at his shield as this time he dashed toward Tritoch. Dancing under the pounding feet and lashing tail wasn’t nearly as hard as he had feared but was still a task in and of itself. Claws gouged at the stone floor in attempts to grab him. Sinew and scales lashed against walls when they failed to sweep him off his feet.

“Shit!” He felt his hair get brushed aside as he avoided a sweeping wing that he hadn’t been paying attention to. Without even thinking he brought up his keyblade and jumped, neatly slicing off the offending limb. It fell and became vapor as Tritoch cried out in fresh pain and renewed fury. It’s not regenerating! He smiled, finally having an idea of how to win.

“Come on!” It snarled at him, a vengeful hissing growl before striking at him again. Sora performed a dodge roll back underneath the beast. He danced and dodged and finally slashed at its tail, severing it like the wing before. That earned him another cloud of vapor and an answering scream as lighting tore at the cavern walls.

Reflega aided him again as Sora ducked behind a pile of rubble. He hastily gulped down his second high potion and his only ether, feeling it reenergize him as he sized up his next move. He could feel the energy of the magicite now that Tritoch had been weakened a bit. It pulsed and glowed in Tritoch’s chest right where his heart would be. If he could get a direct hit on it, that should be enough to kill the Vespers.

Should be.

Trying to revive his failing moral, he took a fresh breath and raced out again. His legs were starting to burn a bit from fatigue but that didn’t stop him or hamper his movements as he avoided an ice blast. Tritoch screamed again, trying to snap him in two with that wicked hooked beak. Thankfully Oblivion was made of sterner stuff than a regular sword as it parried away snapping jaws on a path to his other wing. Sora wanted to weaken him further before trying to get at the magicite.

The gods had to be on his side as he was given the perfect opening to take the other appendage. Like the others before, it fell to vapor.

Now he could see it glowing right in the middle of his torso. It was a large gem, with the main rectangle body easily as long as his forearm. A pyramid on each end capped it and finished the shape of the magicite that was pulsing in time with Sora’s own heart. He swallowed the urge to shout out something horribly cliché and heroic as he pulled back and hoped Oblivion would fly true.

It did.

A new cry of anguish, somehow even more horrible than others past clawed its way out of that gaping maw. His keyblade was vibrating from where it was stuck in the cracking magicite. Summoning it back as he fled from under the crashing beast, Sora turned and threw again, earning another bull’s eye. The second strike broke the gem completely, making it shatter within the Heartless’ torso.

Backpedaling to where he entered, Sora watched in gruesome intrigue as the boss dissolved away. When all was gone, only a few pieces of broken magicite remained behind, their lingering glow telling of what it had been and had become.

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He shrugged under his backpack as Sora tried to find a way out of the mines, throwing his retrieved cloak on his shoulders. He had gathered up the pieces in a nap sack that somehow wasn’t destroyed. He just felt he should bring them with, to give Tritoch some kind of proper burial. His boots gripped at the stone floors as he walked. Of course, having no idea of where he was in relation to where he had been made things a bit confusing.

He defaulted to going back the why he came in, hoping that he would be luck enough to find a new way down since he had burned his bridges, literally. The only thing to greet him was some floating ashes and a crossbow bolt that had a note for him. The bolt he easily recognized as being Edgar’s. The paper was just scrap though from where he could only guess. He kept a tight grip on it as the wind whipped around him.


Sora,

Since you screwed us over by burning down the only bridge that would lead to your location, we went back down in hopes of finding a new way up. If you get this, just sit tight. We’ll find you.

Terra.


“That just figures,” he muttered, mussing up his already mussed hair. He was sweaty, filthy, sore, tired and worst of all hungry. His stomach decided on that moment to rumble, demanding to be fed now. He gave it a pat and tried to focus on something else.

The fact that it was starting to snow qualified as ‘something else.’

“Oh come on!” he shouted, as if the sky would listen to his pitiful cries and actually stop. But irony had to be present and it just snowed harder. He shook his fist at the gray storm clouds and moved to sit in the mine entrance. As the hours crawled by him and the snow began to build, Sora finally noticed that the sun was sinking fast.

