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Bonds of Misery	By : ColdSilence Category: Kingdom Hearts > Crossovers Views: 718 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: All properties relating to Kingdom Hearts and Ai no Kusabi belong to their respective trademarks. No profit whatsoever is being made off this work of fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Author: Cold Silence
E-Mail: writer.coldsilence@gmail.com
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts, Ai no Kusabi
Pairings: Multiple pairings all involving Sora. Given which fandoms are being crossed over, you might be able to guess why!
Warnings: Post DLC scenario. Non-Consensual / Rape situations, Underage Characters, child abuse. Very dark content, read at your own risk.
Special Note: I’m so excited to write this story. This will be my first foray into sci-fi content, as well as doing a canon-compliant crossover fic. Hopefully it doesn’t take me ten years to finish it!

Sora’s description in this chapter is inspired by Sakimichan. Check out the artist’s gallery of amazing art!

Bonds of Misery
-Chapter Two; Frenemy-

Sora leaned against the sealed bay doors of the gummi ship. He could feel his heart pounding heavy in his chest, a dirge to match his emotions.

  “You have a heart that belongs to the worlds. I always knew it since we were kids, but I still wanted to hold on to it anyway. I know it’s selfish. I wanted to stay selfish forever. Since we brought you back though, I realize that I can’t do that anymore. I can’t keep you to myself, Sora.”

Riku’s words replayed in his head a thousand times. He looked at them from every angle and dissected them in hopes of uncovering some other meaning. However, the end result was the same.

  “We’ll talk about this later,” interrupted Sora hastily. “Okay? I need some time to think about what I want to say too. So.. Bye Riku.”

After that, Sora ran into the Highwind and toggled the doors shut. Ever since then, he was leaning against the hull in a dull form of shock. A part of him hoped that Riku would knock on the metal barrier and take everything he said back. If he waited a little longer, a heavy thud would come, and then the last few minutes of his life would reset.

“Sora?”

Darryl’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Sora looked is his direction, feeling dazed. “Sorry, I was daydreaming,” he said vaguely.

“Can you help me at the console?” asked Darryl. “I have some questions about your navigational system.”

Sora looked at the door. The knock didn’t come, and he knew it never would. “Sure, I think I can help you.” His body felt as if it was peeling away from the wall as he straightened up and joined Darryl at the front of the ship. He sat down in the captain’s seat - the same one that he spent the entire trip hassling Riku for - and practically drowned in the scent of his friend.

“I can put in coordinates for anywhere you like,” offered Darryl. “But I don’t know where it is that you are going.”

“Oh, is that all,” said Sora. He pushed away his confused feelings for a moment and closed his eyes. After a few quiet moments, he pointed with his fingers. “That way.”

Darryl blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

“That way,” repeated Sora. “That’s where we have to go.”

“How do you know that?” asked Darryl incredulously. “We’re in space, to get a heading is nearly impossible without coordinates.”

“Just trust me,” said Sora with a smile. “We’re going that way.”

A part of his heart was pointing back at the space station where Riku had been left behind, but he had to ignore that feeling for now. There was a world that needed saving and children that needed their names back.

They fell into silence. Sora manually flew the ship in the direction that he wanted to go. Darryl remained skeptical, but it was obvious that his questions weren’t going to get him anywhere. So he asked something else. “Did you just break your pairing?”

Sora came out of his thoughts with a blink. “What’s a pairing?”

“Your lover,” clarified Darryl. “Riku.”

“What–” the ship veered with Sora’s surprise, and he quickly put it back on course. “It’s not like that! We’re best friends, not… what you said.”

“Then what happened? You’ve been different since we left the spaceport.”

“To be honest,” said Sora slowly. “I’m not sure. The way he said goodbye, it was like he didn’t want to see me again. But that can’t be true, I know it’s not.”

“I can tell he is fond of you,” commented Darryl. “And I am just a stranger. Yet you are insecure.”

“Hey, give me a break.” Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Don’t you think you’re poking into things too much?”

“I apologize. As Furniture, I was always monitoring the mental health of the Pets. I guess it will take time to break out of the habit,” admitted Darryl.

“How did you end up as Furniture?” asked Sora curiously.

“I did not have a choice. I was scouted from Guardian. I fit the profile that my master desired and was trained to become his Furniture.”

“You didn’t want to become Furniture?” The implications of that made Sora frown.

“Yes, and no. Serving as Furniture is better then the fates of the other orphans from Guardian. After they become of age, they are released into the city of Ceres where they live or die in complete poverty. I was fortunate to be taken to Tanagura.”

