Vesper's Heroes

At the end of KH2, Riku and Sora are sitting in the world of darkness but the door to light doesn't open. However, a dark portal does open under Sora and a light portal opens under Riku, pulling them apart before either can react. Riku and Sora are sent to new worlds, ones that are at war with the heartless. Riku ends up joining a mercenary company, The Vesper Hawks, while Sora allies with a King, because until this war is over, they can’t find a way home. But with what is happening with Riku’s relationship with Hosep, the scout lieutenant, he may not want to.

Hey all. Author here. This idea just came out of left field, bashed me over the head and screamed ‘WRITE ME!’ so I am. It is also screaming at me that Riku should be a bisexual in this story so if that bothers anyone, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS.

AGAIN!
IF THE IDEA OF BISEXUALS OR GAYS BOTHERS YOU PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS STORY!

Also, Sora will have some actual sense in my story. I would think after saving the universe not once but TWICE NOW, he has acquired some common sense and actually uses it so I’m sorry for anyone OOCness for him or Riku. Also both characters are in their default KH2 clothes to start.

These are reloaded chapters in a different order with some clean up. The Sora chapters will be first. Then the Riku chapters. Then I will have the chapters where they have found each other again.

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He was tumbling end over end through the darkness as a black wind clawed at his passing. It was too dark to see and it felt as though something was trying to grab him with each unwilling summersault he preformed. Sora was terrified, having no idea where he was going as he fell. Was this the same darkness Riku had to face? Would he look like Ansem too? Riku! Kairi! Someone help me!

An explosion of pain forced a scream from his mouth as blood splattered freely from his left shoulder. He couldn’t see what hit him but it left an after burn, sending fresh jolts as he continued to plummet. His right hand clutched at it desperately. He attempted a cure spell but it failed him. Is the darkness stopping my magic from working?

You need balance. You both must have balance, voices whispered. He couldn’t see them but they echoed all around him, repeating their words before his fall came to a very sudden stop with some very hard ground.

Someone was shaking his good shoulder. Hr groaned, trying to lever himself up off the dirt. No, it wasn’t dirt but sand. That wasn’t important right now though. His head was throbbing and his left shoulder too. He had been falling through the darkness, something attacked, voices everywhere, and then . . .

“Are you all right boy?” someone asked. He raised his eyes to see who was talking to him. It was a blond man with vivid blue eyes and dressed with light armor and a flowing cloak that must help with the beating sun. His hair was long, easily past his shoulder blades but kept orderly with a simple ponytail despite the blowing wind. Behind him was a full contingent of guards and all of them rode on giant yellow birds outfitted with saddles and armor. Sand stretched on in every direction save one where a black castle was seen.

“I think so,” Sora replied, attempting to rise to his feet only to stumble back into the desert sand. “Well, maybe not.” The blond haired main flipped his ponytail over his shoulder before rising to his feet, waving on hand at those surrounding them.

Without a word, two guards dismounted to aid Sora to his feet, mindful of his left shoulder when he let out a hiss of pain. Carefully, he too was put on the back of one of the birds and led to the castle in the distance. It was a thankfully short ride to the castle as Sora’s wound continued to bleed freely during their trek. Apparently they did not want to waste time with a dressing under the hot desert sun. The birds moved quickly and smoothly though, not the jarring pace of horses he had half feared.

As they neared, one guard flashed a mirror to a guard tower. Something was flashed back and then it was put away. Whatever was passed between them alerted the castle to their approached. Healers were present and ready to tend to the brunette once he dismounted.

“Terra!” the leader shouted over the din of people. A fair skinned woman with surprising green hair approached them and took over healing Sora without a word. “Don’t worry. You can explain everything when you are patched up,” he said before Sora could even protest. Then the man vanished into the throng of people He bit back a scream as she placed both hands on his shoulder but immediately the pain was gone, nothing more than a memory as soothing green light enveloped his wound and erased it.