Was my fight really that short? He had risen at dawn, was in meetings and preparations until lunch. After that he was thrown into battle and that only lasted maybe an hour before he blacked out. But Sora had no idea how long he was out or really how long they traveled through the caves, nor did he know how long it took him to fight Tritoch. Between adrenaline and battle frenzy, it could be anywhere from ten minutes to two hours.

So now the sun was setting, meaning it was going to get a lot colder. He could already see his breath and without anything burnable nearby, he could very easily fall asleep and freeze to death before anyone found him.

Irony decided to be nice.

Distantly, though he didn’t pay it any mind, Sora began to hear wings flapping. As the volume increased though, he did, hoping it wasn’t another Tritoch sized Vesper. I really, REALLY hope it isn’t another Tritoch sized Vesper. Or any other Vesper for that matter. Moving into deeper cover, he kept a wary eye on the snow filled sky.

That was when the shoe dropped.

Literally a shoe fell from the sky in front of the cave Sora was sulking in.

“What the hell?” With complete disregard for personal safety, the keyblade master got up and went to investigate, conveniently ignoring the wing sounds that had him hiding in the first place.

It was a standard army issue boot. Plain leather, a bit worn on the soul from marching but just a boot. There was nothing special at all about it.

That was when the wings got really loud.

Sora looked up and felt his insides turn into the very ice that was falling around him. A dragon was currently hovering over his current position, glaring down at him as it began to descend. Running is good. And do he did, back into the cave. He didn’t get far though before a bolt whistled past him into the wall. He skidded to a halt, grabbing it from the bedrock as the ground shook around him. It matched the one the note had been anchored to.

Wait just one flipping minute. HUH?!?! In reality, and Sora knew this, he was not the brains of any operation. He did have his moments, like with Tritoch, but usually he preferred teamwork or having someone tell him what to do. Now was one of those moments that made that fact painstakingly clear.

I heard wings so I hid. When I was hiding a boot fell from the sky. It isn’t windy enough for it to have been carried here. Then, when I go to fetch said boot, a dragon and a bolt chase me back into the cave. Am I in danger or not? Sora wanted to just bang his head against the wall in frustration. He peaked around the corner where the dragon was sitting, gazing into the cavern. It was bigger than Tritoch overall, with massive horns jutting from its skull that was rocking side to side in what he hoped was curiosity and not say, murdering rage or hunger.

“Sora!” He stepped out a bit more, trying to see who was calling him. The snow falling hard now, reducing his visibility so it was a challenge to see more than just the dark bulk of flying lizard that was parked at the entrance. “Soraa!” With a shrug to himself, he went out again with his fingers crossed that he wouldn’t be burned to a crisp.

The dragon did not eat him or attack or make any sort of hostile movement at the boy. If anything it backed up, allowing him to come out further into the building snow. As he got closer, he could see who was shouting at him, smiling broadly as he waved. Terra, Sabin and Edgar were mounted on its back, bundled up against the cold and waving at him. The king lowered a rope to him so he could climb up and take a seat.

“This is Bahamut, another esper,” Edgar said. “Hold on.” He whistled to Terra up front who said something to the beast underneath them. With a sickening lurch they plummeted off the side of the mountain, gliding down to the city. Sora was glad his stomach was empty as dragon flight did not agree with him. It was too uneven with lurching and then falling and then lurching again. He was also glad it was mercifully short and was so very glad to find himself on solid ground again.

“How did you guys find me?” He asked. Both men just pointed at Terra, who only had eyes for Bahamut. She was cradling that massive head and whispering something to it. Then in a flash it was gone and only a piece of magicite remained in her arms.

“Come,” Sabin coaxed, clapping the keyblade master on the shoulder. “We can talk inside where it’s warm.” Sora wasn’t going to protest and jogged inside with them. The four went to a private den, ordering up a hot dinner as they went. Sora did not waste a moment when that delicious feast arrived, promising a recap of what happened when he filled his belly. The three didn’t argue that point as they did the same. In quick order dinner became a blissful memory. The boy stretched, feeling his back pop before slumping back into the armchair he’d taken residence in. The other three had taken over the couch and were echoing his.

“Want me to start?” he offered. Edgar nodded. He took a deep breath and told them what happened between him the Tritoch in the cave. When he arrived at the point in his story of the final strike, he pulled up his pack and passed it to Terra who revealed the contents to the room. He continued on of how he was waiting in the cave, the confusion with the shoe and finally going outside to see them.