“That’s terrible.” Sora looked over at Darryl with sympathy, but found that his companion was relaying all of this information with a blank expression. It surprised him. His heart had to be overflowing with hurt, but his face told a different story. How was that possible?

“We’re approaching the Elemina Jump Gate,” said Darryl. “I guess you did know where you were going after all.”

It wasn’t the first time that Sora saw a warp gate, but this particular structure was a spectacle to behold. Massive concentric rings of blinking metal housed the shimmering presence of a worm hole, and within it dozens of ships of different makes and sizes were making their way through. The sheer amount of traffic made Sora realize that the world that was awakened from the darkness was probably already connected to others. Exactly what did that mean for the world order?

A transmission came through the open channel. “This is the control station. State your purpose and registration.”

“Uh…” began Sora.

“Recreation. Registration number is Alpha 8328AE. We will be staying for 24 hours,” answered Darryl.

“Confirmed. Please proceed along the guide lights and maintain impulse speed.”

Sora looked at Darryl askance. “We don’t have a registration number.”

“You’re an unusual person,” said Darryl. “Is everyone as honest as you where you come from?”

“You know, now that you mention it, yeah. I mean, why lie when you can just tell the truth?” Sora looked over at Darryl, and found himself at the center of an intense stare. It made him squirm. “What?”

“I just can’t imagine a place like that,” said Darryl honestly.

“You don’t have to imagine. If you’re always honest with me, or with anyone else really, then you’re already living it,” Sora answered with a smile.

Darryl gave the boy a strange look; he was unable to fathom how anyone could be so open with him.

The Highwind passed through the pearlescent shimmer of the jump gate. When they emerged on the other side, they found themselves in the busy hub of floating space stations, check points and colonies. At the center of it all was a large, desolate blue planet. There was no water or lush greenery marking its surface, only stone and faint trail marks of an attempt at building an interconnected highway system, probably for mining purposes. A very small portion of it was lit up with the glow of civilization, like a pockmark on an otherwise lifeless world.

“That’s it,” said Sora with a note of excitement. “That’s where I have to go.”

Darryl’s face went ashen. “Why there? Why Amoi?”

“There’s something that I have to do there. It’s really important. We can fly down there right?” asked Sora.

“No. The security system is practically impenetrable.” Darryl’s fingers curled into fists, and he said tightly, “Take the ship to that station over there.” He pointed to one of the nearby space ports.

“But that’s not where I need to go –”

“If you don’t do as I say, you’ll never set foot on Amoi,” said Darryl tersely.

“Fine,” relented Sora. He didn’t know what got into the guy, but he obviously knew more than he did, so he complied for now. The Highwind was diverted to its new destination, and with Darryl’s help, they were given clearance to dock.

Sora wanted to begin exploration right away, but Darryl made him promise to stay on the ship until he was done making preparations for entry into Amoi. Obviously that meant that he had to do more lying. He was treated to one of Sora’s very formidable pouts, but was unmoved and proceeded to leave the ship.

Being left alone made Sora antsy. He thought about using his gummi phone to call Riku, but he didn’t know what to say after what happened between them. After a few moments, he decided that it was safe to at least tell him where he was going.

  The world is called Amoi. There’s a lot of ships here.

He thought that sending a text was safe enough. A snapshot was taken of the planet and sent to Riku along with the message. His friend didn’t answer right away, and Sora found himself longing for a reply so much that he started typing again.

  The world looks sad.

When the gummi phone buzzed with a response, Sora’s immediately read the message with baited breath.

  Be careful.

Riku’s short response made him smile. Some of the tension left his shoulders. He shouldn’t have worried so much. Whatever was going on between them, they could work it out.

The rear door of the Highwind opened, and Sora jumped out of his seat and ran to the back of the ship to meet Darryl halfway. “Well?” he asked excitedly.

The ex-Furniture looked unhappy. He was holding a device that was shaped like a small plastic gun, no bigger than the palm of his hand. “You said that we should be honest with each other, so I am going to say this plainly. Going to Amoi is a mistake. I am not going to go with you to that place.”

This surprised Sora. “But I thought you wanted to help?”

“I do, so long as it is off that planet,” answered Darryl seriously. “I am sorry. I will do my best to prepare you for your infiltration, but you will be on your own.”

Sora gave a slow nod. “Alright. Thanks for being honest. Don’t worry, I can take it from here.”

A look of shock crossed Darryl’s face. He never knew forgiveness to come so easily, or honesty to be answered so bravely. Who was this person before him? That question stunned him to silence momentarily, but then he recollected himself. “I was able to get you a few things. A PAM device to identify you as a citizen of Midas and a money stick with ample funds to get supplies.”