“That was – amazing,” he gasped, poking through his ruined jacket to probe at his shoulder. Her magic ‘felt’ far different from the spells he had learned from Merlin and Donald. It felt more, ‘alive’ was the closest word he could think of. Her violet eyes glowed as she smiled back at him, tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear.

“You’re welcome,” she replied. She turned away from him, taking a few steps before looking back. “Come this way. Edgar is eager to talk to you.” Sora gave one last look around the entrance hall before complying with her order.

“Who’s Edgar?” he asked as they passed through stone halls and guards were everywhere. It was a far cry from the other castles Sora and his team had traversed through. For one, it didn’t have winding passageways that more often than not led to dead ends that usually didn’t even have good treasure. For another, I’m not being ambushed around every corner by Heartless, Nobodies, or random Organization members. He smirked at that thought. It was nice to be in a castle and not be worrying about the boss at the end.

“He is the one that found you,” she replied. He would have asked more questioned by they had arrived at an immense double door. Taking into consideration the ornate appearance of the door, the wrought iron embossment, flowing curtains, plush carpet, and the scowling guardsmen that looked ready to impale Sora on their pikes if he so much as blinked in their general direction, it was a safe assumption that this was the throne room.

Someone opened it up from the other side, shooing the pair of them inside only so the door could be shut again. The sound sent a chill up Sora’s spine, like the final closing of a casket. It wasn’t exactly something of a comforting thought in a new world. Edgar was standing by a window having an excited conversation with someone out of Sora’s view. The king was still dressed as he was before and looked as though he had tracked sand everywhere.

Terra dashed up to him, saying something that was lost across the expanse of room. But it must have been about him as the three now turned to look upon him fully. Terra fidgeted with her dress as the red garment only reached to mid thigh. Matching gloves nearly went to her shoulders and simple armor was layered on top. Tan leggings and ankle high heeled boots finished what she wore as she measured him up and down with just a look.

He fought the urge to squirm, even more so when Edgar began to echo her actions. His leather arm guards, chest plate, and shin guards were just a simple brown with no needless color dye. The rest of his clothes were an equally simple blue from his breeches to his jerkin to his cloak. No embellishments or embroidery broke up the blank mass of colored cloth that clung to him like it had grown over his skin.

The third just was smirking at him with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked like an altered copy of Edgar with the same hair and eyes but a stronger jaw line and more muscles. His hair was also in a pony tail but far shorter than the king’s was. A muscle shirt clung to his torso but his pants looked as though enough material was there for two pairs. They billowed and flared from hips to mid shin. Strangely though there were well fitted as his waist, which was hidden by a sash, and at his ankles. Sturdy boots graced his feet and arm bracers clutched at his forearms. His smirk widened as is gaze returned to Sora’s face.

“Picking up strays again brother?” the second man asked. At least that answers the question of why he looks so much like Edgar. Sora thought bitterly, bristling slightly. He wasn’t a stray. He was the Keyblade Master, with definite capital letters to show his worth. He had saved the universe from certain doom on two separate occasions. He had saved Kingdom Hearts. He had even had a definite, if rather short, stint in the World of Darkness.

“Now Sabin, be nice,” Edgar reprimanded with a smile. “It’s clear that this boy is not from around her. Perhaps he can help with the Vespers.” What the hell was a Vesper? And perhaps more importantly, where the hell was he?

“I doubt he could even fight off an imp, must less a Vesper Edgar,” Sabin retorted, waving a hand in Sora’s direction. “Look at him: He’s small. He’s thin. I doubt he knows any magic at all. What good could he be?” Oh that is it! Sora didn’t waste any words as he walked up to the king and his brother. Instead he summoned Oblivion and somehow Sleeping Lion as well into his waiting hands. The young man didn’t look down at his keyblades as he continued to advance.

“Let’s get one thing straight: I am not weak. I’m more than capable of holding my own in a fight. I also do know magic, though it’s a bit different for yours. I am not a stray either or some sort of charity case you feel the need to take on just so you can sleep better at night. My name is Sora and I would very much like to know what is going on here.” He huffed slight toward the end, feeling slightly out of breath from his outburst but he did not banish his weapons as he stood there. The three adults all exchanged wide eye glances with each other before staring hard as the weapons in his hand.