“Why did you have all the excitement?” Edgar queried with a grin. “Well, we went back down through the mines to headquarters. The Vespers hounded us the whole way. Sometime around early evening though we began to receive reports of all battles becoming easier with fewer wounded. We assumed by that point you were victorious. So Terra went though our magicite collection for something that could fly in hopes we could summon it and use that to search for you. Granted we knew there would be a slim chance of finding you by air since so much of the complex is underground but it was worth a try.”

Sora nodded in understanding. It would make sense that since Tritoch had been eliminated for the other forces to weaken. Rubbing at his scalp, he suddenly became hyper aware of just how squalid he was. Well, between fighting, running, more fighting, diving in the dirt, fighting and then flying, it’s really nothing special. He grimaced as he pulled his hand back.

“Well you guys can feel free to celebrate. I’m going to get a bath and some sleep,” he said.

“You’ve certainly earned it kid,” Sabin replied. The others nodded in agreement. “We’ll keep the councilors at bay so you can rest.” That was unexpected! Sabin had never offered anything to him before, not even a kind word. I must’ve done something right! Without any more wasted words he waved over his shoulder as he exited.

The baths were empty as this hour, allowing him some privacy and ample hot water. He was glad to find himself mostly unharmed aside from some bruises. I’ll ache in the morning though, especially after this hellish day. His mind began to fog as he shuffled back to his room. He had given up on finding something to wear and just put on his original clothes. It was a comfort to wear something that made him think of home as he laid down in bed.

It didn’t take long before he sighed and dropped off.

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Morning is evil. The brunette tried to block out the dawn light under his pillow but it was useless. He was awake and there was no luck in trying to get back to sleep. The racing steps down the hall furthered soured his mood as he gave up and rose. One gloved hand muffled his yawn and accented his wish for a toothbrush as he dug under the bed for his sneakers. He wore everything else to bed but his red pouches. Those too were put on as he finished getting dressed. He was a hell of a lot more comfortable in his street clothes than the ones Edgar gifted him with.

Better for fighting Vespers with too. Well, it would be if I could use any of my drive forms. He frowned. It hadn’t occurred to him to try to use his drive forms at all while he was here. Would it even work? Donald and Goofy aren’t here so would it just not happen? Would I merge with someone else? What if he went into Anti form? Or worse got stuck in it? A violent headshake derailed that train of thought with the added bonus of fixing his hair. It’s just as well I haven’t tried. I don’t think I will either until I can talk to King Mickey or the fairies about it.

He opened his door just as someone was reaching to knock. Terra was there and smiling as though Christmas had come early that year. Do they even celebrate Christmas?

“Wha-?” he began.

“Just come on!” she interrupted. The mage grabbed at his hands and dragged him outside where it was a huge party. Music was blaring from a makeshift stage. The mess tent was down but the kitchens had been expanded to provide a kind of buffet set up. “When people changed shifts in the middle of the night they were saying that there were no Vespers left in the city. We’ve sent scouts all over and they are all saying the same thing: The Vespers are gone!” She was nearly busting with happiness as she stopped in front of Edgar. “Found him.”

“Sora!” In an unexpected show of affection, the Figaro King grabbed the youth in a bear hug. “You did it! We’ve won!” Feet met ground again as he was suddenly let go, only to be swept up in a kiss from Terra. She let him go with a loopy grin on his face as she blushed furiously. He giggled, feeling a bit tipsy from it.

Good things though can never last.

Darkness swirled around him, banishing the giddiness from the party. He tried to escape it, feeling his body sink down into it.

“Sora!” Edgar and Sabin reached for him only to be shoved back by waving arms of dark energy. Once the brothers were throw back, those arms wrapped around Sora, dragging him deeper until he vanished.


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I’m getting really sick of slamming into hard surfaces. He moaned, feeling his back spasm. It felt like cobblestones underneath him as he remained motionless. He groaned again, finally levering himself up.

“Sora?” Blue eyes raised to meet a second pair that was the exact same color, their owner both confused and concerned as one hand was offered to help him up.

“Cloud?”

Sora was back in Hollow Bastion.