The money stick was offered over to Sora, who took it with curiosity. It looked like a really blocky flash drive. “There’s money in here?” he asked skeptically. “And what’s a PAM?”

“Money is stored electronically and requires an interface such as a money stick to access it,” explained Darryl. “PAM stands for Personal Access Memory. It is a biochip that will get you past the checkpoints. Yours will be a counterfeit. It will fool most scanners, but if you get tangled into the affairs of Tanagura, then I can’t guarantee that the farce will hold.” He gestured for Sora to sit in the pilot’s seat.

Sora did as he was told, his mind racing with questions. “I’ll try to avoid this Tanagura then. Any other hints about this world?”

Darryl placed the end of the small gun in his hand to the area behind Sora’s left earlobe. He pulled the trigger, and a subdermal implant wedged itself under the boy’s skin. The suddenness of it made the boy jerk his head away with a soft cry of pain. “Tanagura is the city of the elites. Midas is where you will blend in as a citizen. Ceres is a cesspool best avoided. Remember those words.”

Sora rubbed the raw spot behind his left ear. He could feel the lump of the PAM device there and had to resist the urge to try to dig it out. “Got it. Can I go now?”

“You must travel as any ordinary citizen would in order to enter Amoi. I have made arrangements for you to board a passenger shuttle. You’ll have to leave this ship behind. As well as that.” Darryl gestured towards the gummi phone that Sora was gripping in his hands. “All communications are monitored closely if not outright jammed. That will only draw the attention of the police.”

Sora looked at his gummi phone with a tight expression. He didn’t think that his separation from his best friend would be so absolute while he was on his mission. With great reluctance, he put the phone down on the console. “This place seems so strict.”

“You do not have a clue. That is why I say that you are making a mistake,” said Darryl. “I will watch this ship for you and transport Riku when it is time. Please be careful.”

“Thanks for everything, Darryl,” said Sora with a smile. “If this place is the reason why you were stuck on that ship, then I really appreciate you doing this much for me. I know it must have been hard.”

He began to make his way to the ship’s exit. Darryl watched him go with a hooded expression, and then rushed after him and touched him on the shoulder. It was the first time he initiated physical contact in the time that they had known each other. Somehow, Sora knew it was important. He stopped and looked at the ex-Furniture expectantly.

“There is someone on Amoi that I want you to help. His name is Riki the Dark. If you happen to run into him, if you can free him…” Darryl’s cheeks were flushed. He knew that he was overstepping his bounds by making this request. Yet, even though he believed everything to be a fool’s errand, there was something about Sora that made him believe that anything was possible.

Sora took Darryl’s hand from his shoulder and squeezed it between his. “I promise,” he said with a serious and brave smile.

Darryl felt his breath leave him. Again, he wondered who this boy was. He was left speechless in the face of that promise.

Sora was given tickets to the shuttle he would be departing on and a map of the spaceport. Then they said their goodbyes. As the doors to the gummi ship closed, Darryl once again thought it was a big mistake to allow someone with such unabashed purity to set foot on the soiled world of Amoi.

{{———————————————–}}

The spaceport was unlike anything that Sora had ever seen. It was filled with people of different shapes, colors, sizes and species. Families with crying babies stood next to humanoids with fish-like ears. Important looking dignitaries stood separate with their entourage of suited men, and women wearing lavish dresses and heavy makeup filled the space with their laughter.

Sora took it all in with a grin. No matter how many worlds he visited, they never ceased to amaze him. His first excited step towards the crowd sent him floating, making him realize belatedly that gravity was different here.

“Use the assist bars!” barked a uniformed guard at the floating boy.

“Sorry!” answered Sora sheepishly as he floated upwards. He turned himself upside down to kick against the ceiling, and he made his way back to the floor in an impressive array of turns and somersaults that sent him ping ponging against the walls until he was back on his feet. The children who were watching were delighted, and some of the people around him murmured with interest. Unfortunately the guards were not impressed, and he apologized again as he grasped one of the bars to help him float away from the area.

There was some time before his shuttle left, so he spent it exploring. He observed people buying food at an eatery, and upon seeing how they used their money sticks, he tried it himself. To his delight, he was able to score a plate of what appeared to be a giant, pink flower - something that the much younger children were eating. He used his fingers to pinch off a piece and taste it, and his mouth exploded with a fruity flavor and texture that was wafer-like.

At the center of the space station there were dozens of floors that ringed a holographic waterfall that pooled into a shifting mass of deep blue, violet and muted pink light. Sora took a seat on the balcony that faced the spectacle and ate his food in contentment.