“So,” Sora began again. “Will someone please tell me where I am and what Vespers are?”

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“So let me see if I have this right,” the keyblade master replied to Terra. The four of them had moved to a smaller audience chamber were dinner was provided and privacy ensured. He leaned back into his chair before continuing, wishing for Oblivion and Sleeping Lion to be back in his hands. He had banished them to where ever it was that banished keyblades went to when they switched rooms, not wanting trouble with the guards. But considering what they just told me, I really want a weapon.

“This world, the World of Balance, is being attacked by Heartless, or what you call Vespers,” Sora began, rubbing at closed eyes. “Someone was leading them in a large black hooded coat whose face was never seen. When that person left, the Heartless were disorganized and were beat back for a while but now they are recovering and launching counterattacks. You have them cornered in a small mining town called Narshe that is to the North from here and you want me to help. Did I get all of that right?”

“Yes, that is correct,” Edgar said, speaking for all of them. Sora groaned, opening his eyes to look at each of them. His display of bravado earlier had gained him some respect from Sabin. But to be honest, respect or no I’m really getting sick of saving worlds. He then let out a huge sigh as he came to the only reasonable conclusion.

“All right, I’ll help.” The other cheered, missing his muttered continuation. “I don’t really have much choice since I’m still not sure how I got here or how to get home.” As they settled down, Sora picked up the thread of conversation again. “So what do we do first?”

That night started a series of rather long meetings with councilmen, soldiers, scouts with reports, generals awaiting orders, and allies that needed reassurance. Battle plans were drawn up, demonstrations of Sora’s abilities were preformed, and supply lines were established and defended. During that time Sora found himself adapting to their choice of words, calling them Vespers rather than Heartless. Sabin trained him on riding the huge yellow birds they kept, calling them chocobos. Terra helped him to regain his magic as well, telling him of Espers and how they taught magic to the world. Soon, while it had only been a few days that felt like months, Sora found himself, along with Terra, Edgar, and Sabin on the backs of chocobos riding north to fight Heartless once again.

They made poor time to the city of Narshe. Vespers hounded them at every turn of the switchback mountain trails they had to take, making their already slow pace even worse. Once they did arrive, half their guard had been killed and the weather had decided to join in the fight against them with a sudden down poor.

The keybearer sneezed violently underneath the hood of his cloak. That was another change that had happened, his wardrobe. He too now wore a simple red jerkin with a blue undershirt; both of comfortable cotton weaves. His shorts had been replaced with plain slacks of a matching blue with basic mud colored leather boots to protect his feet. His fingerless gloves had been traded out for leather gauntlets. He had kept his crown necklace and his red thigh pouches at least but the rest was packed away. Water dripped off his hood and into his lap as they proceeded on the final stretch to the Narshe gates.

A guardsman waved them to where headquarters was even as a servant came forward to take their chocobos to the stables. They were just outside the city where it seemed another had been built overnight. Most of it was large tents in orderly rows with a lamppost at every fifth tent burning cheerfully despite the lack of cheer in the area. A few wooden buildings were standing but were still augmented by tents to make enough space.

Edgar led them into the main structure, nodding at others that had gathered as Sabin, Terra, and Sora followed close behind. When the reached what must have been the central planning room, they all broke off from each other. Sora was left standing by himself near the door as he wondered what to do. As no one approached him he ambled toward the window to stare at the city. Rain continued to fall unrelenting. Thankfully he was told they wouldn’t have to worry about flooding but it would still impede their mission.

His thoughts began to drift as he watched the rain, looking for signs of Vespers lurking nearby only to have his melancholy shattered by a dire outcry from within Narshe. It echoed though his body, assassinating all conversation as it continued on only to fade as a dying wail. Sora was the first to find his voice as all other present could only stop and gape.

“What the hell was that?