Until he had a feeling that he was being watched. Sora casted his gaze around to see who it was, and he found himself staring at a man in the distance. The stranger was an imposing six feet and a few inches tall with long, wavy blonde hair that reached halfway down his back. There was a poised elegance in the way he was standing, as if he were an ethereal being visiting the mortal plane. His face had an uncanny perfection; a perfect symmetry of high cheek bones and green eyes that gleamed intelligently.

Something about him intimidated Sora, and he couldn’t figure out why. His countenance put him off; he was looking at him as if he had all the right to do so.

A cry of alarm tugged his attention away. Sora looked up and saw that a man in a business suit had dropped his clipboard from several floors up, and now the object was floating downwards in the slow motion of their microgravity. He leaned out to catch the object and threw it back upwards so it would coast back to him.

The man shouted down his thanks, and Sora smiled and returned a “You’re welcome” to him. When he moved to go back to his spot, he found that the tall blonde who had been staring at him was now directly in front of him. “Whoa!” he said in alarm. “You scared me!”

“Who are you?” asked the stranger. His voice had a deep timbre that was tinged with curiosity.

Sora silently tried not to panic. Did he do something wrong? Was this guy going to stop him from going to Amoi? “Just a visitor,” he answered with a tremulous smile.

The man suddenly reached for the boy’s left ear and stroked the newly implanted biochip that was there. Sora jerked his face away and slapped his hand over where he had been touched in reflex. “H-hey! Rude much?”

“So you’re not a mongrel,” commented the blonde. “I should have expected that, you don’t have their temperament. Where are you from?”

There was a bit of a delay in Sora’s answer as he tried to remember everything that Darryl told him. “Midas,” he said finally. The PAM made people think he was from there, so that had to be the best answer, right?

His answer made the blonde’s eyes narrow. Then the intercom gave a soft chime, and a voice announced that Flight 839 was ready. Sora perked up with no small measure of relief. “That’s me! Sorry, I gotta go!”

He quickly bounced on his heels to send himself floating away. He didn’t know what was up with the guy and he didn’t want to stick around to find out.

The shuttle was very crowded. Sora handed over his ticket to the flight attendant, who used a handheld scanner to check his PAM. Thankfully, he was able to pass through the checkpoint without delay. He was guided to a seat, where he found himself wedged between two older men.

The captain announced over the intercom that the flight would only take an hour. Sora tried to get as comfortable as he could without disturbing the people next to him.

A woman in a flight uniform walked down the aisles and stopped next to Sora’s row. She smiled crisply as she said, “Seat #Z34, you’ve been upgraded to first class. Please follow me to the front of the shuttle.”

Sora looked at the two men next to him, expecting one of them to move. However they were both looking at him, and after a few seconds, he understand why. “Me?” he said incredulously.

“Yes. Please follow quickly so that we don’t delay the launch,” confirmed the attendant.

Nonplused, Sora got up from his seat and edged his way past the men. As he followed the lady down the aisle, he found himself to be the center of stares from the other passengers. “Uhm, why am I being upgraded?” he asked uncertainly.

“It was a special request,” she answered. The attendant pulled aside the partition that separated first class from coach and business, revealing an open space with plush seats facing a round table, wide bay windows that made it feel as if they were floating in a bubble, and a male personal attendant who was waiting with a tray of drinks.

Seated at the table was the curly blonde that he encountered before. His stately demeanor fit well with the surroundings, as if it was in his place to be surrounded by opulence. Unlike the other people Sora encountered thus far, he was wearing a red jumpsuit that was accented by a heavy white cape with wide, black shoulder pads. His appendages were covered in white elbow length gloves and knee high boots. Sora could only presume that it meant some sort of status, given the surroundings.

“Welcome, Sora,” said the blonde. He held up a glass that he had been sipping from in a toast. “Sit down, please.”

Sora’s eyes were widened in shock. Did the guy follow him here? “How did you know my name?”

“I have access to the PAM registry, of course. I am the one who designed the system, after all,” he answered with a too perfect smile. “Sit.”

What Sora wanted to do was run. His gut was telling him that he needed to get out of here, but he didn’t want to arouse any suspicion. So he reluctantly came to sit across from the man. Almost as soon as he was in the chair, the male attendant buckled his belt for him, ensuring his security with cross belts across his chest and lap. He immediately felt restrained. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours. Who are you?” he asked.

“You truly don’t know? I am known as Raoul Am. A biotechnology specialist. I thought I knew every last nucleotide of the genetic ladder of the people in Midas, but you are a surprise.”

“I am?” Sora wasn’t understanding. He didn’t know anything about biotechnology or even what a nucleotide was. The shuttle began to launch, and his body lurched against the straps holding him down.

Raoul, on the other hand, was completely unmoved by the shift in inertia. He even moved the glass in his hand to keep the liquid contained without so much as glancing at it. “You have freckles. That sort of pigmentation can only come from exposure to a G-type star. The nearest one is several systems away. You’d have to be in cold sleep for a few years to reach it.”

Sora tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. “Then I guess you better book that trip soon if you want to have freckles like mine before you’re too old!”

Raoul stared at Sora, and then he turned his head to the side and covered his mouth as he chuckled. The sound made the boy feel a little more at ease. Anyone who could laugh like that couldn’t be all bad.

“How fascinating. You even have a sense of humor to go with that easy going temperament of yours,” mused the blond. “And yet, you seem to have this inner charm. I have been trying to capture the very essence of what you are for my Seraphim models. Who created you?”

Sora was confused by the question. “My mom and dad of course. Who else would have made me?”

Raoul made an intrigued sound. “You’re a natural birth?”

“I think so,” said Sora slowly. “Aren’t you?”

Raoul gave a sly smile. “No.”

“But you look… I mean…” There was nothing about Raoul that told Sora otherwise. He had met people that were not born before, such as Baymax. Perhaps he was more like Xion and Roxas, a heart with an artificial body? It made sense though - this man looked perfect in a way that was completely unnatural.

“The technology of Amoi is unparalleled. My android body is completely inorganic,” explained Raoul.

“I see,” mused Sora. “You were built, but you still have a heart.”

“Oh no,” said Raoul with amusement. “I still have a brain.”

“And a heart,” argued Sora. “I can feel it.”

“Can anyone feel such things?” Raoul gave Sora a critical look. “Exactly what are you trying to tell me?”

Sora cast his gaze down. Maybe he was saying too much to this guy. “I guess I’m just trying to be a friend.”

“You’re adorable,” said Raoul with a touch of awe. He waved over the male attendant and gave him orders to give Sora his fill of hors d'oeuvres from the available selection. For the rest of the trip, they engaged in light conversation. Sora tried to avoid speaking too much about himself, but when Raoul got into the topic of other worlds, he couldn’t help but drop tidbits of things he had seen and witnessed himself.

It made the time pass quickly. When they arrived at the aerospace port on Amoi, they disembarked together. An entourage of people were waiting to meet with Raoul. Sora looked around and saw that they were within view of a bustling city in the distance. However, somewhere beyond that, he could feel a lurking darkness. In order to confront it, he had to go there.

Raoul touched his shoulder. “Where are you going now?” he asked.

“That way,” said Sora, pointing in the general direction of the city. “I was wondering though, what’s behind it?”

A sneer twisted Raoul’s face. “Ceres. A place for the derelict. That’s no place for a person like you.” A nicer look was spared for Sora. “I’ll order you an air taxi. It seems that this is our goodbye.”

“Thanks. It was really nice to meet you. Even if you weirded me out a bit at first,” said Sora, rubbing the back of his head.

“We’ll meet again,” answered Raoul with a note of certainty.

The air taxi was a car-shaped hovercraft that soundlessly floated several inches off the ground. Sora balked in amazement as one of its doors opened vertically to grant him entry. He waved goodbye to Raoul before hopping inside, only to find that his chauffer was a invisible.

Instead, a computerized voice verbalized, “Please state your location.”

Sora answered without hesitation, “Ceres.”

“That is not in our databanks.”

Sora frowned. “That’s weird. Everyone I talked to knows its there. Can you just.. take me that way?”

“Please specify.”

“Uh, go left!”

Immediately, the aerocar lifted off the ground, leaving Sora to scramble for purchase on the seats.

{{———————————————–}}

Raoul stepped into his own private aero car. A holographic heads up display projected upon registering his biometric data. He said in a crisp voice, “Contact Iason.”

A few moments later, a face appeared onscreen. It belonged to another man with straight blond hair and glacial eyes. His features were even more pronounced than Raoul’s with arched eyebrows and a pointed nose. His voice was tempered with authority as he spoke, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I want to report a counterfeit PAM,” said Raoul with a sly smile.

“I assume that you already had this person detained,” stated Iason.

“I chose not to. I have something else in mind for him that requires your intervention.”

“It’s not like you to be so underhanded,” commented Iason. “What can the Black Market do for you?”

“You’ll be proud of me. I’ve decided to take your advice and try a new flavor.”

Iason was intrigued by this. “You’ve decided to go dumpster driving after all?”

Raoul scoffed with derision. “I will never sully my hands with a mongrel. This person is an off worlder.”

“And why would an off-worlder warrant so much attention from our Head of Genetic Control?” asked Iason.

“The PAM biochips register every citizen of Midas down to their very DNA. I thought I had a full databank on all the naturally occurring possibilities. But this person has something unique about them. A docile temperament without the mental tampering. An implicit need to connect with others without behavioral conditioning. An inner charm that goes beyond his outward appearance. I want to map his genome and study him. He could very well be what we’re looking for in the next generation of Pets.”

“Very well. I will acquire your new toy for you and make him untraceable,” said Iason. “The look of excitement on your face will make it worthwhile.”

“Am I so obvious?” said Raoul with a broader smile. “Thank you friend.” He ended the call and then leaned back. Soon, he would have his Sora to do with as he pleased. The time couldn’t come fast enough.

{{———————————————–}}

Sora did his best to get the aero taxi to travel to the shadowy place beyond Midas’s walls, but it refused to take him past city limits. In the end, he asked it to touch down as close as it could get and disembarked a few miles from Ceres. There was a large 250 meter tall wall that separated the two areas, and from the aerocar he was able to spot one of the gates that led to the outside. The closer he got to the exit, the more obvious it was that he was approaching a no mans land. People around him looked shadier and less friendly, and the general area more unkempt. It didn’t help that it was evening time with barely any lights to illuminate the streets.

He wished that he could have explored Midas more. From what he saw during the flyover, it looked amazing with all of its neon lights and people milling in the streets. However, he didn’t know how much time this world had left before it was torn asunder by the heartless, and the sooner that he completed his mission, the sooner he could go back to Riku and talk. So he faced the uncertainty before him and passed the gates.

Something shimmered around him as he crossed the threshold which made him pause. He didn’t know what that was, but it seemed not to have harmed him. Then he realized that he was feeling a draft. Sora touched his stomach and realized that it was bare. With a note of surprise, he looked down at his clothing and found that his shirt was missing about three inches off its midriff and his hoodie was completely sleeveless. There was red metal armlets circling his biceps, and he couldn’t for the life of him figure out if they had any other purpose than decoration. His clothing always changed to accommodate the world that he was in, but the current alterations were so trivial that he laughed. Did everyone in Ceres wear shirts that were too small?

As he traveled deeper into the forsaken city, he learned that the answer was yes. Nearly every person he saw had their stomachs and arms exposed in some way. He guessed that it had to do with the temperature: the place was at least ten degrees hotter than Midas had been; not enough to sweat but warm enough to feel uncomfortable in heavier clothing.

Everything he saw was in disrepair, dirty and derelict. Garbage was piled in tall heaps of twisted metal, refuse and cigarette butts. Most of the buildings were half crumbled and covered in dust. The smell was pungent and offensive. The urine stained underground concourse at Twilight Town didn’t hold a candle to this place, yet the planet was so dead that there was no vermin skittering between the tossed packages of food. Sora couldn’t believe that people lived here.

Usually when he encountered new worlds, he tried to speak to the populace for information, however even he was reluctant to speak to the people here. Every person he encountered was male, and most wore cagey looks that warned him away with a glare. Some of them seemed to be wandering aimlessly like zombies, completely drunk on whatever it was that they were holding in their hands. Sora found a guy on the ground, and he rushed over to help him, only to be told off for interrupting his nap on the dirty floor.

The desolation made him ache for his bright home in Destiny Islands. He wondered if the darkness was to blame for the decrepit appearance of Ceres, or something else.

“OUT OF THE WAY!”

Sora was practically bowled over by a guy rushing past on a hoverboard. Moments later, a gaggle of five men wearing night vision goggles and metal cod pieces came barreling through, their feet skimming the ground with hover shoes.

“You’re going to die today!” They shouted at the kid on the hoverboard.

“Fuck him up!!”

That was something that Sora couldn’t ignore. With a grim expression, he rushed after the much faster bullies who were chasing their prey down dark alleys. He could barely see past the shadows covering the twists and turns, so he took a detour and ran up the side of one of the decrepit buildings to follow them via rooftops.

He briefly lost sight of them, but was able to locate the blue white glow of the boy’s hoverboard. It had been left abandoned on it’s side, which was not a good sign. Sora traced the alleyway further up and was led to a dead end. The boy had to be somewhere around there because there was no where else to go. He could hear the shouts of the angry mob closing in.

There was a trash pile at the mouth of the alley, and sitting on top of it was a boy clothed in black. There was a cigarette in his mouth, and his entire body relaxed and comfortable, as if he was perched on a sandy beach in a five star resort. Sora’s gaze tracked over to him. He wasn’t the person he was looking for, but there was something about his defiant pose that drew him.

The bullies also located the stranger. Sora summoned his keyblade in readiness. He was too far up to hear what they saying, but the posturing between them was clear. The boy in black was antagonizing the armed men despite being outnumbered 5 to 1. Then a fight broke out with one of the group throwing the first punch.

It was over in ten seconds.

The bullies were laid out by that one person with easy brutality. Almost as soon he was done, he disappeared into the shadows. Sora was amazed at how strong he was. The keyblade was dismissed from his hand; it was clear that he was not needed here.

“Like Riku,” he said to himself with a smile. His best friend was that strong too. A feeling of pride welled up in his chest, and he couldn’t help but share some of that same sentiment for the dark haired boy who stood his ground.

Although he was never able to locate the victim in all this, there was no need to. He was definitely safe now. So Sora left the area and decided to find some shelter since his search for the heartless was a bust. He took a risk and asked around for an inn, and after some misdirections and jeers, he was finally able to locate one.

The place looked like crap and he didn’t care. He let the innkeeper scan his money stick and went to his room - which he didn’t enter because he couldn’t figure out how to open the door. Sora banged on it the way he banged on computers in hopes that it would pop open, until a disgruntled neighbor told him how to wave his hand over the biometric plate on the wall. Upon doing so, his identity was programmed in, and he was finally able to walk inside and crash onto the first thing that looked like a bed.

Sleep came almost immediately. A lot of time had passed since encountering the Lanaya Hugos, and Sora had since lost track of the rhythms of sleeping and waking. He had a dream that he was stranded on the Final World, alone and doomed to subsist in eternity. Then he saw a light, and from it emerged Riku and Kairi. They held out his hands to him, and when the three of them touched, he cried from the relief of being free of his unending loneliness. The world around them vanished, and then he woke up.

He woke up.

Sora was still in the inn. He touched his cheeks and found that they were wet. “Pull it together,” he muttered to himself. It wasn’t that long ago that he last saw his friends, so why was he already coming apart?

  Maybe because I’m alone.

Ever since he was rescued from the Final World, he was never by himself. Whether it was Riku, Kairi, or any of the other friends he made throughout the worlds, there was always someone by his side. This was the first time he’d ever gone it alone without any support. An anxiety hung in the background of his mind, one that prevented him from returning to sleep. His heart was pounding fast. He never realized that spending all that time in the Final World would affect him in this way.

  Kairi. Riku.

He thought their names like a mantra, and by degrees, he felt himself calming down.

Someone started yelling outside of the inn. Sora bolted up from the bed and rushed to the window to see what was going on. The streets were still dark, but the light of the twin moons of Amoi were able to illuminate the roadway. Dark miasma was rising up from the ground and taking the shape of Neo Shadows. They were threatening someone who was cowering against one of the buildings.

Sora sprung into action. He pushed open the window - which thankfully was not computerized like everything else - and took a flying leap out of it. He landed dramatically behind the line of heartless and manifested his keyblade with a flourish. As soon as it materialized, the heartless turned to face him as if magnetized by the weapon’s presence.

“You guys never change,” drawled Sora as he stood up and shifted into his battle stance; keyblade forward and shoulders squared. “Pick on someone your own size!”

He worked quickly and swiftly to dispatch them. Magic wasn’t used because he didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself. The Neo Heartless were bludgeoned until their corporal forms released their hearts to the sky, which sadly announced his presence almost as good as a Firaga spell. Sora pursed his lips as he watched them rise up, and then he turned his attention to the person he saved.

It was the kid who was being chased by bullies earlier. In the moonlight, Sora could see that he had mismatched blue and brown eyes, both of which were staring at him in amazement.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m better than alright,” answered the boy, who was now smiling in a charming way. “You saved my life with that giant thing.”

“Thing? Oh, you mean my keyblade. It’s nothing!” Sora lowered the weapon in hopes of it drawing less attention. A futile effort. “Is that the first time those monsters attacked you?”

The boy scoffed. “Monsters, Jeeks, Darkmen, something is always out to get you in the slums. I heard rumors that people were disappearing - I thought it was just some kidnapper getting his rocks off. Guess it was just some asshole’s fucked up mutant pet eating people. Figures!” Then he stuck out his hand in greeting. “I’m Kirie. And you are?”

Sora smiled and reached over to shake the boy’s hand. “Sora. Nice to meet you.”

Kirie turned their handshake into an inspection of Sora’s palm. It was held up so he could confirm what it was that he felt when they touched. “Whoa, what are these callouses! You must work at a chop shop.”

Sora quickly pulled his hand away, a little embarrassed by their current state. “Not exactly. I don’t suppose you’ve seen where those monsters are coming from?”

“I have no idea, it was like they came up from the ground,” answered Kirie. “You’re not planning to go after those things, are you?”

“Someone’s got to do something, otherwise people will keep disappearing, right?” said Sora.

Kirie looked at him as if he was crazy, then burst into laughter. “I like your guts!” He slapped Sora on the shoulder, hard. “Did you really jump from that window up there?” At Sora’s nod of confirmation, he grinned. “Alright. Since you saved me, I’ll lend you a hand. I’ll meet you here in the morning.”

“Really?” That was music to Sora’s ears. Not only to have a source of information, but to have company on this lonely mission. It was like an answer to his prayers.

“Trust me,” said Kirie as he walked backwards. “Don’t stand me up, Sora.” He gave a wave, before jogging down the street.

Sora found himself smiling. He returned to his room and flopped back onto the bed. Finally, a lead! Things were looking up.

{{———————————————–}}

The next day, he awoke to the sound of rocks being thrown at his window. He groggily pulled himself to his feet and went to the window to see what was going on. Sure enough, Kirie was standing there, looking fresh in a casual suit and red undershirt. How he could wear all those layers in the heat, Sora would never understand.

“Rise and shine, hero,” drawled Kirie with a smile. “Get down here.”

Sora rubbed his eyes and went downstairs to join his new companion. He yawned heavily as he approached. “Did you get any sleep last night?” he asked.

“How could I? So many things happened that I could barely close my eyes,” answered Kirie with a flippant gesture of his hands. “Where’s your keyblade?”

The question caused Sora to become a little more alert. “Ah, I don’t need it right now, do I?”

“I guess you can leave it behind for now,” mused Kirie. Then he took the boy’s hand and started dragging him off.

“Where are we going?” asked Sora as he stumbled behind him.

“If you’re going to go after those monsters, then you’re going to need back up,” answered Kirie with a wink.

Sora wasn’t sure what that meant, but he followed him anyway. They made their way to a section of the slums that was filled with abandoned, crumbling buildings. Kirie knocked on the door of a structure that looked ready to fall apart any second and yelled out, “It’s me, let me in!”

The door was slid open, and a man with brunet hair down to his shoulders and sunglasses said with annoyance, “Kirie, it’s the asscrack of dawn. It’s too early –” he then paused, and lowered his sunglasses so he could peer at Sora. “Oh. Oh this good. GUYS!”

Kirie smirked as he pulled Sora through the doorway. He led the boy to the middle of a dirty room that had a makeshift table and chairs made out of plastic boxes. Sora immediately pegged it as a hideout of sorts, it had the same air as the one shared by the kids in Twilight Town. There were other men in the room, some of whom immediately surrounded them upon their entry.

“Look what Kirie managed to pull! He’s smoking hot,” commented the man who answered the door.

“What did he tell you? Whatever he promised you, it’s all a lie,” chimed in another man with blonde hair cut just below his neck. He smiled lasciviously at the newcomer. “Me on the other hand, I can promise you, I will ride your tight ass until you’re not seeing straight.”

“Uhm…” Sora flustered beneath all of the unwanted attention. The way these guys were looking at him was creeping him out. “Maybe coming here was a mistake, I probably shouldn’t be here.”

He started to back away, but his shoulder was caught in a very firm, no nonsense grip. A third man with closely cropped white hair was purposely stalling his movements. “Kirie, you know better than to let people see this hideout. He’ll have to pay a price,” he said seriously. “Right Guy?”

Everyone’s attention went to two men seated at a corner of the hideout. One was a man with long hair that was pulled back into a brunet ponytail that reached to his waist. Sitting beside him was..

  The guy in black, Sora realized with a sharp inhale.

“I’ll let Riki decide the price,” answered Guy. “What do you think?”

The name jarred Sora’s memory, and he immediately blurted out, “You’re Riki? Riki the Dark?”

The black haired man named ‘Riki’ openly stared at Sora. There was a cigarette in his mouth, just like the day before. His irises were a such a deep, rich brown that they were nearly black. They reflected the amber glow of the ashes burning close to his lips, although at first glance it was like the fire was coming from inside his eyes.

“Riki, your reputation precedes you as always,” said the shaded man with a grin. “No introductions needed.”

This was the guy that Darryl wanted him to save? Sora couldn’t detect an ounce of weakness in him. He had an air of toughness, like a rock that survived a thousand winters and still stood against time. What could he possibly do for a person like that?

“What’s it going to be, Riki?” asked Guy. He looked at the black haired boy next to him as if he was the most important thing in the world. His feelings towards him were so obvious that even Sora could read them clearly.

Riki grinned around his cigarette. He opened his mouth to answer.

To be continued.
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Bonds of Misery